Battle of Wólka Węglowa

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Battle of Wólka Węglowa
Part of Invasion of Poland
Date September 19, 1939 Location Wólka Węglowa, Poland Result Polish tactical victory
Combatants
Poland	Nazi Germany
Commanders
Edward Godlewski	Unknown
Strength
2 cavalry regiments (1,000 men)	Unknown
Casualties
105 KIA 100 WIA	Unknown

Invasion of Poland

Westerplatte – Danzig – The Border - Krojanty – Lasy Królewskie – Mokra – Gdańsk Bay – Pszczyna – Mława – Tuchola Forest – Jordanów – Borowa Góra – Mikołów – Węgierska Górka – Tomaszów Mazowiecki – Wizna – Łódź – Przemyśl – Piotrków – Różan – Radom – Łomża – Wola Cyrusowa – Warsaw – Gdynia – Hel – Bzura – Jarosław – Kałuszyn – Węgrów – Wilno – Lwów – Modlin – Kobryń – Brześć – Kępa Oksywska – Tomaszów Lubelski – Wólka Węglowa – Kampinos Forest – Janów, Wereszyca, and Hołosko – Krasnystaw – Grodno – Cześniki – Krasnobród – Władypol – Szack – Wytyczno – Parczew – Kock

Battle of Wólka Węglowa (Polish: Bitwa pod Wólką Węglową) refers to the battle on September 19, 1939, that took place near Wólka Węglowa, during the last stages of the Polish counteroffensive (battle of the Bzura) of the Invasion of Poland. It was a cavalry battle, as Polish Uhlan cavalry (14th Jazłowiec Uhlan Regiment of Podolian Cavalry Brigade and elements of the 9th Lesser Polish Uhlans Regiment) retreating towards Warsaw encountered German units. The commanding officer of the 14th Regiment, Col. Edward Godlewski gave orders to commence a cavalry charge. German infantry was taken by surprise, but machine guns and tanks hidden nearby opened fire on the cavalry. Eventually Polish units broke through towards Warsaw, as intended, but at the cost of heavy losses (105 killed, 100 wounded - about 20% of initial strength).

The battle was witnessed and described by Italian war correspondent, Mario Appelius.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding Polish Wikipedia article as of 16 April 2006.