Polish 24th Infantry Division ( pl, 24. Dywizja Piechoty) was a unit of 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 stre ...

in the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

period, which took part in the

Polish 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 ...

. The Division was created in 1921, and its first commandants were: General Jan Hempel (until 1926), General Wacław Scaevola-Wieczorkiewicz, Colonel Boleslaw Maria Krzyzanowski (until September 9, 1939), and Colonel Boleslaw Schwarzenberg-Czerny (in the final days of the September 1939 campaign). The 24th Division's headquarters were located in

Jarosław Jarosław (; uk, Ярослав, Yaroslav, ; yi, יאַרעסלאָוו, Yareslov; german: Jaroslau) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 38,970 inhabitants, as of 30 June 2014. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...

, with some regiments stationed in nearby cities of

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

and Przemyśl. It consisted of: * 17th Infantry Regiment (Rzeszów), * 38th Infantry Regiment of Lwów Rifles (Przemyśl), * 39th Infantry Regiment of Lwów Rifles (Jarosław), * 24th Light Artillery Regiment of King

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

(Jarosław). 24 DP w 1938

Polish September Campaign

The 24th Division, commanded by Colonel Boleslaw Maria Krzyzanowski, remained in the first days of the war in reserve. On September 3 transported to the area of

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

and Dębica, where it was supposed to man the line

Pilzno Pilzno is a town in Poland, in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in Dębica County. It has 4,943 inhabitants as of 2018. It is located at the junction of important roads – West-East European E40 Highway, and National Road 73 (''Droga Krajowa nr. 73 ...

- Szynwald -

Tuchów Tuchów is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,476 (2004). It lies on the ''Biała'' river, at the height of above sea level. The distance to Kraków is , and to the border with Slovakia, approx ...

. Attached to the

Karpaty Army Karpaty Army ( pl, Armia Karpaty, , Carpathian Army) was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events ...

, on September 6 it was engaged in heavy fighting with advancing 4th Light Division of 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 previo ...

. In the evening of that day, General Kazimierz Fabrycy ordered the Division to withdraw towards the

Wisłoka The Wisłoka is a river in south-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river, with a length of and a basin area of . The highest elevations reach an elevation of , while the lowest point in the valley of the river Wisłoka lies at an ele ...

and defend the main west-east route from

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

to Lwów. On September 7, marching Polish units were ambushed by the Germans near Tuchów, who managed to destroy several battalions. After the attack, Colonel Boleslaw Maria Krzyzanowski lost his ability to command the Division and was replaced by Colonel Boleslaw Schwarzenberg-Czerny. Contrary to orders of General Fabrycy, the Division retreated further eastwards, towards the San. Between September 11 and 12, 1939, the Poles were engaged in heavy fighting with German Second Mountain Division near

Bircza Bircza ( ua, Бірча, Bircha) is a village in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bircza. It lies approximately south-west of Przemyśl and ...

. The Germans managed to break Polish positions in the evening of September 12, therefore southern wing of defence of Przemyśl was opened. Retreating towards Lwów, the 24th kept on repulsing German attacks, reaching Mosciska on September 15. Two days later, 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 ...

, who commanded Polish troops in the area, ordered all units to break to Lwów. First groups of Polish soldiers reached the besieged city on September 17 in the evening. On September 18, when news of

Soviet 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 nation ...

attack on

eastern Poland Eastern Poland is a macroregion in Poland comprising the Lublin, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships. The make-up of the distinct macroregion is based not only of geographical criteria, but also econo ...

reached General Sosnkowski, he decided to change plans. Instead of breaking to Lwów, Sosnkowski ordered the soldiers to form small groups and try to reach Hungary. Heavy equipment and vehicles were destroyed, and those soldiers who did not wish to fight any more, were let go. Meanwhile, units of the 24th were fighting 5th Panzer Division in the area of Rzesna Ruska. Soon afterwards, Soviet tanks appeared around Lwów, and General Sosnkowski decided to dismiss the Division, which ceased to exist.

Operation Tempest

The 24th Infantry Division was recreated in the summer of 1944, during the

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...

, as part of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) est ...

Sources

* Tadeusz Jurga: Wojsko Polskie : krótki informator historyczny o Wojsku Polskim w latach II wojny swiatowej. 7, Regularne jednostki Wojska Polskiego w 1939 : organizacja, dzialania bojowe, uzbrojenie, metryki zwia˛zków operacyjnych, dywizji i brygad. Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej 1975. * Czeslaw Grzelak i Henryk Stan´czyk: "Kampania Polska 1939" * Janusz Piekalkiewicz: "Polen Feldzug. Hitler und Stalin zerschlagen die Polnische Republik" * Ryszard Dalecki: "Armia KARPATY w wojnie obronnej 1939 r.", KAW Rzeszów 1989. * Stanley S.Seidner, ''Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz Rydz and the Defense of Poland'', New York, 1978. * Kazimierz Sosnkowski: "Cieniom Wrzesnia", MON Warszawa 1988, .

Polish September Campaign

Operation Tempest

Sources

See also