Kraków Cavalry Brigade (') 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 stret ...

, created on April 1, 1937. Its headquarters were located in

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 ...

, but some units were stationed in other places: Krakowska BK w 1938

* 3rd Silesian Uhlan Regiment, in

Tarnowskie Góry Tarnowskie Góry (German: ''Tarnowitz''; szl, Tarnowske Gōry) is a town in Silesia, southern Poland, located in the Silesian Highlands near Katowice. On the south it borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a megalopolis, the greater Si ...

8th Uhlan Regiment of Duke Jozef Poniatowski 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, in Kraków * 5th Mounted Rifles Regiment, in

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 Tarnów ...

and after 1938 in

Dębica Dębica (; yi, דעמביץ ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been in ...

* 5th Mounted Artillery Regiment, in

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

During 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 after ...

, the Brigade, under General Zygmunt Piasecki, was part of Armia Kraków, defending the area between Zabkowice and

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

. In the first days of September 1939, its defence lines were broken by the

10th Army (Wehrmacht) The 10th Army () was a World War II field army of (Germany). A new 10th Army was activated in 1943 as part of Adolf Hitler's last stand, who saw action notably in late 1943 and early 1944 along the "Winter Line" at the Battle of San Pietro In ...

, with one of its regiments overwhelmed. This opened the way for the German advance on Warsaw.Zaloga, S.J., 2002, Poland 1939, Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., The battle took place around

Zawiercie Zawiercie is a city in the south of Poland located in the Silesian Voivodeship with 49,334 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland near the source of the Warta River. The town lies near the historical region of Sile ...

and Woźniki, and after the defeat, the Poles withdrew towards the line of the

Nida River The Nida is a river in central Poland, a left tributary of the Vistula river, into which it flows near Nowy Korczyn). The Nida has a length of 154 kilometres and a basin area of 3,844 km2.Miechów Miechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 (2004). Miechów lies on the Miechówka river, along European route E77. The area of the town is , ...

and

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 (2005). Pińczów belongs to the historic Polish province of Lesser Poland, an ...

. The Poles were continuously chased and attacked by German 2nd Light Division. On September 10, the Division crossed the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

near

Baranów Sandomierski Baranów Sandomierski is a small town in southern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodship, Tarnobrzeg County on the Vistula River, with 1,420 inhabitants as of December 2021. Baranów lies near the Vistula river, along voivodeship road nr. 985, ...

. Then, it fought in the

Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski The Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 18 September to 20 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle

, in the area of

Biłgoraj Biłgoraj ( yi, בילגאריי, ''Bilgoray'', ua, Білґорай) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 25,838 inhabitants as of December 2021. Since 1999 it has been situated in Lublin Voivodeship; it was previously located in Zamość Vo ...

and

Tarnogród Tarnogród (; yi, ‏טאַרנעגראָד, Tarnegrod; uk, Терногород, Ternohorod, or , ''Tarnohorod'') is a town in Biłgoraj County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. It has a population of 3,399 (2006). Tarnogród is the southernmost to ...

. Surrounded by the enemy, it capitulated together with remnants of the Army Kraków.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krakow Cavalry Brigade Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish Cavalry Brigades Military units and formations disestablished in 1939

See also

References