The Warszawa Army ( pl, Armia Warszawa) was one of the

Polish armies The following is a list of Polish Armies during World War II, together with their commanders and brigade and division-sized units. For a more detailed list see: Polish army order of battle in 1939. {, border=0 cellpadding=2 , - , width=10 bgc ...

to take part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. Created on 8 September, eight days after the invasion begun, it was an improvised formation charged with the defence of the Polish capital of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

(Warszawa).

Tasks

To defend the Polish capital Warsaw in the face of breakthrough by the German forces.

Operational history

On 3 September 1939 the Minister of the Army (''Min. Spraw Wojskowych''), general Tadeusz Kasprzycki, ordered general Walerian Czuma (the Commander of the Border Guards - ''Straż Graniczna'') to organize a force to defend the city of Warsaw against a German attack. The city had been under constant attack by the

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-Fliegerabtei ...

since the early morning of 1 September. Initially the only organized units available to him were four infantry battalions, anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns detachments under colonel Kazimierz Baran, composed mostly of fire-fighter brigades and volunteers supervised by colonel Tadeusz Bogdanowicz and Julian Kulski, the deputy

president of Warsaw The city mayor of Warsaw, or more literally the ''city president of Warsaw'' (the official title in Polish is ''"prezydent miasta stołecznego Warszawy"'', literal translation ''"president of the capital city of Warsaw"'') is the head of the exe ...

. The AA artillery had 86 pieces of anti-aircraft artillery, as well as an unknown number of anti-aircraft machine guns. In addition there was an air force

Pursuit Brigade The Pursuit Brigade ( pl, Brygada Pościgowa) was a Polish World War II unit of the Polish Air Force. It took part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939 as the main aerial reserve of the commander in chief and was used for air cover of the Polish c ...

which was equipped with 54 fighter aircraft. On the 5 and 6 September the air force and 11 batteries of anti-aircraft artillery were withdrawn to Lublin. Initially however parts of various army units, primarily of

Łódź Army Łódź Army ( pl, Armia Łódź) was one of the Polish armies that took part in the Invasion of Poland of 1939. It was officially created on 23 March 1939 with the task of filling the gap between Poznań Army in the north and Kraków Army in the ...

, retreating before the onslaught of German armor units, were added to his force. On 8 September General

Juliusz Rómmel Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel (german: Julius Karl Wilhelm Josef Freiherr von Rummel; 3 June 1881 – 8 September 1967) was a Polish military commander, a general of the Polish Armed Forces. He graduated from the Corps of Cadets in Pskov a ...

, the commander of the

who had become separated from his operational units, arrived in Warsaw with his staff. The chief of staff of the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

, general

Wacław Stachiewicz Wacław Teofil Stachiewicz (19 November 1894 – 12 November 1973) was a Polish writer, geologist, military commander and general of the Polish Army. A brother to General Julian Stachiewicz and the husband to General Roman Abraham's sister, Stach ...

(then in

Brześć Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

), appointed him the overall commander of all forces defending Warsaw, including the Warsaw Defense Force, the

Modlin Fortress Modlin Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Modlin) is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was o ...

and the army units immediately south and north-east of Warsaw During the next days, army units retreating in face of the onslaughts of the German armor and under continuous air attacks, fought their way through the German lines to the besieged capital, in particular from the Battle of Bzura. After 13 September Warsaw and Modlin were effectively surrounded. The only way the Polish units were able to reach the besieged area was through the

Kampinos Forest Kampinos Forest () is a large forest complex located in Masovian Voivodeship, west of Warsaw in Poland. It covers a part of the ancient valley of the Vistula basin, between the Vistula and the Bzura rivers. Once a forest covering 670 km2 ...

between Warsaw and the Vistula river. On 22 September German forces cut through the remaining lines of communication between Warsaw and Modlin. On 26 September, after heavy bombardment had cut off water and the civilian population was starving, the city was forced to surrender. On 28 September the Polish forces in Warsaw capitulated; fort Modlin capitulated the following day.

Units

Commander: General

Chief of staff: col Aleksander Pragłowski Deputy Commander: General

Tadeusz Kutrzeba Tadeusz Kutrzeba (15 April 1885 – 8 January 1947) was a general of the army during the Second Polish Republic. He served as a major general in the Polish Army in overall command of Army Poznań during the 1939 German Invasion of Poland. :pl:Ta ...

, was commander of

Army Poznan An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

- reached Warsaw 16 September. Commander of Warsaw Garrison: Walerian Czuma

Warsaw West

Commander: General Walerian Czuma, * 40th Infantry Regiment "Children of Lwów" (Lt.Col. Józef Kalandyk) - transport through Warsaw stopped 7 September. * Legia Akademicka (Academic Legion) - made up of students of the universities. * Volunteer Units Elements of

Army Poznań An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

* 25th Infantry Division. (Gen. Franciszek Alter) - elements fight through enemy lines 20 September. * 14 Cavalry Ulan Regiment (Col. Edward Godlewski) - 431 survivors charge through enemy lines 19 September * Podole Cavalry Brigade (Col. Leon Strzelecki) - fights through German lines 20 September * Wielkopolska Cavalry Regiment (Gen. Roman Abraham) - fights through enemy lines 20 September. Elements of

Army Pomorze The Pomeranian Army ( pl, Armia Pomorze) was one of the List of Polish armies, Polish armies defending against the 1939 Invasion of Poland. It was officially created on March 23, 1939. Led by Generał dywizji, General dywizji Władysław Bortnowski, ...

* 15th Infantry Division, (Gen. Zdzislaw Przyjalkowski) - 1500 survivors fight through 22 September. * Pomorze Cavalry Brigade (Col. Adam Bogoria-Zakrzewski) - survivors fight through 20 September.

Warsaw East

Commander: 5 September Lt.Col. Julian Janowski; from 15 September Gen.

Juliusz Zulauf Juliusz Zulauf (August 20, 1891 – May 21, 1943) was a Polish Army brigadier general (''generał brygady''). A recipient of the ''Virtuti Militari'', he fought with distinction during World War I, the Polish-Ukrainian War, the Polish-Soviet ...

(originally Commander of 5th Infantry Division) Elements of Army Modlin * 5th Infantry Division (Gen. Juliusz Zulauf) retreated from river Narew front 13 September. * 20th Infantry Division (Col. Wilhelm Andrzej Lawicz-Liszka) - arrived from north 15 September Obrona Pragi we wrześniu 1939 roku
/ref> * 21st Infantry Regiment "Children of Warsaw" (Col.

Stanisław Sosabowski Stanisław Franciszek Sosabowski CBE (; 8 May 1892 – 25 September 1967) was a Polish general in World War II. He fought in the Polish Campaign of 1939 and at the Battle of Arnhem (Netherlands) in 1944 as commander of the Polish 1st Indepen ...

) - separated from 8th Infantry Division, arrived 21 September.

Modlin Fortress

Commander: Gen. Wiktor Thommée - after 12 September. Elements of

Modlin Army Modlin Army ( pl, Armia Modlin) was one of the Polish armies that took part in the Polish world war 2 defence of 1939. After heavy casualties in the battle of Mława (September 1–3), the Army was forced to abandon its positions near Warsaw arou ...

* 5th Infantry Division - some elements retreated from battle near Dębe on Narew river - 14 Sept * 8th Infantry Division (Col. Teodor Wiktor Furgalski) - remains of division after retreat from north (mainly 32 Inf.Reg. and some units of artillery) - from 8 September Elements of

Poznań Army Army Poznań ( pl, Armia Poznań) led by Major General Tadeusz Kutrzeba was one of the Polish Armies during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Tasks Flanked by Armia Pomorze to the north and Łódź Army to the south, the Army was to provide f ...

and

Pomorze Army The Pomeranian Army ( pl, Armia Pomorze) was one of the Polish armies defending against the 1939 Invasion of Poland. It was officially created on March 23, 1939. Led by General dywizji Władysław Bortnowski, it consisted of 5 infantry divisions, ...

remains arrived from the Battle of Bzura after 18 September. * 36th Infantry Regiment Elements of

arrived on 13 September. * 30th Infantry Division (Gen. Leopold Cehak) * Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade (col. Julian Filipowicz)

References

detailed history of September campaign
published in London 1941.

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in pl, Wielka Interaktywna Encyklopedia Multimedialna - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The first printed edition was released ...

{{Polish Armies 1939 Polish armies Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939