Battle of Annaberg The Battle of ( the ) Annaberg ( ) or Storming of ( the ) Annaberg ( ) was the biggest battle of the Silesian Uprisings . The battle , which took place between May 21 – 26 , 1921 , was fought at the Annaberg ( Polish : " Góra Św . Anny " ) , a strategic hill near the village of Annaberg O . S . ( since 1945 " Góra Świętej Anny " ) , located southeast of Oppeln ( Opole ) in Upper Silesia , Weimar Germany . After the hill had been captured by irregular Polish - Silesian units in the Third Silesian Uprising , German Freikorps managed to drive the Poles from the hill . Prelude . By the Treaty of Versailles , the German Reichswehr was limited to a strength of 100 , 000 . Several independent paramilitary Freikorps units were formed from the remnants of the German Imperial Army . The German Freikorps units often did not obey orders from the official government . The German government did however , assist with transportation and supplies . Freikorps units fought against the communist groups in Germany , and also against Polish insurgents in the East . While Germany had recognized the independent Polish state in the aftermath of Versailles , there were some disputed areas , some of which saw violent conflict . On April 30 , 1921 , Polish - Silesian officials , with Wojciech Korfanty , upon finding that Germany would be granted most of the plebiscite area in disputed Upper Silesia , decided to start the Third Uprising , even though the government in Warsaw wanted to avoid hostilities at all costs . On May 2 , acts of sabotage by the Polish Wawelberg Group units under Konrad Wawelberg severed all connections between Upper Silesia and Germany . On May 3 , at 3 a . m . , the Polish forces started the offensive and in the following days they pushed the small German forces westwards , reaching the line of the Oder river and capturing the 400 - meter high strategic hill of Annaberg on May 4 . It took around two weeks for the Germans to prepare the counter offensive , bringing in volunteers from other German areas . The leaders settled for Generalleutnant Karl Höfer as commander , while Generalleutnant Bernhard von Hülsen would lead the southern force at the Oder , and Oberstleutnant Grüntzen the northern one in the forests . In the meantime , their units were strengthened with the arrival of the Freikorps Oberland unit from Bavaria . Its soldiers , numbered at 1 , 650 , were experienced veterans of World War I , under Major Albert Ritter von Beckh . Among members of the FK Oberland were notable figures of the future Nazi Germany , including Sepp Dietrich ( who distinguished himself during the battle ) , Rudolf Höss , Edmund Heines , Beppo Römer , and Peter von Heydebreck , leader of the Werewolves and later pronounced the " hero of Annaberg " . Also , there were several student - volunteers from the Bavarian town of Erlangen . The German force also consisted of Silesian paramilitary battalions ( " Selbstschutz es Oberschlesien " ) , consisting of recently demobilized veterans and men too young to have fought in World War I . Although the Polish forces outnumbered the German troops in the region , the Germans had more experience than the Poles , of whom many were civilians . Battle . The Annaberg ( " Góra Świętej Anny " , both names meaning " Saint Anne ' s Mountain " ) , with the monastery located on top of the hill , was regarded as a religious symbol for German Silesians . It was strategically significant , as from its peak , the whole valley of the Oder / Odra could be dominated . The German - UpperSilesian commanders , Generals Höfer and Hülsen , decided to use three battalions of the Bavarian Oberland , which were transported to Krappitz ( Krapkowice ) , on 19 / 20 May 1921 . Manfred von Killinger , a Freikorps company commander , wrote , " it was time for a great , visible victory to take over from the wearying routine of patrols and positional battles " . The German counterattack , which began at 2 : 30 a . m . on May 21 , was led by the Oberland Freikorps and Silesian Selbstschutz . Hülsen concentrated his six and a half undersized battalions , numbering roughly 900 men , into two columns to form left and right wings . The Germans launched their offensive , which started from a hill north of the Annaberg , against a regiment of Polish Silesian insurgents from Pless ( Pszczyna ) , under Franciszek Rataj . The Germans lacked artillery , however , and fighting was fierce . Hülsen wrote , " We learned then how painful it could be to mount an assault on a fortified position without a single piece of artillery " . Bavarian Oberlanders were able to defeat a Polish counterattack with grenade and bayonet and capture two cannons , which they used in an attack on the town Oleschka ( Oleszka ) west of the mountain . After seven hours of heavy combat , the Germans managed to force the Pless regiment to withdraw and then concentrated their attack on the neighboring regiment of Polish volunteers from Kattowitz ( Katowice ) , under Walenty Fojkis , as well as Polish - Silesian battalions from Groß Strehlitz ( Strzelce Opolskie ) and Tost ( Toszek ) , known as " Group Bogdan " . Among Polish forces defending the mountain , there also were miners from the Ferdinand coal mine in Kattowitz as well as workers from the Kattowitz suburb of Bogutschütz ( Bogucice ) . Altogether , Polish forces fighting in the area of the Annaberg formed " Group East " . At 11 : 00 a . m . the Germans began a coordinated advance on the mountain : the Finsterlin Battalion from the northwest , the Assault Detachment Heintz from the southwest , the Oestricher Battalion from the east , and the Sebringhaus Battalion and the Eicke Company from the southeast . Under German pressure , the Poles , after heavy hand to hand combat , withdrew east . The subsequent Polish counterattack was repelled and the success of the Freikorps was widely reported in Germany , as it was regarded as the first German victory since November 1918 . A German participant wrote , " Our hearts trembled with joy as we watched the Poles evacuate their positions and the black - white - red flag appear on the clock tower of the convent " . On May 23 , the Poles , after regrouping and strengthening their forces with a battalion from Hindenburg O . S . ( Zabrze ) under Paweł Cyms , initiated a strong counterattack , but it was again repulsed by the German artillery , with great losses on both sides . Heavy fighting took place in neighboring villages , such as Leschnitz ( Leśnica ) , Lichynia , Krasowa , Dolna , Olszowa and Klucz . Aftermath . The government of each side could barely influence events as neither side had solid command structures and forces acted independently . On May 25 , the Selbstschutz , under pressure from Berlin which threatened the Freikorps with serious penalties , decided to initiate peace talks . On the next day , the general command of Polish forces ordered their units to cease fighting . Some additional skirmishes took place around June 4 to June 6 , in which the Germans again managed to defeat the Poles . In early July , Allied troops entered the area and separated the fighting sides ; both Poles and Germans disengaged and retreated . Due to internal and external political reasoning , the contributions of the German fighters was not officially recognized by the government , which supported bitter feelings against the Weimar Republic . The reputation of the " Annaberg heroes " helped them in later years , however . The disputed territory of Upper Silesia was subsequently divided between the two countries along voting lines ( in the Upper Silesia plebiscite ) , with Poland receiving the eastern third of the area with the coal mines , even though the majority of areas which voted for Poland had been assigned to Germany . The new border followed roughly the line separating the sides at the close of hostilities ( see Upper Silesia plebiscite ) . The Annaberg itself remained part of Germany until 1945 , when it was transferred to Poland according to the Potsdam Agreement and renamed .