17 Greater Poland Infantry Division 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 ...

in the interbellum period. It garrisoned

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

and neighboring towns, such as

Pleszew Pleszew () is a town in central Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, about 90 km southeast of Poznań. It is the capital of Pleszew County. The town's population is 16,811 (2022). The town is claimed to be a 15-minute city. History The ol ...

and

Września Września () is a town in west-central Poland near Poznań, with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). It is situated in the Września County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, on the Wrześnica River. History Września was first mentioned in 1256 in a docume ...

. The unit was formed on June 9, 1919, as 3rd Division of Greater Poland Rifles. In 1921 it was renamed into 17 Greater Poland Infantry Division. During the

Polish September Campaign 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 Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

, the Division, under Colonel Mieczyslaw Mozdyniewicz, was part of the

Poznań Army Army 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 flanking operat ...

. It was destroyed by the

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

in mid-September 1939, during the

Battle of the Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was both the largest battle and Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Goog ...

. The 17th Division was briefly reformed as part of the

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

in 1945–46.Jerzy Kajetanowicz: Polskie wojska lądowe 1945-1960 : skład bojowy, struktury organizacyjne i uzbrojenie. Toruń; Łysomice: Europejskie Centrum Edukacyjne, 2005. , and M. Szczurowski – "Słownik biograficzny wyższych dowódców LWP", s. 122-124.

References

17th 17th {{Poland-mil-stub

See also

References