Battle of The Bzura - The Battle

The Battle

The battle can be divided into 3 phases:

• Phase I — Polish offensive towards Stryków, aiming at the flank of the German 10th Army (9–12 September)
• Phase II — Polish offensive towards Łowicz (13–15 September)
• Phase III — German counterattack and eventual defeat of the Poles, with the latter's withdrawal towards Warsaw and Modlin (16–19 September)

On the night of 9 September, the Polish Poznań Army commenced a counterattack from the south of the Bzura river, its target being the German forces from the 8th Army advancing between Łęczyca and Łowicz, towards Stryków. The commander of Poznań Army, Tadeusz Kutrzeba noticed that the German 8th Army, commanded by general Johannes Blaskowitz, was weakly secured from the north by only the 30th Infantry Division stretched over a 30 kilometre defensive line while the rest of the army was advancing towards Warsaw. The main thrust of the Polish offensive were the units under general Edmund Knoll-Kownacki, known as the Knoll-Kownacki Operational Group (Polish 14th, 17th, 25th and 26th Infantry Divisions). The right wing of the offensive, in the area Łęczyce, included the Podolska Cavalry Brigade under general Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki, and on the left, advancing from Łowicz to the area of Głowno, the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade under general Roman Abraham. These groups managed to inflict considerable losses on the German defenders from the 30th Infantry Division and the 24th Infantry Division, which included some 1,500 German soldiers killed and wounded in action and 3,000 taken prisoner during the initial push. Cavalry brigades pushed the Germans by advancing towards vulnerable flanks and disorganizing the rear. They also successfully used TKS and TK-3 reconnaissance tanks.

The German forces were thrown back approximately 20 kilometres south of their original positions and the Poles recaptured several towns, including Łęczyca and Piątek, and the Góra Świętej Małgorzaty village. On 10 September, the Polish 17th Infantry Division met the German 17th Infantry Division at Małachowicze. On 11 September Polish forces were continuing their offensive, advancing on Modlna, Pludwiny, Osse and Głowno.

Initially underestimating the Polish advance, on 11 September the Germans soon decided to redirect the main force of the German 10th Army, the German 4th Army, the reserves of the Army Group South, and aircraft from 4th Air Fleet towards the Bzura. The redirected forces included the German 1st Panzer Division, German 4th Panzer Division and the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. German air superiority became apparent, and Polish movements during the day were significantly hindered. The following day the Poles reached the line Stryków-Ozorków. On the same day General Tadeusz Kutrzeba learned that units of Army Łódź had retreated to the stronghold of Modlin Fortress. Upon hearing this, Kutrzeba decided to stop the offensive and instead tried to break through towards Warsaw, through Sochaczew and Kampinos Forest. This marked the end of the first phase of the battle.

On the morning of 14 September, General Władysław Bortnowski's group began the second phase of the battle. The 26th and 16th Infantry Divisions crossed the Bzura near Łowicz and the Polish 4th Infantry Division reached the road linking Łowicz with Głowno. At this point however, Bortnowski was informed that the German 4th Panzer Division was withdrawing from its positions on the outskirts of Warsaw. Fearing that this Panzer division posed an immediate threat to his men, he ordered the 26th Infantry Division to retreat.

On 15 and 16 September, Army Pomorze took up defensive positions on the northern bank of the Bzura. General Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki's group was located between Kutno and Żychlin, General Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski's units near Gąbin, and parts of Army Poznań by the Bzura near Sochaczew, were ready to commence their drive towards Warsaw. To encircle and destroy the Polish forces, the Germans engaged most of their own 10th Army, including two armoured, one motorized, and three light divisions, equipped with some 800 tanks altogether. The attack from all sides on Polish positions started on 16 September, with the support of the Luftwaffe. On 15 September Poles were forced out of Sochaczew, a town on the Bzura river, and trapped in a triangle of Bzura, Vistula and German forces. The German 1st Panzer Division, after crossing the Bzura between Sochaczew and Brochów and engaging the Polish 25th Infantry Division managed to capture Ruszki, but its advance was then halted. Poles began to cross Bzura near Vistula, north of Sochaczew, and retreat towards Warsaw. Polish forces were forced to abandon most of their heavy equipment while crossing the river. On 17 September, German heavy artillery was shelling the crossing north of Brochów, and the largest air operation of the campaign begun, with Luftwaffe attempted to bomb and paralyze Polish forces.

During the night of 17 September, the main forces of Army Poznań attacked the German forces in order to break out of the German encirclement between Witkowice and Sochaczew. The 15th Infantry Division and Podolska Cavalry Brigade again crossed the Bzura in Witkowice. In Brochow, the 25th and 17th Infantry Divisions crossed the Bzura river. The 14th Infantry Division was concentrated in Łaziska. At the same time, Army Pomorze marched towards the villages of Osmolin, Kierozia and Osiek.

In the morning the Germans started their drive towards the south along both banks of the Bzura, supported by more than 300 aircraft and heavy artillery. German howitzers, taking advantage of their position on the high ground of the Vistula's right bank, shelled Polish positions for the entire day. And after two days of heavy fighting, with no ammunition or food rations remaining, further attempts at a breakout for the Poles became impossible.