Battle of Kuryłówka The Battle of Kuryłówka , fought between the Polish anti - communist resistance organization , National Military Alliance ( NZW ) and the Soviet Union ' s NKVD units , took place on May 7 , 1945 in the village of Kuryłówka , southeastern Poland . The battle ended in a victory for the underground Polish forces . Background . In May 1945 World War II ended in Europe . But As Norman Davies wrote in " No Simple Victory " , even after Victory Day the war was not completely over : " In all Soviet - occupied countries the NKVD was hunting down a variety of political opponents and freedom fighters ( . . . ) Stalin and Stalinism were still in place - unregenerate , as murderous as ever , and victorious " . On May 7 , a major battle between the Polish anti - communist resistance organization , National Military Alliance ( Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe , NZW ) and NKVD units took place in the village of Kuryłówka , located near Leżajsk ( Subcarpathian Voivodeship ) . According to several sources , this was the biggest battle in the history of the Polish anti - communist movement , in which reportedly up to 70 NKVD agents died . Polish units were commanded by Major Franciszek Przysiężniak ( noms de guerre " Marek " , " Ojciec Jan " ) . 1944 - 1945 in the area of Rzeszów . Most of the area of today ' s Subcarpathian Voivodeship was captured by the Red Army in the summer of 1944 . The Soviets immediately started to persecute members of the Home Army , loyal to the Polish government - in - exile , and their actions sparked resistance ( see : Łukasz Ciepliński , Adam Lazarowicz ) . On January 19 , 1945 , General Leopold Okulicki formally disbanded the Home Army , however several members of the organization decided to continue struggle for free Poland , seeing the Soviet forces as new occupiers . New movements were created , such as Wolność i Niezawisłość , Narodowe Siły Zbrojne , NIE or Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe . These organizations were oppressed mainly by the NKVD and later by the newly created Polish secret police , Urząd Bezpieczeństwa . In the area of Rzeszów , the most important and the strongest of anti - Communist movements was Wolnosc i Niezawislosc , but other organizations such as Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe also were present . Rzeszów ' s district of NZW was run by several people including Kazimierz Mirecki , Józef Salabun , Kazimierz Nizieński , and Piotr Woźniak . In March 1945 , Rzeszów ' s NZW created the so - called Command of the Forest Units , which oversaw partisan troops in the area . These units were commanded by Major Franciszek Przysiężniak . Battle . In early May , an NZW unit numbering some 200 soldiers was stationed in the village of Kuryłówka , near the town of Leżajsk . It was commanded by Major Przysiężniak . NKVD troops , stationed in Biłgoraj , found out about the Poles and sent two companies there , which probably were part of the 2nd Border Regiment of the NKVD ( establishing Soviet sources on this matter is very difficult ) . According to other sources , the NKVD troops came to Kuryłówka searching for a group of deserters from Polish People ' s Army ( Ludowe Wojsko Polskie ) who had decided to join the anti - Communist forces . The battle took place on May 7 . The Polish unit numbered some 200 soldiers ; the exact number of NKVD troops is unknown , but most probably there were up to 300 of them . The skirmish ended in the NKVD unit ' s retreat . It is difficult to establish the number of NKVD victims ; some sources claim that 56 agents died , some say up to 70 . The number of Polish victims is unknown . The next day . After the battle , the Polish unit , fearing repressions , left the area of Kuryłówka . The next day , a strong NKVD force appeared in the village . The village of Kuryłówka was burned , more than 200 houses were razed to the ground . The Soviets then shot six persons , and two more died in the blaze . 920 people became homeless .