The Slovak invasion of Poland occurred during

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

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 September 1939. The recently created

Slovak Republic Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's ...

joined the attack, and Field Army Bernolák contributed over 50,000 soldiers in three divisions. Since most of the Polish forces were engaged with the German armies, which were more to the north of the southern border, the Slovak invasion met only weak resistance and suffered minimal losses.

Background

On March 14, 1939, the

Slovak State Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...

was established as a

client state A client state in the context of international relations is a State (polity), state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, ...

of Germany, which initiated the breakup of

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 ...

. The southern Slovak part of Czechoslovakia had contained a substantial Hungarian population (Slovakia had been part of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

). It was taken by the

Royal Hungarian Army The Royal Hungarian Army (, ) was the name given to the land forces of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary in the period from 1922 to 1945. Its name was inherited from the Royal Hungarian Honvéd which went under the same Hu ...

as a result of the

First Vienna Award The First Vienna Award was a treaty signed on 2 November 1938 pursuant to the Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace. The arbitration and award were direct consequences of the previous month's Munich Agreement, whic ...

on November 2, 1938. The official political pretext for the Slovak participation in the

Polish 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 ...

was a small disputed area on the Poland–Slovakia border. Poland had appropriated the area on October 1, 1938, after the previous month's

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

. In addition, some Polish politicians supported Hungary in its effort to include areas that were inhabited mostly by Hungarians. During secret discussions with the Germans on July 20–21, 1939, the Slovak government agreed to participate in Germany's planned attack on Poland and to allow Germany to use Slovak territory as the staging area for German troops. On August 26, Slovakia mobilised its armed forces and established a new

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

, codenamed " Bernolák", with 51,306 soldiers. Additionally, 160,000

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

s were called up, with 115,000 entering service until September 20, 1939.

Order of battle

The Bernolák army group was led by Slovak Defence Minister

Ferdinand Čatloš Ferdinand Čatloš (October 7, 1895 – August 31, 1972), born Csatlós Nándor, was a Slovak military officer and politician. Throughout his short career in the administration of the Slovak Republic he held the post of Minister of Defence. He was ...

and had its initial headquarters in

Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; ; ) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest town of the Spišská Nová Ves Distric ...

, though after September 8 this was moved to Solivar near Prešov. It consisted of: * 1st Infantry Division " Jánošík", led by Anton Pulanich in the sector

–

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

. * 2nd Infantry Division " Škultéty", led by

Alexander Čunderlík Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

in the sector

Brezno Brezno (; 1927–1948: ; or ; ) is a town in central Slovakia with a population of around 21,000. Etymology The name is derived from the Slovak word "breza" for birch. Geography Brezno is located within the Geomorphological division of Slovak ...

–

Poprad Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...

. * 3rd Infantry Division " Rázus", led by

Augustín Malár Augustín Malár (18 July 1894 – 28 February 1945) was a Slovak general during World War II. During the interwar period, Malár was one of the few successful higher officers of Slovak nationality in the Czechoslovak Army. After the German o ...

in the sector east of

High Tatra The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains (; ; ,'' Vysoki Tatry''; ; ), are a mountain range along the border of northern Slovakia in the Prešov Region, and southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. They are a range of the Tatra Mountains ...

. * A motorized unit " Kalinčiak" was created on September 5, but the campaign ended before it had arrived at the front. The group was part of the German

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

; was subordinated to the 14th Army, led by

Wilhelm List Siegmund Wilhelm Walther List (14 May 1880 – 17 August 1971) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) of the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II. List was a professional soldier in the Bavarian Army and served as a staff officer o ...

; and contributed to the 14th Army's total of five infantry divisions, three mountain divisions, two

panzer division A Panzer division was one of the Division (military)#Armored division, armored (tank) divisions in the German Army (1935–1945), army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the Blitzkrieg, ...

s and one

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

division. Bernolák's tasks were to prevent a Polish incursion into Slovakia and to support German troops. They were opposed by the Polish Carpathian Army, which consisted mainly of infantry units with some light artillery support and no tanks.

Campaign

The attack started without a formal

declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national gov ...

on September 1, 1939, at 5:00 a.m. The 1st division occupied the village of

Javorina Javorina was a military district in the Kežmarok District in northern Slovakia, in the Levoča Hills. Its area is 316.24 km2 and has no permanent population. History The military district was created in 1952. It was created from the whole ...

and the town of

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

and continued toward

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Gorals, Goral dialect: ''Nowy Torg'' ) is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Go ...

to protect the German 2nd Mountain Division from the left.S. J. Zaloga, ''Poland 1939'', Oxford: Osprey, 2002. . On September 4 and 5, it engaged in fighting with regular Polish Army units. On September 7, the division stopped its advance 30 km inside Polish territory. Later, the division was pulled back, with one battalion remaining until September 29 to occupy Zakopane,

Jurgów Jurgów () is a village in the Spisz region of southern Poland, near the border with Slovakia and the town of Bukowina Tatrzańska, on the Białka river. It lies approximately east of Bukowina Tatrzańska, north-east of Zakopane, and south of ...

and Javorina. The 2nd Division was kept in reserve and participated only in mopping-up operations in which was supported by the Kalinčiak group. The 3rd Division had to protect 170 km of the Slovak border between

Stará Ľubovňa Stará Ľubovňa (, , , , , ) is a town with approximately 16,000 inhabitants in northeastern Slovakia. The town consists of the districts Podsadek and Stará Ľubovňa. Names The name is of Slovak or Slavic origin and is potentially derived fro ...

and the border with

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. It fought minor skirmishes, and after several days, it moved into Polish territory and ended its advance on September 11. Two or three Slovak air squadrons (codenamed ''Ľalia'',

Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

) were used for

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

, bombing and close support for German fighters. Two Slovak planes were lost (one to anti-aircraft fire, another to an accidental crash), and one Polish plane was shot down. The total Slovak losses during the campaign were 37 dead, 114 wounded and 11 missing. Polish losses are unknown.https://www.thesecondworldwar.org/invasion-of-poland/battle-of-the-border/slovak-invasion

Aftermath

All Slovak units were pulled back until the end of September 1939. On October 5, a victorious military parade was held in

. The mobilised units were gradually demobilised, and the Army Group Bernolák was disbanded on October 7. The Slovak Army took around 1,350 civilian prisoners in Poland. In February 1940, around 1,200 of them were handed to Germans and some of the remainders to the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

. The rest were kept in a Slovak prison camp in

Lešť Lešť () is a municipality and a former village in the Zvolen District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia. Currently, it is the location of the Lešť military training centre. History Before the establishment of independent Czechosl ...

. All of the disputed territory, whether in Poland from 1920 or only from 1938, was given to Slovakia, which was confirmed by a Slovak parliamentary resolution on December 22, 1939. That arrangement lasted until 20 May 1945, when the border line was returned to its 1920 position. Since the war was started without a formal declaration of war and there were no longer any Polish prisoners of war held by Slovakia, there was no formal

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

between Poland and Slovakia.

Gallery

05572 Komancza - Slovak invasion of Poland (1939).JPG,

Komańcza Komańcza is a village in the Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland. It is situated in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, located near the towns of Medzilaborce and Palota (in northeastern Slovakia). Ety ...

, Poland, in 1939 Komancza 1939 onet.1.09.2010.jpg, Cheerful German and Slovak soldiers posing with Ukrainian civilians in

, Poland, in 1939 German sections of Slovak army joined in victory celebrations following Slovak invasion of Poland.png, Alexander Mach congradulates Slovak soldiers decorated for invasion of Poland.png, Slovakia1941 02.png, The Slovak Republic after the campaign

References

External links

Map of the campaign
(archived link)

{{in lang, cs Conflicts in 1939 1939 in Poland 1939 in Slovakia Poland 1939 Poland–Slovakia military relations Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939)