Polish army order of battle in 1939

Polish army order of battle in 1939

Polish OOB during the Invasion of Poland. In the late thirties Polish headquarters prepared "Plan Zachód" ("Plan "West"), 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 (see: Plan East).

Plan assumed creation of 30 infantry divisions, 9 reserve divisions, 11 cavalry brigades, two motorized brigades, 3 mountain brigades and a number of smaller units. Most Polish forces were grouped into 6 armies and a number of corps-sized "Operational Groups". Later in the course of the war other operational units were created.

Armies

Karpaty Army

Created on July 11, 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy. "Armia Karpaty" was created after Germany annexed Czechoslovakia and created a puppet state of Slovakia. The main aim of the army was to secure mountain passes in the Carpathians. Initially the army consisted of 2 improvised mountain brigades and a number of smaller units, but later in the course of war was joined by forces of the withdrawing "Armia Kraków".

* 2nd Mountain Brigade ("2 Brygada Górska"), made of National Defence units from Limanowa, Gorlice and Nowy Sącz, as well as Border Defence Corps units from Volhynia,
* 3rd Mountain Brigade ("3 Brygada Górska"), made of National Defence units from Krosno, Sanok, Przemyśl and Rzeszów
* Carpathian Half-Brigade of National Defence ("Karpacka Półbrygada ON")
* 2nd Regiment of the Border Defence Corps, made of regiments of the Border Defence Corps from the area of Wilno,
* 1st Motorized Artillery Regiment
* 9th Heavy Artillery Regiment

Attached to the "Armia Karpaty" was the Kaw Group which consisted of:

* Warsaw Mechanized Brigade
* 46th Light Artillery
* 47th Light Artillery

Additionally, mobilisation plans called for creation of the Tarnów Group consisting of:

* 22nd Mountain Infantry Division from Przemyśl,
* 38th Infantry Division (reserve), created in August 1939 out of Border Defence Corps units from Polesie Voivodeship and Volhynian Voivodeship.

Kraków Army

Created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. Its' main task was to delay advancing German troops and withdraw eastwards along the northern line of the Carpathians. It consisted of 5 infantry divisions, 1 mountain brigade, 1 motorized cavalry brigade, 1 mountain brigade and 1 cavalry brigade under gen. Antoni Szylling.

Warszawa Army

::"For a detailed description of the Warszawa Army operations see: Siege of Warsaw (1939)"Created on September 10, 1939 from various units in Warsaw and Modlin Fortress area. Initially it consisted of approximately 25 infantry battalions and 40 tanks. Later it was reinforced by forces of Łódź Army and elements of Modlin Army. It was commanded by col. Walerian Czuma, although the nominal commander was gen. Juliusz Rómmel.

Operational Groups

Wyszków Operational Group

Was one of the reserves of the northern front of Polish defences. It consisted of 3 infantry divisions:

* 1st Legions Infantry Division ("1 Dywizja Piechoty Legionów") from Wilno,
* Polish 35th Infantry Division ("35 Dywizja Piechoty" - reserve), formed on September 7, 1939, out of units of the Border Defence Corps from northern parts of the Wilno Voivodeship,
* Polish 41st Infantry Division ("41 Dywizja Piechoty" - reserve), formed in September 1939, out of units of the Border Defence Corps.

Narew Independent Operational Group

Consisted of 2 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry brigades:

* 18th Infantry Division ("18 Dywizja Piechoty") from Łomża,
* 33rd Infantry Division ("33 Dywizja Piechoty" - reserve), formed in late August 1939, out of Border Defence Corps units from the areas of Grodno and Wilno,
* Podlaska Cavalry Brigade ("Podlaska Brygada Kawalerii") from Białystok,
* Suwalska Cavalry Brigade ("Suwalska Brygada Kawalerii") from Suwałki and Grodno.

upporting forces

*Air support
*Lotnictwo Wojskowe (Polish Air Force)

*Naval and river support
*Polska Marynarka Wojenna (Polish Navy)

ee also

* Polish cavalry brigade order of battle
* Border Guard
* Fall Weiss
* History of Poland
* Invasion of Poland
* List of Polish armies in World War II
* Polish armaments 1939-1945
* Plan Wschod


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