Polish 11th Infantry Division
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The 11th Carpathian Infantry Division (Polish ''11 Karpacka Dywizja Piechoty''), was a tactical unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which fought in 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. Elements of the unit would go on to serve in the Polish Armed Forces in the East.


Composition

Its headquarters were located in Stanisławów, with some regiments stationed in nearby locations, such as Stryj and Kolomyja. It consisted of these regiments: * 48th Kresy Rifle Regiment, stationed in Stanisławów, commanded by Colonel Walenty Nowak, *
49th Hutsul Rifle Regiment The 49th Hutsul Rifle Regiment was a unit of the Polish Army, which belonged to the 11th Carpathian Infantry Division (Army Kraków). Stationed in the interbellum in the garrison in Kolomyja, it participated in the Polish September Campaign, fi ...
, stationed in Kolomyja, * 53rd Kresy Rifle Regiment, stationed in Stryj, * 11th Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment, stationed in Stanisławów, * 11th Heavy Artillery Regiment, * 11th Sapper Battalion, * 11th Motor Battery of Antiaircraft Artillery, * squadron of cavalry, made up of soldiers of
Border Defence Corps The Border Protection Corps ( pl, Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza, KOP) was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other b ...
from Zaleszczyki.


Polish September Campaign

The division, under Colonel
Bronisław Prugar-Ketling Bronisław Prugar-Ketling (2 July 1891, Trześniów, Subcarpathian Voivodeship – 18 February 1948, Warsaw) was a Polish general. He was a member of Polish Military Organisation in World War I, later served in the Blue Army. He fought in the ...
, was part of the
Kraków Army Kraków Army ( pl, Armia Kraków) was one of the Polish armies which took part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by Gen. Antoni Szylling. Original ...
as a rear unit. It was supposed to concentrate in the area of Zawiercie, to cover activities of the neighboring units -
Polish 7th Infantry Division The 7th Infantry Division (, 7 DP) was the name of several units of the Polish Army. Second Polish Republic The original division was formed on 14 May 1919 near Częstochowa. At that time it consisted of two infantry brigades (13th and 14th), ...
and the Slask Operational Group. However, original plans had been changed, because of 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 ...
bombing of Polish rail connections. On September 3 and 4, parts of the division left train near Bochnia and was ordered to protect the line of the
Dunajec The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at t ...
river. Lacking artillery, antiaircraft and field hospital (which had been stuck in Rzeszów), the unit entered the battle immediately, but German pressure was too hard. On September 7, the division began retreat towards the Wisłoka and from there - eastwards, towards
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 ...
. There, on September 11 and 12, it was engaged in bloody fighting with the Germans. On September 17, the division fought in the Janów Forest, halting advance of German 7th I.D. and 57 I.D. Remnants of the unit, numbered at no more than 1000 men, managed to break into besieged
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 ...
, where it capitulated.


Polish Armed Forces in the East

An 11th Infantry Division (see :pl:11 Dywizja Piechoty (LWP)) was reformed became part of the Polish Armed Forces in the East. A 1944 formation of the division was originally intended to become part of the Third Army, which was never fully formed. After 1945 it became successively the 11th Motorised Division (1949), the 11th Mechanised Division (1950), the 11th Armoured Division (1963), and finally the
11th Armoured Cavalry Division The 11th "Lubuska" Armoured Cavalry Division ( pl, 11 Lubuska Dywizja Kawalerii Pancernej) is an armoured division of the Polish Land Forces, which traces its history to the formation of the 11th Infantry Division of the Polish Armed Forces in th ...
in 1992, which still serves the Polish Army today. The 11th Armoured Cavalry Division is part of the 2nd Mechanised Corps.


References


Bibliography

* Tadeusz Jurga, Wojsko Polskie. Krótki informator historyczny o Wojsku Polskim w latach II wojny światowej. 7, Regularne jednostki Wojska Polskiego w 1939. Organizacja, działania bojowe, uzbrojenie, metryki związków operacyjnych, dywizji i brygad. Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej 1975. * Piotr Zarzycki, ''Plan mobilizacyjny „W”. Wykaz oddziałów mobilizowanych na wypadek wojny'', Pruszków 1995, . * Ryszard Dalecki: ''Armia „Karpaty” w wojnie obronnej 1939 r.'', Rzeszów 1989, wyd. II, {{ISBN, 83-03-02830-8. *
Bronisław Prugar-Ketling Bronisław Prugar-Ketling (2 July 1891, Trześniów, Subcarpathian Voivodeship – 18 February 1948, Warsaw) was a Polish general. He was a member of Polish Military Organisation in World War I, later served in the Blue Army. He fought in the ...
, ''Aby dochować wierności. Wspomnienia z działań 11 Karpackiej Dywizji Piechoty. Wrzesień 1939'', Wydawnictwo "Odpowiedzialność i Czyn", Warszawa 1990. * Czesław Grzelak i Henryk Stańczyk, ''Kampania Polska 1939'' * Janusz Piekałkiewicz, ''Polen Feldzug. Hitler und Stalin zerschlagen die Polnische Republik''. * ''Zarys dziejów wojskowości polskiej w latach 1864-1939'', Wyd. WIH, Warszawa 1990.


See also

* Polish army order of battle in 1939 * Polish contribution to World War II * List of Polish divisions in World War II
11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...
11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...