Karpaty Army ( pl, Armia Karpaty, , Carpathian Army) was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General

Kazimierz Fabrycy Kazimierz Fabrycy (3 March 1888, Odessa – 18 July 1958) was a Polish general. Early life Kazimierz Fabrycy was born on March 3, 1888 in Odessa, in the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire. Upon graduating from school in Niemirów he e ...

after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events that lead to the breakup of Czechoslovakia. According to Polish historians Czesław Grzelak and Henryk Stańczyk, it consisted of two mountain brigades,

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 ...

Brigade of

National Defence National security, or national defence, is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as p ...

and a Battalion ''Węgry'' ('' Hungary''). Altogether, Karpaty Army was made of 26 battalions, 160 cannons and 16 planes.

Tasks

The main task of the army was to secure mountain passes in the Carpathians from Czorsztyn to the Polish-Romanian border (total length 350 kilometers) and to protect the Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy industrial region. Furthermore, it was tasked with the protection of southern wing of

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 ...

, and the oil-rich area of Borysław and Drohobycz. In late August 1939, concentration of Karpaty Army was not yet completed, as it was to be fully operational only after the completion of mobilization of the Polish Army. Karpaty Army was the weakest of all Polish armies in 1939, lacking heavy equipment, and manned by older officers. Since the first hours of the war, Karpaty Army faced well-prepared Gebirgsjäger German divisions, whose superiority was obvious.

Operational history

Initially the army consisted of two improvised mountain brigades and a number of smaller units, but later in the course of war (on September 6) it was joined by forces of the withdrawing ''

Armia Kraków Armia ( en, Army) is Polish punk rock band founded in 1985 by Tomasz Budzyński, Sławomir Gołaszewski and Robert Brylewski. Armia is famous for its use of horn, which was unusual of punk rock bands in late 1980s and 1990s. With poetic (often ...

'', and renamed ''Armia Małopolska''. From 11 September 1939, it was commanded by General

Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969, Arundel, Quebec) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in p ...

(after General Fabrycy was reassigned to command the Polish Southern Front). On September 1 in the morning, Karpaty Army was attacked in the area of Czorsztyn by the

4th Light Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

of the Wehrmacht, supported by the 2nd Mountain Division. Backed by the Slovakian units (see Slovak invasion of Poland), the German divisions managed to break through Polish positions near

Tymbark Tymbark is a village in southern Poland, some 80 km south-east of Kraków, population 2,400 (2004 data). It lies approximately west of Limanowa and south-east of the regional capital Kraków. Tymbark was granted city rights in 1357 by Ki ...

and

Limanowa Limanowa (german: Ilmenau, yi, לימינוב ''Liminuv'') is a small town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Limanowa County and had a population of 15,132 in 2012. History Mentions of the town date bac ...

, causing a gap between Karpaty Army and the retreating Kraków Army. As a result, Polish headquarters agreed for a withdrawal. In the first days of the invasion, Karpaty Army lacked reserve units, as its main forces, the 24th and

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

Infantry Divisions, were either still mobilized, or were on their way towards the area of Tarnów. The Army took heavy casualties retreating through the San river and was destroyed during the Battle of Lwów on September 20.

Organization

Karpaty Army was commanded by General

. His chief of staff was Colonel

Witold Dzierżykraj-Morawski Witold Józef Dzierżykraj-Morawski (1895–1944) was a Polish military commander, diplomat and a pułkownik, Colonel of the Polish Army. Witold Dzierżykraj-Morawski was born in 1895 in his family's manor in Oporowo, Leszno County, Oporowo near ...

. * 2nd Mountain Brigade (''2 Brygada Górska'') * 3rd Mountain Brigade (''3 Brygada Górska'') *

Carpathian Half-Brigade of National Defence Carpathian Half-Brigade of National Defence ( pl, Karpacka Półbrygada Obrony Narodowej) was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period that took part in the Polish September Campaign. It was formed in July 1937 in Stanisławów. Original ...

(''Karpacka Półbrygada ON'') * 1st Regiment 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 ...

1st Motorized Artillery Regiment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...

* 9th Heavy Artillery Regiment Additionally, mobilisation plans called for the creation of Tarnów Group consisting of: * 22nd Infantry Division * 38th Infantry Division On 4 September the Army was strengthened by reserve units: * 11th Infantry Division * 24th Infantry Division * 38th Infantry Division

References

Armie i samodzielne grupy operacyjne Wojska Polskiego 1939
WIEM Encyklopedia {{Polish Armies 1939 Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish armies Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939