On April 5, 1944, the following people died in the battle at Rokitno: Kardasz Tomasz, a Home Army soldier from Hrubieszów, Wajda Jan, s/o Antoni, 17, a soldier of the Home Army, Wajda Jan, s/o Jakub, 22, soldier of the Home Army  […] Machlar [FNU] 20, died on April 5, 44 at Rokitna.

source: Żurek Stanisław, „Calendar of the genocide – April 1944”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]

source: prof. dr hab. Jankiewicz Leszek S., „Supplement to the list of losses of the Polish population provided by Stanisław Jastrzębski for the Lubelskie Voivodeship (2004)”; in: Listowski Witold (ed.), „OUN-UPA genocide in the South-Eastern Borderlands”, in: Kędzierzyn-Koźle 2016, vol. 8

Somewhere in the first days of April 44, two sotny UPA attacked the village of Rokitno and the nearby narrow–gauge railway station, which was located in a valley, less than a kilometer from our headquarters. Our platoon was on the feet of the alarm and machine gun shots. The commander developed the unit into a row of troops as soon as they left the buildings, and pushed a messenger to the staff to report what was happening and asking for support. Stumbling over slopes of frozen soil, we reached the edge of the hill leading to the valley with the railway station below. On this hill, there was a deciduous forest nearby that towered over the whole area. Fighting continued in the valley, in the village and at the station. It was the local Home Army garrison that put up stiff resistance. We moved down towards the station buildings and opened fire on the enemy positions. The Ukrainians were surprised by our entry into the action. At first, they panicked and began a disorderly escape. Shooting we went down and took control of the train station, trying to throw the enemy back. It turned out not to be that easy. The UPA's second throw, developed into a line, stopped the escapees and started them back on the attack. A fierce fight ensued. The UPA recovered from the first impression and directed all their firepower at us. There was no support, despite the struggle that had lasted over half an hour. For some time we were covered by the station buildings, but when the opponents introduced mortars into action, we could not stand the pressure and started to retreat in the direction we came from, then towards the forest, because it was closer to it. The forest provided cover and a chance to change the situation, as it towered over the battlefield, even giving insight into the depressions of the terrain, which could not be seen from the level of the train station. To get to it, you had to run over a hill about 300 meters long, all the time uphill  […] The slope of this hill is the northern slope, mostly covered with icy snow. When running uphill, towards the forest, you found a tract of land covered with such snow, it was an excellent target for the Ukrainian „striltsev”. This was the fate of our platoon commander. When he was already several dozen meters from the edge of the forest, 5 bullets hit him. He ran a few meters away from me, in such a snowy field  […] Pluto suffered heavy losses in this fight, but he successfully checked the enemy, whose situation suddenly worsened when there was a continuous cannonade of machine guns, grenade blasts to the north of the village of Rokitno, and in a moment smoke and fire. It was our relief, taking shortcuts, but very aptly and in the right direction, because in this way the UPA was caught in the crossfire of our kaems. The picture of the battle changed quickly. From the UPA sotnya, initially one by one, then in groups, they started to withdraw by jumps towards the bridge over the river, where the Ukrainians came under fire from our machine guns firing from the edge of the forest, from a distance of no more than half a kilometer. Our fire was very accurate, there was a blockage on the bridge caused by the killing of a few horses of the carts and the vehicles overturning. Attempts to pull the obstacle aside earned them further casualties. Our machine gun barrels were already hot. It was a retaliation for our morning losses. Retreating „striltsi” seeing what was happening on the bridge jumped into the water, deep because of the spring thaw, and paddling up to the waist, they forged the river on their own, fleeing the direction they had come from. The heavy machine guns installed in the mill in nearby Żerniki, which had been shelling our positions since the morning, could not help much. Our platoons drove the attackers as far as Ulhówek, and the team directed during the fights to the mill in Żerniki eliminated the heavy machine gun position with grenades. The victory was great, but also sad. During the fights for Rokitno, 16 of our soldiers died and 13 were wounded. Our platoon commander was also killed. As we found out at the grave, last year he was the commander of the navy blue police in Krasnobród, from where he deserted to the Home Army, arms in hand. He gave his life for a great cause. He was only 36 years old. We are left with his bullet–riddled military coat. We held our positions in the forest until the return of our platoons taking part in the chase as far as Ulhówek. It was not until the next day that a group was sent to summarize the UPA's losses and to collect what we were interested or needed. There were 84 killed „striłtsev,” a dozen or so horses and as many wagons abandoned and turned over in the river near the crossing on the bridge. Weapons and ammunition were also collected, as well as a lot of food and fodder for the horses. Above all, however, 84 ID cards of the fallen, which showed that most of their owners came from Lviv and Volhynia, the rest from Tarnopol and Stanisławów. As a result of this battle, the manpower of our platoon decreased by half. It was a big loss, especially since we couldn't expect any additions.

source: Żurek Stanisław, „Calendar of the genocide – April 1944”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]

source: Sochan Edward, „Memoirs of a soldier of the Home Army and BCH, a member of a self-defense garrison in the village of Grabowica”, fragment; in: portal: salon24.pl — web page: www.salon24.pl [accessible: 2021.04.11]

The UPA murdered 3 Poles, including a 17‑year‑old.

source: Żurek Stanisław, „Calendar of the genocide – April 1945”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]