The 11th Carpathian Infantry Division (Polish ''11 Karpacka Dywizja Piechoty''), 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 ...

in the interbellum period, which fought in 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 ...

in 1939. Elements of the unit would go on to serve in 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 ...

Composition

Its headquarters were located in Stanisławów, with some regiments stationed in nearby locations, such as Stryj and Kolomyja. It consisted of these regiments: * 48th Kresy Rifle Regiment, stationed in Stanisławów, commanded by Colonel Walenty Nowak, * 49th Hutsul Rifle Regiment, stationed in Kolomyja, * 53rd Kresy Rifle Regiment, stationed in Stryj, * 11th Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment, stationed in Stanisławów, * 11th Heavy Artillery Regiment, * 11th Sapper Battalion, * 11th Motor Battery of Antiaircraft Artillery, * squadron of cavalry, made up of soldiers of Border Defence Corps from Zaleszczyki.

Polish September Campaign

The division, under Colonel Bronisław Prugar-Ketling, was part of the

Kraków Army Kraków Army () was one of the List of Polish armies, Polish armies which took part in the Invasion of Poland (1939), Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by ...

as a rear unit. It was supposed to concentrate in the area of

Zawiercie Zawiercie () () is a town in southern Poland located in the Silesian Voivodeship with 49,334 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland near the source of the Warta River. The town lies near the historical region of Sil ...

, to cover activities of the neighboring units - Polish 7th Infantry Division and the Slask Operational Group. However, original plans had been changed, because of the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombing of Polish rail connections. On September 3 and 4, parts of the division left train near

Bochnia Bochnia is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland, administrative seat of Bochnia County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted ...

and was ordered to protect the line of the

Dunajec The Dunajec (; Goral dialects: ''Dónajec''; ) is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at ...

river. Lacking artillery, antiaircraft and field hospital (which had been stuck in

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

), the unit entered the battle immediately, but German pressure was too hard. On September 7, the division began retreat towards the

Wisłoka The Wisłoka is a river in south-eastern Poland, and a tributary of Vistula River. It is long and has a basin area of . Its highest elevation is , while the lowest point in the valley of the river Wisłoka lies at an elevation of above sea ...

and from there - eastwards, towards

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

. There, on September 11 and 12, it was engaged in bloody fighting with the Germans. On September 17, the division fought in the Janów Forest, halting advance of German 7th I.D. and 57 I.D. Remnants of the unit, numbered at no more than 1000 men, managed to break into besieged

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, where it capitulated.

Polish Armed Forces in the East

An 11th Infantry Division (see :pl:11 Dywizja Piechoty (LWP)) was reformed became part of the

. A 1944 formation of the division was originally intended to become part of the Third Army, which was never fully formed. After 1945 it became successively the 11th Motorised Division (1949), the 11th Mechanised Division (1950), the 11th Armoured Division (1963), and finally the

11th Armoured Cavalry Division The 11th "Lubuska" Armoured Cavalry Division () is an armoured division of the Polish Land Forces, which traces its history to the formation of the 11th Infantry Division (Poland), 11th Infantry Division of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 19 ...

in 1992, which still serves the Polish Army today. The 11th Armoured Cavalry Division is part of the 2nd Mechanised Corps.

References

Bibliography

* 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. * Piotr Zarzycki, ''Plan mobilizacyjny „W”. Wykaz oddziałów mobilizowanych na wypadek wojny'', Pruszków 1995, . * Ryszard Dalecki: ''Armia „Karpaty” w wojnie obronnej 1939 r.'', Rzeszów 1989, wyd. II, {{ISBN, 83-03-02830-8. * Bronisław Prugar-Ketling, ''Aby dochować wierności. Wspomnienia z działań 11 Karpackiej Dywizji Piechoty. Wrzesień 1939'', Wydawnictwo "Odpowiedzialność i Czyn", Warszawa 1990. * Czesław Grzelak i Henryk Stańczyk, ''Kampania Polska 1939'' * Janusz Piekałkiewicz, ''Polen Feldzug. Hitler und Stalin zerschlagen die Polnische Republik''. * ''Zarys dziejów wojskowości polskiej w latach 1864-1939'', Wyd. WIH, Warszawa 1990.

Composition

Polish September Campaign

Polish Armed Forces in the East

References

Bibliography

See also