The charge at Krojanty, battle of Krojanty, the riding of Krojanty or skirmish of Krojanty was a cavalry charge that occurred during the invasion of Poland in the Second World War. It took place on the evening of September 1, 1939, near the Pomeranian village of Krojanty. Polish soldiers advanced east along the former Prussian Eastern Railway to railroad crossroads 7 kilometres from the town of Chojnice (Konitz) where elements of the Polish cavalry charged and dispersed a German infantry battalion. Machine gun fire from German armoured cars that appeared from a nearby forest forced the Poles to retreat. However, the attack successfully delayed the German advance, allowing the Polish 1st Rifle battalion and Czersk Operational Group to withdraw safely.
The Invasion of Poland, known in Poland as the September Campaign or the 1939 Defensive War, and in Germany as the Poland Campaign (Polenfeldzug), was an invasion of Poland by Germany that marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September following the Molotov–Tōgō agreement that terminated the Soviet and Japanese Battles of Khalkhin Gol in the east on 16 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty.
The 7TP was a Polish light tank of the Second World War. It was developed from the British Vickers 6-ton. A standard tank of the Polish Army during the 1939 Invasion of Poland, its production did not exceed 150 vehicles. Its chassis was used as the base for the C7P artillery tractor.
The Polish II Corps, 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought with distinction in the Italian Campaign, in particular at the Battle of Monte Cassino. By the end of 1945, the corps had grown to well over 100,000 soldiers.
The Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun was an anti-tank gun designed by Swedish manufacturer Bofors in the early 1930s originally for Swedish use. It was exported to several countries during the 1930's of which several bought licences to produce it themselves. The gun was used in several conflicts but most of its fame comes from its use in the Spanish civil war and the Winter war where it was used very successfully against light tanks and armored cars among other targets. Beyond its use as an infantry gun it was also used as the main armament in several armored cars and tanks such as the Dutch M39 Pantserwagen and the Polish 7TP to name a few. As the armor of tanks was increased during world war II the gun very quickly became obsolete as an anti-tank gun but was still used effectively as an infantry support gun for the entirety of the war and way into the cold war. This was due to its high fire rate, great mobility and effective high explosive shells.
The Siege of Warsaw in 1939 was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army garrisoned and entrenched in Warsaw and the invading German Army.
The Battle of Westerplatte was one of the first battles in Germany's invasion of Poland, marking the start of World War II in Europe. Beginning on 1 September 1939, German army, naval and air forces and Danzig police assaulted Poland's Military Transit Depot on the Westerplatte peninsula in the harbor of the Free City of Danzig. The Poles held out for seven days and repelled 13 assaults that included dive-bomber attacks and naval shelling.
The Battle of Wizna was fought between September 7 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland and Germany during the initial stages of invasion of Poland. According to Polish historian Leszek Moczulski, between 350 and 720 Poles defended a fortified line for three days against more than 40,000 Germans. Although defeat was inevitable, the Polish defence stalled the attacking forces for three days and postponed the encirclement of Independent Operational Group Narew fighting nearby. Eventually the tanks broke through the Polish line and German engineers eliminated all the bunkers one by one. The last bunker surrendered around midday on September 10.
The battle of Wytyczno took place on October 1, 1939 near the village of Wytyczno near Włodawa in Poland. It was a struggle between the Polish forces of the Border Defence Corps of Gen. Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann and the Soviet Red Army during the invasion of Poland.
The Battle of Grodno took place between 21 September and 24 September 1939, during the Soviet invasion of Poland. It was fought between improvised Polish units under Gen. Wacław Przeździecki and Soviet Red Army troops of Komkor Ivan Boldin's Dzerzhinsky Cavalry Mechanized Group, at the time in a non-aggression agreement with Nazi Germany under the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact.
The Battle of Węgierska Górka was a two-day-long defence of a Polish fortified area in south of Silesia during the opening stages of the Invasion of Poland of 1939.
Wieruszów County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and only town is Wieruszów, which lies 106 kilometres (66 mi) south-west of the regional capital Łódź.
The 34th Tank Division was a formation of the Red Army and Soviet Ground Forces that was formed twice.
The 18th Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army during the interbellum period, which took part in the Polish September Campaign. Stationed in Łomża and commanded in 1939 by Colonel Stefan Kossecki, it was part of the Narew Independent Operational Group.
Sergeant Władysław Grydziuszko (1910–1946) was a soldier in the Polish Army during World War II. He was born on September 6, 1910 in the small rural village of Mikulicze, Poland. Prior to military service, Władysław worked as a master tailor until he was enlisted with the Polish Forces in 1939. On August 28, 1939 he was called from reserve and together with the Polish Police unit participated in the 1939 Invasion of Poland campaign. Grydziuszko was taken prisoner of war by the former Soviet Red Army and was held in the USSR. Following his ordeal on the basis of the Sikorski-Maisky agreement of July 30, 1941, Władysław Grydziuszko was released for the purpose of joining the Polish Armed Forces in USSR. From 1942 to 1944 Władysław received military training by the British Army in the Middle East. Then in 1944 to 1946 he embarked on the Italian campaign.
The Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade was a motorized unit of the Polish Army during the interbellum period. The brigade was one of two such units in Poland. Not fully formed by September 1, it was nonetheless partially combat ready and immediately rushed into battle during the Polish September Campaign. Following heavy losses during the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski, it was disbanded on September 20, 1939.
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 Sub-district VI of Praga - a territorial organisational unit of the District of Warsaw of Armia Krajowa. It covered the area of Praga of Warsaw, fought in conspiracy during the German occupation of Poland and openly during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
The Battle of Čajánek's barracks was a confrontation between the Czechoslovak and German armies, which took place on 14 March 1939 in the course of the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Together with a clash which allegedly took place at Moravská Třebová, this was the only known Czechoslovak active resistance to the German Army during the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939.
This article deals with the history and development of tanks of the Polish army from their first use after World War I, into the interwar period, during World War II, the Cold War and modern era.
