Military operations in southern Poland 1939.

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The development of military operations in southern Poland.

Oswiecim/Auschwitz.

Towards noon on September 3, 1939, in the Piastowski bridge over the Sołą in Oświęcim a group of Polish soldiers guarding the crossing began exchanging fire with the spearhead of the German armored columns underway to Krakow. The fate of this skirmish was a foregone conclusion, but the Germans failed to seize the bridge.

Shortly before two enemy light tanks succeed in reaching the bridge, it was blown up by Polish sappers. Left standing only two sections close to the castle.

Sources: http://oswiecim.naszemiasto.pl/artykul/ ... id,tm.html.
http://odkrywca.pl/wrzesien-1939-zdjeci ... 59983.html
http://odkrywca.pl/wrzesien-1939-zdjeci ... 56823.html

Cheers. Raul M .

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Military operations in southern Poland.

The Pz Abt 33 (4. Le Div) in Rabka September 5, 1939.

Sources: http://odkrywca.pl/panzer-1939-czesc-11 ... tml#687400

Cheers. Raúl M .

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Military operations in southern Poland.

For General Kustron, who was promoted to this rank in March 1939, the war began on the night of August 25-26, when a German militia attacked the Mosty railway station and attempted to seize the railway tunnel under the Jabłonka Pass. The soldiers of the 21st DPG (mountain infantry division) commanded by him from 1935 repelled the attackers and forced them to flee. From September 1 to 2, this unit was part of GO "Bielsko" (Grupa Operacyjna - Operational Group), from September 3 in the composition of GO "Boruta" under Brig. Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz, defended itself against German attacks in the region of Cieszyn. In the following days, it was in retreat, in the general direction of Krakow, fighting on September 5 a victorious battle with the enemy at Mogilany.

Then it led heavy fights at Wiśnicz and Bochnia, suffering heavy losses. After retreating beyond the Dunajec, General Kustroń received an order to take over the defense of the San River in the Krzeszów - Sieniawa section. On September 9, new battalions of the 21st DPG began to be formed from the broken and mixed units. However, on September 11, German armored forces broke through the defense on the San River and moved towards Oleszyce - Lubaczów - Tomaszów Lubelski. The threatened units of GO "Boruta" (21st DPG and 6th DP (Infantry Division) of Brigadier General Bernard Mond) had to retreat and go to the northern bank of the Tanew River, into the forests near Biłgoraj.

On September 7, 1939, a ruthless war reached the territory of the Lubaczów poviat (county). On that day, the Germans bombed Lubaczów, Cieszanów, Narol and Oleszyce. On September 12, German troops seized the Lubaczów poviat without a fight. Some Ukrainians in Lubaczów and Oleszyce welcomed the invading Germans with flowers.

On September 13, in the command of the GO "Boruta" in Biłgoraj, a decision was made that its units should take over the area of ​​Cieszanów - Oleszyce - Lubaczów. The purpose of these actions was to secure for the entire forces of the Army "Krakow" uder Maj. Gen. Antoni Szylling, the key road junction on the march to Lwów/Lviv and the intersection of the communication of German armored forces in the direction of Jarosław - Oleszyce - Tomaszów Lubelski. The 21st DPG was to march to Oleszyce, and the 6th DP to Cieszanów.

The commanders of both units agreed to cooperate. However, the units of the 6th Infantry Division left their staging area only on September 15th, while the 21st DPG was on the march from the evening of September 13th. The delay of General Mond's units had disastrous consequences, because the German units, which the 6th Infantry Division encountered near Podsośnina Łukowska, began to enter the gap between the two divisions. Subsequent attempts to break the enemy's position did not bring success and General Mond ordered a retreat to the defensive positions near Aleksandrów.

Sources: Generał brygady Józef Kustroń. Tomasz Róg. Dodatek historyczny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej. Oddział w Rzeszowie.

Cheers. Raúl M .

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Military operations in southern Poland.

As the Polish 6th Infantry Division fought with German troops to achieve a breakout, the main forces of the 21st DPG set out on the morning of 15 September from the forests near Cewków and Moszczanica for starting positions near Oleszyce and Dachnowo. The division's Command Post assumed that only enemy security troops would be stationed in this area. Meanwhile, on the night of September 14, German forces from the 45th Infantry Division arrived at the scene.

After heavy fighting and exhausting marches, the numerical strength of General Kustron's division dwindled from approximately 17,000 soldiers and officers to approximately 4,000. According to the plan, the Border Protection Corps Regiment (KOP) was to attack Dachnów and then the eastern edges of Lubaczów; the 4th Podhale Rifle Regiment (pułk Strzelców Podhalańskich) along the Dzików Nowy - Horaj-Uszkowce highway in Oleszyce, and then to the western suburbs of Lubaczów; the 202nd Rifle Regiment (pułk strzelców) towards Lebieda - Miłków na Zabiałą, Oleszyce Stare and Stare Sioło. The remaining forces were to cover the attack.

The plan was not carried out due to delays in the march of some units that got lost in the woods. Only the KOP regiment reached Dachnów on the morning of September 15. The regiment's attack on open ground was a temporary success. The main Polish troops surprised the German 2. Company of the 130. Infantry Regiment (2./IR 130) while serving breakfast. Polish soldiers occupied the western part of the city. Soon, however, a strong enemy counterattack forced the Polish troops to withdraw to the edge of the forest near Dachnowo.

The positions of the KOP regiment were repeatedly attacked by the Germans until nightfall. They lost many soldiers and 8 tanks, and the dressing station at the school in Oleszyce was so full of wounded that some of them were put on straw in the church. The German chronicler of the 45.ID, Rudolf Gschöpf, recalled the battles near Oleszyce: On the left, between Futor and Uszkowce, the III. Battalion of the 133. Infantry Regiment (III./IR 133) joined the attack. Here the terrain was unfavorable to us. The battalion had to fight its way through vast meadows to a dense forest, from where well-hidden Poles beat up our soldiers in series. The lack of shovels made it difficult for us to dig. On the right wing there was close combat and sharp duels with hand grenades.

On the events that took place in Oleszyce at that time, the Reverend Józef Mroczkowski in the "Chronicle of the parish in Oleszyce" [original spelling - T.R.]: in the nearby woods, more important Polish troops were hidden, [...] suddenly initiating a cannonade over the city. A cannonball hit the cornice of the attic of the church, badly breaking the ceiling and wall. The gunner was aiming at the church tower, on which a concealed German observer was located. He too, immediately, pale with fear, was on the ground, he fell, they didn't kill him. The German rearguard at Oleszyce began an assault on the forest. (...) The Polish soldiers, hidden in the woods, let the Germans approach and then opened fire with machine guns. Apparently a considerable number of Germans died then, and Hauptman himself said angrily that he had lost many of them. A dozen Germans were buried under the church."

Sources: Generał brygady Józef Kustroń. Tomasz Róg. Dodatek historyczny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej. Oddział w Rzeszowie.

Cheers. Raúl M .

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Military operations in southern Poland.

At dusk on September 15, the Germans captured the edge of the forest and the KOP regiment had to withdraw into it. The remaining Polish troops also established combat contact with the enemy. Almost along the entire front, the troops of the 21st DPG met stiff German resistance. General Kustroń ordered to stop the attack and take defensive positions until the arrival of the 6th Infantry Division.

The division command was located on the eastern edge of Dzików Nowy. Soon, when it was threatened by German patrols, it had to move to the Lebiedzie forest lodge and from there to Dzików Stary. During the movement, the division Staff was ambushed; several NCOs died there. The combats of the 21st DPG took place all night from September 15 to 16 in conditions of total encirclement. The losses were great. The division's Dressing Station at the Dzików Stary school was overcrowded with wounded.

In this situation, on the morning of September 16, General Kustroń decided to withdraw the main forces of the division to the forests of the Moszczanica region, from there to try to join the forces of the GO "Boruta". At the head of a detachment of about 200 soldiers, consisting of the Staff, the radio service and the remnants of the mixed battalion of the 3rd Podhale Rifle Regiment (3. pułku Strzelców Podhalańskich) and 3 Vickers tanks as cover for the command of the division, passed Koziejówka to the west of the Ułazów Forest.

After leaving the clearing, around 14:00 hours, the unit was ambushed by the "Schubert" battalion of the pursuing regiment, belonging to the German 28. Infantry Division of Lieutenant General Hans von Obstfelder. General Kustroń was seriously wounded and died shortly after. The Germans took about 60 soldiers as prisoners, including 12 officers. One of the Vickers was destroyed and the other two fell into German hands.

Sources: Generał brygady Józef Kustroń. Tomasz Róg. Dodatek historyczny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej. Oddział w Rzeszowie.

Cheers. Raúl M .

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Military operations in southern Poland.

This is how described the last hours of General Józef Kustroń's life the quartermaster of the 21st DPG, Cap. dipl. Jan Kaliński: We formed a unit of 200 people together with the general and started our march to the Kołodziejówka [should be Koziejówka - N.T.] forest. The inferno of artillery fire and the German attack does not weaken for a moment. Patrols of new enemy units begin to emerge from Sieniawa's direction. We are still waiting to get out. After walking about 2 km, artillery and machine gun fire hits us. We entered the forest Kołodziejówka [Koziejówka - N.T.]. The hill behind the forest was occupied by the Germans. To the east, numerous groups of them enter the forest. The only possibility is to make breakout attempts in a westerly direction.

We came to a large clearing. There is no one in sight. Patrols pass unhindered. We go. When we entered, we received fire from some heavy machine guns from a distance of 50 to 60 meters. Any reaction was impossible. The whole unit was mowed down like with a sickle, a few steps away from me, General Kustroń was hit several times. The Germans continue to shoot those who lie. Only when all movement stopped completely did they dare to come out: 'Put your hands up, surrender.'

The Germans brought the body of General Kustron in a cart to Ułazów. They wrapped him in so-called tent cloth and deposited him in the courtyard of the Greek Catholic presbytery. On September 17 they were buried with honors next to the local church. The funeral was attended by a small group of Polish officers (prisoners of war), several residents of Ułazów, and a German platoon, who fired a volley of honor. At the end of 1939, the family of General Kustron received the return of their belongings through the Polish Red Cross, the general's personal data, enclosing a letter from the command of the 28. ID with information about his death and the place of his burial.

In the Battle of Oleszyce, the weakened 21st DPG held off the three times stronger enemy division and also pinned part of the German 28th Infantry Division, thus relieving the Polish 6th Infantry Division at Aleksandrów. The German 45th Infantry Division, as a result of the fighting on September 15 and 16, lost 124 killed (including 7 officers) and almost 300 wounded, which accounted for almost 80 percent of the total losses suffered during the fighting in Poland in September 1939. Polish losses amounted to approximately 100 killed and over 300 wounded (including some 120 seriously wounded). Some 2,000 soldiers were taken prisoner. Only a small force from the division managed to break out of the encirclement and get past Tanew.

Sources: Generał brygady Józef Kustroń. Tomasz Róg. Dodatek historyczny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej. Oddział w Rzeszowie.

It's all. Cheers. Raúl M .