Kraków Army
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Kraków Army (Polish: Armia Kraków) was one of the Polish armies to take part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by Gen. Antoni Szylling.
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[edit] Tasks
Its main task was to delay advancing German troops and withdraw eastwards along the northern line of the Carpathians and defend the heavily industrialized Upper Silesia region.
[edit] Operational history
During the war it was forced to retreat when German push penetrated Polish defences to the north and flanked it. It tried to organize lines of defense on the rivers of Nida, Dunajec and later, San. Later in the course of war it joined the Armia Karpaty, forming the Małopolska Army. Together they fought at the first battle of Tomaszów Lubelski (September 17-20), capitulating afterwards.
[edit] Organization
The Army was commanded by general Antoni Szylling; his chief of staff was colonel S. Wiloch.
It consisted of five infantry divisions, one mountain brigade, one motorized cavalry brigade, one mountain brigade and one cavalry brigade.
| Kraków Army | Unit | Polish name | Commander | Remarks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army units - gen. Antoni Szylling | |||||||||||||
| 6th Infantry Division | 6 Dywizja Piechoty | Bernard Mond | |||||||||||
| 7th Infantry Division | 7 Dywizja Piechoty | gen. bryg. Janusz Gąsiorowski | |||||||||||
| Krakowska Cavalry Brigade | Krakowska Brygada Kawalerii | gen.bryg. Zygmunt Piasecki | |||||||||||
| 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade | 10 Brygada Kawalerii Zmotoryzowanej | płk. Stanisław Maczek | |||||||||||
| 22th Mountain Infantry Division | 22. Dywizja Piechoty Górskiej | col. Leopold Engel-Ragis | in theory reserve of Łódź Army, in practice delays made it unavailable on that part of the front (part of Karpaty Army till 2 September, Kraków Army afterwards | ||||||||||
| Śląsk Operational Group - gen. Jan Jagmin-Sadowski | |||||||||||||
| 23rd Infantry Division | 23 Dywizja Piechoty | płk. Władysław Powierza | Upper Silesian | ||||||||||
| 55th Infantry Division | 55 Dywizja Piechoty | płk. Stanisław Kalabiński | reserve | ||||||||||
| Bielsko Operational Group - gen. Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz | |||||||||||||
| 21st Mountain Infantry Division | 21 Dywizja Piechoty Górskiej | gen. Józef Kustroń | |||||||||||
| 1st Mountain Brigade | 1 Brygada Górska | płk Janusz Gaładyk | mostly elite KOP troops | ||||||||||
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- (Polish) Władysław Steblik; Eugeniusz Kozłowski. Armia "Kraków" 1939. Warsaw: Wojskowy Instytut Historyczny, Ministry of National Defence Press, 775. ISBN 8311074348.
[edit] See also
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