Battle of Wola Cyrusowa

Battle of Wola Cyrusowa Part of Invasion of Poland Date 8 September 1939 Location Wola Cyrusowa, near Stryków, Poland Result Successful Polish delaying action Belligerents  Germany  Poland Commanders and leaders Johannes Blaskowitz Friedrich Olbricht Conrad von Cochenhausen Wiktor Thommée Strength 10th Infantry Division 24th Infantry Division 2nd Legions Infantry Division 28th Infantry Division 30th Infantry Division Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade 21st Vistula Uhlan Regiment Casualties and losses Unknown Unknown

Invasion of Poland Battle of the Border Chojnice Krojanty Lasy Królewskie Mokra Pszczyna Grudziądz Mława Jordanów Fraustadt Węgierska Górka Tuchola Forest Częstochowa Mikołów Bukowiec Slovak invasion Baltic coast Westerplatte Danzig Danzig Bay Worek Plan Gdynia Hel Kępa Oksywska 4-10 September Tomaszów Mazowiecki Wizna Łódź Borowa Góra Piotrków Różan Pułtusk Radom Łomża Barak Wola Cyrusowa Northern Front Siege of Warsaw Bzura Kałuszyn Węgrów Wilno Modlin Kobryń Brześć 2nd Tomaszów Lubelski Wólka Węglowa Kampinos Forest Krasnystaw Łomianki Krasnobród Kock Southern Front Przemyśl Jarosław 1st Tomaszów Lubelski Jaworów Janów Forest Cześniki Lwów Soviet invasion of Poland Sarny Wilno Husynne Grodno Władypol Szack Wytyczno Parczew, Jabłoń and Milanów

The Battle of Wola Cyrusowa took place on 8 September 1939 near the village of Wola Cyrusowa near Stryków in Poland, during the September Campaign. It was fought between the forces of the Polish Piotrków Operational Group under Gen. Wiktor Thommée and the German 10th Infantry Division. In the effect of a successive delaying action, the Polish forces managed to regroup and withdraw eastwards while at the same time inflicting heavy losses on the opposing unit. However, their victory was only a temporary setback for the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Eve of the battle

Due to the strategic errors made by Gen. Juliusz Rómmel, the commander of the Łódź Army, the Polish units that were to form a defensive wedge against the German assault towards Warsaw were dislocated too close to the German border. Because of that, the Piotrków Operational Group, along with the rest of that army's units, entered contact with enemy forces already on September 1 and lost the chance to successfully support the Kraków Army and Poznań Army, defending the areas on both flanks. Also, the German superiority in mobile units meant that the Polish forces had it difficult to break off the enemy and regain strategic initiative.

The chaos in Polish ranks was enlarged by the fast pace of German advance and the fact that general Rómmel abandoned his army and left for Warsaw. The command was taken over by the commanding officer of the Piotrków Operational Group, general Wiktor Thommée.

Opposing forces

To enable regroupment of the dispersed forces of the Łódź Army, Gen. Thommée ordered all the units to move to the forests in the area of the towns of Stryków and Głowno. The Polish forces included Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade (along with the remnants of the badly-damaged 21st Vistula Uhlan Regiment), the 2nd Legions Infantry Division, as well as 28th and 30th Infantry Divisions.

The opposing force was composed of two infantry divisions of the German 8th Army under Johannes Blaskowitz. These were the 10th Infantry Division under Conrad von Cochenhausen and 24th Infantry Division under Friedrich Olbricht, as well as several smaller detachments of both 10th and 12th Corps.

The battle

The first Polish units to reach the area, that is the Wołyńska Cavalry Bde and the 30th Infantry Division were ordered to secure the area in order to allow for the remaining units to join up with the core of the army. However, due to chaotic command during the first days of the war, all divisions were dispersed and most regiments acted separately. In the course of the withdrawal it turned out that the 36th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Division was separated from the main forces and had to break through German lines in order to catch up. The same issue applied to the 30th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Infantry Division, which formed a defensive line in the village of Boginia and did not receive the orders for withdrawal.

Coordinates: 51°53′00″N 19°46′00″E / 51.883333°N 19.766667°E / 51.883333; 19.766667