Karpaty Army () was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General

Kazimierz Fabrycy Kazimierz Fabrycy (3 March 1888 in Odessa – 18 July 1958) was a Polish general. Early life Kazimierz Fabrycy was born on March 3, 1888, in Odessa, in the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire. Upon graduating from school in Nemyriv, Niemi ...

after

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

created a

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

was proclaimed after the

events Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

that lead to the breakup of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. According to Polish historians Czesław Grzelak and Henryk Stańczyk, it consisted of two mountain brigades,

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Brigade of National Defence and a Battalion ''Węgry'' (''

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

''). Altogether, Karpaty Army was made of 26 battalions, 160 cannons and 16 planes.

Tasks

The main task of the army was to secure mountain passes in the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

from

Czorsztyn Czorsztyn (German: ''Schorstin'') is a village in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Nowy Targ County. The village lies in Pieniny, the mountain range on the current Polish- Slovak border. It is famous for the ruins of a 14th-17th-century c ...

to the Polish-Romanian border (total length 350 kilometers) and to protect the Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy industrial region. Furthermore, it was tasked with the protection of southern wing of

Kraków Army Kraków Army () was one of the List of Polish armies, Polish armies which took part in the Invasion of Poland (1939), Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by ...

, and the oil-rich area of Borysław and

Drohobycz Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it was ...

. In late August 1939, concentration of Karpaty Army was not yet completed, as it was to be fully operational only after the completion of mobilization of 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 ...

. Karpaty Army was the weakest of all Polish armies in 1939, lacking heavy equipment, and manned by older officers. Since the first hours of the war, Karpaty Army faced well-prepared

Gebirgsjäger ''Gebirgsjäger'' () is a German language, German military term for light infantry trained in mountain warfare. Currently used in the militaries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the term includes the word ''Jäger (military), jäger'', anot ...

German divisions, whose superiority was obvious.

Operational history

Initially the army consisted of two improvised mountain brigades and a number of smaller units, but later in the course of war (on September 6) it was joined by forces of the withdrawing '' Armia Kraków'', and renamed ''Armia Małopolska''. From 11 September 1939, it was commanded by General

Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in particular for his contribu ...

(after General Fabrycy was reassigned to command the Polish Southern Front). On September 1 in the morning, Karpaty Army was attacked in the area of

by the 4th Light Division of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, supported by the 2nd Mountain Division. Backed by the Slovakian units (see Slovak invasion of Poland), the German divisions managed to break through Polish positions near

Tymbark Tymbark is a village in southern Poland, some south-east of Kraków, population 2,400 (2004 data). It lies approximately west of Limanowa and south-east of the regional capital Kraków. Tymbark was granted city rights in 1357 by King Casimir ...

and

Limanowa Limanowa is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Limanowa County and had a population of 15,132 in 2012. History Mentions of the town date back to 1496, when it was documented as Ilmanowa, a rural es ...

, causing a gap between Karpaty Army and the retreating Kraków Army. As a result, Polish headquarters agreed for a withdrawal. In the first days of the invasion, Karpaty Army lacked reserve units, as its main forces, the 24th and 11th Infantry Divisions, were either still mobilized, or were on their way towards 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. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

. The Army took heavy casualties retreating through the

San river The San (; ''Sian''; ) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. With a length of , the San is the 6th-longest Polish river. It has a basin area of 16,877 km2, of which 14,426 k ...

and was destroyed during the Battle of Lwów on September 20.

Organization

Karpaty Army was commanded by General

. His chief of staff was Colonel Witold Dzierżykraj-Morawski. * 2nd Mountain Brigade (''2 Brygada Górska'') * 3rd Mountain Brigade (''3 Brygada Górska'') * Carpathian Half-Brigade of National Defence (''Karpacka Półbrygada ON'') * 1st Regiment of the Border Defence Corps * 1st Motorized Artillery Regiment * 9th Heavy Artillery Regiment Additionally, mobilisation plans called for the creation of

Tarnów Group 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. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

consisting of: * 22nd Infantry Division * 38th Infantry Division On 4 September the Army was strengthened by reserve units: * 11th Infantry Division * 24th Infantry Division * 38th Infantry Division

References

Armie i samodzielne grupy operacyjne Wojska Polskiego 1939

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The encyclopedia was based on the first printed edition was released in mid-1990s (with Vo ...

{{Polish Armies 1939 Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish armies Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939