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The 7th Infantry Division (Polish : 7. Dywizja Piechoty, 7 DP) was the name of several units of the Polish Army.
The original division was formed on 14 May 1919 near Częstochowa. At that time it consisted of two infantry brigades (13th and 14th), and four infantry regiments (25th, 26th, 11th and 27th), as well as two artillery brigades (7th Light Artillery, 7th Heavy Artillery). The division took part in shielding of the Polish borders during the Polish–Ukrainian War of 1919. During the Polish–Soviet War it was commanded by Col. Szubert and reinforced to three brigades (13th Bde under Herman, 14th Bde under Pogórzelski and 7th Artillery Bde under Luberadzki). It took part in the Battle of the Niemen as part of the Polish 3rd Army. After the war the division was dispersed in several barracks in western Poland, among them in Częstochowa, Piotrków Trybunalski, Lubliniec and Łódź. In 1921, the structure of the division was changed: both infantry brigades were dissolved, and the 11th Infantry Regiment was transferred to the 23rd Infantry Division. In the Second Polish Republic, the division was commanded by the Fourth Military District from Łódź. The headquarters of the division were stationed in Częstochowa, and it consisted of the following units:
In mid-1939, following Plan West, the 7th Division, commanded by General Janusz Gąsiorowski, was attached to Kraków Army, which defended southwestern corner of Poland. The division, supported by Battalion Kłobuck of the National Defense, defended 40-kilometer long section of the Polish–German border, between the towns of Lubliniec and Krzepice, north of which units of Łódź Army were stationed. Due to quick advance of the panzer units of the Wehrmacht, in the night of 1/2 September 1939, the division retreated from its positions near Kłobuck and Truskolasy, and manned main defence line around Częstochowa. During the retreat, a squadron of divisional cavalry was destroyed by the enemy. After bloody fighting near Częstochowa, the division was forced to retreat further east: on 2 September, General Gasiorowski received the order of General Antoni Szylling, commandant of Kraków Army, to begin the retreat in the evening. After a night march, the 7th Division reached the area of Lelów, where on 3 September in the morning its 74th Regiment was attacked by the 2nd Light Division. Polish losses were very high, while the enemy lost almost 50 tanks and other vehicles.
In the afternoon of 3 September, the division tried to break out of the encirclement. The advance, supported by divisional artillery, was at first successful, but after some time, German machine gun fire together with tanks halted the Poles. In the evening decimated units of the 7th Division tried once again to break out. Elements of the 74th Regiment, together with cavalry and sappers, managed to reach Kielce on 5 September. Most of the division, however, suffered such heavy losses that it was unable to fight any longer. In the early afternoon of 4 September, the division surrendered to the Germans.
After the Sikorski–Mayski agreement of 1941, in February of the following year the 7th Division was recreated in the Soviet Union as part of the Anders Army/Polish Armed Forces in the East. Withdrawn to Persia, it was disbanded and its units were attached to the 6th Division.
During the Operation Tempest, the division was recreated by the Radom–Kielce inspectorate of Armia Krajowa. Composed of two regiments (27th and 74th), it took part in heavy fights against the Germans. After central Poland had been taken over by the Soviet Army, the majority of its soldiers returned to the underground, risking arrest by the omnipotent NKVD (see Cursed soldiers).
At the same time one of the units of the Polish People's Army formed under guidance of the Soviet Union received the same number (see pl:7 Łużycka Dywizja Piechoty). Formed north of Lublin, it was formed of three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment. Insufficiently equipped and trained, the unit was attached to the Second Army and dispatched to the front near Rothernburg, where it stormed the Lusatian Neisse river with heavy casualties. After several days of heavy fighting on a bridgehead to the west of the river, the division was levied and withdrawn to the rear.
After the war ended, the PPA 7th Infantry Division, under the control of the Second Army, was assigned to protect the Mużakowa – Kopaczów section of the western border. The divisional headquarters was stationed at Lubań, with regimental staff at Mirsk (33rd Infantry Regiment), Zgorzelec (35th Infantry Regiment), Bogatynia (37th Infantry Regiment), and Jędrzychowice (38th Artillery Regiment). Since 1947, the sub-units became a part of Operational Group Wisła.
Before being transferred from OW IV to OW V, in 1949 the division was stationed as follows:
In accordance with Ordinance No. 0026/Org. of the Minister of National Defence, on 4 September 1956, the 7 Łużycka Infantry Division was reorganized as the 2nd Warsaw Mechanized Division. The division headquarters was at Nysa.
This article discusses the Polish order of battle during the invasion of Poland. In the late 1930s Polish headquarters prepared "Plan Zachód", a plan of mobilization of Polish Army in case of war with Germany. Earlier, the Poles did not regard the Germans as their main threat, priority was given to threat from the Soviets.
The 28 Dywizja Piechoty was a Polish Army infantry division which saw action against the invading Germans during the Invasion of Poland of World War II. The division suffered heavy casualties in battles near Łódź and the remnants retreated to Warsaw, where they surrendered.
Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division is a tactical unit of the Polish Army. Formed on February 20, 1919, partially of veterans of the I Brigade of the Polish Legions, the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II. Regarded by the soldiers of the Wehrmacht as the Iron Division, it distinguished itself in the Invasion of Poland.
The 74 Upper Silesian Infantry Regiment was a Polish military unit. Created during the Greater Poland Uprising, it entered the Polish Army and fought in the Polish-Soviet War and Invasion of Poland. During Operation Tempest of 1944 it was re-created by the Home Army.
Kraków Army was one of the Polish armies which took part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by Gen. Antoni Szylling. Originally, Kraków Army was to be made of seven infantry divisions, two cavalry brigades and one mountain brigade. On September 1, 1939, General Szylling had the force which consisted of five infantry divisions, two cavalry brigades and one brigade of mountain infantry. Altogether, the army was made of 59 battalions, 29 squadrons, 352 cannons, 90 tanks, two armoured trains and 44 planes. These forces were not enough to halt German advance, especially in the area north of Częstochowa, where Kraków Army connected with Łódź Army. Main thrust of Wehrmacht panzer units was directed there, and this area was defended only by the Polish 7th I.D., which was destroyed in the early days of September 1939, opening the way towards central Poland.
Army Poznań, led by Major General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, was one of the Polish Armies during the Invasion of Poland in 1939.
The Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was an infantry division in the Polish armed forces formed in 1943 and named for the Polish and American revolutionary Tadeusz Kościuszko. Formed in the Soviet Union, it was the first division of the First Army, and of what later became the post-war Polish Armed Forces after Invasion of Poland in 1939 and defeating the Nazi Germany in 1945. It was considered part of Polish Armed Forces in the East.
Polish 6th Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which fought in the Polish–Ukrainian War, Polish–Soviet War and Polish September Campaign. It was formed on May 9, 1919, in the area around Kraków, its first commandant was Colonel Ignacy Pick. Between 1919 and 1920, the unit fought Ukrainian troops in eastern part of former Galicia. Then, it participated in the Polish–Soviet War, halting the advance of the Soviet 1st Cavalry Army led by General Semyon Budyonny. Several soldiers were after the conflict awarded with various orders, including the Virtuti Militari. In 1921, when hostilities ended, the division returned to its bases – headquarters and most regiments were stationed in Kraków, some other regiments were garrisoned in Tarnów and Wadowice.
The 23rd Upper Silesian Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interwar period (1921-1939). Created in 1921, its headquarters were stationed in Upper Silesian town of Tarnowskie Góry. Also, some other units were located in garrisons across the Polish part of Upper Silesia:
10th Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army during the interbellum period, which took part in the 1939 German Invasion of Poland. It was created in 1919 from the former Polish 4th Rifle Division. Stationed in Łódź and commanded in 1939 by General Franciszek Dindorf-Ankowicz, it was part of Łódź Army. Its task was to defend the fortified area along the upper Warta river, near the interwar border of Poland and Germany.
Polish 3rd Legions Infantry Division was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed in 1919, as a third unit composed significantly of veterans of the Polish Legions in World War I, it saw extensive action during the Polish-Bolshevik War and the Invasion of Poland. In the interbellum period, the headquarters of the division was stationed in Zamość, while its regiments were garrisoned in Chelm, Lublin, Zamosc and other locations.
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.
Modlin Army was one of the Polish armies that were part of the Polish defense against the German Invasion of Poland. After heavy casualties in the battle of Mława, the Army was forced to abandon its positions near Warsaw around September 10; eventually it took part in the battle of Tomaszów Mazowiecki and surrendered afterwards.
The 11th Carpathian Infantry Division, was a tactical unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which fought in the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Elements of the unit would go on to serve in the Polish Armed Forces in the East.
Polish 24th Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which took part in the Polish September Campaign. The Division was created in 1921, and its first commandants were: General Jan Hempel, General Wacław Scaevola-Wieczorkiewicz, Colonel Boleslaw Maria Krzyzanowski, and Colonel Boleslaw Schwarzenberg-Czerny. The 24th Division's headquarters were located in Jarosław, with some regiments stationed in nearby cities of Rzeszów and Przemyśl. It consisted of:
This article provides formation lists of the Polish People's Army order of battle at various points in history between 1943 and 1989.
The 41st (Reserve) Infantry Division was a tactical unit of the Polish Army during the early stages of World War II.
The 2nd Legions Home Army Infantry Division “Pogon” was a unit of the Polish Home Army (AK), created in 1944 in the Home Army District Radom - Kielce. Creation of the division was based on a September 1942 order of the AK headquarters, which stated that in the future Operation Tempest, the Home Army units were to be named after pre-September 1939 units of the Polish Army. Therefore, the Second Legions Home Army Infantry Division was based on and named after the 2nd Legions Infantry Division, which until the Invasion of Poland had its headquarters in Kielce.
The Battle of Częstochowa was one of the first battles of the Invasion of Poland during World War II. It took place on September 1–3, 1939.
