The 30th Polesie Infantry Division (30. Poleska 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 inter-war period. It was stationed in

Kobryn Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...

, as well as other towns of the

Polesie Voivodeship Polesie Voivodeship ( pl, województwo poleskie) was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918–1939), named after the historical region of Polesia. It was created by the Council of Ministers of the Second Polish Republic on February 19, 1 ...

Brzesc nad Bugiem Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

and

Pinsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk ...

. It was commanded by Colonel Mieczysław Mackiewicz (1921–26), General Stanisław Tessaro (1926–29), Colonel Stanisław Wrzaliński (1929–31) and General

Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski also known as Emil Karol Przedrzymirski de Krukowicz (1886-1957) was a Polish general. Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski was born in 1886. He began military service as an artillery officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army during ...

(1931-1938). 30 DP w 1938

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, under General Leopold Cehak, was part of the Operational Group "Piotrkow" 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 30th was the only Division of the Polish Army, which took its defensive positions near pre-1939 Polish-German border as early as in March 1939. It was carried by trains and placed southwest of

Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it was the capita ...

along the

Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

river. Soon before German attack on Poland, it was reinforced with the 41st Company of Tanks. Also, a few hours before the war, the Division was reinforced again, this time by two armored trains - nr. 52 "Baszta" and nr. 53 "Smialy". Facing the Poles were two German divisions - 18th I.D. and 19th I.D. On September 2, 1939, 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 ...

broke through Polish lines and crossed the Warta near

Działoszyn Działoszyn is a town in Pajęczno County, Łódź Voivodeship, in south-central Poland, with 5,627 inhabitants as of December 2021. History Działoszyn was granted town rights in 1421. During the German invasion of Poland at the beginning ...

, street fights took place in the very town. On the same day in the evening, the Germans organized a general attack, forcing the Poles to withdraw towards its main defence line, along the

Widawka Widawka is a river, located in central Poland (Łódź Voivodeship, near Bełchatów), a tributary of the Warta. Its length is 95.8 kilometers and its basin's area is 2385 km2. See also *Rivers of Poland Following is a list of rivers, whic ...

river. On September 4 and 5, 30th I.D. repelled attacks of the German XI Corps near

Szczerców Szczerców is a village in Bełchatów County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Szczerców. It lies approximately west of Bełchatów and south-west of the regional capi ...

. However, facing encirclement, it had to withdraw, fighting near Slupia. Ordered to get to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, it set off on September 10, but despite initial successes, the plan failed. On September 13, remains of the Division entered the

fortress of Modlin Modlin Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Modlin) is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was orig ...

, fighting there until capitulation on September 29.

References

{{Authority control 30th Military units and formations established in 1921 30th