The 21st Mountain Infantry Division (, 21 DPG) Apoloniusz Zawilski: Bitwy polskiego września. Kraków: Znak Horyzont, 2019. ISBN 978-83-240-5692-7. P794 was a pre-war 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 ...

. It was one of two

mountain infantry Mountain warfare or alpine warfare is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. The term encompasses military operations affected by the terrain, hazards, and factors of combat and movement through rough terrain, as well as the strategies ...

divisions of Poland to take part in 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 ...

of 1939. Currently its traditions are continued by

Polish 21st Podhale Rifles Brigade 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 Rif ...

. Until 1939 the unit was commanded by Gen.bryg.

Józef Kustroń Józef Rudolf Kustroń (16 October 1892 – 16 September 1939) was a brigadier general of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic, commandant of the 21st Mountain Infantry Division. He was the first Polish general to die during the German i ...

and was stationed in and around the towns of

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...

Bielsko Bielsko (, ) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town. Bielsko was founded by ...

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

, Bogumin,

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 ...

. Along with

11th Infantry The 11th Infantry Regiment is a regiment in the United States Army. In 2007, the 11th Infantry was reflagged as the 199th Infantry Brigade, as part of the "Transformation of the US Army" effort. Today, the 11th Infantry Regiment is part of the ...

and 22nd Mountain Infantry Divisions, the 21st was notable for its distinctive uniforms, based on folk attire of the

Gorals The Gorals (; Goral ethnolect: ''Górole''; ; Cieszyn Silesian dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also anglicized as the Highlanders, are an ethnographic group with historical ties to the Vlachs. The Goral people are primarily found in thei ...

(Polish highlanders) rather than standard uniforms of the Polish Army. During the Invasion of Poland, the division was attached to

Bielsko Operational Group Operational Group Bielsko (''Grupa Operacyjna Bielsko'', ''GO Bielsko''), named after southern Polish city of Bielsko-Biała, was an Operational Group of the Polish Army which fought in the 1939 Invasion of Poland. Officially created on 23 March 193 ...

of the

Kraków Army Kraków Army () was one of the List of Polish armies, Polish armies which took part in the Invasion of Poland (1939), Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by ...

. It defended the line of Cieszyn-Bogumin in the region of

Trans-Olza Trans-Olza (, ; , ''Záolší''; ), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (), is a territory in the Czech Republic which was disputed between Poland and Czechoslovakia during the Interwar Period. Its name comes from the Olza River. The history of ...

. Following the steady withdrawal eastwards, it was victorious in the battles of Krzywoczka and Mogilany along the

Dunajec The Dunajec (; Goral dialects: ''Dónajec''; ) is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at ...

. Attacked on September 6 by superior forces of the

German 2nd Panzer Division The 2nd Panzer Division (English: 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army (1935–1945), German Army, the Heer, during World War II. Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in ...

and

German 4th Panzer Division The 4th Panzer Division () was an armored division in the Army of Nazi Germany. In World War II, it participated in the 1939 invasion of Poland, the 1940 invasion of France, and the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. It remained on the ...

, parts of its shielding forces managed to withdraw to the other side of the river, blowing the bridges in

Bobrowniki Bobrowniki () is a town in Lipno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bobrowniki. It lies approximately south-west of Lipno and south-east of Toruń. In ...

up. At the same time, a major part of the division was assaulted prior to the river crossing and had to withdraw northwards, where it joined with the

Polish 6th Infantry Division Polish 6th Infantry Division () was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which fought in the Polish–Ukrainian War, Polish–Soviet War and Polish September Campaign. It was formed on May 9, 1919, in the area around Kraków, its fi ...

near the town of Biskupice. Finally, the division managed to escape from German forces and cross the San river overnight of September 12 near

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 ...

. Between September 13 and September 16 the division took part in heavy fights of Gen. Boruta-Spiechowicz's

operational group Operational Group (, GO) was the highest level type of tactical division of the Polish Army at various points in the 20th century, mainly during the Second World War. Polish-Bolshevik War (1919-1921) Operational groups first appeared in the Polis ...

in the vicinity of

Oleszyce Oleszyce (, ''Oleshychi'') is a small town in Lubaczów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,089 inhabitants (02.06.2009). It is situated on the Przerwa River. History The history of Oleszyce dates back to the early 15th century. It ...

, Futorów, Cewków and Ułazów. There the division, by then reduced to merely 4,000 soldiers, managed to withstand a three days long assault of German 45th and 28th Infantry Divisions. However, on September 16 the remnants of the 21st Mountain Division were finally surrounded and most of them either capitulated or were disbanded by their commanders. The division's commanding officer,

, was killed on the battlefield while personally leading his soldiers in an assault.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:21st Military units and formations established in 1919 Mountain infantry divisions of Poland Military units and formations disestablished in 1944

See also

References