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The Slovak invasion of Poland occurred during
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...
in September 1939. The recently-created
Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
joined the attack, and Field Army Bernolák contributed over 50,000 soldiers in three divisions. Since most of the Polish forces were engaged with the German armies, which were more to the north of the southern border, the Slovak invasion met only weak resistance and suffered minimal losses.


Background

On March 14, 1939, the
Slovak State Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group ...
was established as a
client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite sta ...
of Germany, which initiated the breakup of
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. The south-Slovak part of Czechoslovakia had contained a substantial Hungarian population (Slovakia had been part of the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...
). It was taken by the Royal Hungarian Army as a result of the First Vienna Award on November 2, 1938. The official political pretext for the Slovak participation in the
Polish Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...
was a small disputed area on the Poland-Slovakia border. Poland had appropriated the area on October 1, 1938 after the previous month's
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
. In addition, some Polish politicians supported Hungary in its effort to include areas that were inhabited mostly by Hungarians. During secret discussions with the Germans on July 20–21, 1939, the Slovak government agreed to participate in Germany's planned attack on Poland and to allow Germany to use Slovak territory as the staging area for German troops. On August 26, Slovakia mobilised its armed forces and established a new
field army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, Air army, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, ...
, codenamed " Bernolák", with 51,306 soldiers. Additionally, 160,000 reservists were called up, with 115,000 entering service until September 20, 1939.


Order of battle

The Bernolák army group was led by Slovak Defence Minister Ferdinand Čatloš and had its initial headquarters in
Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; hu, Igló; german: (Zipser) Neu(en)dorf) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest t ...
, though after September 8 this was moved to Solivar near Prešov. It consisted of: * 1st Infantry Division " Jánošík", led by Anton Pulanich in the sector
Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; hu, Igló; german: (Zipser) Neu(en)dorf) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest t ...
Prešov Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn and Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros County of the Kingdom of Hungary. With ...
. * 2nd Infantry Division " Škultéty", led by Alexander Čunderlík in the sector BreznoPoprad. * 3rd Infantry Division " Rázus", led by
Augustín Malár Augustín Malár (18 July 1894 in Reitern, Austria-Hungary – 1945? in Sachsenhausen, Germany) was a Slovak general during World War II. During the interwar period, Malár was one of the few successful higher officers of Slovak nationality ...
in the sector east of High Tatra. * A motorized unit " Kalinčiak" was created on September 5, but the campaign ended before it had arrived at the front. The group was part of the German
Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...
; was subordinated to the 14th Army, led by
Wilhelm List Wilhelm List (14 May 1880 – 17 August 1971) was a German field marshal during World War II who was convicted of war crimes by a US Army tribunal after the war. List commanded the 14th Army in the invasion of Poland and the 12th Army in the ...
; and contributed to the 14th Army's total of five infantry divisions, three mountain divisions, two panzer divisions and one
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
division. Bernolák's tasks were to prevent a Polish incursion into Slovakia and to support German troops. They were opposed by the Polish
Karpaty Army Karpaty Army ( pl, Armia Karpaty, , Carpathian Army) was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events t ...
(Carpathian Army), which consisted mainly of infantry units with some light artillery support and no tanks.


Campaign

The attack started without a formal
declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, ...
on September 1, 1939 at 5:00 a.m. The 1st division occupied the village of
Javorina Javorina was a military district in the Kežmarok District in northern Slovakia, in the Levoča Hills. Its area is 316.24 km² and has no permanent population. History The military district was created in 1952. It was created from the whole ...
and the town of
Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...
and continued toward
Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mounta ...
to protect the German 2nd Mountain Division from the left.S. J. Zaloga, ''Poland 1939'', Oxford: Osprey, 2002. . On September 4 and 5, it engaged in fighting with regular Polish Army units. On September 7, the division stopped its advance 30 km inside Polish territory. Later, the division was pulled back, with one battalion remaining until September 29 to occupy Zakopane,
Jurgów Jurgów (; sk, Jurgov, hu, Szepesgyörke, german: Jurkau or ''Joerg'') is a small village (c. 900 inhabitants) in the Spisz region of southern Poland, near the border with Slovakia and the town of Bukowina Tatrzańska, on the Białka river. I ...
and Javorina. The 2nd Division was kept in reserve and participated only in mopping-up operations in which was supported by the Kalinčiak group. The 3rd Division had to protect 170 km of the Slovak border between
Stará Ľubovňa Stará Ľubovňa (german: Altlublau; hu, Ólubló; la, Lublovia; pl, Lubowla) is a town with approximately 16,000 inhabitants in northeastern Slovakia. The town consists of the districts Podsadek and Stará Ľubovňa. Names The name is of Slo ...
and the border with
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
. It fought minor skirmishes, and after several days, it moved into Polish territory and ended its advance on September 11. Two or three Slovak air squadrons (codenamed ''Ľalia'',
Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
) were used for
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
, bombing and close support for German fighters. Two Slovak planes were lost (one to anti-aircraft fire, another to an accidental crash), and one Polish plane was shot down. The total Slovak losses during the campaign were 37 dead, 114 wounded and 11 missing.


Aftermath

All Slovak units were pulled back until the end of September 1939. On October 5, a victorious military parade was held in Poprad. The mobilised units were gradually demobilised, and the Army Group Bernolák was disbanded on October 7. The Slovak Army took around 1,350 civilian prisoners in Poland. In February 1940, around 1,200 of them were handed to Germans and some of the remainders to the
Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in ...
. The rest were kept in a Slovak prison camp in Lešť. All of the disputed territory, whether in Poland from 1920 or only from 1938, was given to Slovakia, which was confirmed by a Slovak parliamentary resolution on December 22, 1939. That arrangement lasted until 20 May 1945, when the border line was returned to its 1920 position. Since the war was started without a formal declaration of war and there were no longer any Polish prisoners of war held by Slovakia, there was no formal
peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surre ...
between Poland and Slovakia.


Gallery

05572 Komancza - Slovak invasion of Poland (1939).JPG, Komańcza, Poland, in 1939 Komancza 1939 onet.1.09.2010.jpg, Cheerful German and Slovak soldiers posing with Ukrainian civilians in Komańcza, Poland, in 1939 German sections of Slovak army joined in victory celebrations following Slovak invasion of Poland.png, Alexander Mach congradulates Slovak soldiers decorated for invasion of Poland.png, Slovakia1941 02.png, The Slovak State after the campaign


See also

*
Army Karpaty Karpaty Army ( pl, Armia Karpaty, , Carpathian Army) was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events ...
* List of Czechoslovakia interwar period weapons-Slovak arsenal was those weapons inherited from
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. * Slovak Air Force (1939–1945) * List of World War II military equipment of Poland *
List of German military equipment of World War II The following is a list of German military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that was under way by 1939 and ended in 1945. Following political instability build-up in Europe from ...


References


Further reading

* Charles K. Kliment and Břetislav Nakládal: ''Germany's First Ally'', Schiffer Publishing, 1998, . The book covers the Slovak Armed Forces in World War II. 2003 Czech edition, . * Igor Baka: ''Slovensko vo vojne proti Poľsku v roku 1939'' (''Slovakia during the war against Poland in 1939'')
Vojenská história
2005, No 3, pg 26 – 46. * Igor Baka: ''Slovenská republika a nacistická agresia proti Poľsku'' (''Slovak Republic and the Nazi Aggression Against Poland''), Vojenský historický ústav, 2006,
online


External links




Map of the campaign
(archived link)

{{in lang, cs Conflicts in 1939 1939 in Poland
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
1939 in Slovakia Poland 1939 Poland–Slovakia military relations Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939)