After Yugoslavia was occupied by Germany in 1941, the Polish minority demonstrated its loyalty and solidarity with the Serbian population, while taking a decisively hostile stance toward the German occupying forces and population. They also refused to cooperate and collaborate with the fascists—the Ustaše. Bosnia and Herzegovina were incorporated into the Croatian state. The Poles refused to join the Croatian army; in some cases, they even went to Germany for forced labor in order to avoid conscription. The Polish population welcomed the first Yugoslav partisans with great sympathy. Many Poles who provided assistance to the partisans were persecuted and harassed by Mihailović’s “Chetniks,” and were often handed over to the Germans. The Chetniks equated the Polish population with the Catholic Croats, calling them “Šokci,” while the Ustaše, recruited from the Croats, considered the Polish population enemies because they opposed the Germans. A wave of murders, fires, and looting began to grow in Polish settlements. Threatened Poles crossed to the other side of the Vrbas River, while some fled to Croatia across the Sava River. In 1941–1942, the partisan base was located in central Bosnia, in the Kozara Mountains, and units of the 5th Kozara Brigade appeared in Polish settlements. Few Poles joined the partisans, because greater involvement would have exposed the Polish population to reprisals by the Chetniks and Ustaše. One of the first Poles to join the 5th Kozara Brigade was Józef Dolecki—“Jozo,” later a resident of the municipality and town of Nowogrodziec. In the second half of 1943, larger partisan units arrived in the area inhabited by the Polish population, and significant groups of Poles joined them. In autumn 1943, the leaders of the Polish minority began preparing for mass participation in the uprising, holding talks with the commander of the 11th Partisan Division with the aim of forming a Polish Unit. The 6th German-Ustaše offensive, lasting from autumn 1943 to January 1944, prevented this objective from being achieved.
On 25 March 1944, Polish leaders convened a congress in Prnjavor, chaired by Ignacy Kunecki. At Jan Kumosz’s proposal, the creation of a Polish partisan unit was unanimously approved, and representatives of the 11th Division present at the congress agreed that Poles serving in other partisan units of Józef Broz-Tito could transfer to the Polish unit.
At the next meeting, a five-person committee was elected. Its task was to recruit Poles for the partisan movement and present the needs and tasks of the Polish group. On 7 May 1944, following the swearing-in of more than 100 Poles, a Polish battalion was formed. Sławko Zrnić became the battalion commander, and his deputy was Captain Jan Drag (now deceased, formerly a resident of Nowogrodziec), who had served since January 1942 in the 1st Proletarian Partisan Division (Yugoslav).
On 10 May 1944, the battalion fought its first battle against a larger Chetnik unit, preventing it from crossing the Vrbac River. As a result of the fighting, the battalion was reinforced and rearmed with captured weapons and military equipment. The enemy unit attempting to cross the river intended to eliminate the newly forming Polish Battalion.
On 18 May 1944, Division Commander Józef Mazał (code name “Sosha”) presented the Polish unit with a banner. The banner was accepted from the commander by Junior Ensign Józef Dolecki. In July 1944, before the beginning of the seventh offensive, the 11th Division and larger partisan units were transferred to other areas. During the seventh German offensive, the Polish unit displayed great courage in battles against the Circassians near Prnjavor, in Vučijak. The 53rd Partisan Division was subsequently formed in the Polish territories under the command of Džurin Predojević. Because the battalion was transferred to other areas, Poles joined other partisan units, such as the Motaicko Unit (the Polish battalion was also incorporated into this division). In July 1944, Jan Kumosz, operations officer of the 14th Partisan Brigade, became commander of the Polish battalion. The Polish unit took part in the capture of the town of Kotor-Varoš, and in the first days of September 1944 participated in fighting aimed at disarming a regiment of regular Croatian forces, the so-called “Home Guard.” The unit also fought the Germans and Ustaše in the towns of Dervent and Lepenica. In mid-September 1944, the Polish unit participated in the battle to capture Banja Luka, followed by fighting for Klašnica. The unit reached its highest strength at 600 partisans; overall, 1,000–11,000 partisans from the Yugoslav Polonia took part in the Polish battalion’s battles. Because the Polish battalion was frequently transferred to other areas of fighting outside the Polish settlements, it could not develop into a larger unit. Consequently, many Poles served in various units of J. Broz-Tito’s Yugoslav partisan forces. During the Polish battalion’s battles, many company and platoon commanders, as well as rank-and-file partisans, distinguished themselves through their bravery. Those decorated included Stanisław Sondaj, Józef Dolecki, Władysław Sulich, and Ludwik Szpila. For its participation in battles against the German occupier and reactionary forces, the Polish battalion was awarded the “Cross of Valour.” In spring 1945, after the liberation of Yugoslavia, the Polish battalion was incorporated into the Yugoslav Army.
Based on materials by Józef Dolecki