Battle of Lwów (1939)
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The Battle of Lwów (sometimes called the ''Siege of Lwów'') was a
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
battle for the control over the
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
city of
Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
(now Lviv,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) between 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 ...
and the invading
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 ...
and 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 ...
. The city was seen as the key to the so-called
Romanian Bridgehead __NOTOC__ The Romanian Bridgehead ( pl, Przedmoście rumuńskie; ro, Capul de pod român) was an area in southeastern Poland that is now located in Ukraine. During the invasion of Poland in 1939 at the start of the Second World War), the Polish ...
and was defended at all cost.


First clashes

Initially, the city was not to be defended, as it was considered to be too deep behind the Polish lines and too important to Polish culture for warfare. However, the speed of the Nazi invasion and the almost-complete disintegration of the Polish reserve
Prusy Army The Prusy Army ( pl, Armia Prusy) was one of the Polish armies to fight during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Created in the summer of 1939 as the main reserve of the Commander in Chief, it was commanded by Gen. Stefan Dąb-Biernacki. The word '' ...
after the Battle of Łódź resulted in the city being in danger of a German assault. On September 7, 1939, General
Władysław Langner Władysław Aleksander Langner (18 June 1896 in Jaworów 28 September 1972) was a Polish general, best known as commander of the Siege of Lwów in 1939. Early career Władysław Langner spent his childhood in the Polish town of Tarnów, where h ...
started to organise the defence of the city., see also general reference No. 2 Initially, the Polish forces were to defend the
Bełżec Belzec (English: or , Polish: ) was a Nazi German extermination camp built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all History of Jews in Poland, Polish Jews, a major part of the "Fina ...
Rawa Ruska Rava-Ruska (, translit. ''Rava-Rus'ka''; ; , Rave) is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is a border town between Ukraine and Poland. The border checkpoint is situated west of the city, along the international autoroute ...
– Magierów line against the advancing German forces. General
Rudolf Prich Rudolf Prich (6 August 1881 – 1940)Indeks Represjonowanych - Rudolf Pri ...
was given command of the Polish forces in the area, and on September 11, he prepared a plan to defend of the area. The Polish units were to defend the line of the
San River The San ( pl, San; uk, Сян ''Sian''; german: Saan) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the river Vistula, with a length of (it is the 6th-longest Polish river) and a basin area of 16,877 km2 (14,42 ...
, with nests of resistance along the
Żółkiew Zhovkva ( uk, Жовква ; pl, Żółkiew; yi, זאָלקוואַ, translit=Zolkva; russian: Жо́лква, 1951–1992: ''Nesterov'') is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine. Zhovkva hosts the administration of Zho ...
– Rawa Ruska – Janów (also called Yaniv or
Ivano-Frankove Ivano-Frankove ( uk, Івано-Франкове), formerly Yaniv, is an urban-type settlement in Yavoriv Raion of Lviv Oblast in Ukraine. It is located on the right bank of the Vereshchytsia, a left tributary of the Dniester. The Vereshchytsia ...
) to the west of the river Wereszycą –
Gródek Jagielloński __NOTOC__ Horodok ( uk, Городо́к, pl, Gródek) is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast (region) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Horodok urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: . History Horodok was first men ...
line. The following day, the first German motorised units under Colonel
Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a German military commander who held the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded several army groups and was the last Command ...
,
1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht) The 1st Mountain Division (german: 1. Gebirgs-Division) was an elite formation of the German ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II, and is remembered for its involvement in multiple large-scale war crimes. It was created on 9 April 1938 in Garmisc ...
, arrived in the area. After capturing Sambor (66 kilometres from Lwów), Schörner ordered his units to break through the weak Polish defences and to capture the city as soon as possible.Zaloga, S.J., 2002, Poland 1939, Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., The assault group was composed of two motorised infantry companies and a battery of 150 mm guns. The group outflanked the Polish defenders and reached the outskirts of the city but was bloodily repelled by the numerically-inferior Polish defenders.; ISBN refers to the 1990 reprint of the original publication The Polish commander of the sector had only three infantry platoons and two 75 mm guns, but his forces were soon reinforced and held their positions until dawn. The same day, the command of the city's defence was passed to General Franciszek Sikorski, a veteran of
World War I 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 the
Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
. The following day, the main forces of Schörner arrived, and at 14:00, the Germans broke into the city centre but again were driven back after heavy city fighting with the infantry units formed of local volunteers and refugees. To strengthen the Polish defences, General
Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969, Arundel, Quebec) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in p ...
left Lwów for
Przemyśl Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...
on September 13 and assumed command over a group of Polish units that was trying to break through the German lines and to reinforce the city. Schörner decided to fall back and to encircle the city while he awaited reinforcements. His forces achieved a limited success and captured the important suburb of , together with the surrounding hills. However, the Polish forces were now reinforced with units that had been withdrawn from central Poland and new volunteer units formed within the city. In addition, the Polish 10th Motorised Brigade, under Colonel
Stanisław Maczek Lieutenant General Stanisław Maczek (; 31 March 1892 – 11 December 1994) was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the destructio ...
, arrived and started the heavy fighting to take back the suburb of Zboiska. The town was recaptured, but the surrounding hills remained in German hands and gave a good view of the city centre. Schörner placed his artillery there to shell the city. In addition, the city was almost constantly bombed by the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
. Among the main targets for the German air force and artillery were prominent buildings, such as churches, hospitals, water plant and power plants.


New enemy

On September 17, 1939, the
Soviet Union 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 national ...
declared all pacts with Poland
null and void In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document, or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity—the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened. The term void ''ab initio'', which means " ...
as the Polish state had ceased to exist, and the Soviets joined
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in the occupation of Poland. The forces of the 6th
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 ...
of the Ukrainian Front, under
Filipp Golikov Filipp Ivanovich Golikov (russian: Фили́пп Ива́нович Го́ликов, links=no; July 30, 1900 – July 29, 1980) was a Soviet military commander. As chief of the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), he is best known for failing to ...
, crossed the border just east of Lwów and started a quick march towards the city. The Soviet invasion made all plans to defend the
Romanian Bridgehead __NOTOC__ The Romanian Bridgehead ( pl, Przedmoście rumuńskie; ro, Capul de pod român) was an area in southeastern Poland that is now located in Ukraine. During the invasion of Poland in 1939 at the start of the Second World War), the Polish ...
obsolete, and the Polish commander decided to withdraw all of his units to the close perimeter and to defend only the city itself, instead of the whole area, which strengthened the Polish defences. On September 18, the Luftwaffe dropped thousands of leaflets over the city to urge the Poles to surrender but was ignored. A general assault was started on the city, which was once again repulsed. The intervention of the Red Army on 17 September also made necessary some changes in the Germans' plan of operations. In the early morning of September 19, the first Soviet armoured units reached the eastern outskirts of the city and the suburb of Łyczaków. After a short fight, the Soviet units were pushed back. However, the Soviet forces completed the encirclement of the city overnight and linked with the German army besieging Lwów from the west. The Polish defences were composed mainly of field fortifications and barricades constructed by the local residents under supervision of military engineers. Sikorski ordered organised defence of the outer city rim, with in-depth defences prepared. In the morning of September 19, the first Soviet envoys arrived and began negotiations with the Polish officers. Colonel Ivanov, the commander of a tank brigade, told Colonel Bronisław Rakowski that the Red Army entered Poland to help it fight the Germans and that the top priority for his units was to enter the city. The same day, Schörner sent his envoy and demanded the city be surrendered to his troops. When the Polish envoy replied that he had no intention of signing such a document, he was informed that a general assault was ordered for September 21 and that the city would most surely be taken. Hitler's evacuation order from September 20 instructed
Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German field marshal in the '' Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. Born into a Prussian family with a long military tradition, Rundstedt entered th ...
to leave the capture of Lwow to the Soviets. The attack planned by XVIII Corps for 21 September was cancelled, and the German corps prepared to move to the west of the Vistula-San River line. The following day, Sikorski decided that the situation of his forces was hopeless. The reserves, human resources and
materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...
were plentiful, but further defence of the city would be fruitless and result only in more civilian casualties. He decided to start surrender talks with the Red Army.


Surrender

On September 22, 1939, the act of surrender was signed in the suburb of Winniki in the morning. The Red Army accepted all of the conditions proposed by General
Władysław Langner Władysław Aleksander Langner (18 June 1896 in Jaworów 28 September 1972) was a Polish general, best known as commander of the Siege of Lwów in 1939. Early career Władysław Langner spent his childhood in the Polish town of Tarnów, where h ...
. The privates and NCOs were to leave the city, register themselves at the Soviet authorities and be allowed to go home. Officers would be allowed to keep their belongings and leave Poland for whichever country accepted them. The Soviet forces entered the city and the Soviet occupation began. The Soviets broke the terms of surrender shortly after noon when 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. ...
began arresting all Polish officers. They were escorted to
Tarnopol Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...
, where they were sent to various
gulags 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 ...
in Russia, mostly to the infamous camp in
Starobielsk Starobilsk ( uk, Старобільськ, russian: Старобельск) is a city in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Starobilsk Raion. The modern settlement was founded in 1686, and it was granted city stat ...
. Most of them, including General Franciszek Sikorski himself, would be murdered in what became known as the
Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...
in 1940.


Order of battle

The Polish defences lacked organisation and consisted only of token forces. Sikorski had approximately 11 infantry battalions, 5 batteries of artillery (mainly 75 mm guns), cavalry unit, engineering platoon and a small number of soldiers who had retreated into the city. On 18 September, two armoured trains (No.53 and No.55, with two 100 mm howitzers and four 75 mm guns in total) broke into the city from
Kovel Kovel (, ; pl, Kowel; yi, קאוולע / קאוולי ) is a city in Volyn Oblast (province), in northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion (district). Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runi ...
and took part in further actions. The German units consisted of an entire 1st Mountain Division.


Polish


German


Soviet


Eyewitness account

''
From Lemberg to Bordeaux Leo Leixner (1908–1942) was an Austrian journalist and war correspondent. He is known for his boo''From Lemberg to Bordeaux'' a first-hand account of war in Poland, the Low Countries, and France, 1939–40, during World War II. Early life and e ...
'' (''Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux''), written by
Leo Leixner Leo Leixner (1908–1942) was an Austrian journalist and war correspondent. He is known for his boo''From Lemberg to Bordeaux'' a first-hand account of war in Poland, the Low Countries, and France, 1939–40, during World War II. Early life and e ...
, a journalist and war correspondent, is a firsthand account of the battles that led to the fall of Poland, the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
It includes an eyewitness description of the Battle of Lwów. In August 1939, Leixner had joined the Wehrmacht as a war reporter and was later promoted to sergeant, and in 1941, he published his recollections. The book was originally issued by
Franz Eher Nachfolger Franz Eher Nachfolger GmbH (''Franz Eher and Successors, LLC'', usually referred to as the Eher-Verlag (''Eher Publishing'')) was the central publishing house of the Nazi Party and one of the largest book and periodical firms during the Third Rei ...
, the central publishing house of the Nazi Party.


See also

*
Lwów Eaglets Lwów Eaglets ( pl, Orlęta lwowskie) is a term of affection that is applied to the Polish child soldiers who defended the city of Lwów ( uk, L'viv), in Eastern Galicia, during the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918–1919). Background The city now k ...
*
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...
*
List of World War II military equipment of Poland Polish Armament in 1939–45 article is a list of equipment used by Polish army before and during the Invasion of Poland, foreign service in British Commonwealth forces and last campaign to Germany with the Red Army in 1945. Aircraft Local des ...
*
List of German military equipment of World War II The following is a list of German military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that was under way by 1939 and ended in 1945. Following political instability build-up in Europe from ...
*
List of Soviet Union military equipment of World War II The following is a list of Soviet military equipment of World War II which includes firearms, artillery, vehicles, aircraft and warships. World War II was the deadliest war in history which started in 1939 and ended in 1945. Following political ...


References

;Inline ;General * * ;Further reading * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lwow (1939) Battles of the Invasion of Poland History of Lviv Sieges involving the Soviet Union Sieges involving Germany Sieges involving Poland Soviet invasion of Poland Lwów Voivodeship September 1939 events