Before The Battle
Tuchola Forest (Polish: Bory Tucholskie, German: Tucheler Heide) in Westprussia, since 1920 Treaty of Versailles in the Polish Corridor, is a large forest territory. Because of its difficult terrain it was viewed by the Poles as good defensive terrain. The German troops, on the other hand, had their Truppenübungsplatz Gruppe exercise area there until 1919, and were familiar with it, like Heinz Guderian, who had been born in nearby Kulm.
Polish forces in the theater were composed of elements of the Pomeranian Army: 9th Infantry Division under colonel Józef Werobej, the 27th Infantry Division under general Juliusz Drapella, and Czersk Operational Group under gen. Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki.
German forces in the theater were composed of elements of the 4th German Army under general Günther von Kluge, specifically 19th Panzer Corps (commanded by general Heinz Guderian), and 2nd Army Corps under general Adolf Strauß. Those units were based in Western Pomerania (west of the corridor).
19th Panzer Corps consisted of the 2nd Motorized Division under general Paul Bader, the 20th Motorized Division under general Mauritz von Wiktorin and the 3rd Panzer Division under general Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg. 2nd Army Corps was composed of two infantry divisions: the 3rd Infantry Division under general Walter Lichel and 32nd Infantry Division under general Franz Böhme.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Tuchola Forest
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