Battle of Wojnicz

Gmina Wojnicz is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Wojnicz, which lies approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi) south-west of Tarnów and 65 km (40 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków. The gmina covers an area of 78.55 square kilometres (30.3 sq mi), and as of 2006 its total population is 13,019 (out of which the population of Wojnicz amounts to 3,404, and the population of the rural part of the gmina is 9,615).

Wojnicz (Polish pronunciation: [ˈvɔjɲitʂ] ) is an ancient historic town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. In the early medieval period of the Polish state, it became one of the most important centres in the province of Lesser Poland, as part of the system of Dunajec river castles. It became the seat of a Castellan and prospered from the 13th century to the first half of the 17th century, being on an international trade route bordering Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. It had town and market rights, its church was raised to collegiate status with links to the Jagiellonian University in Kraków 64 km away. It was the scene of the Battle of Wojnicz on 3 October 1655, against Swedish invaders. Wojnicz was burned down around eight times in the course of its thousand-year history. In trade terms it lost out from the 17th century to its junior neighbour 12 km to the East, the city of Tarnów. It was further disadvantaged during Habsburg rule when the new Kraków–Tarnów railway was positioned 10 km to the north. It remained a backwater throughout the Second Republic of Poland in the inter-war years and was stripped of its town rights. Wojnicz regained its Town rights, after 70 years, in 2007. The Coat of arms of Wojnicz consists of an escutcheon bearing the figure of Roman martyr, St. Lawrence against a gridiron, symbolising his gruesome death by roasting.

Dębina Łętowska [dɛmˈbina wɛnˈtɔfska] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 1 kilometre (1 mi) south-west of Wojnicz, 15 km (9 mi) south-west of Tarnów, and 65 km (40 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.

The memorial to the RAF aircrew located in the hamlet of Dębina Zakrzowska, Wojnicz Commune in southern Poland, marks the spot where the British, Canadian and Australian airmen perished on the night of 4–5 August 1944, when their Halifax bomber, from No. 148 Squadron of the RAF, was shot down by a German fighter aircraft. They were flying on a mission as part of the Warsaw airlift, to supply the Polish Home Army whose Warsaw Uprising had just begun. Owing to a change of orders, the bomber had taken off from its base in Brindisi in Italy with instructions to divert their drop to partisans in the vicinity of Miechów, rather short of the capital. The men were initially buried in the military cemetery in Wojnicz, but their bodies were subsequently exhumed for repatriation to their own countries. The memorial, designed by Liliana and Otto Schier, is made up of a concrete plinth with two-metre high wings topped by a cross and bearing the anchor emblem of the Polish Underground State and of Our Lady of Częstochowa. It was funded and erected by the residents of Dębina and the commune of Wojnicz. It was ceremonially unveiled on 4 August 1991. The memorial rises on the crash site, in fields beyond the last farmstead on the western edge of the hamlet. The plaque on the monument lists the names of the seven crew: D. Aird (UK), Ch. A. Beanland (Canada), A. Bennett (Australia), J. A. Carroll (UK), Ch. W. Crabtree (UK), D. J. Mason (UK), A. Sandilands (UK), officers and men of the RAF, the RAAF and the RCAF. Each year, on the anniversary of the crash, the local community holds a commemoration to the fallen airmen, lighting candles and laying flowers on the memorial.

Dębina Zakrzowska [dɛmˈbina zaˈkʂɔfska] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland.

Zakrzów [ˈzakʂuf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) east of Wojnicz, 14 km (9 mi) south-west of Tarnów, and 67 km (42 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.The village has an approximate population of 400.

Łętowice [wɛntɔˈvit͡sɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wierzchosławice, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south-west of Tarnów and 66 km (41 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.

Wielka Wieś [ˈvjɛlka ˈvjɛɕ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wojnicz, 18 km (11 mi) south-west of Tarnów, and 65 km (40 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.

Więckowice [vjɛnt͡skɔˈvit͡sɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wojnicz, 18 km (11 mi) south-west of Tarnów, and 65 km (40 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.The village has a population of 540.

Isep [ˈisɛp] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wojnicz, 16 km (10 mi) south-west of Tarnów, and 67 km (42 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.

Rudka [ˈrutka] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland.

Biadoliny Radłowskie [bjadɔˈlinɨ raˈdwɔfskʲɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojnicz, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) north-west of Wojnicz, 17 km (11 mi) west of Tarnów, and 62 km (39 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.