Operational Group (, GO) was the highest level type of tactical 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 ...
at various points in the 20th century, mainly during the Second World War.
Polish-Bolshevik War (1919-1921)
Operational groups first appeared in the Polish tactical scheme during the
Polish-Bolshevik War, most probably under the influence of
French Military Mission to Poland. After the war they were dissolved.
Annexation of Trans-Olza (1938)
In the autumn of 1938, the
Independent Operational Group Silesia was created with the purpose of capturing
Trans-Olza from
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
.
World War II (1939-1945)
Prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, operational groups were recreated on a larger scale. Initially, in March 1939, Operational Groups consisted only of staffs formed around existing
corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
commands. Some groups were formed during the final mobilization of late August 1939, while others were formed during the war as strategic considerations necessitated. Most were attached to armies, several however were independent. According to the Polish mobilization scheme, they were to become mobile reserves of the
Polish armies and other major strategic-scale units. One such group, the
Kutno Operational Group, was planned but never created
Independent Operational Groups:
*
Independent Operational Group "Polesie" (''Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna Polesie'') under gen.
Franciszek Kleeberg. Created around September 9th-11th.
*
Independent Operational Group "Narew" (''Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna Narew'') under gen.
Czesław Młot-Fijałkowski. Created on March 23
* Operational Group "
Wyszków" (''Grupa Operacyjna Wyszków'') under gen.
Wincenty Kowalski. Created on September
1.
* Operational Group "
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 ...
" (''Grupa Operacyjna Grodno'') under gen.
Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński. Created in early September; disbanded on September 10 before the
battle of Grodno begun; most units moved towards Lwów.
Cavalry Operational Groups:
* Cavalry Operational Group Abraham (''Grupa Operacyjna Kawalerii Abraham'') under
Roman Abraham
* Cavalry Operational Group Anders (''Grupa Operacyjna Kawalerii Anders'') under gen.
Władysław Anders
Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London.
Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...
* Cavalry Operational Group No.1 (''Grupa Operacyjna Kawalerii Nr 1'')
* Cavalry Operational Group No.2 (''Grupa Operacyjna Kawalerii Nr 2'')
Operational Groups formed as parts of armies:
*
Operational Group "Bielsko"" (''Grupa Operacyjna Bielsko'') under gen.
Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz (on September 3 renamed to Operational Group "Boruta") (''Grupa Operacyjna Boruta'')
*
Operational Group "Czersk" (''Grupa Operacyjna Czersk'') under gen.
Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki
* Operational Group "
Koło" (''Grupa Operacyjna Koło'') under gen.
Edmund Knoll-Kownacki (on September 6 renamed to Operational Group "Knoll-Kownacki") (''Grupa Operacyjna Knoll-Kownacki'')
* Operational Group "
Piotrków" (''Grupa Operacyjna Piotrków'') under gen.
Wiktor Thommée (on September 6 renamed to Operational Group "Thommée") (''Grupa Operacyjna Thommée'')
* Southern Operational Group (''Południowa Grupa Operacyjna'') under gen.
Stanisław Skwarczyński
* Northern Operational Group (''Pólnocna Grupa Operacyjna'') under gen.
Jan Kruszewski
* Operational Group "
Sieradz" (''Grupa Operacyjna Sieradz'') under gen.
Franciszek Dindorf-Ankowicz
* Operational Group "
Śląsk" (''Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna Śląsk'') under gen.
Jan Jagmin-Sadowski (on September 3 renamed to Operational Group "Jagmin" (''Grupa Operacyjna Jagmin''))
* Eastern Operational Group (''Wschodnia Grupa Operacyjna'') under gen.
Mikołaj Bołtuć (on September 9 renamed to Operational Group "Bołtuć") (''Grupa Operacyjna Bołtuć'')
In addition, during 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 ...
in 1939, several other corps-sized units were formed or improvised. All of them were named after their commanding officers:
# Operational Group Dreszer (''Grupa Operacyjna Dreszer'') under
Rudolf Dreszer
# Operational Group Orlik-Łukoski (''Grupa Operacyjn Orlik-Łukoski'') under
Kazimierz Orlik-Łukoski
# Operational Group Grzmot-Skotnicki (''Grupa Operacyjna Grzmot-Skotnicki'') under
Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki
# Operational Group Kareszewicz-Tokarzewski (''Grupa Operacyjna Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski'') under
Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski
# Operational Group Zaulauf under (''Grupa Operacyjna Zulauf'')
Juliusz Zulauf
Post-World War II (1946-1947)
There were also several operational groups created by the
Polish People's Army (''Ludowe Wojsko Polskie'') after the war in the years 1946-1947.
See also
*
Polish army order of battle in 1939
References
{{reflist