[1] The Nazi terror since 1942 – part of the Generalplan Ost – in the Zamość region in occupied Poland had led to the creation of many active resistance units.
The German garrison in the key city of Biłgoraj was mostly cut off from land communication with other forces; the town of Józefów was under resistance control, as were many villages and wilderness regions.
This operation, however, failed to defeat the partisans, who broke out of an encirclement in the Janów Forests (Lasy Janowskie) (according to some estimates, Germans suffered higher casualties than the resistance in Sturmwind I).
On 22 June the Armia Ludowa unit, numbering about 700, broke through the German lines in the area of Górecko Kościelne village, suffering heavy casualties.
By then only the combined Armia Krajowa and Bataliony Chłopskie units under Major Edward Markiewicz "Kalina" – about 550 people – remained within the closing circle.
Markiewicz, suffered a nervous breakdown, transferred his command to Rotmistrz Mieczysław Rakoczy "Miecz", and committed suicide.
Rakoczy in turn transferred the command to Lt. Konrad Bartoszewski "Wir" who decided that the partisans' only hope was to break through along the Sopot river toward Biłgoraj.
The partisan unit under Lt. Jan Kędra "Błyskawica" and Lt. Antoni Wróbel "Burza" managed to break through the first German line, only to encounter a second one 300m beyond it.
The unit of Lt. Konrad Bartoszewski "Wir", fighting nearby, did however manage to break cleanly out of the German encirclement in the confusion of the battle.
Account of the battle by Franciszek Nizio, noms de guerre "Jagoda", "Franek", "Spalony"[3] "We began our charge.
"[4] It is estimated that about 400 out of the 1,200-strong partisan forces that engaged the Germans on 24–25 June were killed (approximately half of the Polish losses during the Sturmwind II).
Most of the rest surrendered; some were executed on the spot, and many were tortured for additional information about the resistance; survivors were sent to Nazi concentration camps.