Polish Army manoeuvres in Volhynia

In the interbellum Poland, headquarters of the Polish Army frequently organized huge military manoeuvres on the territory of the Volhynian Voivodeship. These war games would take place in early fall, right after harvest. Most probably, they were organized on the real estates, whose owners were mostly Polish members of upper clases (szlachta). Ukrainian peasants, who made majority of inhabitants of Volhynia, frequently complained about these events.

The biggest of such manoeuvres took place between September 5 and 14, 1938 somewhere along the Horyn river. Several units participated in it, such as 3rd, 13th, 21st, 27th and 30th Infantry Divisions, Volhynian, Kresowa and Wilno Cavalry brigades as well as a motorized brigade under Colonel Stanisław Maczek. The latter one was hastily transported in mid-September 1938 to Upper Silesia, soon afterwards it took part in the Annexation of Zaolzie.