Battle of Łomża (7–10 September 1939) was a series of armed engagements during the Nazi German and Soviet
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
. The battle took place in and around the town of
Łomża
Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...
, on both sides of the
Narew
The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...
River. Polish forces successfully held a series of pre-First World War forts from repeated German attack before being forced to withdraw due to the position becoming untenable following their losses at the Battle of Wizna and Battle of Nowogród.
Background
The Narew River formed a natural barrier close to the southern borders of
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
. The town of Łomża is located on the southern bank of the river, on a high escarpment. The lower, northern bank is mostly flat and swampy. During the 1939 invasion of Poland, the line of the river was manned by forces of
Independent Operational Group Narew
Independent Operational Group Narew (''Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna Narew'', SGO Narew) was one of the Polish Army Corps (Operational Groups) that defended Poland during the Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the Se ...
(SGO Narew), a corps-sized unit of two infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades. The Polish unit was tasked with defending the Narew river line with important bridgeheads at
Różan
Różan is a town in Mazovian Voivodeship, northeastern Poland, on the river Narew. National roads National road 60 (Poland), 60 and National road 60 (Poland), 61 intersect in the town.
History
In the late Middle Ages, Różan emerged as an impo ...
,
Ostrołęka
Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...
Nowogród
Nowogród is a small town in northeastern Poland, located about away from the city of Łomża, Łomża County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, with 1,998 inhabitants (2004). It is centered on the area known as Skansen Kurpiowski which is an open-air m ...
, Łomża and
Wizna
Wizna is a village in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, situated on the Narew River. Wizna is known for the battle of Wizna which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland at the start of World ...
, and to cover the right flank of the
Modlin Army
Modlin Army () was one of the Polish armies that were part of the Polish defense against the German Invasion of Poland. After heavy casualties in the battle of Mława (September 1–3), the Army was forced to abandon its positions near Warsaw arou ...
. The cavalry was tasked with organising delaying actions along the Polish-German border and the
Biebrza
The Biebrza (, ', ') is a river in northeastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew River (near Wizna), with a length of and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).Łomża Fortress. The position, consisting of three large forts in
Piątnica
Piątnica Poduchowna (; until 1999 ''Piątnica Poduchowna'') is a village in Łomża County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Piątnica. It lies approximately north of ...
(Forts I, II and III), on the northern side of the Narew, and two additional isolated forts (Fort IV and V) on the southern bank, was constructed by
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
between 1896 and 1914. Although outdated and unsuitable for modern warfare, the forts in Piątnica were upgraded with trenches, barbed wire obstacles,
chevaux de frise
The cheval de frise (, plural chevaux de frise ; , plural , "Frisian horses") was a defensive obstacle, existing in a number of forms, principally as a static anti-cavalry obstacle but also quickly movable to close breaches. The term was also ...
and 12 reinforced concrete bunkers in 1939. Similarly the southern bank around Łomża was reinforced with 9 more bunkers, though shortly before the war their machine guns were moved to Piątnica. The forts were manned by 1st Battalion of the 33rd Infantry Regiment (under Maj. Stanisław Wyderko), part of 18th Infantry Division. The machine gun bunkers were manned by 1st MG Company, 1st Battalion, 42nd Infantry Regiment under Lt. Franciszek Zaręba while the trenches around them were manned by two rifle companies of the 33rd regiment. The frontal positions were supported by 1st platoon of 33rd regiment's anti-tank company (under Lt. Zygmunt Olkowski) and a platoon of outdated 76 mm wz. 1902 guns. The southern side of the river was manned by 3rd Rifle Company, 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment (under Lt. Aleksander Siejak), supported by 3rd battalion, 18th Light Artillery Regiment (under Capt Stanisław Krug) and a howitzer detachment of 18th Heavy Artillery Regiment (Lt. Col. Władysław Brzozowski).
Initially the Germans did not attack from East Prussia during the first week of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the front of SGO Narew was mostly stable. After 3 September the town of Łomża was bombarded by the
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
several times and was set on fire, but the Polish forces suffered only negligible losses. However, after the
Battle of the Border
The Battle of the Border () refers to the battles that occurred in the first daysThe Battle of the Border began on 1 September, but sources vary with their assignment of an end date for this phase of the campaign. The shortest period is d ...
and the defeat of Polish forces in the Polish Corridor, elements of Nazi
Army Group North
Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area.
The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...
broke through to East Prussia and were prepared to push southwards.
Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
Paul Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (17 January 1885 – 18 June 1968) was a German general and war criminal during World War II. He planned and commanded the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940, and was commander of German troops during th ...
) reached the forward outposts of the Polish positions in front of Łomża. The German commander tried to take the Polish positions by a frontal unprepared attack, aimed towards forts I and II. The attack, carried out by 24th Infantry Regiment of the 21st Division reinforced with tanks of the 8th Panzer Regiment, 10th Panzer Division and artillery, was repelled by Polish machine gun crews and well-placed 37 mm Bofors anti-tank guns. The attacking infantry was repelled with significant losses, the Germans also lost 6 tanks.
Several repeated attacks were repelled by the 1st Battalion, 33rd Infantry Regiment. In the evening the 21st Division tried to outflank the Łomża bridgehead by fording the Narew, but the Germans were pushed back across the river by vigorous Polish counterattack. By the end of the day the Germans suffered significant losses, the Poles took 57 German soldiers prisoner. The 21st Division withdrew to the north, leaving only a small detachment in front of Polish positions. The following morning after a short artillery barrage the screening detachment surrendered. Overnight Lt. Col. Lucjan Stanek, the commanding officer of the 33rd Regiment, departed the Łomża position to confer with SGO Narew's commanding officer, Gen.
Czesław Młot-Fijałkowski
Czesław Młot-Fijałkowski (1892–1944) was a Polish military officer and a brigadier general of the Polish Army.
Czesław Fijałkowski was born on 14 April 1892 in Okalewo (now in Rypin County), in the Płock Governorate of Congress Poland, ...
.
Before noon the following day the Germans returned, this time attacking forts II and III. Four consecutive assaults were repelled by the defenders. Unable to take the forts, around 14:00 the German commander summoned Luftwaffe
close air support
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
. The air bombardment caused significant losses within fort II, it also damaged the bridge across Narew.
However, the Polish positions remained impregnable and repeated German attacks in the afternoon were repelled by the defenders long before the German tanks could reach the vicinity of the bridge. Around that time a large part of the attacking force was withdrawn towards Wizna and Nowogród to force the river crossing there, while the remainder tried to attack Fort I under cover of artillery barrage and air strikes. Although this time Polish losses were higher, this renewed attack was also repelled.
On 10 September the Germans repeated their attacks, again against forts no. II and III. Around noon German bombers arrived, yet the attack stalled. Despite repeated attempts, until the end of the day the Germans did not manage to destroy a single Polish bunker and had to retreat from within the range of Polish artillery.
Polish withdrawal
Despite three days of repeated German attacks and significant losses (roughly 30% in dead and wounded), Polish morale was still high. However, soon after 21:00 Col. Stefan Kossecki, commanding officer of the 18th Infantry Division, ordered the Łomża position to be abandoned. The reason was that the Germans were victorious in the Battle of Nowogród and the Poles failed to retake the town. Around the time the Germans also broke through at Wizna and the Narew river line was untenable. The 33rd Regiment withdrew towards Bacze Mokre, the last unit crossed the Narew around 22:00. The following day the German forces captured Łomża unopposed and on 29 September the town was handed over to their Soviet allies.
See also
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List of World War II military equipment of Poland
Polish Armament in 1939–45 article is a list of equipment used by Polish army before and during the Invasion of Poland, foreign service in British Commonwealth forces, the ressistance Polish Home Army and last campaign to Germany with the Red Ar ...
*
List of German military equipment of World War II
This page contains a list of equipment used the German military of World War II. Germany used a number of type designations for their weapons. In some cases, the type designation and series number (i.e. FlaK 30) are sufficient to identify a syste ...