Battle of the Bzura

BelligerentsGermanyPolandCommanders and leaders

Gerd von Rundstedt
Johannes Blaskowitz
Walther von Reichenau
Günther von Kluge
Wilhelm Ulex
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb

Erich HoepnerTadeusz Kutrzeba
Władysław Bortnowski
Edmund Knoll-Kownacki
Mikołaj Bołtuć
Roman Abraham
Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki†
Franciszek Wład†
Leon StrzeleckiStrength 12 infantry divisions
5 armoured and motorized divisions
425,000 soldiers 8 infantry divisions
2–4 cavalry brigades
225,000 soldiersCasualties and losses 8,000 dead
4,000 captured
50 tanks
100 cars
20 artillery pieces 18,000–20,000 dead
32,000 wounded
170,000 captured

The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was the largest battle of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September 1939. It was a Polish counter-attack against the Germans.

The battle took place west of Warsaw, near the Bzura River. It began as a Polish counter-offensive and achieved some initial success, but it faltered as the Germans ultimately outflanked the Polish forces with a concentrated counter-attack, which significantly weakened the Polish forces and resulted in the destruction of the Poznań and Pomorze Armies. The conclusion of the battle marked the completion of the German occupation of Western Poland.