The 38th Infantry Division (Reserve) was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period (see:

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

). It was created by merging several units 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 b ...

, and its purpose was to support activities of Army Kraków and

Army Karpaty Karpaty Army ( pl, Armia Karpaty, , Carpathian Army) was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the eve ...

, which guarded southern border of Poland. Its commandant was Colonel

Alojzy Wir-Konas Alojzy Wir-Konas (Maków Podhalański, 1894 – 1940) was a Polish military commander and the Colonel in the Polish Army. Serving as Divisional Commander during the Invasion of Poland, he was murdered in the Katyn massacre. Alojzy Konas joined th ...

. The Division was formed on September 9, 1939 (see: Polish September Campaign). After concentration, which took place in the area of Nizankowice, it was transferred to the Army Karpaty and on September 11, it began withdrawal towards the Romanian Bridgehead. On the road, it recaptured the town of

Sadowa Wisznia Sudova Vyshnia ( uk, Судова Вишня) is a town in the Yavoriv district of the Lviv Oblast (region) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sudova Vyshnia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is . The town h ...

, which had been occupied by German 1st Mountain Division. The division was assigned two out of three from the 1. Heaviest Artillery Regiment. On September 17 the Division found itself in the area of

Janów Lubelski Janów Lubelski is a town in southeastern Poland. It has 11,938 inhabitants (2006). Situated in the Lublin Voivodship (since 1999), Janów Lubelski belongs to Lesser Poland, and is located in southeastern corner of this historic Polish province. ...

, where it was surrounded by the Germans. A battle ensued, in the evening the Division reached

Brzuchowice Briukhovychi (; ) is an urban-type settlement in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast of Ukraine. It belongs to Lviv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Between 1939 and 1942, and again from 1944 to 1957, Briukhovychi was the center of Briukhovychi ...

in the suburbs of

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

. Two days later the survivors managed to enter Lwów.

References

Infantry divisions of Poland Military units and formations established in 1939 Infantry divisions of Poland in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1939 {{Poland-mil-stub

See also

References