Zambrów 2023-03-25
Former training ground in Czerwony Bór near Zambrów.
Geographic coordinates: 53.045N 22.113E.
The name Czerwony Bór was used already in the 15th century. It was used to describe the Moraine Hills, which divided the southern Łomża Land into the eastern and western parts. The locals also called this hump the Great Mountains or the Long Mountains. The area of the hills was about 15,000 hectares. The first record of Czerwony Bór comes from 1417. This area was extremely unfavorable for settlement. There were sandy soils and no watercourses. Therefore, the area was covered with poor coniferous forests and sparse undergrowth. Bee apiaries were established here, obtaining honey and wax. The area was owned by the Dukes of Mazovia, and then by the Kings of Poland. After the first partition of Poland, the area was owned by the Muscovite partitioning governments. In the period 1885 – 1894, the tsarist authorities built barracks in Zambrów, and Czerwony Bór became a place of exercise for the regiments stationed here; cavalry and infantry. Unexpectedly, contrary to Moscow’s policy, in 1893 a broad-gauge railway line from Łapy to Ostrołęka was built.
In 1921, the village of Czerwony Bór had a forester’s lodge, one farm, 8 houses and about 60 inhabitants. At the station there was a station building with a ticket office, a waiting room and an apartment for a railway worker. A sawmill was built near the station to prepare timber for shipment by rail. In 2012, the village had 57 houses and had 170 inhabitants.
Railway line No. 36 Ostrołęka – Łapy.
The railway line No. 36 Ostrołęka – Łapy is single-track, 87.744 km long, with a maximum speed of 120 km/h. The lines were drawn unfavorably for the economic development of the region, omitting Zambrów and Łomża. Railway stations and stops were built along the route: Płonka – Roszki Leśne – Sokoły – Jamiołki – Wnory – Kulesze – Czarnowo – Kołaki – Łubnica – Czerwony Bór – Śniadowo – Żyzniewo – Kurpie. The line was built in less than one year and on November 27, 1893, the route was launched.
It was not until 1915, due to the Great World War, that a branch route from Śniadowo to Łomża was built. There was a headend in Łomża. Further north was the narrow-gauge railway.
After the Great World War, the Białystok and Łomża lands returned to Poland. In 1922, PKP changed the tracks from wide to normal. In 1948, the line had No. 512, and the branch Śniadowo – Łomża No. 516. Surprisingly, from 1945 to the end of 1947, this route was the only one that connected Białystok – Olsztyn, through Szczytno. The Soviets intended to leave Eastern Masuria within their borders.
In the period 1983 – 1985, the trackway was repaired on the Śniadowo – Łapy section. Rails type S49 were installed and connected in a non-contact manner (welded). Reinforced concrete sleepers were replaced with prestressed concrete sleepers. All railroad crossings have been renovated. Concrete slabs were placed between the rails. New road and railway signs were installed.
On April 3, 2000, on the section Śniadowo – Łapy (line No. 36), the traffic of passenger trains was suspended, and a month later also the traffic of freight trains. In the period 2000 – 2017, rail traffic was carried out on the route Ostrołęka – Śniadowo – Łomża. Periodically, freight traffic was also carried out on the Śniadowo – Łapy route, but it was exceptionally sporadic. The problem, however, was that the main line Warsaw – Białystok was extremely busy and the route through Wyszów – Ostrołęka – Śniadowo was a good alternative.
In the period 2010 – 2015, special rides for railway enthusiasts were often organized on the trail. The journeys were organized mainly with SM42 (SU42) locomotives with one or two passenger cars, or a motor car. There was also an EN57 train which was hauled by an SM42.
In the period March 2017 – July 2018, the track on the Ostrołęka – Śniadowo route was renovated, and then the Śniadowo – Łapy track. At the same time, the Czerwony Bór station was liquidated, where only the trail track remained. At that time, shape semaphores were replaced with traffic lights and the SHP system was introduced. On July 30, 2018, the trail was handed over to the user.
In November 2018, the trail was used by the Polish Army as part of the Anakonda-18 exercise. In the following months, traffic on the trail steadily increased. At the beginning of 2019, over 40 freight trains were passing on the tracks of the route per month. Freight trains move along the route at a speed of up to 80 km/h.
The most important technical structure on the trail is the bridge over the Gać River in the village of Milewo (km 42.732). Until 1958, the bridge was wooden on stone pillars. In 1958, the bridge was completely rebuilt, which was related to the regulation of the river. The bridge is a three-sash, plate girder, supported on concrete abutments and two concrete pillars. The middle span is the longest.
In 2016, due to the construction of the new S8 (E67) road, the entire layout of the track in Czachy Kołaki was rebuilt. The track was run under the viaduct of the S8 road. In this way, the road-railway crossing in one level was eliminated. The road and rail crossing on the local technical road remained. Here there are automatic traffic lights with half-barriers and crossing warning shields, as well as closed-circuit television.
In 2020, the Podlaskie Voivodeship submitted railway lines No. 36 and No. 49 for electrification under the "Kolej Plus" program.
The railway line Czerwony Bór – Zambrów No. 50.
The line was built around 1941, during the German occupation. The line was built by prisoners of war and forced laborers. The length of the trail was 15 km. In 1944, the Soviets dismantled the lines and took them to Moscow as "trophies". After World War II, the lines were rebuilt. The opening took place in 1957. On June 1, 1958, regular passenger trains were launched on the line. However, the line was not profitable and already on May 26, 1962, passenger traffic was stopped. There was a headend in Zambrów. The line was not very popular, because in Czerwony Bór you had to change trains. The project of extending the line from Zambrów to Szepietowo or Czyżew stations has not been implemented. Freight traffic was maintained until 1996, although already on the map from 1988, the line was omitted because it required a thorough renovation. In July 1998, the disassembly of the line began, initially dismantling the factory sidings in Zambrów. In 2002, the dismantling of the line was not completed because there were plans to revitalize it. Finally, by the end of 2013, the line was completely dismantled. Currently (2023) only traces of the track are visible. There is no trace of most railroad crossings. Only in Bacze Mokre there are rails in the road.
Barracks in Zambrów.
In the second half of the 19th century, the Muscovite empire initiated the construction of a number of military facilities on its western borders. Fortresses in Ruszan, Osowiec, Piątnica and barracks in Komorów, Łomża, Suwałki, Białystok and Zambrów were built. The construction of the barracks complex in Zambrów resulted from the location at the intersection of road routes and the Czerwony Bór forest complex, allocating it to a training ground. The construction of the barracks complex in Zambrów lasted from 1885 to 1905. At that time, Zambrów had mostly low and wooden buildings. The barracks were built of red brick. Some of the buildings were used as blocks of flats for the families of soldiers in the tsar’s army. Two Orthodox churches and a cemetery for the Orthodox were built. There were several thousand soldiers, which made Zambrów develop. Many new residents came to Zambrów, hoping to make a living from the service of the barracks. Although the "red barracks" reminded Poles of Moscow captivity. Fortunately, the tenants of the barracks changed.
The first tenants of the barracks in Zambrów were two Moscow infantry regiments. Then an artillery battery and a hundred of Cossacks joined. In 1915, the barracks were occupied by the Prussian army. In 1917, part of the barracks was intended for Polish soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Legions, and among the commanders of the regiment was the later Marshal of Poland Edward Śmigły-Rydz.
After 1918, the barracks were occupied by the Polish Army. But not all buildings have been developed. One building was designated for a primary school. The wooden barracks were occupied by the poor people of the city, with the consent of the Polish Army. In the interwar period, summer Defense Training Camps for Polish youth were organized in the barracks. From 1926, the 71st Border Rifles Infantry Regiment was transferred to Zambrów. Necessary repairs and modernizations were carried out. A water supply and power plant were established. In 1929, the Reserve Infantry Cadet School was founded in the barracks, and in 1937, the Artillery Reserve Cadet School named after General Józef Bem. From 1935, the 18th Heavy Artillery Squadron was stationed in Zambrów.
Already at the end of August 1939, as a result of mobilization, all military units were moved to the places of possible clashes with the German plague. At the beginning of September 1939, the remaining staff and families of officers left the barracks. On September 10, 1939, Zambrów was occupied by the German army. On September 11, 1939, the 71st Infantry Regiment unsuccessfully tried to recapture Zambrów. On the night of September 13, 1939, the German plague massacred prisoners of war (soldiers and civilians), which was one of the greatest war crimes in Poland. At the end of September 1939, the Moscow plague entered Zambrów. It was the result of the fourth partition of Poland. Muscovites stayed in Zambrów until June 22, 1941. The Germans entered Zambrów again. A prisoner of war camp was set up in the barracks, where 12,000 Muscovite brothers were thrown, and then 3,000 Italian prisoners. They were all murdered. Jews were temporarily sent to the camp, who were sent by rail to the German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
After the end of World War II, the next tenants were the NKVD troops and the Internal Security Corps, whose task was to introduce communism by murdering the Polish Underground Armed Forces. In the period 1946 – 1947, the Soviet 5th Panzer Division was stationed in the barracks. In 1949, it was planned to allocate the barracks as a back room for the cotton plant under construction and some of the facilities were handed over. However, the Soviets blocked West Berlin, there was a war in Korea and the political situation in the world became tense again. Therefore, in 1951, the army returned to Zambrów. In the period 1951 – 1957, the following units passed through the barracks: 81st Infantry Regiment, 86th Infantry Regiment, 57th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Squadron, 58th Signal Battalion, 33rd Medium Tank Regiment, 21st Tank Training Battalion, 24th Tank Battalion and Armored Artillery, 14th Reconnaissance Battalion, 35th Mobile Tank Repair Base, 104th Independent Infantry Regiment. The Polish Army left Zambrów in 1957, moving to the western regions of Poland. In the barracks, some of the buildings were demolished, some were adapted for housing or public institutions. On January 26, 1989, the preserved barracks buildings and the accompanying storage and utility buildings were entered on the list of monuments.
Red Forest (Czerwony Bór) training ground.
Importantly, in 1957, the Polish Army left the Red Bór training ground, which was still subordinate to the Internal Security Corps (KBW). Generally, the KBW is a communist card in the history of Poland. The KBW troops, together with the Soviet NKVD troops, murdered the Polish Independence Underground. But during the Poznań Uprising, the KBW contributed to maintaining Poland’s weak sovereignty towards Moscow. The main units of the Polish Army were under the command of the Northern Group of the Soviet Army in Poland, based in Legnica. On the other hand, the KBW units were not subject to the Soviets. When the communist party of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR) was meeting in Warsaw, Soviet tanks moved towards Warsaw. Polish tanks were ordered to stay in their barracks. But the KBW troops left their barracks and were ready to defend Warsaw. Fortunately, there was no bloodshed, and the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR) declared that Poland would follow the communist path.
Czerwony Bór became the main training ground of the KBW. The total length of the hills is about 30 km, and the width is 1 – 7 km. The entire forest complex had an area of about 15,000 hectares. The training ground itself had an area of about 7,500 hectares. From the north, the training ground was based on the railway line. Although the forest complex behind the tracks was also under the jurisdiction of the army. The southern border of the training ground was based on the road from Ostrów Mazowiecka to Zambrów.
After 1958, a new base for a military unit was built in the forest complex. The so-called "Patelnia", i.e. a sharp shooting square, a treeless area, was modernized, where a new shooting range with an observation tower was built. At the shooting range, drills were carried out on a line attack of an infantry company with live ammunition, at a distance of about 2,000 m. There were various targets at the shooting range, which were lifted by the exercise director from the observation tower. Exercises were also carried out on firing live ammunition at air targets. Helicopters practiced on the training ground.
Various units of the KBW – Nadwiślańskie Wojskowe Units came to Czerwony Bór for exercises. Soldiers were quartered not at the military base, but at a nearby encampment. The soldiers occupied military-type tents. Meals were from field kitchens. The bathhouse was of the field type. The toilets were forest latrines. In the 1970s, the accommodation situation at the camp improved significantly. Very interesting houses were built. One house consisted of three freight cars connected by side walls. Thus, three rooms were created. You entered the middle one where there were tables, gun racks and backpacks. To the left and right, rooms with metal bunk beds and cabinets were entered. There were 16 beds in each room, so there were 32 soldiers in the whole house. In the middle of the room there was a "Koza" type stove, which allowed to carry out exercises even in winter. The houses were insulated, paneled and covered with a gable roof. There were ten houses. It was in these houses that people interned during martial law were kept. In the 1990s, the camp of houses was demolished, and the square is gradually overgrown.
The training ground in this form, as the Training Center, was dissolved in 1992.
The 2nd Sapper Battalion was placed in the military base, until 1989, then the 2nd Engineer Battalion and the 2nd Security Battalion, which from 1992 was the 2nd Security Regiment (JW 3466). The 2nd Security Regiment (JW 3466) was disbanded on June 30, 2001.
After the liquidation of the military base, a prison in Czerwony Bór was established on part of the site. The former car park with the Technical Control Point, which has a private owner, has not been developed.
New facilities in the area of the former training ground are: Caritas Center "Przystanek w Drodze", Hunting Shooting Range of the Polish Hunting Association – "Czerwony Bór", Training Center – GROM (with an area of 8.5 hectares). The area of Czerwony Bór is used for hunting and recreational purposes. The forest belongs to the Łomża Forest District. In the area there is a fire tower belonging to the forest inspectorate.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman