Polish 24th 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 In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

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 ...

. The Division was created in 1921, and its first commandants were: General Jan Hempel (until 1926), General Wacław Scaevola-Wieczorkiewicz, Colonel Boleslaw Maria Krzyzanowski (until September 9, 1939), and Colonel Boleslaw Schwarzenberg-Czerny (in the final days of the September 1939 campaign). The 24th Division's headquarters were located in

Jarosław Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San (river), San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Jarosław is located in the ...

, with some regiments stationed in nearby cities of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It consisted of: * 17th Infantry Regiment (Rzeszów), * 38th Infantry Regiment of Lwów Rifles (Przemyśl), * 39th Infantry Regiment of Lwów Rifles (Jarosław), * 24th Light Artillery Regiment of King

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

(Jarosław). 24 DP w 1938

Polish September Campaign

The 24th Division, commanded by Colonel Boleslaw Maria Krzyzanowski, remained in the first days of the war in reserve. On September 3 transported to the area of

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

and

Dębica Dębica (; ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been in the Tarnów Voiv ...

, where it was supposed to man the line

Pilzno Pilzno is a town in Poland, in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in Dębica County. It had 4,943 inhabitants as of 2018. Notable residents * Karol Irzykowski (1873–1944), writer and literary critic * Sebastian Petrycy (1554–1626), a Polish ph ...

- Szynwald -

Tuchów Tuchów is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,476 (2004). It lies on the ''Biała'' river, at the height of above sea level. The distance to Kraków is , and to the border with Slovakia, approxim ...

. Attached to the

Karpaty Army Karpaty Army () was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events that lead to the breakup of Czechos ...

, on September 6 it was engaged in heavy fighting with advancing 4th Light Division of 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 the evening of that day, General

Kazimierz Fabrycy Kazimierz Fabrycy (3 March 1888 in Odessa – 18 July 1958) was a Polish general. Early life Kazimierz Fabrycy was born on March 3, 1888, in Odessa, in the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire. Upon graduating from school in Nemyriv, Niemi ...

ordered the Division to withdraw 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 defend the main west–east route 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 ...

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 ...

. On September 7, marching Polish units were ambushed by the Germans near Tuchów, who managed to destroy several battalions. After the attack, Colonel Boleslaw Maria Krzyzanowski lost his ability to command the Division and was replaced by Colonel Boleslaw Schwarzenberg-Czerny. Contrary to orders of General Fabrycy, the Division retreated further eastwards, towards the San. Between September 11 and 12, 1939, the Poles were engaged in heavy fighting with German Second Mountain Division near Bircza. The Germans managed to break Polish positions in the evening of September 12, therefore southern wing of defence of Przemyśl was opened. Retreating towards Lwów, the 24th kept on repulsing German attacks, reaching Mosciska on September 15. Two days later, General

Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in particular for his contribu ...

, who commanded Polish troops in the area, ordered all units to break to Lwów. First groups of Polish soldiers reached the besieged city on September 17 in the evening. On September 18, when news of

Soviet 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 ...

attack on

eastern Poland Eastern Poland () is a macroregion in Poland comprising the Lublin Voivodeship, Lublin, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Wa ...

reached General Sosnkowski, he decided to change plans. Instead of breaking to Lwów, Sosnkowski ordered the soldiers to form small groups and try to reach Hungary. Heavy equipment and vehicles were destroyed, and those soldiers who did not wish to fight any more, were let go. Meanwhile, units of the 24th were fighting 5th Panzer Division in the area of Rzesna Ruska. Soon afterwards, Soviet tanks appeared around Lwów, and General Sosnkowski decided to dismiss the Division, which ceased to exist.

Operation Tempest

The 24th Infantry Division was recreated in the summer of 1944, during the

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest or Operation Burza (, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home Arm ...

, as part of the

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 ...

Sources

* Tadeusz Jurga: Wojsko Polskie : krótki informator historyczny o Wojsku Polskim w latach II wojny swiatowej. 7, Regularne jednostki Wojska Polskiego w 1939 : organizacja, dzialania bojowe, uzbrojenie, metryki zwia˛zków operacyjnych, dywizji i brygad. Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej 1975. * Czeslaw Grzelak i Henryk Stan´czyk: "Kampania Polska 1939" * Janusz Piekalkiewicz: "Polen Feldzug. Hitler und Stalin zerschlagen die Polnische Republik" * Ryszard Dalecki: "Armia KARPATY w wojnie obronnej 1939 r.", KAW Rzeszów 1989. * Stanley S.Seidner, ''Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz Rydz and the Defense of Poland'', New York, 1978. * Kazimierz Sosnkowski: "Cieniom Wrzesnia", MON Warszawa 1988, .

Polish September Campaign

Operation Tempest

Sources

See also