10th Infantry Division (10. Dywizja Piechoty) was a unit of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

during the interbellum period, which took part in the 1939 German

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 ...

. It was created in 1919 from the former

Polish 4th Rifle Division The Polish 4th Rifle Division ( pl, 4. Dywizja Strzelców Polskich, russian: Полская 4-я Стрелковая Дивизия) was a Polish military unit, forming, together with the Polish 5th Rifle Division of the Blue Army, the only part ...

. Stationed in

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 commanded in 1939 by General Franciszek Dindorf-Ankowicz, it was part of

Łódź Army Łódź Army ( pl, Armia Łódź) was one of the Polish armies that took part in the Invasion of Poland of 1939. It was officially created on 23 March 1939 with the task of filling the gap between Poznań Army in the north and Kraków Army in the ...

. Its task was to defend the fortified area along the upper

Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

river, near the interwar border of Poland and Germany. Since early morning of 1 September 1939, the Division was mercilessly attacked by the German Eighth Army, supported by aircraft and artillery. The Poles managed to keep their positions until 3 September, when they were ordered to withdraw 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 Voivodes ...

, and defend the river crossings. However, in the organizational and communicational chaos, the unit arrived at the destination several hours too late, after the Germans of the 17th Infantry Division had already crossed the Warta in some spots. Soon afterwards, the 10th Infantry Division was attacked by the German 10th and 24th infantry divisions and after a bloody battle, it was defeated. Remains were gathered and ordered to withdraw towards

Głowno Głowno is a town and community in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County, about 25 km northeast of Łódź. The town administratively belonged to the Łódź Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. According to data from 2020, the city h ...

and

Zgierz Zgierz is a city in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź, and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2021 it had a population of 54,974. Zgierz is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previousl ...

. On 8 September, after several German attacks, the Division was scattered, a group of soldiers crossed 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 ...

near

Otwock Otwock is a city in east-central Poland, some southeast of Warsaw, with 44,635 inhabitants (2019). Otwock is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is hom ...

Order of Battle (1939)

* Division Headquarters - based in

* 28th Infantry Regiment '' Kaniów Riflemen'' (''28 Pułk Strzelców Kaniowskich'') - based in

* 30th Infantry Regiment ''Kaniów Riflemen'' (''30 Pułk Strzelców Kaniowskich'') - based in

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 ...

* 31st Infantry Regiment ''Kaniów Riflemen'' (''31 Pułk Strzelców Kaniowskich'') - based in

and

* 10th Light Artillery Regiment ''Kaniów'' (''10 Kaniowski Pułk Artylerii Lekkiej'') - based in

Later formations

There were at least three other Polish 10th Infantry Divisions formed during World War II and shortly afterwards. The first was a briefly-formed formation which was part of the

Anders Army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understandi ...

in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, but was disbanded before the Anders Army was evacuated through Iran to the West. The second was a

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

formation. The third was another element of the

Polish Armed Forces in the East The Polish Armed Forces in the East ( pl, Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Wschodzie), also called Polish Army in the USSR, were the Polish Armed Forces, Polish military forces established in the Soviet Union during World War II. Two armies were formed ...

, which formed part of the Second Army in 1944-1945. After the war it eventually became the 10th Armoured Division of the

Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the Polish Peo ...

in 1949-1950.

References

* Tadeusz Jurga: Wojsko Polskie. Krótki informator historyczny o Wojsku Polskim w latach II wojny światowej. 7, Regularne jednostki Wojska Polskiego w 1939. Organizacja, działania bojowe, uzbrojenie, metryki związków operacyjnych, dywizji i brygad. Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej 1975. * Lech Wyszczelski: Wojsko Polskie w latach 1918-1921. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2006. . * Zdzisław Jagiełło: Piechota Wojska Polskiego 1918-1939. Warszawa: Bellona, 2007. {{ISBN, 978-83-11-10206-4. * Almanach oficerski, praca zbiorowa, Wojskowy Instytut Naukowo-Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1923. * Księga chwały piechoty, komitet redakcyjny pod przewodnictwem płk. dypl. Bolesława Prugara Ketlinga, Departament Piechoty MSWojsk, Warszawa 1937-1939. Reprint: Wydawnictwo Bellona Warszawa 1992.

Order of Battle (1939)

Later formations

References

See also