Modlin Army ( pl, Armia Modlin) was one of the

Polish armies The following is a list of Polish Armies during World War II, together with their commanders and brigade and division-sized units. For a more detailed list see: Polish army order of battle in 1939. {, border=0 cellpadding=2 , - , width=10 bgc ...

that took part in the Polish world war 2 defence of 1939. After heavy casualties in the

battle of Mława The Battle of Mława, otherwise known as the Defence of the Mława position, took place to the north of the town of Mława in northern Poland between 1 and 3 September 1939. It was one of the opening battles of the Invasion of Poland and World Wa ...

(September 1–3), the Army was forced to abandon its positions near Warsaw around September 10; eventually it took part in the battle of Tomaszów Mazowiecki (September 21–26) and surrendered afterwards.

Tasks

Named after Fort Modlin (where its initial headquarters were located), it was officially created on March 23, 1939 with the task of defending the Polish capital of

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 ...

and the city of

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 ...

from the north. It took positions near the fortified lines along the border with East Prussia near

Mława Mława (; yi, מלאווע ''Mlave'') is a town in north-east Poland with 30,403 inhabitants in 2020. It is the capital of Mława County. It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the battle of Mława was ...

, and was supposed to retreat in an organized fashion towards the second line of defense towards the Narew and

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 ...

rivers.

Operational history

When the Germans invaded on September 1, not all of the planned fortifications had been completed; some of the Army's units (such as the

Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade ( pl, Mazowiecka Brygada Kawalerii) was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which took part in the Polish September Campaign. It was created on April 1, 1937, out of former 1st Cavalry Brigade. It ...

) had arrived in their designated areas only by 30 August (and its area had only 3 out of 40 planned fortifications completed). During the Battle of the Border (particularly the

on September 1–3) the Army was pushed back by the German Third Army, towards the Narew and Bug rivers. It received reinforcements in the form of the Operational Group Wyszków under General

Wincenty Kowalski Wincenty Kowalski (1892–1984) was a Polish military commander and a general of the Polish Army. A veteran of both World War I and World War II, he fought in all the inter-war conflicts of Poland. During the Invasion of Poland of 1939 he commanded ...

, but they were not sufficient to stop it from having to fall back. Eventually, around September 10, the Army abandoned its positions near Warsaw; some of the units (primarily the 20th Infantry Division) remained in the Warsaw area, joining the

Warszawa Army The Warszawa Army ( pl, Armia Warszawa) was one of the Polish armies to take part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. Created on 8 September, eight days after the invasion begun, it was an improvised formation charged with the defence of the Polis ...

taking part in the final defense of Warsaw; others were pushed to the south east (

Romanian Bridgehead __NOTOC__ The Romanian Bridgehead ( pl, Przedmoście rumuńskie; ro, Capul de pod român) was an area in southeastern Poland that is now located in Ukraine. During the invasion of Poland in 1939 at the start of the Second World War), the Polish ...

) and took part in the

Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski The Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 18 September to 20 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle

(September 21–26), after which most of them were forced to surrender.

Organization

The army was commanded by brig. gen.

Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski also known as Emil Karol Przedrzymirski de Krukowicz (1886-1957) was a Polish general. Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski was born in 1886. He began military service as an artillery officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army during ...

; his chief of staff was col. Stanisław Grodzki. It consisted of 2 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry brigades. On a lower level of organization it had 28 infantry battalions, 37 cavalry squadrons, 180 artillery pieces, 12 anti-air artillery pieces, 1 armored train (nr 13, former "Generał Sosnkowski") and 28 planes.Stanley S.Seidner, ''Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz Rydz and the Defense of Poland'', New York, 1978. * 8th Infantry Division (''8 Dywizja Piechoty'') from Modlin * 20th Infantry Division (''20 Dywizja Piechoty'') from

Baranowicze Baranavichy ( ; be, Бара́навічы, Łacinka: , ; russian: Бара́новичи; yi, באַראַנאָוויטש; pl, Baranowicze) is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus, with a population (as of 2019) of 179,000. It is no ...

Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade (Polish: ''Nowogródzka Brygada Kawalerii'') was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic, interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937, out of the Baranowicze Cavalry Brigade. Its headquart ...

('' Nowogródzka Brygada Kawalerii'') *

('' Mazowiecka Brygada Kawalerii'') * Warsaw National Defence Brigade (''Warszawska Brygada Obrony Narodowej'')

Aviation of the Modlin Army

* (''Pluton łącznikowy nr 11'') * (''41. Eskadra Rozpoznawcza'') * (''III/5. Dywizjon Myśliwski'') ** Polish 152nd Fighter Escadrille (''152. Eskadra Myśliwska'') *

Polish 53rd Observation Escadrille The 53rd Observation Escadrille was a unit of the Polish Air Force at the beginning of the Second World War. The unit was attached to the Modlin Army. Air crew Commanding officer: kpt. pil. Józef Kierzkowski Equipment 7 RWD-14b Czapla airplanes ...

(''53. Eskadra Obserwacyjna'')

Notes

References

Armie i samodzielne grupy operacyjne Wojska Polskiego 1939

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in pl, Wielka Interaktywna Encyklopedia Multimedialna - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The first printed edition was released ...

Armia "Modlin"

(with a map)

External links

{{Polish Armies 1939 Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 Polish armies