The Battle of Lagarde took place on 17–18 June 1940, during the

German Invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...

. The Polish 1st Grenadiers Division, commanded by General Bronislaw Duch, clashed with units of German 12th Army Corps. The battle took place near

Lagarde, Moselle Lagarde (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department * Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorraine Regional Natural Park (French: ''Parc naturel régional de ...

. On 15–16 June 1940, the 1st Grenadiers Division, which was part of French 20th Army Corps, fought the advancing

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

near

Dieuze Dieuze (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. People Dieuze was the birthplace of: *Charles Hermite, mathematician * Edmond François Valentin About, novelist, publicist and journalist * Émile Friant, ...

. On 17 June it was ordered to keep the line of the

Marne–Rhine Canal The Canal de la Marne au Rhin (Marne–Rhine Canal) is a canal in north-eastern France. It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original objective ...

, between Lagarde and the Rechicourt Forest. On the same day, the first German units crossed the canal in the sector defended by the 2nd Grenadier Regiment, but were soon forced to abandon their positions. On 18 June Germans once again tried to cross the canal, but failed. At the same time, the German 79th Infantry Division broke the French defence of the 52nd Infantry Division, and the Polish formation was attacked from left wing. In the afternoon of 18 June, Germans continued their advance. Polish grenadiers, who suffered heavy losses, reaching up to 50% of their manpower, were replaced by French units, and ordered to concentrate near Baccarat. Two days later, on 20 June, the Polish division took defensive positions along the Meurthe river, near Raon l'Etape. After French divisions, located in this area, had withdrawn, General Duch decided to dissolve his unit (21 June), sending a coded message "4444": "The end of hostilities, the Division is dissolved. Safeguard the documents and the flags, destroy the equipment, break into small groups and tried to get to southern France and then to Britain". Altogether, the 1st Grenadiers Division lost 5200 soldiers in the French campaign. On the 30th anniversary of the battle, a monument dedicated to the dead soldiers was unveiled in Lagarde. The battle is commemorated on the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( pl, Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected af ...

, with the inscription: "LEGARDE 17 – 18 VI 1940".

Sources

* Kazimierz Sobczak ed. Encyklopedia II wojny światowej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1975 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lagarde Battle of France Battles and operations of World War II involving Poland Conflicts in 1940 June 1940 events