Tasks
To defend the Polish capital Warsaw in the face of breakthrough by the German forces.
The Warsaw Army (Polish : Armia Warszawa) was one of the Polish armies to take part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. Created on 8 September, eight days after the invasion begun, it was an improvised formation charged with the defence of the Polish capital of Warsaw (Warszawa).
To defend the Polish capital Warsaw in the face of breakthrough by the German forces.
On 3 September 1939 the Minister of the Army (Min. Spraw Wojskowych), general Tadeusz Kasprzycki, ordered general Walerian Czuma (the Commander of the Border Guards - Straż Graniczna) to organize a force to defend the city of Warsaw against a German attack. The city had been under constant attack by the Luftwaffe since the early morning of 1 September. Initially the only organized units available to him were four infantry battalions, anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns detachments under colonel Kazimierz Baran, composed mostly of fire-fighter brigades and volunteers supervised by colonel Tadeusz Bogdanowicz and Julian Kulski, the deputy president of Warsaw. The AA artillery had 86 pieces of anti-aircraft artillery, as well as an unknown number of anti-aircraft machine guns. In addition there was an air force Pursuit Brigade which was equipped with 54 fighter aircraft. [1] On the 5 and 6 September the air force and 11 batteries of anti-aircraft artillery were withdrawn to Lublin. Initially however parts of various army units, primarily of Łódź Army, retreating before the onslaught of German armor units, were added to his force.
On 8 September General Juliusz Rómmel, the commander of the Łódź Army who had become separated from his operational units, arrived in Warsaw with his staff. The chief of staff of the Polish Armed Forces, general Wacław Stachiewicz (then in Brześć), appointed him the overall commander of all forces defending Warsaw, including the Warsaw Defense Force, the Modlin Fortress and the army units immediately south and north-east of Warsaw [2]
During the next days, army units retreating in face of the onslaughts of the German armor and under continuous air attacks, fought their way through the German lines to the besieged capital, in particular from the Battle of Bzura. After 13 September Warsaw and Modlin were effectively surrounded. The only way the Polish units were able to reach the besieged area was through the Kampinos Forest between Warsaw and the Vistula river. On 22 September German forces cut through the remaining lines of communication between Warsaw and Modlin.
On 26 September, after heavy bombardment had cut off water and the civilian population was starving, the city was forced to surrender. On 28 September the Polish forces in Warsaw capitulated; fort Modlin capitulated the following day.
Commander: General Juliusz Rómmel
Chief of staff: col Aleksander Pragłowski
Deputy Commander: General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, was commander of Army Poznan - reached Warsaw 16 September.
Commander of Warsaw Garrison: Walerian Czuma
Commander: General Walerian Czuma,
Elements of Army Poznań
Elements of Army Pomorze
Commander: 5 September Lt.Col. Julian Janowski; from 15 September Gen. Juliusz Zulauf (originally Commander of 5th Infantry Division)
Elements of Army Modlin
Commander: Gen.Wiktor Thommée - after 12 September.
Elements of Modlin Army
Elements of Poznań Army and Pomorze Army remains arrived from the Battle of Bzura after 18 September.
Elements of Łódź Army arrived on 13 September.
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 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 the Bzura was both the largest battle and Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September. The battle took place west of Warsaw, near the Bzura River. It began as a Polish counter-offensive, which gained initial success, but the Germans outflanked the Polish forces with a concentrated counter-attack. That weakened Polish forces and the Poznań and Pomorze Armies were destroyed. Western Poland was now under German occupation. The battle has been described as "the bloodiest and most bitter battle of the entire Polish campaign". Winston Churchill called the battle an "ever-glorious struggle".
Polish 5th Siberian Rifle Division was a Polish military unit formed in 1919 in Russia during the aftermath of World War I. The division fought during the Polish-Soviet War, but as it was attached to the White Russian formations, it is considered to have fought more in the Russian Civil War. Its tradition was continued in the Polish Army as the 30th Infantry Division.
The Battle of Wołodarka was a clash between the Polish Army and Siemion Budionnyi's First Cavalry Army. It took place between 29 and 31 May 1920, near the Ukrainian village of Volodarka, in the course of the Polish Offensive on Kiev during the Polish-Soviet War.
The Battle of Mława, otherwise known as the Defence of the Mława position, took place to the north of the town of Mława in northern Poland between 1 and 3 September 1939. It was one of the opening battles of the Invasion of Poland and World War II in general. It was fought between the forces of the Polish Modlin Army under General Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski and the German 3rd Army under General Georg von Küchler.
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.
The Volhynian Cavalry Brigade was a Polish cavalry brigade, which saw action against the invading Germans during the Invasion of Poland, a part of World War II. Raised from recruits in the area of Wołyń, the division was posted to the Łódź Army. During several desperate counter-attacks, the brigade suffered heavy casualties near Łódź. It was commanded by Colonel Julian Filipowicz. Most notably, the unit took part in one of the first battles of the German invasion of Poland, the battle of Mokra.
Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel was a Polish military commander, a general of the Polish Armed Forces.
The Battle of Wola Cyrusowa took place on 8 September 1939 near the village of Wola Cyrusowa near Stryków in Poland, during the September Campaign. It was fought between the forces of the Polish Piotrków Operational Group under Gen. Wiktor Thommée and the German 10th Infantry Division. In the effect of a successive delaying action, the Polish forces managed to regroup and withdraw eastwards while at the same time inflicting heavy losses on the opposing unit. However, their victory was only a temporary setback for the Nazi invasion of Poland.
The 8th Infantry Division was a tactical unit of the Polish Army. It was active in the Polish-Bolshevik War, as well as during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. During World War II, the division was reformed twice as part of two distinct armed forces: once as part of the Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising and again as part of the Polish Army in the East.
The 16th Pomeranian Infantry Division is a military unit of the Polish Army. It was first raised on 16 August 1919 during the Polish uprising, before going on to serve during the subsequent war with the Bolsheviks. At the start of World War II the division fought briefly against the advancing German Army before being destroyed on 19 September 1939 after being surrounded in the Kampinos Forest. The division was raised once more in 1945 following the Soviet takeover of Poland; however, it did not see further action during the war. Afterwards it continued to serve, undergoing a number of changes in name and role. Today, it exists as the 16th Mechanised Division.
Łódź Army was one of the Polish armies of the Polish Armed Forces of the Second Polish Republic that took part in the Invasion of Poland of 1939. It was officially created on 23 March 1939 with the task of filling the gap between Poznań Army in the north and Kraków Army in the south. Commanded by Juliusz Rómmel, it consisted of five infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades with support from the air force.
Army Poznań, led by Major General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, was one of the Polish Armies during the Invasion of Poland in 1939.
Lublin Army was an improvised Polish Army created on September 4, 1939 from the Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade and various smaller units concentrated around the cities of Lublin, Sandomierz and upper Vistula river. It was commanded by Maj. Gen. Tadeusz Piskor. Lublin Army was not part of prewar Polish operational plans. It was improvised when it became obvious that quickly advancing Wehrmacht armored and motorized units would reach the Vistula river line.
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 Masovian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which took part in the Polish September Campaign. It was created on April 1, 1937, out of former 1st Cavalry Brigade. Its headquarters were in Warsaw, with other units stationed in towns around the capital:
5th Lwów Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, with headquarters stationed in Lwów. It was created on May 20, 1919, during the Polish–Ukrainian War in Eastern Galicia. Originally, it consisted of three infantry regiments, but later it was strengthened with additional two. During Polish September Campaign it was commanded by General Juliusz Zulauf. The Division consisted in September 1939 of these regiments:
The Intervention Corps was a tactical unit of the Polish Armed Forces of the Second Polish Republic. It did not exist in the peacetime organization of the Polish Army, and was created for specific purposes only. Its task was to intervene in special circumstances, both inside Poland and outside of the country.
Polish Armies and notable Operational Groups (GOs) in 1939 | ||
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