The 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment (, 2ppLeg) was a Polish military unit active between 1914 and 1944. Initially a part of the

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions () was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Trip ...

, after the war it was incorporated into the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

. Disbanded after the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in 1939, it was recreated during the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest or Operation 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 Arm ...

. The regiment was first formed in 1914 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, as part of the Polish Legions fighting alongside the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

. Initially a part of the Eastern Legion, with time it was joined with the 2nd Brigade of the Polish Legions. It avoided destruction on the fronts of the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was merged into the newly reborn Polish Army in 1918. It took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War. After the

Peace of Riga The Treaty of Riga was signed in Riga, Latvia, on between Poland on one side and Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine on the other, ending the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). The chief negotiators o ...

had been signed, the unit was partly demobilized and stationed in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

, where it formed a part of the Polish 2nd Legions' Infantry Division. With that unit the regiment, headed by Col.

Ludwik Czyżewski Ludwik Czyżewski was a Polish General during the Invasion of Poland during World War II. He commanded the 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment during the Battle of Borowa Góra but was defeated in the battle. He was also a member of the Border Prote ...

, formed the backbone of the Piotrków Operational Group at the start of the

in 1939. Initially separated from its division, the regiment fought in the battle of Borowa Góra on 5 September. On 9 September it joined its division and covered its retreat towards

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. After heavy fights on 12 and 13 September, fought in the area of

Błonie Błonie is a town in Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. History The settlement dates back to the 8th century. It was first mentioned in the 11th century, and already in the 12th century constituted a sizeable settlement with the f ...

, Ołtarzew and

Ożarów Ożarów (; ) is a town in Poland, in the province of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in Opatów county (Powiat of Opatów), historic Lesser Poland, with 10,399 inhabitants as of December 31, 2021. Ożarów received its Magdeburg rights, town char ...

, the regiment crossed the

Kampinos Forest Kampinos Forest () is a large forest complex located in Masovian Voivodeship, west of Warsaw in Poland. It covers a part of the ancient valley of the Vistula basin, between the Vistula and the Bzura rivers. The forest began to form 14-11,000 yea ...

and reached the

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

. There, the regiment took part in defence of that area until the capitulation of the fortress on 29 September. In August 1944, during the

, the 2nd Regiment was recreated from smaller partisan units as part of the 2nd Division fighting in the area of

and

Opatów Opatów (; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the population was 6,658. Opatów is located ...

. Commanded by Lt.Col. Antoni Wiktorowski ''Kruk'', it fought against the German Army in that area until September, when it was disbanded. However, its sub-units continued to operate in the area until January 1945, when they were overrun by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. Most of its soldiers, much like the rest of

, were then rounded up by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

, disarmed and either forcibly conscripted to the Communist-supported

Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the Polish communist state (1945–1989 ...

or sent to the

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

s in

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Notes and references

::In-line: {{Authority control Infantry regiments of Poland Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939) Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish Legions in World War I