Forces as of 31 August and German plan of attack.Forces as of 14 September with troop movements up to this date.Forces after 14 September with troop movements after this date
The main task of the army was to secure mountain passes in the Carpathians from Czorsztyn 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, and the oil-rich area of Borysław and Drohobycz. 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. 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 German divisions, whose superiority was obvious.
Operational historyedit
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 (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 Czorsztyn by the 4th Light Division of the Wehrmacht, 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 and Limanowa, 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.
The Army took heavy casualties retreating through the San river and was destroyed during the Battle of Lwów on September 20.
carpathian, army, karpaty, army, polish, armia, karpaty, formed, july, 1939, under, major, general, kazimierz, fabrycy, after, nazi, germany, created, puppet, state, slovakia, protectorate, bohemia, moravia, proclaimed, after, events, that, lead, breakup, czec. Karpaty Army Polish Armia Karpaty lit Carpathian Army was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events that lead to the breakup of Czechoslovakia According to Polish historians Czeslaw Grzelak and Henryk Stanczyk it consisted of two mountain brigades Lwow Brigade of National Defence and a Battalion Wegry Hungary Altogether Karpaty Army was made of 26 battalions 160 cannons and 16 planes Contents 1 Tasks 2 Operational history 3 Organization 4 ReferencesTasks edit nbsp Forces as of 31 August and German plan of attack nbsp Forces as of 14 September with troop movements up to this date nbsp Forces after 14 September with troop movements after this dateThe main task of the army was to secure mountain passes in the Carpathians from Czorsztyn to the Polish Romanian border total length 350 kilometers and to protect the Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy industrial region Furthermore it was tasked with the protection of southern wing of Krakow Army and the oil rich area of Boryslaw and Drohobycz 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 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 Gebirgsjager German divisions whose superiority was obvious Operational history editInitially 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 Krakow and renamed Armia Malopolska From 11 September 1939 it was commanded by General Kazimierz Sosnkowski 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 Czorsztyn by the 4th Light Division of the Wehrmacht 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 and Limanowa causing a gap between Karpaty Army and the retreating Krakow 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 Tarnow The Army took heavy casualties retreating through the San river and was destroyed during the Battle of Lwow on September 20 Organization editKarpaty Army was commanded by General Kazimierz Fabrycy His chief of staff was Colonel Witold Dzierzykraj Morawski 2nd Mountain Brigade 2 Brygada Gorska 3rd Mountain Brigade 3 Brygada Gorska Carpathian Half Brigade of National Defence Karpacka Polbrygada ON 1st Regiment of the Border Defence Corps 1st Motorized Artillery Regiment 9th Heavy Artillery RegimentAdditionally mobilisation plans called for the creation of Tarnow Group consisting of 22nd Infantry Division 38th Infantry DivisionOn 4 September the Army was strengthened by reserve units 11th Infantry Division 24th Infantry Division 38th Infantry DivisionReferences editThis article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Carpathian Army news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message in Polish Armie i samodzielne grupy operacyjne Wojska Polskiego 1939 Archived 2013 02 06 at the Wayback Machine WIEM Encyklopedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Carpathian Army amp oldid 1185594446, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
