The Raid on Fraustadt ( pl, Wypad na Wschowę) was a military raid, carried out by the Polish Army on September 2, 1939, second day of 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 ...

. Polish forces attacked

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 ...

positions in and around the town of

Fraustadt Wschowa (pronounced , german: Fraustadt) is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland with 13,875 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Wschowa County and a significant tourist site containing many important historical monuments. His ...

(present-day Wschowa), in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

, Free State of Prussia.

Background

In the night of September 1/2, 1939, at app. 1 a.m., General

Roman Abraham Roman Józef Abraham (28 February 1891, Lwów – 26 August 1976, Warsaw) was a Polish cavalry general, commander of the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade during the German and Soviet Invasion of Poland in September 1939, and Battle of Bzura comman ...

, who commanded

Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade (Polish: ''Wielkopolska Brygada Kawalerii'') was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937 out of the Cavalry Brigade "Poznań". Its headquarters were stationed in Pozn ...

, ordered a platoon of military cyclists stationed in Krzywin under Colonel Zbigniew Baranski to come to

Leszno Leszno (german: Lissa, 1800–1918 ''Lissa in Posen'') is a historic city in western Poland, within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Previously, it ...

. In the morning of September 2, observation planes of the

Polish air force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

observed German positions around Fraustadt. At the same time, a company of bicycle-riding Polish scouts patrolled forests along the nearby border. At 2:30 p.m., General Abraham issued an order to carry out a raid on Fraustadt. According to his directive, Polish forces were to repel enemy units and shell the town. The raid was to be carried out by 55th. Poznan Infantry Regiment, stationed in Leszno. Colonel Waclaw Wiecierzynski, who commanded this unit, named Captain Edmund Lesisz leader of the raid. The group which took part in the attack consisted of 300 soldiers and seven officers, with a platoon of military vehicles, a platoon of heavy machine guns and a platoon of artillery under Captain Ludwik Snitko. They were supported by a platoon of uhlans in the north, and a squadron of

TKS The TK (TK-3) and TKS were Polish tankettes developed during the 1930s and used in the Second World War. Design and development The TK (also known as the TK-3) tankette was a Polish design produced from 1931 based on the chassis of the British C ...

tankettes, plus a platoon of military cyclists in the south. All three units communicated with each other via cyclists and mounted couriers.

Raid

In the afternoon of September 2, at about 4 p.m., the units headed towards the border. Buses were provided for the infantry, while artillery, with horse carts, reached the border after the infantry. Captain Edmund Lesisz ordered Lieutnant Władysław Konwiński of 2nd Platoon to attack a Border Guard (Grenzschutz) post, which blocked the road towards the village of Geyersdorf ( Dębowa Łąka). After a short exchange of fire, the Germans retreated, and Poles captured the post, together with large amount of weaponry, which was taken to the barracks at Leszno. Meanwhile, 1st Platoon of Lieutenant Stanisław Rybczyński attacked border checkpoint, and Polish artillery took its designated positions. Soon afterwards Polish cannons opened fire on Geyersdorf, which resulted in panic among German soldiers. A number of TKS tankettes appeared in the village, supported by machine gun fire. As a result, German soldiers and civilians fled from Geyersdorf. The village was seized at app. 6 p.m. Soon afterwards Polish artillery began shelling of Fraustadt, killing some German soldiers. At the same time a Polish front unit, which was 3rd Platoon of Lieutenant Stefan Perkiewicz, reached the outskirts of Fraustadt, some 8 kilometers into German territory. The town itself was not seized, as before nightfall, General Roman Abraham ordered all Polish troops to return to Leszno. During the retreat, an incident took place in of

Święciechowa Święciechowa () is a village in Leszno County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Święciechowa. It lies approximately west of Leszno and south-west of the r ...

. Ethnic German residents of the village came out with Nazi flags to welcome the Polish soldiers, mistaking them for the advancing Wehrmacht. A gunfire exchange ensued, after which most active Germans were arrested by the military police. After the Invasion of Poland, Captain Edmund Lesisz was captured by the Germans and sent to

Oflag VII-A Murnau Oflag VII-A Murnau was a German Army prisoner-of-war camp for Polish Army officers during World War II. It was located north of the Bavarian town of Murnau am Staffelsee. Camp history The camp was created in September 1939. It consisted of an e ...

. Found there by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

, he was taken to

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

and murdered.

Aftermath

The raid on Fraustadt, together with the capture of Geyersdorf, was used by Polish propaganda to bolster the morale of soldiers of

and other units, and convince them that it was possible to defeat the Wehrmacht. Nevertheless, from military and strategic point of view it did not have any influence on the course of the campaign. Polish forces engaged in the raid were too weak, as General Abraham did not want to risk losing the city of Leszno. The raid on Fraustadt is commemorated by a monument, which stands in the outskirts of Wschowa, along the road to Leszno.

Notes

References

* Piotr Bauer, 55 Poznański pułk piechoty, 1991, {{ISBN, 83-85253-23-8

Military raids Province of Silesia September 1939 events

Background

Raid

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References