- 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, 11cavalry brigade s, two motorized brigades, 3 mountain brigades and a number of smaller units. Most Polish forces were grouped into 6 armies and a number ofcorps -sized "Operational Group s". Later in the course of the war other operational units were created.Armies
Karpaty Army
Created on
July 11 ,1939 under Major GeneralKazimierz Fabrycy . "Armia Karpaty" was created afterGermany annexedCzechoslovakia and created a puppet state ofSlovakia . 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 andNowy Sącz , as well asBorder Defence Corps units fromVolhynia ,
* 3rd Mountain Brigade ("3 Brygada Górska"), made of National Defence units fromKrosno ,Sanok ,Przemyśl andRzeszów
*Carpathian Half-Brigade of National Defence ("Karpacka Półbrygada ON")
* 2nd Regiment of theBorder Defence Corps , made of regiments of the Border Defence Corps from the area of Wilno,
* 1st Motorized Artillery Regiment
* 9th Heavy Artillery RegimentAttached to the "Armia Karpaty" was the Kaw Group which consisted of:
*
Warsaw Mechanized Brigade
* 46th Light Artillery
* 47th Light ArtilleryAdditionally, 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 ofBorder Defence Corps units fromPolesie Voivodeship andVolhynian Voivodeship .Kraków Army
Created on
March 23 ,1939 as the mainpivot 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 onSeptember 10 ,1939 from various units inWarsaw andModlin 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") fromWilno ,
*Polish 35th Infantry Division ("35 Dywizja Piechoty" - reserve), formed onSeptember 7 ,1939 , out of units of theBorder Defence Corps from northern parts of theWilno Voivodeship ,
*Polish 41st Infantry Division ("41 Dywizja Piechoty" - reserve), formed in September 1939, out of units of theBorder 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 ofBorder Defence Corps units from the areas ofGrodno andWilno ,
*Podlaska Cavalry Brigade ("Podlaska Brygada Kawalerii") fromBiałystok ,
*Suwalska Cavalry Brigade ("Suwalska Brygada Kawalerii") fromSuwałki andGrodno .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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