Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 3rd Legions Infantry Division (3. Dywizja Piechoty Legionów) was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed in 1919, as a third unit composed significantly of veterans of the Polish Legions in World War I

Polish Legions in World War I

Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...

 (after Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division

Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division

Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed on February 20, 1919, partially of veterans of the I Brigade of the Polish Legions, the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II.As one of the most...

 and Polish 2nd Legions Infantry Division

Polish 2nd Legions Infantry Division

Polish 2nd Legions Infantry Division was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed on Febryary 21, 1919 in the town of Zegrze, as a second unit, composed mostly of veterans of the Polish Legions in World War I, the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bolshevik War...

), the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II. In the interbellum period, it was stationed in Zamość

Zamosc

Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...

.

During the Polish-Bolshevik War it was commanded by Edward Śmigły-Rydz (and others). It took part in the battle of Daugavpils

Battle of Daugavpils

Battle of Daugavpils was the final battle of the joint Polish and Latvian Operation Winter against the Red Army. It took place in late December 1919 in the area around the city of Daugavpils...

, Kiev Offensive

Kiev Offensive

The 1920 Kiev Offensive , sometimes considered to have started the Soviet-Polish War, was an attempt by the newly re-emerged Poland, led by Józef Piłsudski, to seize central and eastern Ukraine, torn in the warring among various factions, both domestic and foreign, from Soviet control.The stated...

, battle of Warsaw (1920)

Battle of Warsaw (1920)

The Battle of Warsaw sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, was the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War. That war began soon after the end of World War I in 1918 and lasted until the Treaty of Riga resulted in the end of the hostilities between Poland and Russia in 1921.The...

 and battle of Niemen.

During the Polish Defensive War it was a part of Army Prusy under command of col. Marian Turkowski. After a week of fighting, it was forced back and dispersed by German XV Motorised Corps. Parts of the division were lated reorganized under 1st Legions Divisions and continued to fight until late September.

Other 3rd Infantry Divisions of Poland

There were at least four other 3rd Infantry Divisions in Polish twentieth century military history. There was a 3rd Infantry Division which attained partially formed status with the Polish Army in France (1939–1940), there was the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division served with II Corps (Poland), Polish Armed Forces in the West

Polish Armed Forces in the West

Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...

, the 3rd Infantry Division of the Home Army, and another 3rd Infantry Division (:pl:3 Pomorska Dywizja Piechoty) served with the First Army

First Army (Poland)

In the history of the Polish Army there were a number of units named the First Army:* First Polish Army , created out of the Northern Front during the Polish-Bolshevist War...

, Soviet-controlled Polish Armed Forces in the East

Polish Armed Forces in the East

Polish Armed Forces in the East refers to military units composed of Poles created in the Soviet Union at the time when the territory of Poland was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the Second World War....

. This division fought at the Battle of Kolberg (1945). In 1962 it became the 3rd Mechanised Division.