9th Infantry Division (Poland) (interwar)
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- This article is about an infantry unit of the Second Polish Republic. For other uses, see Polish 9th Infantry Division (disambiguation).
9th Infantry Division (Polish: 9 Dywizja Piechoty) was a unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Stationed in Siedlce, it took part in the Polish September Campaign, under Colonel Jozef Werobej.
As part of Pomorze Army, the 9 I.D. defended the 70-kilometer line between the town of Pruszcz and the village of Gostycyn in Polish Pomerania. In the morning of September 1, 1939, it was attacked by three Wehrmacht divisions - 2nd Armored-Motorized, 3rd Armored and 32nd I.D. After heavy fighting, the Poles withdrew in the evening to the area of Cekcyn. Another defense line was established there, but the Germans broke it and the 9 I.D. retreated over the Brda and to the suburbs of Bydgoszcz.
There, General Wladyslaw Bortnowski ordered three Polish units - 9 I.D., 27 I.D., and Operational Group “Czersk” to counterattack on September 3 in the morning. However, communication between 9 I.D. and 27 I.D failed and the offensive was a failure, with the German 3rd Armored Div. managing to halt it.
After the defeat, the 9 I.D. gathered in the forests north of Bydgoszcz. Soon afterwards, it was attacked by the Luftwaffe. Unable to defend itself and without air support, the Division scattered and ceased to exist. Only 35th Infantry Regiment remaind as a unit and managed to break from German encirclement on Sept. 5.
