14 Greater Poland Infantry Division (Polish: ''14 Wielkopolska Dywizja Piechoty'') was a unit 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 ...

in the

interbellum period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

, which took part in the

Polish September Campaign 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 after ...

It was created in January 1919 in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, as part of Polish forces fighting in the

Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) Greater Poland Uprising (also Wielkopolska Uprising or Great Poland Uprising) may refer to a number of armed rebellions in the region of Greater Poland: * Greater Poland Uprising (1794) * Greater Poland Uprising (1806) Greater Poland uprising ...

. Its organizer and first commandant was General Filip Dubiski. In the following months, several regiments created in the

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

towns joined the unit, and in the summer of 1919, the Division was sent to the east, to fight the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

south of

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...

. On December 19, 1919, its name was changed from 1st Division of Greater Poland rifles into 14 Greater Poland Infantry Division. The unit fought in the Polish-Soviet war, and in December 1920, after the truce, it returned to its homeland, to Poznań. According to the Plan Wschod, the Division was supposed to serve as a rear unit, but as in late 1930s German threat became real, on March 23, 1939, the Division became part of newly created

Poznań Army Army Poznań ( pl, Armia Poznań) led by Major General Tadeusz Kutrzeba was one of the Polish Armies during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Tasks Flanked by Armia Pomorze to the north and Łódź Army to the south, the Army was to provide fla ...

, under General

Tadeusz Kutrzeba Tadeusz Kutrzeba (15 April 1885 – 8 January 1947) was a general of the army during the Second Polish Republic. He served as a major general in the Polish Army in overall command of Army Poznań during the 1939 German Invasion of Poland. :pl:Tad ...

(see:

Plan Zachod 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 ...

). Mobilization took place between August 24 and 27. As 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 ...

did not carry out attacks on Greater Poland in the first days of the

, the Division did not engage in combat until Sept. 8. Then, it took part in the

Battle of Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was the largest Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Google Print snippet ...

, fighting near the town of Piatek and breaking German lines. During the skirmishes, commandant of German 30 I.D, General

Kurt von Briesen __NOTOC__ Kurt von Briesen (3 May 1886 – 20 November 1941) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. Briesen led the 30th Infantry Division in the invasion of Poland in 1939. O ...

was injured and the Wehrmacht ordered a retreat. However, the Poles, without air and artillery support, did not take advantage of this breakthrough. Soon afterwards, the Germans counterattacked. In mid-September the Division tried to cross the

Bzura The Bzura is a river in central Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river (in Wyszogród), with a length of 173 kilometres and a basin area of 7,764 km2.Kampinos Forest Kampinos Forest () is a large forest complex located in Masovian Voivodeship, west of Warsaw in Poland. It covers a part of the ancient valley of the Vistula basin, between the Vistula and the Bzura rivers. Once a forest covering 670 km2 of ...

but without success. Only few soldiers managed to do so and hide in the forest. On September 19, the remaining forces broke into besieged Warsaw. There, they fought until capitulation, on Sept. 28.

TO&E

* HQ * 55th Infantry Regiment * 57th Infantry Regiment * 58th Infantry Regiment * 14th Light Artillery Regiment * 14th Heavy Artillery Battalion * 71st AA Artillery Battery * 14th Telephone Company * 71st Mobile HMG Company * Bicycle Infantry Company * Divisional Cavalry

References

{{Authority control

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

TO&E

See also

References