Border Protection Corps The Border Protection Corps ( , KOP ) was a Polish military formation that was created in 1924 to defend the country ' s eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits . Other borders were under the jurisdiction of a separate , regular Border Guard state security agency . Though the corps was part of the Polish Army , it was commanded directly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs rather than the Ministry of National Defence . It consisted of elite soldiers from all parts of Poland . Initially " KOP " comprised 6 brigades and 5 regiments , each guarding part of the borders with the Soviet Union . " KOP " ceased to exist with the fall of Poland in September 1939 . History . Founding . After the Polish - Bolshevik War the Polish eastern frontier was stretched from the border with Latvia to the north , to the Prut river and Romania n border to the south . Although the peace treaty had been signed , the eastern border of Poland was insecure . Armed bands of saboteurs were crossing the border on a daily basis and the weak police forces in the area could not cope with the problem . In 1924 the town of Stołpce located 20 kilometres from the border was seized by Soviet saboteurs and pillaged . Polish Minister of War Affairs , Władysław Sikorski , decided that the regular police cannot cope with the problem and suggested that the control of the border be handed over to the Polish Army . In one of the reports it was stated that " the police waits for the army , while the army waits for the police " . To prevent such problems in the future it was decided to combine the police with the army . On August 8 the Council of Ministers decided that a special unit , a " militarised border police " be created for the defence of the eastern frontier . It also granted significant amounts of money for construction of fortified barracks and police stations in the area . Until November of the same year more than 3 , 5 million PLZ were spent on that purpose . On September 17 , 1924 , the new formation was officially created under the name of Border Defence Corps . In November 1924 the three first brigades of KOP arrived to the eastern border of Poland , in the areas of Volhynia and Polesie . In April 1925 additional two brigades took over the frontier in Southern Polesie and Galicia . Finally , in March 1926 the sixth brigade took over the border with Lithuania and Latvia . Altogether the forces of KOP included 24 battalion s of infantry and 20 squadrons of cavalry . The soldiers of KOP were trained to combine the tactics of the army , police forces and border guards . They guarded the borders actively , not only by patrols , but also through reconnaissance , ambushes , provocation and intelligence . During the first year of its existence , the KOP arrested more than 5 000 people trying to cross the border illegally . In addition , 89 armed skirmishes were fought , mainly against the bandits from the Soviet Union . To maintain the high morale and skills , the soldiers allowed into the KOP were carefully examined . Most of them were inhabitants of western voivodships , many of them were of German nationality . All volunteers had to gather experience in the line units of the Polish Army before they were allowed in . Piłsudski ' s reforms ( 1929 - 35 ) . In July 1929 the Border Defence Corps was reorganised . Six additional regiments were created , and all the existing units were renamed . Each brigade was attached to part of the Polish border which was further divided onto battalion areas organised around small forts along the border . In turn , each of the battalions commanded several smaller strongholds and outposts organised by companies . All the rear troops ( including the engineers , artillery and cavalry ) formed the second line of the defence and were to be used as a mobile reserve . The brigades were given new names , after the area they were stationed in : The newly created regiments were named as follows : Modernisation ( 1937 - 39 ) . In early 1937 the organisation was modified . Wilno , Nowogródek and Wołyń brigades were disbanded and reorganised into three regiments : " Czortków " regiment was also disbanded and split onto two separate battalions ( " Wilejka " and " Berezwecz " ) . Also , several new units were created and were pressed into the existing structure . After 1937 the KOP had 3 brigade headquarters and 7 regiments . It was composed of 32 battalions of infantry and 21 squadrons of cavalry . As the war was nearing and the crisis in Czechoslovakia exposed the Polish southern border to enemy threat , in 1939 two additional regiments were created . Those were 1st and 2nd KOP Infantry Regiments " Karpaty " , each composed of two battalions of infantry ( named " Skole " , " Delatyn " , " Komańcza " and " Dukla " ) . Soon three additional mountain infantry brigades were formed ( " Sanok " , " Nowy Sącz " , " Sucha " ) as well as the area command in Jasło . In March KOP reached the peak of its strength . However , soon the formation started to be stripped of various units sent to the western border . At first four infantry battalions and most of the artillery were sent to Łódź area . Soon they were joined by the KOP cavalry regiment . In April three additional battalions were sent to the West and in May yet another battalion was sent to Hel , Poland . Although most of the units were later reconstructed at the eastern border , their combat value was much lower . The recruits lacked experience and training and the units of KOP were deprived of almost all heavy weaponry . On August 30 the KOP was formally mobilised . General Wilhelm Orlik - Rückemann became its commander . According to the Polish plans for the forthcoming war , the KOP was to become the backbone of reserve divisions formed behind the Polish lines . September Campaign . In the fight against Germans , KOP units took part among other battles in the battle of Węgierska Górka . After , Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza which had 25 battalions were unable to defend the eastern border and were further ordered by Edward Rydz - Śmigły to fall back and not to engage the Soviets . This however did not prevent some clashes and small battles , including Battle of Szack ( 28 September ) and Battle of Wytyczno ( 1 October ) . See also . = References =