10th Infantry Division (10. Dywizja Piechoty) was a 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 ...

during the interbellum period, which took part in the 1939 German

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 ...

. It was created in 1919 from the former Polish 4th Rifle Division. Stationed in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

and commanded in 1939 by General Franciszek Dindorf-Ankowicz, it was part of

Łódź Army Łódź Army () was one of the Polish armies of the Polish Armed Forces of the Second Polish Republic 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 ...

. Its task was to defend the fortified area along the upper

Warta The river Warta ( , ; ; ) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About long, it the second-longest riv ...

river, near the interwar border of Poland and Germany. Since early morning of 1 September 1939, the Division was mercilessly attacked by the German Eighth Army, supported by aircraft and artillery. The Poles managed to keep their positions until 3 September, when they were ordered to withdraw towards

Sieradz Sieradz (,) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Sieradz is a capital of the historical Sieradz Land. Sieradz is one of the olde ...

, and defend the river crossings. However, in the organizational and communicational chaos, the unit arrived at the destination several hours too late, after the Germans of the 17th Infantry Division had already crossed the Warta in some spots. Soon afterwards, the 10th Infantry Division was attacked by the German 10th and 24th infantry divisions and after a bloody battle, it was defeated. Remains were gathered and ordered to withdraw towards

Głowno Głowno is a town and community in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County, about 25 km northeast of Łódź. The town administratively belonged to the Łódź Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. According to data from 2020, the city had ...

and

Zgierz Zgierz is a city in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź, and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2021, it had a population of 54,974. Located within the historic Łęczyca Land, it is the capital of Zgie ...

. On 8 September, after several German attacks, the Division was scattered, a group of soldiers crossed the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

near

Otwock Otwock (Yiddish: אָטוואָצק) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland, some south-east of Warsaw, with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is situated on the right bank of the ...

Order of Battle (1939)

* Division Headquarters – based in

* 28th Infantry Regiment '' Kaniów Riflemen'' (''28 Pułk Strzelców Kaniowskich'') – based in

* 30th Infantry Regiment ''Kaniów Riflemen'' (''30 Pułk Strzelców Kaniowskich'') – based in

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 ...

* 31st Infantry Regiment ''Kaniów Riflemen'' (''31 Pułk Strzelców Kaniowskich'') – based in

and

* 10th Light Artillery Regiment ''Kaniów'' (''10 Kaniowski Pułk Artylerii Lekkiej'') – based in

Later formations

There were at least three other Polish 10th Infantry Divisions formed during World War II and shortly afterwards. The first was a briefly-formed formation which was part of the

Anders Army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understand ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, but was disbanded before the Anders Army was evacuated through Iran to the West. The second was a

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 ...

formation. The third was another element of the

Polish Armed Forces in the East The Polish Armed Forces in the East (), also called Polish Army in the USSR, were the Polish military forces established in the Soviet Union during World War II. Two armies were formed separately and at different times. '' Anders' Army'', crea ...

, which formed part of the Second Army in 1944–1945. After the war it eventually became the 10th Armoured Division of the

Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the Polish communist state (1945–1989 ...

in 1949–1950.

References

* 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. * Lech Wyszczelski: Wojsko Polskie w latach 1918–1921. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2006. . * Zdzisław Jagiełło: Piechota Wojska Polskiego 1918–1939. Warszawa: Bellona, 2007. {{ISBN, 978-83-11-10206-4. * Almanach oficerski, praca zbiorowa, Wojskowy Instytut Naukowo-Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1923. * Księga chwały piechoty, komitet redakcyjny pod przewodnictwem płk. dypl. Bolesława Prugara Ketlinga, Departament Piechoty MSWojsk, Warszawa 1937–1939. Reprint: Wydawnictwo Bellona Warszawa 1992.

Order of Battle (1939)

Later formations

References

See also