Battle of Krasnobród

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This article is about the 1939 battle. For other battles, see: Battle of Krasnobród (1672) and Battle of Krasnobród (1863).

Battle of Krasnobród

Part of Invasion of Poland

Date	September 23, 1939
Location	Krasnobród, Lublin Voivodeship
Result	Polish victory

Belligerents

Poland

Nazi Germany

Commanders

Bohdan Stachlewski †

Tadeusz Gerlecki †

Rudolf Koch-Erpach

Strength

Nowogrodek Cavalry Brigade
2nd Horse Artillery Division
2nd Horse Rifles Regiment
1st KOP Cavalry Regiment

8th Infantry Division
Heavy East Prussian cavalry

Casualties and losses

Unknown, but heavy

Unknown, but heavy,
100 men captured

v • d • e

Invasion of Poland

Westerplatte – Danzig – The Border - Krojanty – Chojnice – Grudziądz – 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 – Sarny – Cześniki – Krasnobród – Władypol – Szack – Wytyczno – Parczew – Kock

The Battle of Krasnobród took place on 23 September 1939 near the town of Krasnobród. It was fought between the forces of the Polish Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Invasion of Poland. It was one of the last battles in European warfare in which cavalry was used on both sides.

At approximately 7AM a group of Polish cavalry of the Nowogródek Cavalry Brigade left the forests halfway between Zamość and Tomaszów Lubelski. The 25th Greater Polish Uhlans Regiment under Lt. Col. Bohdan Stachlewski formed the front guard of the formation and was entrusted with recapturing the pivotal town of Krasnobród. The German 8th Infantry Division fortified the town located on a hill with two lines of trenches. In order to minimize the effect of enemy numerical superiority, the Polish commander split his forces in two and ordered a cavalry charge, with each of the squadrons charging separately at a different sector of the front.

The German forces were caught completely by surprise and the first squadron successfully broke through their positions, while the German infantry started a chaotic retreat towards the centre of the town, followed by the Polish cavalry using sabres and lances. The second squadron under Lt. Tadeusz Gerlecki joined the charge towards the hill. A unit of organic cavalry from the German 8th Infantry Division counter-charged from the hill, but was repelled in what was one of the last cavalry battles in World War II. The Polish units started a pursuit after the fleeing enemy and entered the city. Although the Poles suffered heavy losses due to machine gun fire (with Gerlecki's squadron losing all but 30 men, including the commanding officer), the town was retaken and the Poles took the headquarters of the division, together with its commander General Rudolf Koch-Erpach and about 100 German soldiers. Forty Polish combatants previously taken prisoner by the Germans were freed.