The 27 Infantry Division (Polish: ''27 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 stre ...

in the

inter-war period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

. It was created on 18 October 1920, as a result of reorganization of the Army, from units of the 2nd I.D., 3rd I.D., and 13th I.D. Its headquarters were located in

Kowel Kovel (, ; pl, Kowel; yi, קאוולע / קאוולי ) is a city in Volyn Oblast (province), in northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion (district). Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runi ...

, with units stationed in other

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

n towns, such as

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...

Sarny Sarny ( uk, Сáрни), translated as '' Does'', is a small city in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Sarny Raion (district), and is a major railway node on the Sluch River. Population: History His ...

and Wlodzimierz Wolynski. Division's first commandant was General Gustaw Kuchinka.

Participation in Polish September Campaign

The Division, under General Juliusz Drapella, was mobilized between 14 and 16 August 1939. In the following days it was transported by rail to the area of Bydgoszcz and

Inowrocław Inowrocław (; german: Hohensalza; before 1904: Inowrazlaw; archaic: Jungleslau) is a city in central Poland with a total population of 70,713 in December 2021. It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, previously in the B ...

, and finally, by 27 August, it was placed southwest of

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; csb, Starogarda; formerly german: Preußisch Stargard) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. It is ...

, as part of the

Pomorze Army The Pomeranian Army ( pl, Armia Pomorze) was one of the Polish armies defending against the 1939 Invasion of Poland. It was officially created on March 23, 1939. Led by General dywizji Władysław Bortnowski, it consisted of 5 infantry divisions, ...

. Steven Zaloga, ''Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg'', Osprey Publishing, 2002 , On 1 September 1939 (see:

Polish September Campaign 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 af ...

) the Division was ordered to march towards

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

. The next day it engaged in heavy fights with the advancing

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. On the third day of the war, it was cut off from the Pomorze Army after bloody fights around Terespol Pomorski and

Świecie Świecie (; german: Schwetz) is a town in northern Poland with 25,968 inhabitants (2006), situated in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999); it was in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. It is the capital of Świecie County. Locati ...

. The Germans managed to destroy the bulk of the unit in a battle waged in forests around

Wierzchucin Wierzchucin is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Cekcyn, within Tuchola County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Cekcyn, east of Tuchola Tuchola (german: Tuchel; ...

. Remaining parts of the Division managed to reach Bydgoszcz and later Toruń. There, the Division was moved to the rear to reorganize and recuperate. On 6 September, the Division, renamed into Operational Group of General Drapella and strengthened by reserve units including the 208th Infantry Regiment from Inowrocław and National Defence Battalion Starogard, was ordered to defend Toruń from west. The next day, it began a retreat towards

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 ...

, covering the main forces of the Pomorze Army. During the following days, it helped Polish units fighting in the

Battle of the Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was the largest Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Google Print snippet ...

, engaging the Wehrmacht around

Solec Kujawski Solec Kujawski (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Schulitz) is a town in north-central Poland with 15,505 inhabitants, located in Bydgoszcz County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is situated within the historic region of Kuyavia, around ...

(7–8 September),

Włocławek Włocławek (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Leslau) is a city located in central Poland along the Vistula (Wisła) River and is bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park. As of December 2021, the population of the city is 106,928. Loc ...

and

Brześć Kujawski Brześć Kujawski (Polish pronunciation: ; or ''Kujawisch Brest''; often anglicized to Kuyavian Brest) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland. Once a royal seat of Kuyavia, the town has been the seat of one of two small du ...

(9–12 September). Withdrawing towards southeast, it attacked a German outpost near

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

, but without success. On 16 September, the Group was ordered to march towards

Gąbin Gąbin is a small town in Płock County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,065 inhabitants as of December 2021. The Warsaw radio mast, which stood near Gąbin, was the tallest structure in the world until its collapse in 1991. History Gąb ...

, but was attacked by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

and German ground forces. The Group was destroyed. Separate smaller groups of soldiers managed to break to the besieged

fortress of Modlin Modlin Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Modlin) is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was orig ...

. Other survivors made it to Warsaw. Around 19 September, a member of the Division wrapped and buried the Division's flag to prevent its capture by German forces. The flag was discovered in September 1959 and was put on display in the Polish Army Museum.

Recreation in 1944

In early 1944, the Division was recreated as

Polish 27th Home Army Infantry Division 27th Volhynian Infantry Division ( pl, 27 Wołyńska Dywizja Piechoty) was a World War II Poland, Polish Armia Krajowa unit fighting in the Volhynia region in 1944. It was created on January 15, 1944, from smaller partisan self-defence units duri ...

and it was the biggest partisan unit in Central Europe with 7,300 soldiers.

References

{{Reflist

27th 27 (twenty-seven; Roman numeral XXVII) is the natural number following 26 and preceding 28. In mathematics * Twenty-seven is a cube of 3: 3^3=3\times 3\times 3. 27 is also 23 (see tetration). There are exactly 27 straight lines on a smooth ...

Military units and formations established in 1920 1920 establishments in Poland Military units and formations disestablished in 1939

Participation in Polish September Campaign

Recreation in 1944

See also

References