In the summer of 1939 it was moved west and became part of the Modlin Army. Its task was to defend the partly fortified area north of Mława, near the interwar border of Poland and East Prussia.
The Wehrmacht was advancing southwards, towards Warsaw, but first attacks were repulsed with the loss of around 25 German tanks. Unable to capture Mława in frontal attack, the Germans decided to go around and attack from sides. As they threatened 20th I.D.'s rear, the Poles were ordered to withdraw. However, supported by the neighbouring Polish 8th Infantry Division, the defenders kept their positions.
On September 2, German attacks failed again, even though they ordered Polish civilians to walk in front of their tanks. The Germans decided to organize an offensive from the area of Ostrołęka and Przasnysz. This succeeded, and on September 3, Polish positions were broken. To make matters worse, the counter-attack of the 8th I.D. was ill-organized and failed, resulting in chaotic, panic withdrawal of 8th I.D. units.
Facing the difficult situation, the 20th I.D. was ordered to withdraw on the night of September 3–4. Bombed by the Germans, the division around September 7 reached the area of Płock. Then, the unit's remains entered Warsaw, helping with its defence from northwest. They capitulated together with the Warsaw garrison on September 28 (see: Siege of Warsaw (1939)).
The Germans who fought against the 20. at Mława gave it a nickname "Steel Division."
Order of Battle (1939)edit
Division Headquarters - based in Baranavichy (Polish: Baranowicze)
78th Infantry Regiment [pl] - based in Baranavichy
79th Infantry Regiment [pl] - based in Slonim (Polish: Słonim)
80th Infantry Regiment [pl] - based in Slonim
20th Light Artillery Regiment [pl] - based in Pruzhany (Polish: Prużany)
20th, infantry, division, poland, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, 20th, infantry, division, poland, news, newspapers, books. This 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 20th Infantry Division Poland news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message 20th Infantry Division Polish 20 Dywizja Piechoty was an infantry division of the Polish Army during the interbellum period which took part in the Polish September Campaign It was formed in 1920 from the reorganization of the 2nd Lithuanian Belarusian Division Stationed in Baranavichy Polish Baranowicze and commanded by Colonel Wilhelm Lawicz Liszka Contents 1 September 1939 Campaign 2 Order of Battle 1939 3 See also 4 ReferencesSeptember 1939 Campaign editIn the summer of 1939 it was moved west and became part of the Modlin Army Its task was to defend the partly fortified area north of Mlawa near the interwar border of Poland and East Prussia Between September 1 and 3 1939 see September Campaign the division defended positions around Mlawa in the Battle of Mlawa facing the more numerous and better equipped units of the German I Army Corps composed of 11th Infantry Division 61st Infantry Division and the Panzer Division Kempf The Wehrmacht was advancing southwards towards Warsaw but first attacks were repulsed with the loss of around 25 German tanks Unable to capture Mlawa in frontal attack the Germans decided to go around and attack from sides As they threatened 20th I D s rear the Poles were ordered to withdraw However supported by the neighbouring Polish 8th Infantry Division the defenders kept their positions On September 2 German attacks failed again even though they ordered Polish civilians to walk in front of their tanks The Germans decided to organize an offensive from the area of Ostroleka and Przasnysz This succeeded and on September 3 Polish positions were broken To make matters worse the counter attack of the 8th I D was ill organized and failed resulting in chaotic panic withdrawal of 8th I D units Facing the difficult situation the 20th I D was ordered to withdraw on the night of September 3 4 Bombed by the Germans the division around September 7 reached the area of Plock Then the unit s remains entered Warsaw helping with its defence from northwest They capitulated together with the Warsaw garrison on September 28 see Siege of Warsaw 1939 The Germans who fought against the 20 at Mlawa gave it a nickname Steel Division Order of Battle 1939 editDivision Headquarters based in Baranavichy Polish Baranowicze 78th Infantry Regiment pl based in Baranavichy 79th Infantry Regiment pl based in Slonim Polish Slonim 80th Infantry Regiment pl based in Slonim 20th Light Artillery Regiment pl based in Pruzhany Polish Pruzany See also editPolish army order of battle in 1939 Polish contribution to World War II List of Polish divisions in World War IIReferences edit nbsp This Polish military article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about a specific military unit is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 20th Infantry Division Poland amp oldid 1217026782, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
