The Armia Krajowa (the Home Army, literally translated as the Country's Army), abbreviated "AK", was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej (Union for Armed Struggle) and over the next two years absorbed most other Polish underground forces. It was loyal to the Polish government in exile and constituted the armed wing of what became known as the "Polish Secret State". Estimates of its membership in 1944 range from 200,000 to 600,000, with the most common number being 400,000; that figure would make it not only the largest Polish underground resistance movement but among the two largest in Europe during World War II.  It was disbanded in January 1945, when Polish territory had largely been cleared of German forces by the advancing Soviet Red Army.

 

 

 

The AK's primary activity was sabotage of German activities, including transports headed for the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union. The AK also fought some full-scale battles against the Germans, particularly in 1943 and 1944 during Operation Tempest, thereby tying down a number of German forces , diverting much-needed supplies, while trying to support Soviet military. The most widely known AK operation was the failed Warsaw Uprising of the 1944. The AK also defended Polish civilians against atrocities committed by non-German military organizations such as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Lithuanian Security Police. The Armia Krajowa, due to its ties with the Polish government in exile, was viewed by the Soviet Union as an obstacle to its takeover of the country, which lead to increasing conflict between AK and Soviet forces both during and after the war. Armia Krajowa, seen in modern Poland as a heroic resistance, became the subject of controversy and a more critical portrayal in communist Poland as well as outside of Poland.