Battle of Mikołów
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Battle of Mikolow (Polish: Bitwa pod Mikolowem) refers to the border battle on September 1 and 2, 1939, that took place in the area of the town of Mikolow, located in Polish part of Upper Silesia, during the early stages of the Invasion of Poland.
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[edit] Introduction
Second World War in Polish part of Upper Silesia began with attacks of aircraft of the German 4th Air Fleet (Luftflotte), which bombed several places, including an airport in Katowice. Soon afterwards, early in the morning on September 1, 1939, units of the Wehrmacht crossed the Polish-German border. The aggressors were helped by members of the German minority in Poland, whose paramilitary organization Freikorps attacked Polish units from the rear. Several skirmishes took place, most of them in densely populated industrial areas of the cities of Ruda Slaska, Chorzow and Katowice.
However, main German attack was concentrated in the south of the industrial region, around the border towns of Mikolow and Pszczyna. There, units of the Polish Operational Group Silesia (part of Army Krakow) faced German 8th I.D. (General Erwin Koch), 28th I.D. (Gen. Hans von Oberstfelder) and German 5th Armored Division. The mentioned German units were part of the VIII Corps.
[edit] September 1, 1939
In the morning hours, German 5th Armored Division, attacking towards Rybnik and Zory, managed to annihilate Polish defense. The units destroyed by the attackers were located in the Pszczyna Forest, and their task was to provide connection between Operational Groups Silesia and Bielsko. Their loss created a gap in Polish defense, and the Germans took advantage of it on the following day. Even though Polish 55th I.D. (under General Jan Jagmin-Sadowski) was desperately fighting, it was unable to keep off the attackers.
[edit] September 2, 1939
At around 5 AM the Germans started an artillery shelling, which precipitated the main attack. Later on that day, two German battalions (49th and 83rd) moved towards Tychy, and on their way they were faced by Polish units, in the area of the village of Zwakow.
The battle that followed was one of the most ferocious of all that took place in September 1939 in Upper Silesia. Polish units managed to halt the aggressors, preventing them from capturing the town of Wyry. However, in the afternoon of September 2, even though the frontline was stabilized, the headquarters of the Armia Krakow ordered all units to leave Upper Silesia and withdraw towards Krakow and the Vistula river. This decision was undertaken because the Germans, attacking in the area of Wozniki, broke defense of the Krakow Cavalry Brigade. Also in the south the Germans broke Polish positions, and the Polish 6th I.D. was hastily retreating towards Oswiecim. Thus, units in the area of Pszczyna and Mikolow were threatened with encirclement.
[edit] Withdrawal
Withdrawal order reached all Polish units by 9 PM, Sept. 2. Most soldiers did not believe it, however they obeyed and the whole operation was carried out in order. Polish troops left Upper Silesia by September 3, heading towards Krakow. Most of these units found themselves in the area of Lublin, where they took part in the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski.
Among Polish units that distinguished themselves in the Battle of Mikolow, there was the 73rd Infantry Regiment from Katowice. Consisting of soldiers from Silesia, it was regarded as one of the best organized and toughest of the whole Polish Army.
