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Battles of Piotrków and Tomaszów
Part of invasion of Poland
Date4-7 September 1939
Location
Central Poland, between Piotrków Trybunalski and Tomaszów Mazowiecki
Result German strategic victory
Belligerents
 Germany  Poland
Commanders and leaders
Erich Hoepner, Rudolf Schmidt, Georg-Hans Reinhardt Stefan Dąb-Biernacki, Władysław Zubosz-Kaliński,
Units involved
XVI Panzer Corps: 1st and 4th Panzer Divisions, 14th and 31st Infantry Divisions Prusy Army: 13th, 19th and 29th Infantry Divisions, Wileńska Cavalry Brigade
Strength
between 616 and 650 tanks

Battles of Piotrków Trybunalski and Tomaszów Mazowiecki were two major engagements between the attacking Wehrmacht and the Polish Army during the Nazi invasion of Poland of 1939. In the effect of this series of engagements the Germans broke through Polish lines and opened their way towards Warsaw, the capital of Poland, arriving at the gates of the city on September 8th.

While the German units suffered heavy losses in the battles of Mokra and Borowa Góra, they broke through Polish lines and exploited a gap between the Łódź Army and Kraków Army.[1] While this was expected by the Polish headquarters already before the war, the forces of the Prusy Army intended to fill in the gap and attack the sides of the German panzer spearhead were far from battle-ready. The situation was made worse for the Poles by conflicting orders from the Polish Commander-in-Chief Edward Rydz-Śmigły and poor command of army's commanding officer, Gen. Stefan Dąb-Biernacki.[2]

Although the Polish units were prepared for a concentrated attack on German flank, poor command resulted in a series of chaotic defensive battles in which Polish units were defeated one by one, without any coordinated action, while some of the most important Polish units (such as the 1st Light Tank Battalion) did not take part in the battles at all.

The effect of the battles was almost complete destruction of the Northern Group of Prusy Army. This exposed the flanks of both Polish surrounding armies and opened a way towards Warsaw for the German tanks. All hope to stop the Germans closer to the borders of Poland was lost and all remaining Polish units had to be withdrawn towards Vistula. Because of that the battles

Opposing forces

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Polish Army

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The core of the Polish force consisted of most of "Prusy" Army's Northern Group.[2] The army, created as the main operational reserve of Polish commander in chief Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły was also the last to be mobilised in the summer of 1939. Intended as a reserve of Łódź Army and Kraków Army, the Prusy Army was to support its' neighbours and relieve them once the main German attacks are slowed down. However, the Battle of the Border did not gain the Poles enough time to fully mobilise the reserves.[3]

While most of Polish Army had been successfully mobilised prior to 1 September 1939, on that date many sub-units of Prusy Army were still being formed or transported. By 4 September 1939, when the German forces broke through the overstretched Polish defences, the Prusy army was far from battle-ready. It's Northern Group at that date consisted of 29th Infantry Division and Wileńska Cavalry Brigade, with 19th Infantry Division still being formed in the forests to the north-east of Piotrków Trybunalski while the 13th Infantry Division was still waiting for some of its' sub-units near the railway hub of Koluszki and did not become available until September 6th. The army was strengthened by a mobile reserve formed by the 1st Light Tank Battalion (armed with modern 7TP tanks) stationed between Opoczno and Końskie, and the 81st Motorised Sappers Battalion.

Apart from units of the Prusy Army, the Polish side also included a number of smaller units from Łódź Army. In the city of Piotrków Trybunalski itself the 146th Infantry Regiment was being mobilised for the 44th Reserve Infantry Division and was dispatched to the front as part of an improvised battle group under Col. Ludwik Czyżewski. In addition, elements of the Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade and the 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Legions Infantry Division also took part in the battle as part of Col. Czyżewski's group.

Wehrmacht

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The German force fighting in the battle consisted of the entire XVI Panzer Corps. The unit, part of German 10th Army, was the strongest Panzer corps in the Wehrmacht and on 1 September 1939 included between 616 and 650 tanks of all types (the entire Polish Army had 313 proper tanks altogether, not including reconnaissance tankettes). The XVI Corps included the 1st and 4th Panzer Divisions as well as the 14th and 31st Infantry Divisions.[4]

History

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Before the battle

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The shape of Poland's pre-war borders and geography of Western Poland's open, relatively flat terrain dictated the main directions of the German Wehrmacht. The German Fall Weiss called for the main attack over the western Polish border. This was to be carried out by Army Group South commanded by General Gerd von Rundstedt, attacking from German Silesia and from the Moravian and Slovak border. Army Group South's 10th Army under General Walter von Reichenau was to deliver the decisive blow with a northeastward thrust into the heart of Poland: towards Łódź and Warsaw, effectively splitting the country in half.

The German plan's details were known to Polish headquarters already before the war thanks to Polish intelligence services. To counter the threat of German break-through to the rear of Polish Łódź Army, the Commander in Chief created the reserve Prusy Army. Nominally the strongest Polish army in 1939, the unit included no less than nine tactical units (dubbed "grand units" in contemporary Polish): eight infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade (roughly equivalent to an infantry regiment, but more mobile and better-equipped with anti-tank and artillery assets), reinforced with two tank battalions.[3] The army's main task was to secure both flanks of the Łódź Army and prepare a counter-attack to the flanks of attacking Germans should they break through on either side of the Łódź Army.[3] However, this meant that the army's assets were over-extended. The so-called Northern Group was dislocated to the south of Łódź, around Bełchatów, Piotrków, Tomaszów Mazowiecki and Rawa Mazowiecka. The so-called Southern Group with the remainder of the Army's forces was being concentrated some 60 and 140 kilometres (37 and 87 mi) away, in the vicinity of Radom and Kielce.

To make the matters worse for the Polish defenders, the Prusy Army was the last of Polish armies to be mobilised in 1939. It was up to the front-line Kraków and Łódź Armies to gain enough time for the reserve army to fully mobilise.[3] Because of that on 1 September 1939 Gen. Stefan Dąb-Biernacki had only roughly 30% of the planned forces under his command. Some were still in transport, others lacked important sub-units or services. It was not until 4 September 1939 that the Prusy Army's Northern Group was finally dislocated to its' intended area between Tomaszów and Piotrków.

During a series of battles and skirmishes collectively known in Polish historiography as the Battle of the Border, the German 10th Army broke through Polish lines. Although the 4th Panzer Division suffered heavy losses at Mokra on 1 September 1939 (800 men, between 100 and 160 AFVs). In overnight of 4 September 1939 the division suffered further losses when the Polish 2nd Mounted Rifles Regiment took the town of Kamieńsk by surprise and destroyed several dozen AFVs and fuel tanks of German motorised infantry, killing roughly 100 enemy soldiers. Meanwhile the remaining units of the XVI Panzer Corps did not take part in any major engagements. The following day the German forces were bombed by the Bomber Brigade's PZL.23 Karaś planes (6th Bomber Squadron), with considerable losses on both sides.[1] On September 4th the air raids against the XVI Corps around Radomsko and Kamieńsk were repeated, this time by PZL.37 Łoś medium bombers which dropped over 45 tonnes of bombs.[1] The attacks however did not stop the German spearhead and inflicted only moderate casualties.[1][5]

Planned counter-attacks

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On September 3rd the Piotrków Operational Group, that is the reserve of Łódź Army, started a two-day tenacious defence of Góry Borowskie hills, south west from Piotrków Trybunalski and east of the town of Bełchatów.[6] The battleground of what became known as the Battle of Borowa Góra was located only 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Piotrków, but the forces of Prusy Army did not come to the aid of their neighbours.[6] Initially the 31st Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht was repelled, but by the end of the day the tanks of the XVI Corps broke through the Polish lines.[6] The forces under Colonel Ludwik Czyżewski withdrew and now the Northern Group of Prusy Army was the only large Polish unit between the Germans and the capital of Poland.[6][7]

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Komorowski, pp. 306-309
  2. ^ a b Zalewski, pp. 1-2
  3. ^ a b c d Zalewski, p. 5
  4. ^ Komorowski, pp. 399-401
  5. ^ Bączyk, p. 12
  6. ^ a b c d Grzelak, pp. 175-176
  7. ^ Czyżewski, pp. 130-137

Bibliography

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  • (in Polish) Norbert Bączyk (2012). Krzysztof Zalewski (ed.). "Lotnicza iluzja: Efektywność Brygady Bombowej w kampanii 1939 roku". Technika Wojskowa Historia (5/2012). ISSN 2080-9743. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  • (in Polish) Ludwik Czyżewski (1982). Od Gór Borowskich do Zakroczymia. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo MON. ISBN 83-11-06741-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • (in Polish) Czesław Grzelak; Henryk Stańczyk (2005). Kampania Polska 1939 roku. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawnicza RYTM. ISBN 83-7399-169-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • (in Polish) various authors (2009). "Piotrków Trybunalski & Tomaszów Mazowiecki". In Krzysztof Komorowski (ed.). Boje polskie 1939-1945: przewodnik encyklopedyczny. Bellona. p. 503. ISBN 9788373993532.
  • (in Polish) Wojciech Zalewski (2000). Piotrków 1939. Bitwy-kampanie-wojny. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Bellona. p. 48. ISBN 978-83-11-09164-1. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |trans_title= (help)
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