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47-800: According to the Mobilization Plan W , prepared for the war with the Soviet Union (see Plan East ), the following units were designed to form the Intervention Corps: Furthermore, some artillery, armored and motorized regiments were to be added to the Corps, as well as three armored trains , engineer platoons and military police regiments. The Mobilization Plan W was completed on May 1, 1938, but its details have not been preserved. On March 22, 1939, Marshall Edward Śmigły-Rydz signed Plan West for defense against

94-658: A free hand because of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , the Soviets broke their non-aggression pact by invading Poland . The Red Army met little resistance, as the Polish Army was concentrated in the west in fighting the Germans. Thus, the Soviets quickly managed to occupy Polish Kresy . 9th Infantry Division (Poland) May Coup World War II The 9th Infantry Division ( Polish : 9 Dywizja Piechoty )

141-697: A future invasion by Nazi Germany . All units marked with black in mobilization plan were designed to create the Main Reserve of the Commander in Chief ( Odwod Glowny Naczelnego Wodza ). On March 22, 1939, General Wacław Stachiewicz , who at that time was the Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army (see Polish General Staff ) ordered mobilization of all units marked with red and yellow, plus some of these marked with green and black. The mobilization began at 4 p.m., on March 23. In early July 1939, regiments of

188-479: A parade, the division was ordered to capture Hrubieszów . The assault began on September 5, and on the next day, the town was seized. The division remained in the south until September 19, capturing Lutsk and Dubno . In late September 1920, the division was transported northwards to guard the Polish–Lithuanian demarcation line. It was stationed near Wolkowysk , and two of its regiments were incorporated into

235-458: A quick assault from the area of Skarszewy – Starogard Gdański. On August 30, 1939, due to changes in the political situation, the Corps was disbanded, as Polish intervention in Danzig was cancelled. On August 31, 1939, at 8:50 a.m., Colonel Ignacy Izdebski of Toruń Army Inspectorate , who was chief of staff of Pomorze Army, received a message from Polish General Staff. General Skwarczynski

282-651: The Free City of Danzig . Furthermore, in spring 1939 at the Bydgoszcz -Biedaszkowo Airport, a special Polish Air Force squadron was created. According to Polish historian Jerzy Pawlak, the Biedaszkowo Squadron was to join the Intervention Corps . On May 15, 1939, the squadron was transferred from Bydgoszcz to Toruń , and on August 24, it was subjected to air command of Armia Pomorze. In

329-546: The General Inspector of the Armed Forces until the beginning of the war, when control of the Corps was to be passed to General Bortnowski. All activities of the Corps were to be protected by 9th Infantry Division from Siedlce , and Tuchola Detachment (see Czersk Operational Group ), both of which were stationed to the southwest. According to Polish planners, the Corps was tasked with capturing Danzig after

376-886: The Intervention Corps , whose task was to protect Polish interests in the Free City of Danzig, including any attempts of seizing the city by the Third Reich . In case of a military conflict, Polish military authorities planned to enter the territory of the Free City. Since 26th and 28th Divisions, together with 10th Motorized Brigade, had been moved to other areas, two divisions from Second Military District were mobilized on August 14–16. These were: 13th Infantry Division from Rowne in Volhynia , and 27th Infantry Division , from Kowel , also in Volhynia. Both were on August 17 and 18 transported by rail to Pomerelia , and positioned in

423-504: The Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza ( Border Protection Corps ). Such attacks continued throughout the 1920s but reduced in scale during the 1930s, particularly after the signing of the 1932 Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact . No complete copy of the plan has been preserved. All that is known are the basic precepts, and restoring the whole plan is impossible. Work on the document was completed on February 4, 1939. The plan

470-544: The Second Polish Republic had been involved in wars and conflicts with almost all of its neighbours (see Polish-Soviet War , Polish-Ukrainian War , Polish-Lithuanian War , Greater Poland Uprising , Silesian Uprisings and Border conflicts between Poland and Czechoslovakia ). However, only two of the countries were considered to be major threats: Germany and the Soviet Union . In the 1920s and

517-603: The Ukrainian Insurgent Army in its guerilla skirmishes against the Soviet Red Army . Polish planners were well aware that the Red Army was, in many ways, superior to their own. Therefore, the main idea was to organize a so-called "resistance in motion" and to try to split Soviet forces south and north of the vast Polesie swamps. Frontline armies, in the vicinity of the border, were to try to delay

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564-649: The armed forces of the Republic of Central Lithuania . In 1921, the headquarters and the 22nd Infantry Regiment were moved to the permanent location in the garrison of Siedlce . The 34th Infantry Regiment was stationed in Biała Podlaska , and the 35th Infantry Regiment in Brzesc nad Bugiem . On November 3, 1922, during a ceremony in Siedlce, the division's flag was handed to its soldiers by Józef Piłsudski . The flag

611-767: The 1930s, Polish leaders focused their efforts on countering the potential threat from the east. Fresh were memories of the Polish-Soviet War and the Battle of Warsaw , which saved Poland and the rest of Europe from the spread of the Bolshevik Revolution by force. Since both the Polish Army and the government in Warsaw were certain that war against the Soviets was inevitable, preparations for it were far more advanced than those against Germany. It

658-459: The 26th Division were transported from Kutno to Wągrowiec and Żnin , with the headquarters established at the elementary school in Wapno near Kcynia . At the same time, the 9th Division was transported to the area of Koronowo , and placed under authority of General Władysław Bortnowski , commander of Pomorze Army . Both divisions were planned to take part in the possible Polish intervention in

705-482: The Brda, concentrating near Bysławek . The 22nd Regiment was transferred to the 15th Infantry Division and sent to Bydgoszcz , while remaining subunits of the 9th Division were ordered to join forces with the 27th Infantry Division , and to attack German panzer columns, heading towards the Brda. Since the 27th Division did not arrive on time, General Władysław Bortnowski ordered both units to attack simultaneously, with

752-685: The Dnieper. In early June 1920, the Soviet 12th Army crossed the Dnieper, threatening Polish forces in Kyiv with encirclement. On June 17, the Polish front was broken, and a general retreat was ordered. On July 4, the armies of Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Semyon Budyonny initiated a general offensive. The 9th Division withdrew to the Styr line, but the Soviets crossed it on July 21. In late July, two regiments of

799-745: The Fifth Army, it was tasked with protecting the left wing of the Polish Northern Front until the planned Wieprz river offensive. On August 14, the division began offensive from its positions along the Wkra river. By August 16, it captured Nasielsk and advanced towards Ciechanów . On August 30, the division was transported by rail from Ciechanów to Chełm , where it joined the Third Army. On September 3, Marshal Józef Piłsudski decorated many of its soldiers with medals and awards. After

846-471: The Germans broke it, and the 9th I.D. retreated over the Brda and to the suburbs of Bydgoszcz . The 2nd Motorized Infantry Division advanced in the north, facing Polish 35th Infantry Regiment. The 3rd Panzer Division in the middle, and the 32nd Infantry Division in the south, along the Brda river , where it faced Polish 22nd Infantry Regiment. On the night of September 1/2, Polish units retreated behind

893-635: The Poles seized Pinsk and then headed towards Luniniec , but failed to capture this important rail junction. On July 1, 1919, divisions of the Polish Lithuanian-Belarusian Front began an offensive to capture Minsk and to reach the line of the Berezina river. The 9th Division protected the right flank of the Polish front, seizing the important rail junction of Luniniec on July 10. The Soviets several times tried to recapture

940-405: The Polish historian Rajmund Szubański, in case of war in the east, the bulk of the Polish Army would be concentrated in the north and the south, with the central section of the border left mostly unguarded. Some military historians claim that Polish planners placed too many units close to the border, which would have resulted in their total destruction in the opening days of the conflict. In contrast,

987-521: The Soviets enjoyed superiority in all ways. Polish planners anticipated that the Soviets had three times as many soldiers as their Polish Army . The Soviets' superiority in tanks and airplanes was not estimated, but the disproportion was immense. In August 1939, along the Polish border were likely as many as 173 Red Army infantry divisions (see Soviet order of battle for invasion of Poland in 1939 ). On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland . Consequently, Plan East became void. On September 17, with

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1034-560: The advance of the aggressors and to bleed them, and reserves, mostly in the areas of Brześć nad Bugiem and Lublin , were intended to enter the conflict in its later stages. The Poles were expecting the Red Army to advance in three directions: along the Minsk – Baranowicze – Białystok –Warsaw rail line, along the Sarny– Kowel – Lublin line and along the Tarnopol –Lwów line. According to

1081-406: The area of Bydgoszcz – Solec Kujawski – Inowrocław . They remained in combat readiness, with heavy equipment left on trains, ready to be transported northwards at any time. On August 24–27, the 27th I.D. was moved further northwards, to the area southwest of Starogard Gdański . On August 28, headquarters of the Corps was established at Inowrocław. Its commandant remained under direct authority of

1128-680: The country was primarily a huge sparsely-populated swamp, known as Polesie . Although it had no roads and few rail lines, it had a supreme strategic importance, as its landscape allowed a prolonged, organized defense. Neither Polesie nor the adjacent Volhynia contained any major urban areas. The south, formerly a portion of the Galicia province of Austria-Hungary , was the most highly-developed area, with ita high density of rail lines, growing amount of industry (such as oil fields in Boryslaw ) and well-developed agriculture of Podolia . Lwów , one of

1175-484: The division were transported to the area of Grodno , fighting the Cavalry Army of Hayk Bzhishkyan . There, the Polish retreat continued. Near Jablonka, the 34th Infantry Regiment was almost destroyed by the enemy, with losses reaching up to 75%. In early August, the division regrouped in the area of Modlin , with the 41st Infantry Regiment attached to it, to replace the destroyed 34th Infantry Regiment. As part of

1222-644: The forests north of Bydgoszcz. Soon afterwards, it was attacked by the Luftwaffe . Unable to defend itself and without air support, the division scattered and ceased to exist. Only the 35th Infantry Regiment remained as a unit and managed to break out of the German encirclement on September 5. The 9th Infantry Division was reformed as part of the Anders Army briefly in January 1942 in the town of Margilon . It

1269-408: The infantry from Siedlce, and the whole group reached Rembertów in the early afternoon. In the evening, soldiers of the 9th Division fought on the streets of Warsaw, and after the coup, officers of the unit were decorated by Piłsudski for their loyalty. In 1933, the 9th Light Artillery Regiment was garrisoned in Siedlce. As part of Pomorze Army the 9th I.D. defended the 70-kilometer line between

1316-570: The line of the Mukhavets . On February 17, the Red Army clashed with Poles near Antopal , which was the first battle of the Polish–Soviet War . On February 28, the infantry units of General Listowski advanced east towards Pinsk . Divided into three groups, the Poles captured Drahichyn and Janów Poleski , and then advanced along the rail line from Brześć to Pinsk. Finally, on March 5,

1363-618: The major cities of interbellum Poland, was located in the area. In addition, the Soviet border was marked by a natural obstacle, the Zbruch River. Virtually all Polish industrial and urban centres were in the west and so a long-lasting defence was possible, as a Soviet force would have taken up to several weeks to reach Upper Silesia , Warsaw , Kraków or Poznań . When they developed the plan, Polish planners assumed that co-operation and support would be forthcoming from Romania , which

1410-423: The rear positions were inadequately protected. Seidner outlines the deployment: Apart from those units were all of the armies' Border Area Defence Corps units and garrisons of the main cities. In the mid-1930s, the Soviet government started an immense armament program, which resulted in a rapid increase in the number of units. The number of tanks and airplanes along the Polish border grew significantly, and

1457-427: The summer of 1939, some changes were made. The 26th Infantry Division was transferred to Poznań Army , and placed under authority of General Tadeusz Kutrzeba . The 28th Infantry Division was transferred to Łódź Army , commanded by General Juliusz Rómmel , while the 10th Motorized Brigade was moved southwards, to General Antoni Szylling of Kraków Army . On August 13, 1939, Polish Army Headquarters officially formed

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1504-404: The support of Czersk Operational Group . Thus, the Polish attack was set to begin on the morning of September 3, and the objective was to push the Germans back behind the Brda. However, since both Polish divisions failed to cooperate as their communication failed, the assault turned into a failure, with the German 3rd Armored Division managing to halt it. After the defeat, the 9th I.D. gathered in

1551-486: The town of Pruszcz and the village of Gostycyn in Polish Pomerania. The division fought in the 1939 Defensive War under Colonel Józef Werobej . In the morning of September 1, 1939, it was attacked by three Wehrmacht divisions – 2nd Armored-Motorized , 3rd Armored and 32nd I.D. After heavy fighting, the Poles withdrew in the evening to the area of Cekcyn . Another defence line was established there, but

1598-585: The town, but their attacks failed. Finally, in August 1919, the division captured Sluck , reaching the line of the Sluch river. It spent the winter of 1919/1920 keeping the positions along the Sluch. In March 1920, the 9th Division was ordered to attack and capture another important rail junction at Mazyr . The offensive began on the night of March 4, and by the afternoon of March 5, after crossing 70 kilometres, Mozyr

1645-524: The very beginning. Commandant of the Siedlce garrison, Colonel Franciszek Sikorski , sent on May 12, 1926, his soldiers to guard strategic locations in the town, including its important rail junction. Two battalions of soldiers, on the way from Siedlce to Warsaw, were halted at the station in Mińsk Mazowiecki , by the uhlans of the 7th Regiment of Lublin Uhlans . After brief negotiations, the uhlans joined

1692-470: Was Poland's main eastern ally . The Soviet government undermined the validity of the Riga Peace Treaty , which it had signed in 1921, from the outset. In the early 1920s, the Soviets repeatedly organized guerrilla attacks on Polish settlements close to the border. The most famous one was the attack on Stolpce , which took place on the night of August 3–4, 1924, which prompted the creation of

1739-626: 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 . The division was originally formed in 1919. Stationed in Siedlce . The 9th Division's history begins in the early summer of 1919. It was formed on June 12 of that year, in Polesia , out of units of Operational Group Polesie, commanded by General Antoni Listowski . At that time, it

1786-430: Was based on the notions of Józef Piłsudski , who until his death in 1935 was sure that war would come from the east. Thus, most army maneuvers and field fortifications were held in the east, and Poland's western border was largely neglected. Some of the fortifications can still be seen in the area around Sarny (see Sarny Fortified Area ). Bunkers built by Polish Corps of Engineers in the 1930s were used in late 1940s by

1833-544: Was commanded by Colonel Marian Bolesławicz until it was disbanded on 4 April 1942. The Polish Home Army formed the 9th Home Army Infantry Division and was active in 1944. Additionally, the Polish People's Army reformed the 9th Infantry Division in 1944 in the city of Białystok . It participated in the Prague offensive . On 7 March 1962, the division was disbanded and its remaining elements were reorganized into

1880-470: Was created in the 1920s and the 1930s in case of war against the Soviet Union . Unlike Plan West ( Plan Zachód ), it was being prepared during the whole interwar period , as the government of the Second Polish Republic treated the Soviet Union as the greatest potential military threat that was capable of initiating a full-scale war. However, only a few loose historical documents remain of the original plan today. Since its establishment after World War I ,

1927-574: Was divided into two Infantry Brigades and one Artillery Brigade: On February 5, 1919, the division attacked the German-occupied Brest Fortress . After four days, the Germans decided to negotiate, and hand over the fortress, together with Terespol , to General Listowski. A commemorative parade took place in Brześć Litewski on February 13, and soon afterwards, the 34th Regiment was transported by rail to Kobryn to defend

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1974-465: Was funded by the residents of the counties of Siedlce , Łuków and Janów Lubelski . In December 1922, after the election in which Gabriel Narutowicz became the President of Poland, the division sent two battalions to Warsaw to prevent street fighting. During May Coup of 1926, the 9th Division supported the rebellion and its leader, Józef Piłsudski. Its 22nd Regiment was involved in the coup from

2021-743: Was in Polish hands. The division then took defensive positions, repelling several Soviet raids. On April 25, 1920, the Kiev offensive began. During the fighting in the Kyiv area, the Polesie Group of the Polish Army (General Władysław Sikorski ) was ordered to attack and reach the line of the Dnieper near its confluence with the Prypec . On April 26, the 9th Division seized Czernobyl , and on May 9, it captured Recyca . Six days later, Polish units reached

2068-510: Was more than 20% longer, at 1,912 km. Neither border contained any major geographical obstacles, which made their defence very difficult. In the north was flat land with huge forests such as Puszcza Nalibocka , the Wilderness of Naliboki. In addition, a major railway connecting Moscow to Western Europe extended across the northern Poland. The area's major conurbation was Wilno , in the northeast of interbellum Poland. The centre of

2115-473: Was not fully completed until the night of September 5/6. Meanwhile, 27th I.D. was ordered to abandon its positions south of Danzig, and walk across the Tuchola Forest to the area of Toruń . The division began its march on the first day of the war, and this delay resulted in its eventual destruction. Plan East Plan East ( Polish : Plan Wschód ) was a Polish defensive military plan that

2162-465: Was only after 1935, when anti-Polish propaganda in Germany increased, that the German threat became visible enough for army planners to begin drawing up Plan West. Even in 1939, the number of completed fortifications in the east of Poland vastly outnumbered those in the west. Poland's border with the Soviet Union was 1,412 km long. By comparison, the border with Germany, including East Prussia ,

2209-434: Was ordered to come to Warsaw immediately, 13th I.D. was to be placed under authority of the Armed Forces headquarters, while 27th I.D. was transferred to Pomorze Army. Following this message, 13th I.D. was ordered to move from Bydgoszcz to the area of Koluszki , where Prusy Army was concentrated. The transfer began on September 1 at midday, and due to the activity of the Luftwaffe and widespread destruction of rail links, it

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