The 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment ( pl, 2. pułk piechoty legionów, 2ppLeg) was a Polish military unit active between 1914 and 1944. Initially a part of the

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions ( pl, Legiony Polskie) was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Triple Ente ...

, after the war it was incorporated into 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 ...

. Disbanded after 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 ...

in 1939, it was recreated during the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...

. The regiment was first formed in 1914 in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, as part of the Polish Legions fighting alongside the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. Initially a part of the Eastern Legion, with time it was joined with the

2nd Brigade of the Polish Legions Brigade II of the Polish Legions ( pl, II Brygada Legionów Polskich, de-AT, Brigade II der Polnischen Legion, hu, A Lengyel Légió II. Dandárja), also known as the Iron (''Żelazna'', ''Eisen'', ''Vas'') or Carpathian (''Karpacka'', ''Karp ...

. It avoided destruction on the fronts of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was merged into the newly reborn Polish Army in 1918. It took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War. After the

Peace of Riga The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet War. ...

had been signed, the unit was partly demobilized and stationed in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...

, where it formed a part of the

Polish 2nd Legions' Infantry Division Polish 2nd Legions Infantry Division (''2. Dywizja Piechoty Legionów'') was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed on February 21, 1919, in the towns of Zegrze and Jablonna near Warsaw, and composed mostly of veterans o ...

. With that unit the regiment, headed by Col.

Ludwik Czyżewski Ludwik Czyżewski was a Polish General during the Invasion of Poland during World War II. He commanded the 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment during the Battle of Borowa Góra but was defeated in the battle. He was also a member of the Border Protecti ...

, formed the backbone of the

Piotrków Operational Group Piotrków may refer to the following places in Poland: *Piotrków Voivodeship, a former administrative division in Poland (1975-1998) *Piotrków County, an administrative division in Poland *Piotrków Trybunalski, a city in Piotrków County (and fo ...

at the start of the

in 1939. Initially separated from its division, the regiment fought in the

battle of Borowa Góra Battle of Borowa Góra ( pl, Bitwa pod Borową Górą) refers to the series of battles from 2 to 5 September 1939 that took place near the Góry Borowskie hills, south west from Piotrków Trybunalski and east of Bełchatów. The battle, fought be ...

on 5 September. On 9 September it joined its division and covered its retreat towards

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. After heavy fights on 12 and 13 September, fought in the area of

Błonie Błonie is a town in Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 12,058 as of December 2021. History The settlement dates back to the 8th century. It was first mentioned in the 11th century, and already in the 12th c ...

Ołtarzew Ołtarzew is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ożarów Mazowiecki, within Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Ożarów Mazowiecki and west of Warsaw Warsaw ( ...

and

Ożarów Ożarów () is a town in Poland, in the province of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in Opatów county (Powiat of Opatów), historic Lesser Poland, with 10,399 inhabitants as of December 31, 2021. Ożarów received its town charter in 1569, during t ...

, the regiment crossed the

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 ...

and reached the

Modlin Fortress Modlin Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Modlin) is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was ori ...

. There, the regiment took part in defence of that area until the capitulation of the fortress on 29 September. In August 1944, during the

, the 2nd Regiment was recreated from smaller partisan units as part of the 2nd Division fighting in the area of

and

Opatów Opatów (; yi, אַפּטאַ, אַפּט) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the populatio ...

. Commanded by Lt.Col.

Antoni Wiktorowski Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the fem ...

''Kruk'', it fought against the German Army in that area until September, when it was disbanded. However, its sub-units continued to operate in the area until January 1945, when they were overrun by 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 ...

. Most of its soldiers, much like the rest of

, were then rounded up by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

, disarmed and either forcibly conscripted to the Communist-supported

Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the Polish Peo ...

or sent to the

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

s in

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Notes and references

::In-line: {{Authority control Infantry regiments of Poland Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939) Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish Legions in World War I