- Ochotnicza Legia Kobiet
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Ochotnicza Legia Kobiet (OLK - Voluntary Legion of Women) was a voluntary Polish paramilitary organization, created by women in Lwów in late fall of 1918. Back then, Lwów was contested by Poles and Ukrainians, and women decided to help Polish soldiers in all ways possible, including fighting on the frontline.
Creation of the Legion, as this was original name of the organization, is attributed to Major Aleksandra Zagorska, who was the commandant of female couriers during the Polish-Ukrainian conflict. During the fights, Zagorska lost her teenage son, 14-year old Jerzy Bitschan, who was killed by Ukrainian shells on the Lyczakowski Cemetery, and about whom several songs were later written. Altogether, 66 Polish women died fighting in Lwów in late 1918.
During the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921, Ochotnicza Legia Kobiet, which grew to 2 500 members, helped Polish Army in such places as Warszawa and Wilno (since May 1919). In Wilno, in mid-1920, Polish women under Wanda Gertz defended the city, facing the Mounted Corps of Gai Khan.
After the war, in 1923, the organization was dissolved. Five years later, activists of OLK created Przysposobienie Wojskowe Kobiet.
Sources
Categories:- History of Poland (1918–1939)
- Polish female soldiers
- All-female military units and formations
- Women in World War I
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