16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment of General Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer (Polish: 16 Pulk Ulanow Wielkopolskich im. gen. dyw. Gustawa Orlicz-Dreszera, 16 p.ul.) was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. In the interbellum period, it was garrisoned in the city of Bydgoszcz.
The traditions of the regiment date back to the Napoleonic Wars and the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1809, a cavalry unit was formed in Podolia, by Colonel Marcin Tarnowski. The unit was later named 16th Uhlan Regiment of the Duchy of Warsaw, and it was garrisoned in Lublin. Currently, traditions of the regiment are continued by the 7th Pomeranian Brigade of Coastal Defence (7. Pomorska Brygada Obrony Wybrzeza).
On December 29, 1918, in the town of Lwówek, Provinz Posen, a cavalry unit was formed by Sergeant Wojciech Swierczek. The unit consisted of ethnic Poles from Greater Poland, who had served in the Imperial German Army. On January 5, the unit, commanded by Swierczek, became part of the Greater Poland Army, fighting against Germany in the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19). In May 1919, the Second Regiment of Greater Poland Uhlans, based on the unit of Sergeant Swierczek, was formed in Biedrusko.
On November 18, 1919, in front of the town hall in Poznań, Colonel Paslawski of the regiment received a flag, handed to him by General Jozef Dowbor-Musnicki. The flag featured the Mother of God on one side, and a red cross with a white eagle in the middle on the other side. Buried during World War II, it is now kept at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw.
On January 24, 1920, the regiment entered Bydgoszcz, to stay there until 1939. It was garrisoned in the barracks located on Szubinska Street. In March 1920, after renaming into 16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment, the unit was transported east, to fight in the Polish-Soviet War. It distinguished itself in several battles and clashes.
Mobilized in late August 1939, the regiment, commanded by Colonel Julian Arnoldt-Russocki, was ordered to defend the positions in the Tuchola Forest, near Chojnice and Tuchola. After heavy fighting against panzer units of General Heinz Guderian and being bombed by the Luftwaffe, the regiment ceased to exist on September 7. By that time, it had lost 40% of its soldiers.
The regiment had its own zurawiejka: "Even though they are drinking straight from the barrel, they are not drunk, the uhlans from Bydgoszcz."
The 9th Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. For most of 1919, the 9th Division's regiments were dispersed across the regions of Podlachia, Polesie and Volhynia, with one battalion sent to Dąbrowa Basin.
Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937 out of the Cavalry Brigade "Bydgoszcz". Its headquarters were stationed in Bydgoszcz and the brigade consisted of these units:
15th Poznań Uhlan Regiment – unit of Polish cavalry, part of Greater Polands Army, Polish Army of Second Republic and Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II.
During the Polish–Soviet War fought from February 1919 to October 1920 between Soviet Russia and the Second Polish Republic – in the aftermath of World War I in Europe – the Polish order of battle included broad disposition of personnel, strength, organization, and command structure.
The 9th Lesser Poland Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Polish Army, formed on November 21, 1918. Its first commandant was Rittmeister (Rotmistrz) Józef Dunin-Borkowski. The regiment fought in the Polish–Ukrainian War, Polish–Soviet War and the Invasion of Poland. In the Second Polish Republic, it was garrisoned in the towns of Czortków and Trembowla, and in 1939, it was part of Podolska Cavalry Brigade. The 9th Regiment was named after historic Polish province of Lesser Poland.
The 2nd Grochów Uhlan Regiment of General Jozef Dwernicki was a cavalry regiment of Polish I Corps in Russia, Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic, and the Home Army during Operation Tempest (1944). The regiment was formed in November 1917 in Volhynia, and in 1921–1939, it was garrisoned in Suwałki, in the barracks of former Imperial Russian Army's 2nd Pskov Dragoons Regiment. In the 1939 Invasion of Poland it was part of Suwalska Cavalry Brigade.
The 3rd Silesian Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Polish Land Forces in the Second Polish Republic and later an armoured regiment of the Polish Armed Forces in the West. Its traditions dated back to the uhlans of the Duchy of Warsaw.
4th Niemen Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. It was garrisoned in the city of Vilnius, and it celebrated its day on 9 July, the anniversary of the 1920 Charge of Hrebionka.
6th Kaniow Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. It was garrisoned in the city of Stanisławów, and the regiment was named after the Battle of Kaniow.
7th Lublin Uhlan Regiment of General Kazimierz Sosnkowski was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic and in the Polish Armed Forces in the West. Until 1939, it was garrisoned in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The day of the regiment was on March 23, the anniversary of the decoration of its flag with the Virtuti Militari.
8th Uhlan Regiment of Prince Józef Poniatowski was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Until 1939, it was garrisoned in Kraków, and its traditions dated back to 1784, when a cavalry regiment of Prince Józef Poniatowski was formed in Lwow. The Prince Poniatowski Regiment was part of the Imperial Austrian Army, and in the early 20th century was called 1st Regiment of Austrian Uhlans. Nevertheless, it was made of ethnic Poles, with Polish officers and Polish traditions. In late 1918 it was renamed into 1st Land of Kraków Uhlan Regiment, and after a few years it was renamed again, into 8th Uhlan Regiment of Prince Jozef Poniatowski.
12th Podolian Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army. It was officially formed in 1919, and existed in various forms until 1947. The regiment fought in Polish-Soviet War and World War II. In the Second Polish Republic, it was garrisoned in the village of Bialokrynica near Krzemieniec, Volhynia. The regiment was part of Wolynska Cavalry Brigade.
14th Jazłowiec Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic, also a unit of Polish Armed Forces in the West and the Home Army. During the interbellum, the regiment garrisoned Lwów. It was named after the village of Yazlovets (Jazłowiec), where on July 11–13, 1919, one of the battles of the Polish–Ukrainian War took place.
17th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment of King Bolesław Chrobry was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Formed in late 1918, it was garrisoned in Leszno. The regiment, whose patron was King Bolesław Chrobry, fought in the Polish–Soviet War and the 1939 Invasion of Poland, as part of Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade.
18th Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Formed in April 1919 in Poznań, it fought in the Polish-Soviet War and the Invasion of Poland. In the interbellum period, the regiment was garrisoned in Grudziadz. Pomeranian uhlans became famous for the legendary Charge at Krojanty, after which the unit ceased to exist.
Edmund Wacław Heldut - Tarnasiewicz alias " Heldut ". He was the senior colonel and commander of the Polish Army cavalry, a senior military official of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, who received Poland's highest military award, the Virtuti Militari, one of the oldest military decorations in the world still in use. He was heavily involved in World War I, the Polish–Soviet War, and World War II. Heldut was promoted to General, but the promotion was never confirmed due to the outbreak of World War II. On October 6, 2021, President Andrzej Duda officially and posthumously confirmed Heldut to Brigadier General.
20th Uhlan Regiment of King Jan III Sobieski was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Formed in 1920, it was stationed in the garrison of Rzeszów. During the 1939 Invasion of Poland, it was part of Kresowa Cavalry Brigade. The unit continued the traditions of the 20th Uhlan Regiment of the Duchy of Warsaw, which fought in the 1812 French invasion of Russia.
26th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment of Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Formed in July 1920, it fought both in the Polish-Soviet War and the 1939 Invasion of Poland. The regiment, named after Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, was garrisoned in the town of Baranowicze, with its reserve squadron garrisoned in Łuków. In 1939, it belonged to Nowogrodzka Cavalry Brigade.
The 27th King Stefan Batory Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army during the Second Polish Republic. Formed in July 1920, it fought in the Polish-Soviet War and the 1939 Invasion of Poland. The regiment was garrisoned first in Wloclawek, to be moved in August 1921 to Nieswiez. In 1939, it was part of the Nowogrodzka Cavalry Brigade. It fought in several battles in September 1939, capitulating to the Red Army near Wladypol, on September 27, 1939.
Julian Edwin Arnoldt-Russocki was a Polish lieutenant colonel of the Polish Armed Forces who commanded the 16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment during the early battles of the Invasion of Poland and was the main commander at the Battle of Bukowiec before being captured two days later.
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