12th Infantry Regiment (

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

: 12 Pulk Piechoty, 12 pp) was an infantry regiment 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 ...

. It existed from 1918 until 1939. Garrisoned in

Wadowice Wadowice () is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 17,455 inhabitants (2022), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is known for being the bir ...

, the unit belonged to the 6th Infantry Division from

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. The regiment celebrated its holiday on August 1, the anniversary of the 1920 Battle Of Leszniow, against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. During the 1939

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 belonged to

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 ...

, together with the 6th Infantry Division.

Commandants

* Colonel Jan Mischke (1918–1919), * Captain Franciszek Alter (1919), * Colonel Eugeniusz Stecz (1919), * Major Adam Smialowski (1919), * Colonel Edward Reyman (1919), * Captain Oswald Frank (1919), * Colonel Wandalin Doroszkiewicz (1919 – 10 1920), * Captain Wladyslaw Mielnik (1920), * Major Franciszek Alter (1920–1921), * Colonel Oswald Frank (1921–1927), * Colonel Jozef Cwiertniak (1927–1929), * Colonel Jozef Jaklicz (1929–1932), * Colonel Marian Raczynski (1932–1933), * Colonel Antoni Staich (1933–1935), * Colonel Aleksander Stawarz (1935–1939), * Colonel Marian Strazyc (1939).

Symbols

The flag of the regiment, funded by the residents of Wadowice, Andrychow and

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Kalwaria Zebrzydowska () is a town in southern Poland with 4,429 inhabitants (2007 estimate). As of 1999, it is situated in Lesser Poland or Małopolska (in Polish). Previously, the town was administered within the Voivodeship of Bielsko-Biała ...

, was handed to the unit by General Stanisław Szeptycki, on August 1, 1924. The badge was accepted on 1931. It was in the shape of the shield, with a cross in the middle, and the initials 12 PP.

Sources

* Kazimierz Satora: Opowieści wrześniowych sztandarów. Warszawa: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1990 * Zdzisław Jagiełło: Piechota Wojska Polskiego 1918–1939. Warszawa: Bellona, 2007

Commandants

Symbols

Sources

See also