Battle of Chojnice during the 1939 German invasion of Poland

Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

 occurred on the first day of the hostilities, September 1. A detached unit of the Polish army, Chojnice Detached Group under col. Tadeusz Majewski, part of the Czersk Operational Group

Czersk Operational Group

Czersk Operational Group was an Operational Group of the Polish Army. Formed in 1939 under the name of Tuchola Detachment as part of the Intervention Corps created in order to counter a possible German action in the Free City of Danzig, it was not disbanded after the end of the Danzig Crisis...

under Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki, was tasked with defending the city of Chojnice

Chojnice

Chojnice is a town in northern Poland with 39 670 inhabitants , near famous Tuchola Forest, Lake Charzykowskie and many other water reservoirs. It is the capital of the Chojnice County....

, a major regional communications center, to protect the southern flank of Army Pomorze. The Polish forces managed to repulse German attacks until 1600-1700 hours, when they received order to fall back towards Rytel

Rytel

Rytel is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czersk, within Chojnice County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Czersk, east of Chojnice, and south-west of the regional capital Gdańsk....

(further continued on the night of September 1 and 2).