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 (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 ...
. The battle took place in and around the town of
Łomża
Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship ...
, on both sides of the Narew 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. 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 in 1939. It was created on 23 March 1939 and was com ...
(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 60 and 61 intersect in the town.
History
In the late Middle Ages, Różan emerged as an important trade center of northeastern Mazovia. Enjoy ...
Osowiec Fortress
Osowiec Fortress ( Polish: ''Twierdza Osowiec'', Russian: ''Крепость Осовец'') is a 19th-century fortress built by the Russian Empire, located in what is now north-eastern Poland. It saw heavy fighting during World War I when i ...
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 Worl ...
, and to cover the right flank of the
Modlin Army
Modlin Army ( pl, Armia Modlin) was one of the Polish armies that took part in the Polish world war 2 defence of 1939. 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
Biebrza ( lt, Bebras, '' be, Bobra'', ''german: Bober'') 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 ...
(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 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'' , "Frisian horses") is a defensive obstacle, which existed in a number of forms and were employed in various applications. These included underwater constructions used to prevent the passa ...
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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
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 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 ...
several times and was set on fire, but the Polish forces suffered only negligible losses. However, after the Battle of the Border and the defeat of Polish forces in the
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor (german: Polnischer Korridor; pl, Pomorze, Polski Korytarz), also known as the Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, easter ...
, elements of Nazi
Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...
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 a 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 ...
) 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. 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 and last campaign to Germany with the Red Army in 1945.
Aircraft
Local de ...
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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 ...