Polish 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment

The 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment was a 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...

military unit active between 1914 and 1944. Initially a part 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 the war it was incorporated into the Polish Army. Disbanded after the 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...

in 1939, it was recreated during the Armia Krajowa

Armia Krajowa

The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...

's Operation Tempest

Operation Tempest

Operation Tempest was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II by the Polish Home Army , the dominant force in the Polish resistance....

.

The regiment was first formed in 1914 in Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

, as part of the Polish Legions fighting alongside the Austro-Hungarian Army

Austro-Hungarian Army

The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...

. Initially a part of the Eastern Legion, with time it was joined with the 2nd Brigade of the Polish Legions. It avoided destruction on the fronts of the Great War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

and was merged into the newly reborn Polish Army in 1918. It took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War. After the Peace of Riga

Peace of Riga

The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland, Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish-Soviet War....

had been signed, the unit was partly demobilized and stationed in Sandomierz

Sandomierz

Sandomierz is a city in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants . Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously in Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Sandomierz County . Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction...

, where it formed a part of the Polish 2nd Legions' Infantry Division.

With that unit the regiment, headed by Col. Ludwik Czyżewski, formed the backbone of the Piotrków Operational Group at the start of the Invasion of Poland

Invasion of Poland (1939)

in 1939. Initially separated from its division, the regiment fought in the battle of Borowa Góra

Battle of Borowa Góra

Battle of Borowa Góra refers to the series of battles from 2nd to 5 September of 1939 that took place near the hills of Góry Borowskie, south west from Piotrków Trybunalski and east of Bełchatów....

on 5 September. On 9 September it joined its division and covered its retreat towards Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

. After heavy fights on 12 and 13 September, fought in the area of Błonie, Ołtarzew and Ożarów

Ozarów

Ożarów is a town in Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in Powiat of Opatów . It has 4,906 inhabitants and its largest employer is a large cement factory nearby. The cement factory was privatized in 1995 and a controlling stake in the company was purchased by Irish company CRH plc from HCP...

, the regiment crossed the Kampinos Forest

Kampinos Forest

Kampinos Forest is a large forest complex located to the west of Warsaw in Poland. It covers a large part of the ancient valley of Vistula, between Vistula and Bzura rivers. Once a gigantic forest covering 670 km² of central Poland, it currently covers roughly 240 km².Most of the...

and reached the Modlin Fortress

Modlin Fortress

Modlin Fortress is one of the biggest 19th century fortresses in Poland. It is located the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, some 50 kilometres north of Warsaw...

. There, the regiment took part in defence of that area until the capitulation of the fortress on 29 September.

In August of 1944, during the Operation Tempest

Operation Tempest

Operation Tempest was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II by the Polish Home Army , the dominant force in the Polish resistance....

, the 2nd Regiment was recreated from smaller partisan units as part of the 2nd Division fighting in the area of Sandomierz

Sandomierz

and Opatów

Opatów

Opatów is a town in Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Opatów County. Its population is 7,833 .Tourist attractions include a 12th century Collegiate Church of St...

. Commanded by Lt.Col. Antoni Wiktorowski Kruk, it fought against the German Army in that area until September, when it was disbanded. However, its sub-units continued to operate in the area until the January of 1945, when they were overrun by the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

. Most of its soldiers, much like the rest of Armia Krajowa

Armia Krajowa

, were then rounded up by the NKVD

NKVD

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....

, disarmed and either forcibly conscripted to the Communist-supported Polish People's Army or sent to the Gulag

Gulag

The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...

s in USSR.

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