{{unreferenced, date=November 2011 The 36th Reserve Infantry Division (''36 Rezerwowa 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

interbellum 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 relativel ...

, which took part in the

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 ...

. It was formed out of several brigades of the

Border Defence Corps The Border Protection Corps ( pl, Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza, KOP) was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other ...

of the

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

region, which had guarded southeastern border of Poland (see:

Kresy Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the History of Poland (1918–1939), interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural ...

). In the first days of September 1939, under Colonel Boleslaw Ostrowski, the Division was concentrated in the area of Szydłowiec, as part of the

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 ' ...

. Facing the Poles was the Second Armored Division of the

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 ...

, whose units attacked Przedborz on September 3 and after heavy fights managed to capture the town. On September 6, the German First Light Division crossed the

Pilica River Pilica is a river in central Poland, the longest left tributary of the Vistula river, with a length of 333 kilometres (8th longest) and a basin area of 9,258 km2 (all in Poland).Skarżysko-Kamienna Skarżysko-Kamienna is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name of ''Kamienna''; i ...

. At the same time, Polish divisions on the right wing of the Prusy Army were destroyed and the 36th I.D. retreated to

Końskie Końskie ( yi, Kinsk, קינצק / קינסק) is a town in south-central Poland with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and since its found ...

. In the morning of September 7, the Germans attacked Polish positions near Kazanów, and in the battle Polish regiments lost up to 40% of KIA, MIA and wounded. On September 8, Colonel Ostrowski, after finding out that the Germans had captured Skarżysko-Kamienna, decided to move northwards, to Szydłowiec. However, on the same day the Germans attacked at noon. The marching Division was split and its units were separated. Ostrowski himself got to

Kozienice Kozienice (; yi, קאזשניץ ''Kozhnits''; german: Koschnitz) is a town in eastern Poland with 21,500 inhabitants (1995). Located four miles from the Vistula, it is the capital of Kozienice County. Even though Kozienice is part of Lesser Pol ...

and later 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 ...

. Meanwhile, the Germans attacked Polish units in the nearby forests of the

Holy Cross Mountains Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

, with heavy losses of both sides. On September 9, remaining parts of the 36th I.D. reached

Iłża Iłża () is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. In 2006 Iłża had approximately 5,165 inhabitants. The town belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland, and from its foundation until 1795, it was part of Lesser Poland’s Sandom ...

and then headed towards the Vistula. However, the Germans had already been on the western bank of the river. Under the circumstances, the Poles split into smaller groups and crossed the river, joining the

Lublin Army Lublin Army ( pl, Armia Lublin) was an improvised Polish Army created on September 4, 1939 from the Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade and various smaller units concentrated around the cities of Lublin, Sandomierz and upper Vistula river. It was com ...

. This was the end of the 36th I.D.

Structure

Headquarters of the 36th was based on the Border Defence Corps Brigade Podole. * 163rd Infantry Regiment, based on Border Defence Corps Brigades

Czortków Chortkiv ( uk, Чортків; pl, Czortków; yi, ''Chortkov'') is a city in Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast (Oblast, province) in western Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of the Chortkiv Raion (Raion, district), housing ...

, Borszczow,

Skalat Skálat (; pl, Skałat, links=no, yi, סקאלאט, Skalat) is a town in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil, Ternopil Oblast (Oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Skalat urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Popula ...

and Turylcze, * 164th Infantry Regiment, was based on parts of the 38th Infantry Regiment from Przemyśl, with additional units from Stanisławów and Stryj, * 165th Infantry Regiment, was based on parts of the 17th Infantry Regiment from

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

and the Border Defence Corps Brigade Kopczynce * 40th Light Artillery Regiment was based on the 24th Light Artillery Regiment from

Jarosław Jarosław (; uk, Ярослав, Yaroslav, ; yi, יאַרעסלאָוו, Yareslov; german: Jaroslau) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 38,970 inhabitants, as of 30 June 2014. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...

as well as units from Czortków and Przemyśl.

References

36th 36th Military units and formations disestablished in 1939

Structure

See also

References