The Battle of Chojnice occurred during the 1939 German invasion of Poland on the first day of the

hostilities War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, 1 September. A detached unit from the Polish army ''Chojnice Detached Group'' under Colonel , part of the ''

Czersk Operational Group Czersk Operational Group ( pl, Grupa Operacyjna Czersk, otherwise known as ''Shielding Group Czersk''; named after the town of Czersk, Poland) was an Operational Group (a type of tactical military unit) of the Polish Army. Formed in 1939 under the n ...

'' under Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki, was assigned the task of defending the city of

Chojnice Chojnice (; , or ''Chòjnice''; german: Konitz or ''Conitz'') is a town in northern Poland with 39,423 inhabitants as of December 2021, near the Tuchola Forest. It is the capital of the Chojnice County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. History Pias ...

, a major regional communications center, against the advancing German 20th Motorized Infantry Division in order to protect the southern flank of

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

. The German attacks started at 04:30 with

Stuka dive bomber The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Co ...

s, from 3/1 Stuka Geschwader, attacking the Tczew bridge. 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 ...

then tried to sneak

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor ** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an arm ...

into the station, but the Poles destroyed the bridge beforehand. Finally, an armored train attack on

was repulsed.Zaloga, S.J., 2002, Poland 1939, Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., The Polish troops managed to hold back the German advance until the early afternoon, but at 14:00 the German troops threatened to surround the city and the Polish units were forced to retreat east towards

Rytel Rytel (german: Rittel) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czersk, within Chojnice County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Czersk, east of Chojnice, and south-west of the regional cap ...

. The 18th Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment was ordered to cover the retreat of the infantry, and launched a mounted attack against the Germans at Krojanty.

See also

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