The 33rd Infantry Division was a reserve infantry division 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 final days of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. It was not part of peacetime structure of the army, and was formed on August 24–27, 1939, out of units stationed at military districts I (

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) and III (

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

). It consisted mainly of

Border Protection Corps The Border Protection Corps () was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other borders were under the jurisdiction of ...

battalions, together with students of Central Border Protection Corps Officer School ( Osowiec) and 32nd Light Artillery from

Rembertów Rembertów () is a dzielnica, district of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Between 1939 and 1957 Rembertów was a separate town, after which it was incorporated as part of the borough of Praga-Południe. Between 1994 and 2002 it formed ...

. According to the operational plan of the Polish Army, the Division, commanded by Colonel Tadeusz Zieleniewski became part of

Independent Operational Group Narew Independent Operational Group Narew (''Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna Narew'', SGO Narew) was one of the Polish Army Corps (Operational Groups) that defended Poland during the Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the Se ...

, as a reserve unit. In late August 1939, it concentrated in Czerwony Bór, and was tasked with defending the area of

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 ...

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

Nowogród Nowogród is a small town in northeastern Poland, located about away from the city of Łomża, Łomża County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, with 1,998 inhabitants (2004). It is centered on the area known as Skansen Kurpiowski which is an open-air m ...

. One of divisional units was sent to

Osowiec Fortress Osowiec Fortress (; ) is a 19th-century fortress built by the Russian Empire, located in what is now north-eastern Poland. It saw heavy fighting during World War I when it was defended for several months by its Russian garrison against Germa ...

. In the first three days of 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 ...

, the division had limited contact with the enemy. On September 5, it was ordered to attack the

3rd Army (Wehrmacht) The 3rd Army () was a Nazi Germany, German field army that fought during World War II. Combat chronicle The 3rd Army was activated on September 1, 1939, the day German forces invaded Poland. It was put under the command of General of the Artil ...

. On the next day, it marched to its concentration point, north of Wyszków. In the night of September 6/7, 1939, the division, together with other units of the Wyszków Group, attacked the town of

Różan Różan is a town in Mazovian Voivodeship, northeastern Poland, on the river Narew. National roads National road 60 (Poland), 60 and National road 60 (Poland), 61 intersect in the town. History In the late Middle Ages, Różan emerged as an impo ...

, in order to hold Polish 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. 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 ...

responded with its panzers along a wide front, which resulted in a general Polish retreat. Subunits of the division began to flee in panic, mixing with the 41st Infantry Division, which also retreated. Polish losses were high, furthermore, Colonel Zieleniewski was unable to find General Wacław Piekarski, commandant of the 41st Division. On September 7, five battalions of the 33rd Division reached Wyszków. On the next day, remnants of the Division were attached to

Modlin Army Modlin Army () was one of the Polish armies that were part of the Polish defense against the German Invasion of Poland. After heavy casualties in the battle of Mława (September 1–3), the Army was forced to abandon its positions near Warsaw arou ...

. On September 10, the Division, while on the march, was attacked by tanks of

Panzer Division Kempf The Panzer Division "Kempf" (, also ''East Prussia Panzer Formation'' (de: ''Panzerverband Ostpreußen'') was an ''ad hoc'' combined arms formation consisting of regular German Army personnel and SS. It was created for operations out of East Pr ...

. After another retreat, the Division regrouped in the village of

Piszczac Piszczac is a town in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. Today it is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Piszczac. It lies approximately east of Biała Podlaska and north-east of the regional ...

, where it rested for two days, and received new equipment from military magazines at

Biała Podlaska Biała Podlaska (; ) is a city in the Lublin Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants It is the capital of Biała Podlaska County, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The city lies on ...

. In the night of September 14/15, General Mieczyslaw Rys-Trojanowski, who at that time stayed at

Kowel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War II ...

, ordered the Division to march to

Brzesc nad Bugiem Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug (river), Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as ...

, in order to reinforce the garrison of the

Brest Fortress Brest Fortress (; ; ; ), formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress, is a 19th-century fortress in Brest, Belarus. In 1965, the title Hero Fortress was given to the fortress to commemorate the defence of the frontier stronghold during the fi ...

. Even though General Rys-Trojanowski was not in the position to dispose of units of Modlin Army, Colonel Zieleniewski obeyed the order, and in the morning of September 15 commanded his soldiers to march to Brzesc. Soon afterwards, however, General

Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski also known as Emil Karol Przedrzymirski de Krukowicz (1886-1957) was a Polish general. Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski was born in 1886. He began military service as an artillery officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army during W ...

came to Piszczac, and ordered Zieleniewski to march to

Włodawa Włodawa () is a town in eastern Poland on the Bug River, close to the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. It is the seat of Włodawa County, situated in the Lublin Voivodeship. it has a population of 13,500. Geography The town lies along the borde ...

. On September 17, the Division took part in a skirmish near Włodawa, after which it joined Northern Front of General Stefan Dąb-Biernacki, and marched southwards. On September 19 at the village of Majdan Ostrowski, General Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski reorganized his forces, merging the remnants of the 33rd I.D. with the remnants of the 41st I.D. The new unit, with 6000 soldiers and 35 cannons, was named the 41st I.D., was commanded by General Wacław Piekarski.

Sources

* Tadeusz Jurga, Władysław Karbowski, Armia „Modlin" 1939, Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, Warszawa 1987, {{ISBN, 83-11-07274-4.

Sources

See also