Stratford57
Diamond Member
Alexey Botyan, a legendary Soviet-Armenian intelligence agent who rescued Krakow during the 1945 Nazi occupatiom, has died at age 103 in Russia.
At the peak of his career, Liuetenant Alyosha (the nickname he was usually referred to by the local residents) realized what he considered to be the major achievement of his lifetime. He managed to dertail the Nazi plot of exploding the dam on River Dunayets, averting a major flood calculated to bring about the city’s destruction.
Soviet-Armenian intelligence officer Alexey Botyan dies at 103
“Saving Krakow is the most important thing I ever did in my life,” said Soviet intelligence officer Alexei Botyan. Indeed, thanks to his bravery, the ancient Polish capital still enraptures residents and tourists with its pristine beauty
How one Soviet intelligence officer saved Krakow
Botyan’s diplomatic skills enabled him to establish friendly relations with the commanders of the Farmers’ Battalions, Vladislav Sokulsky and Mechislav Holeva. From them, he learned that the Germans had stockpiled ammunition and explosives in the old Jagiellonian castle in the town of Novy Sacz near Krakow.
And from one of the partisans’ captives, an engineer-cartographer by the name of Zigmund Ogarek, they discovered that the explosives would be used to blow up bridges across the river Dunajec, the historical part of Krakow, and the Rozhnov dam. The latter was to be blown up in the event that the Red Army broke into the city, causing a partial flooding of the ancient Polish capital and chaos among the Soviet troops.
At 5.20am on Jan. 18, 1945, the stone walls of the ancient castle were blown away by a powerful explosion that buried several hundred German soldiers and the plan to destroy the city. And at that very moment, troops from the 59th and 60th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front were preparing for an assault on Krakow, which would liberate the city the following day.
How one Soviet intelligence officer saved Krakow
RIP, dear Alexey, we'll be praying for you...
At the peak of his career, Liuetenant Alyosha (the nickname he was usually referred to by the local residents) realized what he considered to be the major achievement of his lifetime. He managed to dertail the Nazi plot of exploding the dam on River Dunayets, averting a major flood calculated to bring about the city’s destruction.
Soviet-Armenian intelligence officer Alexey Botyan dies at 103
“Saving Krakow is the most important thing I ever did in my life,” said Soviet intelligence officer Alexei Botyan. Indeed, thanks to his bravery, the ancient Polish capital still enraptures residents and tourists with its pristine beauty
How one Soviet intelligence officer saved Krakow
Botyan’s diplomatic skills enabled him to establish friendly relations with the commanders of the Farmers’ Battalions, Vladislav Sokulsky and Mechislav Holeva. From them, he learned that the Germans had stockpiled ammunition and explosives in the old Jagiellonian castle in the town of Novy Sacz near Krakow.
And from one of the partisans’ captives, an engineer-cartographer by the name of Zigmund Ogarek, they discovered that the explosives would be used to blow up bridges across the river Dunajec, the historical part of Krakow, and the Rozhnov dam. The latter was to be blown up in the event that the Red Army broke into the city, causing a partial flooding of the ancient Polish capital and chaos among the Soviet troops.
At 5.20am on Jan. 18, 1945, the stone walls of the ancient castle were blown away by a powerful explosion that buried several hundred German soldiers and the plan to destroy the city. And at that very moment, troops from the 59th and 60th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front were preparing for an assault on Krakow, which would liberate the city the following day.
How one Soviet intelligence officer saved Krakow
RIP, dear Alexey, we'll be praying for you...
