The Warszawa Army ( pl, Armia Warszawa) was one of the Polish armies to take part in the

Polish Defensive War 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 ...

of 1939. Created on 8 September, eight days after the invasion begun, it was an improvised formation charged with the defence of the Polish

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of Warsaw (Warszawa).

Tasks

To defend the Polish capital Warsaw in the face of breakthrough by the German forces.

Operational history

On 3 September 1939 the Minister of the Army (''Min. Spraw Wojskowych''), general

Tadeusz Kasprzycki Tadeusz Adam Kasprzycki (16 January 1891, Warsaw – 4 December 1978, Montreal) was a member of the Polish Legions in First World War, major general of the Polish Armed Forces from 1929 and Minister of Military Affairs of Poland from 1935 to 1 ...

, ordered general Walerian Czuma (the Commander of the Border Guards - ''Straż Graniczna'') to organize a force to defend the city of Warsaw against a German attack. The city had been under constant attack by the Luftwaffe since the early morning of 1 September. Initially the only organized units available to him were four infantry battalions, anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns detachments under colonel Kazimierz Baran, composed mostly of fire-fighter brigades and volunteers supervised by colonel Tadeusz Bogdanowicz and

Julian Kulski Julian Kulski (5 December 1892 in Warsaw – 18 August 1976 in Warsaw) was a Polish civil servant, best known for being Mayor of Warsaw during World War II. During the pre-war period he was a Vice President of Warsaw (1935-1939) under Stefan ...

, the deputy president of Warsaw. The AA artillery had 86 pieces of anti-aircraft artillery, as well as an unknown number of anti-aircraft machine guns. In addition there was an air force Pursuit Brigade which was equipped with 54 fighter aircraft. On the 5 and 6 September the air force and 11 batteries of anti-aircraft artillery were withdrawn to

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

. Initially however parts of various army units, primarily of Łódź Army, retreating before the onslaught of German armor units, were added to his force. On 8 September General Juliusz Rómmel, the commander of the Łódź Army who had become separated from his operational units, arrived in Warsaw with his staff. The chief of staff of the Polish Armed Forces, general Wacław Stachiewicz (then in Brześć), appointed him the overall commander of all forces defending Warsaw, including the Warsaw Defense Force, the Modlin Fortress and the army units immediately south and north-east of Warsaw During the next days, army units retreating in face of the onslaughts of the German armor and under continuous air attacks, fought their way through the German lines to the besieged capital, in particular from 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 snippe ...

. After 13 September Warsaw and Modlin were effectively surrounded. The only way the Polish units were able to reach the besieged area was through the Kampinos Forest between Warsaw and the Vistula river. On 22 September German forces cut through the remaining lines of communication between Warsaw and Modlin. On 26 September, after heavy bombardment had cut off water and the civilian population was starving, the city was forced to surrender. On 28 September the Polish forces in Warsaw capitulated; fort Modlin capitulated the following day.

Units

Commander: General Juliusz Rómmel Chief of staff: col Aleksander Pragłowski Deputy Commander: General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, was commander of

Army Poznan An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

- reached Warsaw 16 September. Commander of Warsaw Garrison: Walerian Czuma

Warsaw West

Commander: General Walerian Czuma, * 40th Infantry Regiment "Children of Lwów" (Lt.Col. Józef Kalandyk) - transport through Warsaw stopped 7 September. * Legia Akademicka (Academic Legion) - made up of students of the universities. * Volunteer Units Elements of Army Poznań * 25th Infantry Division. (Gen. Franciszek Alter) - elements fight through enemy lines 20 September. * 14 Cavalry Ulan Regiment (Col. Edward Godlewski) - 431 survivors charge through enemy lines 19 September * Podole Cavalry Brigade (Col. Leon Strzelecki) - fights through German lines 20 September * Wielkopolska Cavalry Regiment (Gen. Roman Abraham) - fights through enemy lines 20 September. Elements of Army Pomorze * 15th Infantry Division, (Gen. Zdzislaw Przyjalkowski) - 1500 survivors fight through 22 September. * Pomorze Cavalry Brigade (Col. Adam Bogoria-Zakrzewski) - survivors fight through 20 September.

Warsaw East

Commander: 5 September Lt.Col. Julian Janowski; from 15 September Gen. Juliusz Zulauf (originally Commander of 5th Infantry Division) Elements of Army Modlin * 5th Infantry Division (Gen. Juliusz Zulauf) retreated from river Narew front 13 September. * 20th Infantry Division (Col. Wilhelm Andrzej Lawicz-Liszka) - arrived from north 15 September Obrona Pragi we wrześniu 1939 roku
/ref> * 21st Infantry Regiment "Children of Warsaw" (Col. Stanisław Sosabowski) - separated from 8th Infantry Division, arrived 21 September.

Modlin Fortress

Commander: Gen.

Wiktor Thommée Wiktor Thommée (1881–1962) was a Polish military commander and a brigadier general of the Polish Army. A veteran of the Great War and the Russian Civil War, he is best known for his command over Piotrków Operational Group and the battle ...

- after 12 September. Elements of Modlin Army * 5th Infantry Division - some elements retreated from battle near Dębe on Narew river - 14 Sept * 8th Infantry Division (Col. Teodor Wiktor Furgalski) - remains of division after retreat from north (mainly 32 Inf.Reg. and some units of artillery) - from 8 September Elements of Poznań Army and Pomorze Army remains arrived from the

after 18 September. * 36th Infantry Regiment Elements of Łódź Army arrived on 13 September. * 30th Infantry Division (Gen. Leopold Cehak) * Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade (col. Julian Filipowicz)

References

detailed history of September campaign
published in London 1941.

WIEM Encyklopedia {{Polish Armies 1939 Polish armies Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939