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
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 aft ...
and World War II in general. It was fought between the forces of the Polish
Modlin Army under General
Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski and the
German 3rd Army under General
Georg von Küchler.
[Zaloga, S.J., 2002, Poland 1939, Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., ]
History
Eve of the Battle
As a result of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, the new German-Polish border was located only some 120 km north 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 ...
, the Polish capital city. In 1939 the Polish
Modlin Army, led by
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski, was thought of as the main defensive force guarding Polish borders from the north. It was located along the border with
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
and was to stop the enemy forces advancing 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 ...
, the
Modlin Fortress. Shortly before the war, a decision was made to strengthen the Polish defences by construction of a line of field fortifications and concrete bunkers to the north of
Mława, in the centre of the army's positions.
The main line of defence of the army was located along the line of
Narew
The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...
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. There were a number of 19th-century fortifications in the area, but the plains to the north of it were almost defenseless. To ease the delaying actions in case of a war with Germany, the Polish General Staff decided that the Modlin Army should be transported to the border with East Prussia and should defend the line for as long as possible. Afterwards, the units under command of General Przedrzymirski-Krukowicz were to withdraw to the south and defend the line of Narew and Vistula rivers, together with the forces of
Narew Independent Operational Group.
After the Polish secret mobilization had started in March 1939, the
20th Infantry Division was assigned to the Modlin Army and transported to the area of Mława. In addition, the army commander was assigned a number of trainloads of concrete and other construction materials and several combat engineering battalions. It was decided that a line of fortifications should be constructed in the area held by that division. On 19 June that year the project was ready and was finally approved by
Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły on 3 July.
The line of trenches and concrete bunkers, shielded by anti-tank trenches and obstacles, was to be constructed along a low glacial hill overlooking the valley of the Mławka river, to the north of the town. The river itself could be blocked by a dam to enhance the defensive capability of the area. In the center, the swampy terrain of the Niemyje Marshes was located, which was virtually impassable to enemy armored vehicles. This swamp divided the area into two separate flanks. The western section was to be reinforced with 68 concrete bunkers while the eastern, much shorter, with 25.
In peacetime the 20th Division was located in
Baranowicze. In case of a war with the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, it was planned as the first-line unit to defend a line of German World War I fortifications built there in 1915. Because of that, most of its soldiers had experience in defending fortified positions.
The construction of bunkers in the western section of the front, near the town of Mława, was started on 14 July. It was carried out mostly by the soldiers themselves, under the command of the head of the 20th engineering battalion, Maj. Juliusz Levittoux. The construction of the eastern flank bunkers near the village of
Rzęgnowo started on 12 August. Soon the soldiers were joined by a number of civilian volunteers, helping to dig the trenches. However, the positions were not finished until the outbreak of World War II and many of the bunkers were not completed.
Battle
At noon on 1 September 1939 the Polish line of defence manned by the 20th Infantry Division was attacked by the
1st Army Corps under General
Walter Petzel
Walter Petzel (1883–1965) was a German officer, who finished as a General of Artillery in the Second World War.
Life and early career
Petzel was born on 28 December 1883, the son of a landowner, in Oborzysk in the Province of Posen in what is ...
.
Georg von Küchler, the commander of
German Third Army, ordered his units to launch probing attacks across the Polish front. Troops of the
11th Infantry Division were repulsed by Polish 78th Infantry Regiment, while
Waffen-SS troops of SS-Standarte Deutschland, part of
Panzer Division Kempf, were halted by the Polish defenses at the village of
Uniszki Zawadzkie and called for armored support. Panzer Regiment 7 arrived at 15:00 and mounted an assault. Although the attacking forces were equipped with tanks and supported by warplanes, the initial assault was repelled by Polish-made 37mm ''
Armata ppanc. wz. 36''
anti-tank gun
An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...
s after the advance of the German tanks was blocked by a 6 meter wide anti-tank ditch. Seven tanks belonging to Panzer Regiment 7 were destroyed in the action, and by 19:00 the German units fell back to their original positions. Only on the right flank of the Polish line did the Germans find any success, with the
12th Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry Brigade successfully dislodging the
Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade from their positions near the town of
Chorzele
Chorzele is a town in Przasnysz County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, on the Orzyc River.
As of December 2021, the town has a population of 3,047.
The town is crossed by the national road No. 57 Bartoszyce - Pułtusk and provincial roads 61 ...
. Late in the day, cavalry from both sides skirmished near the village of
Krznowłoga Mała.
The following afternoon the German units started heavy artillery bombardment of the Polish positions, in coordination with an aerial attack by
Ju 87 Stukas of
Sturzkampfgeschwader 1. After two hours of artillery fire, the 11th and
61st Infantry Divisions launched an attack but were repulsed by the 80th and 78th Infantry Regiments respectively. At Rzęgnowo on the Polish right flank however, the 1st Infantry Division successesfully outflanked the Polish 79th Infantry Regiment, and the Polish troops retreated towards Mława around 16:00. Sensing weakness on the Polish right flank, von Küchler ordered Panzer Division Kempf moved towards Rzęgnowo to prepare for an assault the following day. Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski meanwhile ordered the 20th Division to extend further eastwards and prepare the defence of its right flank between the villages of Dębsk and Nosarzewo. At the same time the
8th Infantry Division, until then held in reserve near
Ciechanów, was ordered to prepare a counterattack.
The 8th Division arrived in the area in the early hours of 3 September. As the Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade operating further eastwards was also endangered by German armoured troops, the army commander ordered the division to split its forces and attack in two directions: towards
Grudusk
Grudusk is a village in Ciechanów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Grudusk. It lies approximately north of Ciechanów and north of Warsaw.
The village ha ...
east of Mława and towards
Przasnysz. However, conflicting orders and German
saboteurs
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
operating in the rear disrupted both attacks and led to chaos in the Polish ranks. Communication broke down and friendly fire incidents occurred between the 13th and 32nd Infantry Regiments during the night, resulting in the retreat of the latter. By 22:00 the division was mostly destroyed and only the 21st Infantry Regiment of Colonel (later General)
Stanisław Sosabowski managed to withdraw from the fights towards the
Modlin Fortress.
Despite this, the German attacks towards both flanks of the 20th Infantry Division were unsuccessful.
On 3 September the German engineers finally managed to cut through Polish antitank barriers. The Germans used the local civilians as
human shield
A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...
s,
[Zalewski, op.cit.] which allowed them to finally capture several bunkers on the left flank of the Polish forces, but were unable to push forwards. On the right flank, in the Rzegnów section of the front to the east of the swamps, the attacks were more successful and in the late evening elements of German Wodrig Corps finally broke through the lines of the 79th Infantry Regiment to the rear of the Poles. This widened the front gap in the area of
Grudusk
Grudusk is a village in Ciechanów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Grudusk. It lies approximately north of Ciechanów and north of Warsaw.
The village ha ...
.
At 09:00 on September 4, General
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 W ...
, facing the risk of his forces being outflanked and surrounded, ordered the 20th division and the remnants of the 8th to withdraw 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 ...
and
Modlin, finally abandoning the fortified positions.
Aftermath
The withdrawal was started in the early morning of 4 September. Although the German mechanized units suffered heavy losses and were unable to maintain pursuit, the area to the south of Mława was very lightly forested and the Polish forces were constantly bombarded and strafed by the German
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 ...
, suffering heavy losses both in troops and equipment.
Although the position was abandoned, the German forces suffered substantial losses and it was not until 13 September that they finally managed to reach the
Modlin Fortress, located less than 100 kilometres to the south.
Opposing forces
Poland
Germany
See also
*
List of World War II military equipment of Poland
*
List of German military equipment of World War II
The following is a list of German military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that was under way by 1939 and ended in 1945. Following political instability build-up in Europe from ...
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Information on Polish tanks and armored vehicles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mlawa
Battles of the Invasion of Poland
World War II defensive lines
Warsaw Voivodeship (1919–1939)
September 1939 events