Battle of Wizna, 1939 |
From: Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia |
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Battle of Wizna (sometimes referred to as the Polish Thermopylae) was
fought between September 6 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland
and Germany during the initial stages of Invasion of Poland.
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History |
Eve of the Battle |
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Positions Prior to Battle |
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Before the war the area of the village of Wizna was prepared as a fortified line of defence. It was to shield the
Polish positions further to the south and guard the crossing of Narew and
Biebrza rivers. The 9 kilometres long line of Polish defences was
subordinate to the Polish Narew Corps shielding Lomza and providing defence of northern approach to Warsaw. The Wizna
fortified area was one of the most important nodes in the area, providing cover
of both the river crossings, and the roads Lomza-Bialystok
and roads towards Brzesc Litewski on the rear of Polish forces.
The first construction works were started in April 1939. The spot was chosen carefully: most of the concrete
bunkers were built on hills overlooking a swampy Narew River valley. They
could be reached either through direct assault through the swamps or by attack
along the causeway leading from the bridge in Wizna. Until
September 1, 1939, 12 bunkers were built altogether. Six of them were heavy concrete
bunkers with reinforced steel cupolas (8 tons of weight) while the other six
were machine gun pillboxes. Additional four heavy bunkers were under construction at the
moment the World War II started. In addition, the area was reinforced with
trenches, anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacles,
barbed wire lines and landmines. There were also plans of breaking the
dams on the Biebrza and Narew rivers to flood the area, but the Summer of
1939 was one of the most dry seasons in Polish history and the level of
water was too low.
Although not all bunkers were ready by the beginning of the war, the Polish lines of defences
were well-prepared. The walls of an average bunker, 1.5 metres thick and
reinforced with 20-centimetre-thick steel plates, could withstand a direct hit
from even the heaviest guns available to the Wehrmacht at the time. The bunkers were situated on hills which gave good
visibility of all the advancing forces.
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First Phase |
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Battle Facts |
Date: September 7 - September 10, 1939 |
Location: Wizna, near Lomza, Poland |
Result: German Victory |
Combatants |
Poland |
Germany |
Commanders |
Wladyslaw Raginis |
Heinz Guderian |
Strength |
Odcinek Obrony "Wizna" - part of Narew IOG:
720 men (20 officers)
six 76 mm guns
42 MGs
2 URs |
XIX Panzer Corps
(3 divisions, 1 brigade):
42,200 men
350 tanks
657 mortars, guns and grenade launchers
aircraft support |
Casualties |
Estimations: a few hundred KIA and WIA
40 taken POW |
Soldiers: unknown
Vehicles: at least 10 tanks
several AFVs |
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On September 1, 1939, the Polish Defensive War of 1939 started. The German 3rd Army was to advance
from East Prussia towards Warsaw, directly through the positions of Polish Narew Corps. On
September 2 Captain Wladyslaw Raginis was named the commander of the Wizna area. As his command
post he chose the "GG-126" bunker near the village of Góra Strekowa. The bunker
was located on a hill in the exact centre of the Polish lines. His forces
numbered approximately 700 soldiers and NCOs and 20 officers armed with 6 pieces of artillery (76mm), 24
HMGs, 18 machine guns and two anti-tank carbines.
After initial clashes at the border, the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade operating in the
area was forced to withdraw and on September 5 left the area. On
September 3 Polish positions were spotted from the air and strafed with
machine gun fire from enemy fighters. Later that day one of the German bombers
returning from a bombing raid over Warsaw was shot down by machine gun fire.
On September 7, 1939, the reconnaissance units of the 10th Panzer Division of general Nicolaus von Falkenhorst captured the village of Wizna. Polish mounted reconnaissance squads abandoned the village
after a short fight and retreated to the southern bank of Narew. When the German tanks tried to cross the bridge, it was blown up by
Polish engineers. After dark, patrols of German infantry crossed the river and
advanced towards Gielczyn, but were repelled with heavy casualties.
On September 8 general Heinz Guderian, commander of the XIX Panzer Corps, was ordered to advance
through Wizna towards Brzesz. By early morning of September 9 his units reached the Wizna area and were joined with 10th
Panzer Division and "Lötzen" Brigade already present in the area. His forces
numbered some 1 200 officers and 41 000 soldiers and NCOs, equipped with over 350
tanks, 108 howitzers, 58 pieces of artillery, 195 anti-tank guns, 108 mortars, 188 grenade launchers, 288
heavy machine guns and 689 machine guns. Altogether, his forces were some 40 times stronger than the
Polish defenders.
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Second Phase |
In the early morning German planes dropped leaflets asking the Poles to give up and claiming that most of Poland is
already in German hands and further resistance is futile. In order to strengthen
the morale of his troops, Wladyslaw Raginis swore that he will not leave his post alive and that the
defence will continue. Soon after that an artillery barrage started. Polish
artillery was several times weaker and soon was forced to retreat towards
Bialystok. After the preparations, the Germans attacked the northern flank
of the Polish forces. Two platoons defending several bunkers located to the
north of Narew were attacked from three sides by German tanks and infantry.
Initially the losses among German infantry were high, but after heavy artillery
fire commander of the Gielczyn area First Lieutenant Kiewlicz was ordered to
burn the wooden bridge over Narew and withdraw to
Bialystok. The remnants of his forces broke through German encirclement and
reached Bialystok, where they joined the forces of general
Franciszek Kleeberg.
At the same time an assault on the southern part of Polish fortifications came to a stalemate.
Polish bunkers were lacking adequate anti-tank armament, but were able to rain
the German infantry with machine gun fire. However, at 6 o'clock in the evening
the infantry was forced to abandon the trenches and field fortifications and
retreat into the bunkers. The German tanks could finally cross the Polish lines
and advance towards Tykocin and Zambrów. However, the German infantry was still under heavy fire and was
pinned down in the swampy fields in front of Polish bunkers.
Although Raginis was subordinate to Lt.Col. Tadeusz Tabaczynski, commander of the
Osowiec fortified area located some 30 kilometres to the north, he could not
expect any reinforcements. On September 8 Marshal of Poland
Edward Smigly-Rydz ordered the 135th Infantry Regiment that constituted the reserves of both Osowiec and Wizna, to be
withdrawn to Warsaw. When the order was withdrawn and the unit returned to
Osowiec, it was already too late to help the isolated Poles at Wizna.
Heavy fights for each of the -now isolated- bunkers continued. Several assaults were
repelled during the night and in the early morning of
September 10. At approximately 12 o'clock the German engineers with the help
of tanks and artillery finally managed to destroy all but two Polish bunkers.
Both of them were located in the centre of Góra Strekowa and continued the
defence despite having much of the crew wounded or incapacitated and most of the
machine guns destroyed. It is alleged that Heinz Guderian, in an attempt to end the Polish resistance, threatened the
Polish commander that he would shoot the POWs if remaining forces did not surrender. (No captives were shot.) Captain
Wladyslaw Raginis then ordered his men to abandon the bunker and committed
suicide by throwing himself on a grenade.
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After The Battle |
After the Polish resistance ended, the XIX Panzer Corps advanced towards
Zambrów and Wysokie Mazowieckie finally encircling and destroying the Polish Narew Corps. Later it advanced further
southwards and took part in the Battle of Brzesc.
Although all the bunkers were destroyed and the Polish resistance was finally broken, the fortified area of
Wizna managed to halt the German advance for three days. The heroic struggle
against overwhelming odds is nowadays one of the symbols of the
Polish Defensive War of 1939 and is a part of Polish popular culture.
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Opposing Forces |
Wehrmacht |
Polish Army |
3rd Army
von Kuechler |
Narew IOG
Mlot-Fijalkowski |
XIX Panzer Corps
Guderian |
Odcinek Obrony "Wizna"
Raginis |
3rd Panzer Division
Stumpff |
8th company of 135th Infantry Regiment
Schmidt |
20th Motorised Division
von Wiktorin |
3rd heavy MG company of Osowiec fortress batt.
Raginis |
10th Panzer Division
Falkenhorst |
Battery of positional artillery
Brykalski |
"Lötzen" Fortress Brigade
Offenbacher |
136th company of engineers
Platoon of engineers and platoon of field artillery of 71st Infantry
Regiment; Platoon of mounted reconnaissance of 135th Infantry
Regiment |
42 000 men, 350 tanks, 108 howitzers,
58 pieces of artillery, 195 anti-tank guns, 108 mortars, 188 grenade
launchers,
288 heavy machine guns and 689 machine guns |
720 men, 12 bunkers, 6 pieces of artillery (76mm),
24 HMGs, 18 machine guns and two anti-tank carbines |
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Casualties |
Exact Polish losses are unknown, mostly because very little is known of the soldiers that
were taken POW by the Germans. It is estimated that most of Polish soldiers were
killed in action, with some 40 successfully withdrawing and additional 40
taken POW. Those numbers however are not certain.
German losses are not known either. In his diaries general
Heinz Guderian understated the number of German soldiers
killed in action. It is certain, however, that the
Wehrmacht lost at least 10 tanks and several other
AFVs in the struggle.
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