Polish 2nd Legions Infantry Division (''2. Dywizja Piechoty Legionów'') was a tactical unit of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

between the World Wars. Formed on February 21, 1919, in the towns of

Zegrze Zegrze is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Serock, within Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Serock, north-east of Legionowo, and north of Warsaw. The villa ...

and Jablonna near

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, and composed mostly of veterans of the

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions () was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Trip ...

, the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bolshevik War and the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

. During the Polish-Bolshevik War the division was commanded by Henryk Minkiewicz and Michal Zymierski. In a later stage, it took part in the Battle of Niemen as part of the Third Army. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, the unit's headquarters were stationed in

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

, with some regiments in the garrisons of

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

and

Jarosław Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San (river), San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Jarosław is located in the ...

. During that time its commanders included General Aleksander Narbutt-Łuczyński (1921 - 1930), General Juliusz Zulauf (1930 - 1938) and Colonel Edward Dojan-Surówka (1938 - Sept. 8 1939). In 1921 - 1939, the division's headquarters was garrisoned in Kielce. Its 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment was located in Sandomierz, 3rd Legions' Infantry Regiment was located in Jaroslaw, 4th Legions' Infantry Regiment was stationed in Kielce. Other subunits, such as 2nd Light Artillery Regiment, were scattered in different towns of northern

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

Invasion of Poland

During the

, 2nd Legions Infantry Division was a reserve unit of Army Łódź. Commanded by Colonel Edward Dojan-Surówka, it detrained at

Łask Łask () is a town in central Poland with 16,925 inhabitants (2020). It is the capital of Łask County, and is situated in Łódź Voivodeship. It is located in the Sieradz Land. A town with some 1,000 years of history, Łask is a former residenti ...

and took positions near

Zelów Zelów (; ) is a town in Bełchatów County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland, with 7,459 inhabitants (2020). It is located in the historic Sieradz Land. History Zelów was probably founded in the 13th century, when it was part of fragmen ...

. On September 2, 1939, it was sent to Belchatow, and its elements fought in the Battle of Borowa Góra. In the night of September 8/9, 1939, Colonel Dojan-Surowka suffered a nervous breakdown and abandoned his soldiers. He was replaced by Colonel Antoni Staich. Later, the division took part in the Battle of Wola Cyrusowa, and finally, fought in the

Battle of Modlin A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, capitulating on September 29, 1939. A number of its soldiers were killed by the Germans in the

Massacre in Zakroczym The Massacre in Zakroczym, Poland, took place on 28 September 1939 when, in spite of a cease-fire, soldiers of Panzerdivision Kempf stormed Polish positions at Zakroczym, where soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division were getting ready to surr ...

Operation Tempest

The division was recreated in the spring of 1944 by the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

Area, as Second Legions Home Army Infantry Division ''Pogon''. With over 3000 soldiers, and commanded by Colonel Antoni Żółkiewski, it fought in

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest or Operation Burza (, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home Arm ...

(summer 1944). The division was dissolved in January 1945.

Sources

* Tadeusz Jurga: Wojsko Polskie : krótki informator historyczny o Wojsku Polskim w latach II wojny światowej. 7, Regularne jednostki Wojska Polskiego w 1939 : organizacja, działania bojowe, uzbrojenie, metryki związków operacyjnych, dywizji i brygad. Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej 1975

Invasion of Poland

Operation Tempest

Sources

See also