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 Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

created a

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...

was proclaimed after the

events Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

that lead to the breakup of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. 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 Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

''). 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 The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

from

Czorsztyn Czorsztyn (German: ''Schorstin'') is a village in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Nowy Targ County. The village lies in Pieniny, the mountain range on the current Polish- Slovak border. It is famous for the ruins of a 14th-17th-century ...

to the Polish-Romanian border (total length 350 kilometers) and to protect the

Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy The Central Industrial District ( pl, Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy, abbreviated COP), is an industrial region in Poland. It was one of the biggest economic projects of the Second Polish Republic. The 5-year-long project was initiated by a famous Po ...

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 Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hro ...

. 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 The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

. 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 ''Gebirgsjäger'' () are the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (''Gebirgstruppe'') of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The word '' Jäger'' (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantry in ...

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'', 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

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 The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

, supported by the 2nd Mountain Division. Backed by the Slovakian units (see

Slovak invasion of Poland The Slovak invasion of Poland occurred during Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939. The recently-created Slovak Republic joined the attack, and Field Army Bernolák contributed over 50,000 soldiers in three divisions. Since most ...

), 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 Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...

. The Army took heavy casualties retreating through the

San river The San ( pl, San; uk, Сян ''Sian''; german: Saan) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the river Vistula, with a length of (it is the 6th-longest Polish river) and a basin area of 16,877 km2 (14,42 ...

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. * 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 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 i ...

{{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