Invasion of Poland

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history... in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was created in 1918, in the aftermath of World War I. It continued to exist until 1939, despite both internal and external pressures, when Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic, marking the beginning of World War II. When the borders of the state were fixed in 1922 after several regional conflicts, the Republic bordered Czechoslovakia, Germany, Free City of Danzig, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, and the Soviet Union, plus a tiny strip of the coastline of the Baltic Sea, around the city of Gdynia, which itself was built in the 1930s. Furthermore, in the period March 1939 – August 1939, Poland bordered then-Hungarian province of Carpathian Ruthenia. It had an area of 388,634 km² , and 27.
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The Battle of the Bzura was a battle in the opening campaign of World War II during the 1939 German invasion of Poland, fought between 9 and 19... September, 1939, between Polish and German forces. Finally, the Germans outflanked the Polish forces and took all of western Poland. It was the single largest battle in the 1939 September campaign and took place to the west of Warsaw, near the Bzura River. In it, a Polish breakout attack gained initial success but eventually faltered after a concentrated German counterattack. The Polish plan for defense against the German invasion, Plan West, called for the defense of the borders. This was dictated more by political than military concerns, as Poles feared that the Germans, after taking over territories they lost in the Treaty of Versailles, would try to end the war and keep those territories. While defending the borders was more risky, the Poles were counting on the British and French counteroffensive .
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The Battle of Mława, otherwise known as the Defence of the Mława position, took place to the north of the town of Mława in northern... Poland between September 1 and September 3, 1939. It was one of the opening battles of the Invasion of Poland and World War II in general. It was fought between the forces of the Polish Modlin Army under Gen. Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski and the German 3rd Army under Gen. Georg von Küchler. As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, the new German-Polish border was located only some 120 km north of Warsaw, the Polish capital city. In 1939 the Polish Modlin Army, led by Brigadier General Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski, was thought of as the main defensive force guarding Polish borders from the north. It was dislocated along the border with East Prussia and was to stop the enemy forces advancing towards Warsaw, the Modlin Fortress. Shortly before the war, a decision was made to strengthen the Polish defences by construction of a line of field fortifications and concrete bunkers to the north of Mława, in the centre of the army's positions. The main line of defence of the army was located along the line of Narew and Vistula rivers.
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Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 17 September to 26 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest... battle of the Invasion of Poland and also the largest tank battle of the campaign. It resulted in the destruction of the Polish forces. The battle can be divided into two phases - from 17 to 20 September and from 21 to 26 September. They are often referred to in Polish sources as the First and Second battle of Tomaszów, respectively. In the first phase , Polish forces, composed of Army Lublin and Army Kraków under general Tadeusz Piskor attempted to break through the German positions around Tomaszów towards the Romanian Bridgehead area. Both armies joined forces on September 15, in the area southwest of Frampol. Their road towards south was blocked, however, by two German corps - VIII Army Corps , and by XXII Panzer Corps, consisting of 2nd Panzer Division and 4th Light Division . Polish forces, concentrated around Frampol, were surrounded by six to seven German divisions.
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The Battle of Kock, was the final battle in the Invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II. It took place between 2–5 October 1939,... near the town of Kock, in Poland. The Polish Polesie Independent Operational Group, led by General Franciszek Kleeberg, fought the German 14th Motorised Corps, led by General Gustav Anton von Wietersheim. The Polish battle plan was disorganized due to few officers being available. The Wehrmacht had destroyed the Polish reserve and forced it to withdraw. Having taken heavy losses, the Polish armies retreated to Kraków and the Vistula river. From there, they took the route from Warsaw to Sandomierz. From Sandomierz, they were able to move on to the Lublin area. The eastern edge of the Vistula was defended by Lublin's weak army. The Polish forces were only camped in areas where they could cross the river easily, . Other German forces advanced to the Vistula and went on towards Zamość and Włodzimierz Wołyński. The Polish Army at Kraków and Małopolska suffered heavy losses, and did not reach the San river front. Therefore, they were unable to organize a proper defence.
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