- 27th Infantry Division (Poland)
27 Infantry Division (Polish: "27 Dywizja Piechoty"), was a unit of the
Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on October 18, 1920, as a result of reorganization of the Army, from units of the 2nd I.D., 3rd I.D., and 13th I.D. Its headquarters were located inKowel , with units stationed in otherVolhynia n towns, such asLutsk ,Sarny andWlodzimierz Wolynski . Division's first commandant was General Gustaw Kuchinka.Participation in Polish September Campaign
The Division, under General
Juliusz Drapella , was mobilized between 14 and 16 August 1939. In the following days it was transported by rail to the area ofBydgoszcz andInowrocław , and finally, by August 27, it was placed southwest ofStarogard Gdański , as part of thePomorze Army .On September 1, 1939 (see:
Polish September Campaign ) the Division was ordered to march towardsToruń . Next day it engaged in heavy fights with the advancingWehrmacht . On the third day of the war it was cut off from the Pomorze Army, after bloody fights aroundTerespol Pomorski andŚwiecie . The Germans managed to destroy the bulk of the unit, in a battle waged in forests aroundWierzchucin . Remaining parts of the Division managed to reach Bydgoszcz and later Toruń. There, it was moved to the rear to reorganize and recuperate.On September 6, the Division, renamed into Operational Group of General Drapella, and strengthened by reserve units such as 208 Infantry Regiment from Inowrocław and National Defence Battalion
Starogard , was ordered to defend Toruń from west. On next day, it began retreat towardsWarsaw , covering main forces of the Pomorze Army. On the following days, it helped Polish units fighting in theBattle of the Bzura , engaging the Wehrmacht aroundSolec Kujawski (September 7-8),Włocławek andBrześć Kujawski (September 9-12). Then, withdrawing towards southeast, it attacked a German outpost nearPłock , but without success.On September 16, the Group was ordered to march towards
Gąbin , but attacked by theLuftwaffe and German ground forces, it was destroyed. Separate groups of soldiers managed to break to the besiegedfortress of Modlin , some others got to Warsaw.Recreation in 1944
In early 1944, the Division was recreated as
Polish 27th Home Army Infantry Division and it was the biggest partisan unit in Central Europe with 7300 soldiers.ee also
*
Polish army order of battle in 1939
*Polish contribution to World War II
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