The Battle of Wola Cyrusowa took place on 8 September 1939 near the village of Wola Cyrusowa near

Stryków Stryków (german: 1943-45 Strickau) is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County. It has 3,428 inhabitants (2020). History Early history The first mention of Stryków was in 1387. Stryków was a village situated on the ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, during the

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 af ...

. It was fought between the forces of the Polish Piotrków Operational Group under 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 of t ...

and the German 10th Infantry Division. In the effect of a successive delaying action, the Polish forces managed to regroup and withdraw eastwards while at the same time inflicting heavy losses on the opposing unit. However, their victory was only a temporary setback for the Nazi invasion of

Prelude

Due to the strategic errors made by Gen.

Juliusz Rómmel Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel (german: Julius Karl Wilhelm Josef Freiherr von Rummel; 3 June 1881 – 8 September 1967) was a Polish military commander, a general of the Polish Armed Forces. He graduated from the Corps of Cadets in Pskov a ...

, the commander of the

Łódź Army Łódź Army ( pl, Armia Łódź) was one of the Polish armies that took part in the Invasion of Poland of 1939. It was officially created on 23 March 1939 with the task of filling the gap between Poznań Army in the north and Kraków Army in the ...

, the Polish units that were to form a defensive wedge against the German assault towards Warsaw were dislocated too close to the German border. Because of that, the Piotrków Operational Group, along with the rest of that army's units, entered contact with enemy forces already on September 1 and lost the chance to successfully support the

Kraków Army Kraków Army ( pl, Armia Kraków) was one of the List of Polish armies, Polish armies which took part in the Invasion of Poland (1939), Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It ...

and

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 ...

, defending the areas on both flanks. Also, the German superiority in mobile units meant that the Polish forces had it difficult to break off the enemy and regain strategic initiative. The chaos in Polish ranks was enlarged by the fast pace of German advance and the fact that general Rómmel abandoned his army and left for Warsaw. The command was taken over by the commanding officer of the Piotrków Operational Group, general

Opposing forces

To enable regroupment of the dispersed forces of the Łódź Army, Gen. Thommée ordered all the units to move to the forests in the area of the towns of

and

Głowno Głowno is a town and community in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County, about 25 km northeast of Łódź. The town administratively belonged to the Łódź Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. According to data from 2020, the city ...

. The Polish forces included Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade (along with the remnants of the badly-damaged

21st Vistula Uhlan Regiment 21st Vistula Uhlan Regiment ( Polish: 21 Pułk Ułanów Nadwiślańskich, 21 puł) was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Formed in 1920, it fought both in the Polish–Soviet War and the Invasion of Poland. The regim ...

), the 2nd Legions Infantry Division, as well as 28th and 30th Infantry Divisions. The opposing force was composed of two infantry divisions of the German 8th Army under

Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German '' Generaloberst'' during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After joining the Imperial German Army i ...

. These were the 10th Infantry Division under Conrad von Cochenhausen and 24th Infantry Division under Friedrich Olbricht, as well as several smaller detachments of both 10th and 12th Corps.

Battle

The first Polish units to reach the area, that is the Wołyńska Cavalry Bde and the 30th Infantry Division were ordered to secure the area in order to allow for the remaining units to join up with the core of the army. However, due to chaotic command during the first days of the war, all divisions were dispersed and most regiments acted separately. In the course of the withdrawal it turned out that the 36th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Division was separated from the main forces and had to break through German lines in order to catch up. The same issue applied to the 30th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Infantry Division, which formed a defensive line in the village of Boginia and did not receive the orders for withdrawal.

Prelude

Opposing forces

Battle

See also