The Warszawa Army was one of the Polish armies to take part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. Created on 8 September, eight days after the invasion begun, it was an improvised formation charged with the defence of the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Tasks
To defend the Polish capital Warsaw in the face of breakthrough by the German forces.
Operational history
On 3 September 1939 the Minister of the Army, general Tadeusz Kasprzycki, ordered general Walerian Czuma to organize a force to defend the city of Warsaw against a German attack. The city had been under constant attack by the Luftwaffe since the early morning of 1 September. Initially the only organized units available to him were four infantry battalions, anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns detachments under colonel Kazimierz Baran, composed mostly of fire-fighter brigades and volunteers supervised by colonel Tadeusz Bogdanowicz and Julian Kulski, the deputy president of Warsaw. The AA artillery had 86 pieces of anti-aircraft artillery, as well as an unknown number of anti-aircraft machine guns. In addition there was an air force Pursuit Brigade which was equipped with 54 fighter aircraft. On the 5 and 6 September the air force and 11 batteries of anti-aircraft artillery were withdrawn to Lublin. Initially however parts of various army units, primarily of Łódź Army, retreating before the onslaught of German armor units, were added to his force. On 8 September General Juliusz Rómmel, the commander of the Łódź Army who had become separated from his operational units, arrived in Warsaw with his staff. The chief of staff of the Polish Armed Forces, general Wacław Stachiewicz, appointed him the overall commander of all forces defending Warsaw, including the Warsaw Defense Force, the Modlin Fortress and the army units immediately south and north-east of Warsaw During the next days, army units retreating in face of the onslaughts of the German armor and under continuous air attacks, fought their way through the German lines to the besieged capital, in particular from the Battle of Bzura. After 13 September Warsaw and Modlin were effectively surrounded. The only way the Polish units were able to reach the besieged area was through the Kampinos Forest between Warsaw and the Vistula river. On 22 September German forces cut through the remaining lines of communication between Warsaw and Modlin. On 26 September, after heavy bombardment had cut off water and the civilian population was starving, the city was forced to surrender. On 28 September the Polish forces in Warsaw capitulated; fort Modlin capitulated the following day.
Units
Commander: General Juliusz Rómmel Chief of staff: col Aleksander Pragłowski Deputy Commander: General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, was commander of Army Poznan - reached Warsaw 16 September. Commander of Warsaw Garrison: Walerian Czuma
Warsaw West
Commander: General Walerian Czuma,
40th Infantry Regiment "Children of Lwów" - transport through Warsaw stopped 7 September.
