The 21st Mountain Infantry Division (, 21 DPG) was a pre-war unit of the Polish Army. It was one of two mountain infantry divisions of Poland to take part in the Invasion of Poland of 1939. Currently its traditions are continued by Polish 21st Podhale Rifles Brigade. Until 1939 the unit was commanded by Gen.bryg. Józef Kustroń and was stationed in and around the towns of

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...

, Bielsko, Cieszyn, Bogumin, Kraków. Along with

11th Infantry The 11th Infantry Regiment is a regiment in the United States Army. In 2007, the 11th Infantry was reflagged as the 199th Infantry Brigade, as part of the "Transformation of the US Army" effort. Today, the 11th Infantry Regiment is part of the ...

and 22nd Mountain Infantry Divisions, the 21st was notable for its distinctive uniforms, based on folk attire of the Gorals (Polish highlanders) rather than standard uniforms of the Polish Army. During the Invasion of Poland, the division was attached to

Bielsko Operational Group Operational Group Bielsko (''Grupa Operacyjna Bielsko'', ''GO Bielsko''), named after southern Polish city of Bielsko-Biała, was an Operational Group of the Polish Army which fought in the 1939 Invasion of Poland. Officially created on 23 March 193 ...

of the

Kraków Army Kraków Army ( pl, Armia Kraków) was one of the Polish armies which took 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. Original ...

. It defended the line of Cieszyn-Bogumin in the region of Zaolzie. Following the steady withdrawal eastwards, it was victorious in the battles of Krzywoczka and Mogilany along the

Dunajec The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at t ...

. Attacked on September 6 by superior forces of the German 2nd Panzer Division and German 4th Panzer Division, parts of its shielding forces managed to withdraw to the other side of the river, blowing the bridges in

Bobrowniki Bobrowniki (; german: Beberen) is a village in Lipno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bobrowniki. It lies approximately south-west of Lipno a ...

up. At the same time, a major part of the division was assaulted prior to the river crossing and had to withdraw northwards, where it joined with the Polish 6th Infantry Division near the town of Biskupice. Finally, the division managed to escape from German forces and cross the San river overnight of September 12 near Jarosław. Between September 13 and September 16 the division took part in heavy fights of Gen. Boruta-Spiechowicz's operational group in the vicinity of Oleszyce, Futorów, Cewków and Ułazów. There the division, by then reduced to merely 4,000 soldiers, managed to withstand a three days long assault of German 45th and 28th Infantry Divisions. However, on September 16 the remnants of the 21st Mountain Division were finally surrounded and most of them either capitulated or were disbanded by their commanders. The division's commanding officer, Józef Kustroń, was killed on the battlefield while personally leading his soldiers in an assault.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:21st Military units and formations established in 1919 Mountain infantry divisions of Poland Military units and formations disestablished in 1944

See also

References