Independent Operational Group Silesia
Encyclopedia
Operational Group
Operational Group was the highest level of tactical division of the Polish Army before and during World War II and the Invasion of Poland. It was corps-sized, although various Operational Groups varied in size....
of the Polish Army, created in September 1938 to annex Zaolzie
Zaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
History
The Group was commanded by General Władysław Bortnowski and comprised several Army units and five air squadronsPolish Air Force
The Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
. Altogether, 35,966 Polish officers and soldiers participated in the annexation of Zaolzie.
The Group comprised mostly units of the 4th Infantry Division
4th Infantry Division (Poland)
The Polish 4th Infantry Division was created following Polish independence after the end of World War I. The division participated in the Polish-Ukrainian War in 1919...
, as well as regiments of the 14th Infantry Division
14th Infantry Division (Poland)
14 Greater Poland Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which took part in the Polish September Campaign....
, 15th Infantry Division
15th Infantry Division (Poland)
15th "Greater Poland" Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. Founded on February 17, 1920, it was based on the 2nd Greater Poland Rifles Division. It actively participated in the Polish-Soviet War, including the Battle of Warsaw...
, 16th Infantry Division, 23rd Infantry Division
23rd Infantry Division (Poland)
23rd Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interwar period . Created in 1921, its headquarters were stationed in Upper Silesian town of Tarnowskie Góry...
, 25th Infantry Division, and 21st Mountain Infantry Division. Additionally, a cavalry regiment was created, comprising units of the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade
Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade
Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937 out of the Cavalry Brigade “Poznań”...
and the Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade
Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade
Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937 out of the Cavalry Brigade "Bydgoszcz"...
.
See also
- Zaolzie
- History of Poland (1918-1939)
- Edmund Charaszkiewicz
- Feliks AnkersteinFeliks AnkersteinFeliks Józef Ankerstein was a Polish Army major and intelligence officer.-Career:Ankerstein served during World War I in the Polish Legions and the Polish Military Organization, and after the war in the Polish Army...
Sources
- Marek Piotr Deszczyński, Ostatni egzamin. Wojsko Polskie wobec kryzysu czechosłowackiego 1938-1939 (The Final Exam: The Polish Armed Forces in the Czechoslovak Crisis of 1938–1939), Warsaw, 2003.