- Prusy Army
The Prusy Army ( _pl. Armia Prusy) was one of the Polish armies to fight during the Invasion of Poland in
1939 . Created in the summer of 1939 as the main reserve of the Commander in Chief, it was commanded by Gen.Stefan Dąb-Biernacki .Tasks
According to the "Plan West" ("
Plan Zachód ", code name for the Polish mobilization plan) it was to be composed of units mobilized as the second and third waves and its main purpose was to cooperate with the nearby armies "Łódź" and "Kraków". It was being mobilized in two groups after the outbreak of hostilities. It consisted of 6 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry brigade and a battalion of tanks. Once ready, it was supposed to stop the main German thrust.Operational history
The northern group was to back up the Łódź Army near
Łódź andSieradz , while the southern group was to support Kraków Army by preparing the defence of centralVistula river area. Because of fast German advance both groups entered combat separately and most units did not reach full mobilization. Due to the deteriorating situation in thebattle of the border , it was decided to push partially mobilized units of Prusy Army to the front as soon as possible.The northern group, seriously damaged in the battles of Piotrków and Tomaszów Mazowiecki (
September 5 -September 6 ) was forced to cross the Vistula. The southern group, much less organized and poorly commanded, fought in thebattle of Iłża , after which it was cut off from Vistula, encircled nearRadom and destroyed (September 8-9). Units of the Army which retained cohesion or broke through the German lines later fought in the defense of Warsaw or joined the other Armies in the northern-central Poland.Organization
The army was commanded by Gen.
Stefan Dąb-Biernacki ; his chief of staff wasTomasz Obertyński . Biernacki was in direct command of the Northern Group; Southern Group was commanded by Gen.Stanisław Skwarczyński .ee also
References
*pl icon [http://portalwiedzy.onet.pl/53777,,,,armie_i_samodzielne_grupy_operacyjne_wojska_polskiego_1939,haslo.html Armie i samodzielne grupy operacyjne Wojska Polskiego 1939]
WIEM Encyklopedia Further reading
*Jan Wróblewski. "Armia Prusy", Warszawa 1986.
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