The 18th Infantry Division () is a division of the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

. The division was originally part of

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

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 ...

. Stationed in

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

and commanded in 1939 by Colonel Stefan Kossecki, it was part of the Narew Independent Operational Group. The division was re-established in its modern form in September 2018 and renamed to the 18th Mechanized Division ''(18. Dywizja Zmechanizowana)'' as part of an expansion of the Polish Army, partially as a result of heightened security threats to Poland. The division will have achieved initial operating capacity by the end of 2019, with further strengthening of the formation to be completed by the mid-2020s.

History

It was formed in 1919 from the units of the Blue Army.

Interwar

Between 1919 and 1939, Łomża and neighboring towns were located very close to the border of Poland and German province of

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. Defense of this area was regarded as crucial in any future conflict, so 18th Division was regarded as an elite unit. More than 50% of its soldiers were local

conscript Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

s from northern

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

and

Podlasie Podlachia, also known by its Polish name Podlasie (; ; ), is a historical region in north-eastern Poland. Its largest city is Białystok, whereas the historical capital is Drohiczyn. Similarly to several other historical regions of Poland, e.g ...

, whose patriotism was highly appreciated.

Invasion of Poland

The Division assembled on August 30, 1939, and the next day it occupied defense positions along the

Narew The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...

river. Until September 3, it had a limited contact with 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 ...

. It was then ordered to take positions previously held by the Polish 41st Infantry Division. On September 7, it left

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

and was ordered to halt the advance of German 21st Infantry Division near Nowogrod. The efforts of Polish soldiers were mixed, but on the night of Sept 9-10, it attacked a German armored column, destroying several vehicles and tanks. During the next days the Division was engaged in heavy fights with units of General

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

XIX Army Corps The XIX Army Corps (German language, German: ''XIX. Armeekorps'') was an Panzer corps, armored corps of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 (German: ''Panzergrupp ...

. After several bloody skirmishes, the Germans severely wounded Colonel Kossecki. Twenty volunteers, who wanted to take his body from the battleground, were killed by a German machine gun. Kossecki himself survived, but was captured by the Soviets and probably killed by them in the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

. The division effectively ceased to exist. In the night of September 13–14 the Germans massacred 200 Polish POWs, gathered in the courtyard in the barracks in

Zambrów Zambrów is a town in northeastern Poland with 21,166 inhabitants (2020). It is the capital of Zambrów County. Situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Łomża Voivodeship (1975–1998). History The name of the town co ...

(the Zambrów massacre).Tomasz Sudoł
ZBRODNIE WEHRMACHTU NA JEŃCACH POLSKICH WE WRZEŚNIU 1939 ROKU
Biuro Edukacji Publicznej IPN

21st century

The reactivation of the Division was announced by the Polish Ministry of Defence in September 2018 as part of the effort to expand and modernize the Polish Army amidst heightened tension with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Organization 2024

Poland Land Forces - 18th Mechanized Division Organisation 2023

The 18th Mechanized Division (nicknamed ''The Iron Division'') is headquartered in

Siedlce Siedlce () ( ) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around east of Warsaw. It is ...

and is organised as follows: * 18th Mechanized Division, in

** 18th Command Battalion, in Siedlce ** 1st "Warsaw" Armored Brigade "

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

", in

Wesoła Wesoła () is one of the districts of Warsaw, and has been as such since October 27, 2002. Wesoła is located in the south-eastern part of city. Wesoła received town privileges on December 17, 1968. Then, the town included Wola Grzybowska, ...

** 18th Motorized Brigade, in

Poniatowa Poniatowa is a town in southeastern Poland, in Opole Lubelskie County, in Lublin Voivodeship, with 10,500 inhabitants (2006). It belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland. History Exact date of establishment of Poniatowa is not known, how ...

(activated on 3 October 2023) ** 19th "Lublin" Mechanized Brigade "

Franciszek Kleeberg Franciszek Kleeberg (1 February 1888, in Tarnopol – 5 April 1941, near Dresden) was a Polish general. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army before joining the Polish Legions in World War I and following the Polish Independence later the Polis ...

", in Lublin ** 21st "

Podhale Rifles Podhale Rifles or Podhale Riflemen (, nicknamed "Podhalańczycy") is the traditional name of the mountain infantry units of the Polish Army. Formed in 1918 out of volunteers of the region of Podhale, in 1919 the smaller detachments of Podhale R ...

" Brigade "Brig. Gen.

Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz Mieczysław Ludwik Boruta-Spiechowicz (20 February 1894, in Rzeszów – 13 October 1985, in Zakopane) was a Polish military officer, a general of the Polish Army and a notable member of the post-war anti-communist opposition in Poland. He join ...

", 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 ...

** 18th Artillery Regiment, in

Nowa Dęba Nowa Dęba is a town in Tarnobrzeg County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 11,310, as of 2 June 2009. Nowa Dęba belongs to historic Lesser Poland, and is located in the Sandomierz Forest, along European route E371. Near th ...

(being formed) ** 18th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, in

Sitaniec Sitaniec is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zamość, within Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately north of Zamość and south-east of the regional capital Lublin Lublin is List of ci ...

** 18th Sapper Regiment, in

Nisko Nisko is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland on the San River, with a population of 15,048 inhabitants as of 31 December 2021. Together with neighbouring city of Stalowa Wola, Nisko creates a small urban agglomeration, aggl ...

(former 16th Sapper Battalion, reorganization underway) ** 18th Logistic Regiment, in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:18th Infantry divisions of Poland Military units and formations established in 1919 Infantry divisions of Poland in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1939