Łódź Army ( pl, Armia Łódź) was one of the

Polish armies The following is a list of Polish Armies during World War II, together with their commanders and brigade and division-sized units. For a more detailed list see: Polish army order of battle in 1939. {, border=0 cellpadding=2 , - , width=10 bgc ...

that took part in the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

of 1939. It was officially created on 23 March 1939 with the task of filling the gap between

Poznań Army Army Poznań ( pl, Armia Poznań) led by Major General Tadeusz Kutrzeba was one of the Polish Armies during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Tasks Flanked by Armia Pomorze to the north and Łódź Army to the south, the Army was to provide f ...

in the north and Kraków Army in the south. Commanded by

Juliusz Rómmel Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel (german: Julius Karl Wilhelm Josef Freiherr von Rummel; 3 June 1881 – 8 September 1967) was a Polish military commander, a general of the Polish Armed Forces. He graduated from the Corps of Cadets in Pskov a ...

, it consisted of five infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades with support from the air force.

Tasks

The army's task was to fill the gap between

Army Poznań An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in the north (defending

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

under general

Tadeusz Kutrzeba Tadeusz Kutrzeba (15 April 1885 – 8 January 1947) was a general of the army during the Second Polish Republic. He served as a major general in the Polish Army in overall command of Army Poznań during the 1939 German Invasion of Poland. :pl:Ta ...

) and

Army Kraków An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in the south (operating in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

and

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

under general Antoni Szylling), prevent enemy attacks in the direction of

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

and

Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it wa ...

and if possible, advance towards

Sieradz Sieradz ( la, Siradia, yi, שעראַדז, שערעדז, שעריץ, german: 1941-45 Schieratz) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivode ...

. It was also to cover the

mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

of a reserve

Prusy Army The Prusy Army ( pl, Armia Prusy) was one of the Polish armies to fight during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Created in the summer of 1939 as the main reserve of the Commander in Chief, it was commanded by Gen. Stefan Dąb-Biernacki. The word ' ...

behind the Polish lines. Because of that, the main strategic purpose of the army was to gain time and offer delaying actions and harsh resistance on the expected main German offensive line (

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

)in order for the mobilization to be accomplished.

Operational history

Despite several early successes, such as the

Battle of Mokra The Battle of Mokra took place on 1 September 1939 near the village of Mokra, 5 km north of Kłobuck and 23 km north-west of Częstochowa, Poland. It was one of the first battles of the Invasion of Poland, during the Second World Wa ...

on 1 September, where the Volhynian Cavalry Brigade stopped the

German 4th Panzer Division The 4th Panzer Division ( en, 4th Tank 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. I ...

, the army was forced to withdraw towards the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

River under increasing German pressure. The German

Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name 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 Sou ...

under

Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German field marshal in the '' Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. Born into a Prussian family with a long military tradition, Rundstedt entered th ...

struck along the lines dividing the Polish Army Łódź from

and

. Without any natural defences, and facing a significant enemy force while lacking support, Rómmel's army was easily outmanoeuvred and cut off from the rest of the Polish forces during the remainder of the battle of the Border, with most of its units being outflanked by the German Eighth Army and the German Tenth Army. Łódź was taken by the Germans on 8 September. By the beginning of the second week of fighting, Army Łódź had suffered heavy casualties and failed to carry out its task of defending its part of the Polish borders. General Rómmel advanced with a small contingent of forces through towards Warsaw, where he assumed command of the improvised

Warsaw Army The Warszawa Army ( pl, Armia Warszawa) was one of the List of Polish armies in World War II, Polish armies to take part in the Invasion of Poland (1939), Polish Defensive War of 1939. Created on 8 September, eight days after the invasion begun, it ...

tasked with defending the Polish capital (see siege of Warsaw), but he left most of his forces behind. General

Wiktor Thommée Wiktor Thommée (1881–1962) was a Polish military commander and a brigadier general of the Polish Army. A veteran of the Great War and the Russian Civil War, he is best known for his command over Piotrków Operational Group and the battle of t ...

assumed command of the remaining units. Piotrków Group, or as it became known after its commander, Thommée's Group, was much more successful, managing to avoid encirclement, and after the

Battle of Wola Cyrusowa The Battle of Wola Cyrusowa took place on 8 September 1939 near the village of Wola Cyrusowa near Stryków in Poland, during the September Campaign. It was fought between the forces of the Polish Piotrków Operational Group under Gen. Wiktor Th ...

(September 8) his corps' last battle was the defence of the Modlin fortress (capitulated on 29 September).

Organization

Army's commander was general

. His chief of staff was colonel

Aleksander Pragłowski Alexander is a male given name. 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 Aleksandar, Al ...

. The Army also contained an

Operational Group {{Unreferenced, date=October 2008 Operational Group ( pl, Grupa Operacyjna, abbreviated GO) was the highest level of tactical division of the Polish Army before and during World War II and the invasion of Poland. It was corps-sized, although variou ...

'Piotrków' under general

. The Army also had smaller notable units, such as two

armoured train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...

s (no.52 and no.53).

References

Armie i samodzielne grupy operacyjne Wojska Polskiego 1939

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in pl, Wielka Interaktywna Encyklopedia Multimedialna - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The first printed edition was released ...

*Jan Wróblewski, ''Armia Łódź'', Wydawnictwo Wojskowego Instytutu Historycznego, Warszawa 1975 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lodz Army Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish armies Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939