"Grey Ranks" (Polish: Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association (Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego) during World War II.

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The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in Warsaw until 18 January 1945, and contributed to the resistance operations of the Polish Underground State. Some of its members (Grupy Szturmowe – Assault Groups) were among the Home Army's best-trained troops.^{[citation needed]}

Though formally independent, the Grey Ranks worked closely with the Government Delegation for Poland and Home Army Headquarters. The Grey Ranks had their own headquarters [pl] known under the cryptonym Pasieka ("bee yard") staffed by the Chief Scout of Grey Ranks plus three to five deputies in the rank of Harcmistrz (Scoutmaster).

Since its organization in 1916, scouts from the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego, ZHP) had taken an active part in all the conflicts Poland was engaged in around this time: Great Poland Uprising, Polish-Bolshevik War, Silesian Uprisings, and the Polish–Ukrainian War. After the German Invasion of Poland in 1939, the Nazis recognized the ZHP as a threat. Polish Scouts and Guides were branded as criminals and banned.^[1]

Under the leadership of Florian Marciniak, the ZHP carried on as a clandestine organization. The wartime Scouts evolved into the paramilitary Szare Szeregi (Grey Ranks), reporting up through the Polish underground state and the Armia Krajowa resistance organization.^{[citation needed]}

The codename Szare Szeregi was adopted in 1940. It was first used by underground scouting in Poznań. The name was coined after an early action of the Polish Scouting Association, in which boy scouts distributed propaganda leaflets among Germans from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia who had settled in the homes of Poles expelled to the General Government. To create confusion, the leaflets had been signed SS—later expanded to Szare Szeregi, a name that came to be adopted by the entire organization.^{[citation needed]}

Older Scouts carried out sabotage, armed resistance, and assassinations. The Girl Guides formed auxiliary units working as nurses, liaisons and munition carriers. Younger Scouts were involved in so-called minor sabotage under the auspice of the Wawer organization, which included dropping leaflets or painting the kotwica sign on the walls. During Operation Tempest, and especially during the Warsaw Uprising, the Scouts participated in the fighting, and several Szare Szeregi units were some of the most effective in combat. The Grey Ranks also included the White Couriers, who between late fall 1939 and mid-1940 helped smuggle many persons out of Soviet-occupied southeastern Poland into Hungary.^{[citation needed]}

In 1940, the Soviet Union executed most of the Boy Scouts held at Ostashkov prison.^{[citation needed]}

In 1945 the ZHP restored its former name and returned to public existence. However, the communist authorities of Poland pressured the organization to become a member of the Pioneer Movement and eventually it was banned in 1949. The only existing part of pre-war ZHP during the years of the Communist regime was the ZHP pgK ('ZHP abroad', consisting of Polish Scouts from USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Argentina, France and Sweden).^{[citation needed]}

The Grey Ranks followed the prewar principles of the Polish Scouting Association: service to the people and country, and education and improvement of their skills. In addition to the prewar oath, the following line was added:^{[citation needed]}

"I pledge to you that I shall serve with the Grey Ranks, safeguard the secrets of the organization, obey orders, and not hesitate to sacrifice my life."

In addition to the Scouting moral code, the Grey Ranks also followed a basic three-step path of action. The program was nicknamed "Dziś - jutro - pojutrze" ("Today - tomorrow - the day after"):^{[citation needed]}

• "Today" – struggle for Poland's independence
• "Tomorrow" – prepare for an all-national uprising and the liberation of Poland
• "The Day After" – prepare to rebuild Poland after the war

The Grey Ranks' structure was based on the prewar structure of the Polish Scouting Association, modified to suit the new circumstances of occupation and repression. The basic unit was the troop (drużyna), comprising some 20 boys or girls. Each troop was composed of several squads (zastępy), each zastęp comprising 7 persons. Several troops from a specified area (city district, village or town) formed a district (hufiec), which in turn formed part of a region (chorągiew — literally, a banner or standard). During World War II, the several units were referred to by their own code-names:

• "banner" (chorągiew) – ul ("beehive")
• "district" (hufiec) – rój ("swarm")
• "troop" (drużyna) – rodzina ("family")
• "squad" (zastęp) – pszczoły ("bees")

The headquarters of the Gray Ranks [pl] were code-named "Bee Yard" (Pasieka), headed by the commander (Naczelnik). The Grey Ranks' successive commanders were:^{[citation needed]}

• Florian Marciniak (27 September 1939 – 6 May 1943)
• Stanisław Broniewski ("Orsza"; 12 May 1943 – 3 October 1944)
• Leon Marszałek (3 October 1944 – 18 January 1945)

At the apogee of the Grey Ranks' strength, Headquarters commanded 20 banners. To control the movement, the area of prewar Poland was divided into departments, each supervising several banners:^{[citation needed]}

• Western Department (Wydział Zachodni, Z) – areas annexed by Nazi Germany:
  • Pomeranian banner – ul "Lina" (beehive Line)
  • Greater Polish – ul "Przemysław" (beehive Przemysław)
  • Łódź – ul "Kominy" (beehive Chimneys)
  • Zagłębie – ul "Barbara" (beehive Barbara)
  • Silesian – ul "Huta" (beehive Steel mill)

An additional banner was formed in the General Government and commanded all the scouts from Greater Poland expelled from their homes by the Germans (ul "Chrobry" - beehive Chrobry).

• Eastern Department (Wydział Wschodni, W) – eastern voivodeships of Poland
  • Białystok – ul "Biały" (beehive White)
  • Wilno – ul "Brama" (beehive Gate)
  • Polesie – ul "Błota" (beehive Marshes)
  • Nowogródek – ul "Las" (beehive Forest)
  • Wołyń – ul "Gleba" (beehive Soil)

An additional banner was formed for scouts expelled from their homes to the General Government (ul Złoty – "Gold beehive").^{[citation needed][citation needed]}

• Central Poland Department (Wydział Polski Centralnej, C)
  • Warsaw – ul "Wisła" (beehive Vistula)
  • Masovian – ul "Puszcza" (beehive Wilderness)
  • Radom – ul "Rady" (beehive Councils)
  • Lublin – ul "Zboże" (beehive Grain)
• Southern Poland Department (Wydział Polski Południowej, P)
  • Kielce – ul "Skała" (beehive Rock)
  • Częstochowa – ul "Warta" (beehive Warta)
  • Kraków – ul "Smok" (beehive Dragon)
• Lwów – ul "Lew" (beehive Lion)

Coordination among the departments and beehives was directed by inspectors subordinate to the Headquarters: Eugeniusz Stasiecki, Edward Zurn and Kazimierz Grenda.^{[citation needed]}

As of 1 May 1944, the Grey Ranks numbered 8,359 members. Initially, only older scouts (Senior Scouts, Senior Guides, Rovers and Rangers), aged 17 and up, were admitted. Soon, however, younger children were admitted, and in 1942 a new structure was adopted, based largely on the prewar structure of the Polish Scouting Association.^{[citation needed]}

Notable assault-group operations included:^{[citation needed]}

• Operation Arsenal (March 26, 1943), the liberation of the gravely wounded Jan Bytnar and 24 other prisoners from a Gestapo convoy
• Operation Schultz (May 6, 1943), the assassination of SS-Obersturmführer Herbert Schultz
• Operation Lange (May 22, 1943), the assassination of SS-Rottenführer Ewald Lange
• Operation Belt (August 1943 – February 1944), the destruction of thirteen German border outposts
• Operation Bürkl (September 7, 1943), the assassination of SS-Oberscharführer Franz Bürkl
• Operation Kutschera (February 2, 1944), the assassination of SS and Police Leader Franz Kutschera
• Storming and liberation of Gęsiówka concentration camp in Warsaw (August 5, 1944)

• Children in the military
• Mury