{{no footnotes, date=September 2016 Kutno Operational Group, named after the town and major rail junction of Kutno, (central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

), was an Operational Group of the Polish Army, created in March 1939, a few months before 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 ...

. Its official name was ''Kutno Reserve Group of Commander-in-Chief'' (''Grupa Odwodow Naczelnego Wodza „Kutno”, GO „Kutno”''), and it remained under direct control of Commander-in-chief of the Polish Army, Marshal

Edward Smigly-Rydz Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

. According to

Plan West Plan West ( pl, Plan Zachód) was a military plan of the Polish Army of the Second Polish Republic, for defence against invasion from Nazi Germany. It was designed in the late 1930s. Background While Józef Piłsudski was the dictator of Poland ...

(March 1939), the Kutno Reserve Group, consisting of three infantry divisions, was to be concentrated in the area of Kutno ( 22nd Mountain Infantry Division), Wloclawek ( 13th Infantry Division), and Plock ( 19th Infantry Division). As Colonel

Jozef Jaklicz Jozef Jaklicz (1894–1974) was a soldier of the Austro-Hungarian Army and the Polish Legions in World War I, and officer of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic, nominated to the rank of General brygady. He fought in World War I, Polish ...

of Polish Army headquarters specified, the group was tasked with the following: * defence of the

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 ...

river line, between

Pomorze Army The Pomeranian Army ( pl, Armia Pomorze) was one of the Polish armies defending against the 1939 Invasion of Poland. It was officially created on March 23, 1939. Led by General dywizji Władysław Bortnowski, it consisted of 5 infantry divisions, 2 ...

and Modlin Army, * protection of flanks of Poznan Army or

. In accordance with Mobilization Plan W, the 13th and 19th Divisions were marked with red (alarm mobilization), and 22nd Division was planned to join these units in first phase of general mobilization. In the summer 1939, Polish Army headquarters made some changes to

. 13th and 19th Divisions were transferred to Prusy Army, and 22nd Division to Lodz Army. After these changes, Kutno Reserve Group of Commander-in-Chief consisted of 5th Infantry Division (from Army Pomorze) and 24th Infantry Division, from Army Lodz. As a result, the group was reduced from three to two infantry divisions In the evening of August 27, 1939, some regiments of the 5th Infantry Division were mobilized. By Sunday, September 3, the regiments arrived at the Kutno rail station, and on the next day they reached Wloclawek, where they were incorporated into

, as the so-called ''Detachment of Colonel Sadowski'' (''Oddzial Wydzielony podpulkownika Sadowskiego''). These regiments were the only units of the projected Kutno Operational Group, which reached the concentration area. Due to worsening situation of the Polish Army, which was forced into a general retreat, on September 3 Polish Commander in Chief, Marshal Edward Smigly-Rydz abandoned the idea of creation of the Kutno Group. On that day, 24th Infantry Division was transferred to

Karpaty Army Karpaty Army ( pl, Armia Karpaty, , Carpathian Army) was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events t ...

, and on September 4, the 5th I.D. was transferred to Modlin Army.

Sources

* Tadeusz Jurga, Obrona Polski 1939, Instytut Wydawniczy PAX, Warszawa 1990 * Ryszard Rybka, Kamil Stepan, Najlepsza broń. Plan mobilizacyjny "W" i jego ewolucja, Oficyna Wydawnicza "Adiutor", Warszawa 2010 * Jan Wróblewski, Armia "Prusy" 1939, Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, Warszawa 1986

Sources

See also