of the shelters significantly reduced the combat capability of the emplacements. The battle of Wizna On September 7 Raginis' forces (approximately 720 men, out of which roughly 650 were killed) were attacked by more than 42,000 German soldiers. To keep the morale of his men high, Raginis pledged that he would not leave his post alive. The defense of Wizna against overwhelming odds lasted for three days. On September 10, 1939, the bunker commanded by Raginis was the last remaining pocket of resistance. Although heavily wounded, Raginis was still commanding his troops. At noon on the third day, the German commander, Heinz Guderian, threatened that all Polish POWs would be shot if the defense of the bunker did not cease. Turning to his men in the shelter, Raginis thanked them for their bravery, and for doing their duty. He then ordered them to surrender and leave the shelter - he would keep his word and not surrender. Seweryn Biegański, who was the last to leave the shelter, describes the moment; "The captain looked at me warmly and softly urged me to leave. When I was at the exit, I was hit on my back with strong gust and I heard an explosion." Raginis decided to end the resistance and committed suicide by throwing himself on a grenade. In his diaries, Guderian noted that 900 German soldiers were killed in action, although that number is probably a low estimate. It is certain, however, that the Wehrmacht lost at least 10 tanks and several other AFVs in the struggle. The defense of Wizna, despite the clear imbalance of forces, of which the defenders were aware, was significant. It had pinned down the German forces for two days, allowing the remnants of Polish troops in western Poland to defend the capital, Warsaw. It helped gain time for many Polish units and the government leadership to conduct an orderly withdrawal to the Romanian bridgehead (). The Germans agreed to allow burial of the corpses of Raginis and Lieutenant Stanisław Brykalski by Kazimierz Puchowicz, a friend of Raginis, next to the bunker where a tree was planted as an impromptu memorial. When the Red Army entered Wizna, the Soviet authorities ordered the bodies to be dug up and moved next to the Łomża - Białystok road, where an obelisk stands today. His symbolic grave is located next to the ruins of the bunker in which