4th Infantry Division (Poland)

Prior to the start of World War II, the 4th Infantry Division was initially commanded by Colonel Tadeusz Lubicz-Niezabitowski, and its peacetime headquarters was located in Toruń, with additional units stationed in Włocławek and Brodnica. After September 4, 1939, it was commanded by Colonel Mieczysław Rawicz-Mysłowski, and then after September 12 it was commanded by Colonel Józef Werobej. The 4th Division was originally part of the Pomorze Army and stationed northeast of Toruń, near the border of East Prussia. From September 9, the division fought against the Wehrmacht in the Battle of the Bzura, a Polish counterattack west of Warsaw in the area of the Bzura River.

Following Plan West, 4th Division, commanded by Colonel Tadeusz Lubicz-Niezabitowski, belonged to Operational Group East (General Mikołaj Bołtuć), which was part of Pomorze Army (General Władysław Bortnowski). Operational Group East was ordered to defend the approaches to Toruń, and shortly before the war, field fortifications had been built near Brodnica and Jabłonowo Pomorskie.

Alarm mobilization of the division was ordered on August 24, 1939. Four days later, together with 16th Infantry Division and Jablonowo Group, it defended the line from Grudziądz to Brodnica. The 4th Division was placed on the right wing of Polish line of defence, with Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade located to its right. The task of the unit was to remain in battle readiness, in order to assault the enemy advancing from its positions behind the Osa river.

On September 1, 1939, the division was attacked by German XXI Corps. Since main German assault was concentrated on the 16th I.D., elements of the 4th Division were sent there as a reinforcement, and managed to halt the enemy. On September 3, 14th Infantry Regiment was attacked by the Luftwaffe, and as a result, Colonel Tadeusz Lubicz-Niezabitowski ordered a general retreat of the whole division. This decision was questioned by General Mikolaj Boltuc, who dismissed Lubicz-Niezabitowski, and replaced him with Colonel Mieczyslaw Rawicz-Myslowski. Nevertheless, in the night of September 3/4, the division began its retreat, due to general situation of Polish forces. By then, 14th Infantry Regiment had lost 20% of its officers and 9% of its soldiers.

On September 6 in early afternoon the division was located south of Toruń, where it was reinforced with additional infantry. In the night of September 6/7, it withdrew along the Vistula, to the area of Włocławek, and by September 8, the division reached Brześć Kujawski. In the night of September 9/10, the division, which was part of Operational Group of General Boltuc, was moved to the area of Kutno.

On September 10, at 1930, General Boltuc ordered 4th Infantry Division to attack from the area of Głowno. By the morning of next day, only 63rd Infantry Regiment managed to cross the Bzura, and was immediately engaged in clash with German 20th Infantry Regiment. Meanwhile, 14th Infantry Regiment attacked the enemy near Sobota, and managed to push back the Wehrmacht.

On September 12 the division rested, while its staff decided to carry out a joint attack on Głowno, together with Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade. The assault began at 1900: the infantry advanced slowly, as it lacked artillery support. At 2130, General Bortnowski ordered the attack to halt. Divisional commandant, Colonel Mieczyslaw Rawicz-Myslowski, decided to personally inform the fighting soldiers, but his vehicle struck a mine, killing him, together with divisional chief of staff. Due to stiff German resistance, Polish units had to withdraw to the northern bank of the Bzura river. The division still existed as a fighting unit, and on September 13, Colonel Jozef Werobej was named its new commandant.

On September 14, 4th Division attacked German positions near Łowicz, clashing with German 10th and 24th Infantry Divisions. In a series of bloody skirmishes, it lost over 500 KIA, and was then ordered by General Boltuc to withdraw behind the Bzura, failing to seize the strategic town of Łowicz, with its railroad junction. On September 15, the division took defensive positions along the Bzura, keeping some elements on the right bank of the river. On September 16, the Germans began the attack on Urzecze, which was defended by 14th Regiment. Their advance was temporarily halted, but other Wehrmacht units threatened the wings of the division, and Colonel Werobej decided to order a withdrawal. After heavy fighting, the Poles reached the village of Zduny. On September 17, the division was attacked by the Luftwaffe, which decimated the soldiers. Tired and hungry, the unit headed to a forest near Brzeziny, where it abandoned all cannons.

In the morning of September 18 the 14th Regiment was ordered to protect the wings of Armies Poznań and Pomorze, which retreated towards Warsaw, via Kampinos Forest. A skirmish took place along the road from Sochaczew to Wyszogród, after which the division suffered heavy losses and ceased to exist as a cohesive fighting unit.

In the evening of September 19, the survivors of the battle reached Kazuń Nowy, where they rested. By September 21, Operational Group of General Boltuc shrank to 1000 soldiers. The group was tasked with defending ammunition depot at Palmiry, but it failed to reach the village. Harassed by the Wehrmacht, most of the soldiers were KIA, including General Boltuc himself, who was killed near Łomianki.

• Headquarters and Staff. Divisional commandants: Colonel Tadeusz Lubicz-Niezabitowski (September 1–4 and 12–13, 1939), Colonel Mieczyslaw Rawicz-Myslowski (September 4–12, KIA on September 12 near Głowno), Colonel Jozef Werobej (September 13–18, captured by the Germans on September 18, 1939), General Mikołaj Bołtuć (September 19–21, KIA in the night of September 21/22 near Łomianki).
• 14th Kujawy Infantry Regiment,
• 63rd Toruń Infantry Regiment,
• 67th Greater Poland Infantry Regiment,
• 4th Kujawy Light Artillery Regiment,
• other units, such as 4th Sapper Battalion, 4th Regiment of Heavy Artillery, cavalry squadron, 81st Machine Gun Company, 81st Company of Cyclists, military police, Field Hospital Nr. 801.

• General Franciszek Aleksandrowicz (16 IV – 19 IX 1919),
• General Franciszek Krajowski (19 IX – 20 XII 1919),
• General Leonard Skierski (1 I – 21 V 1920),
• Colonel Stanislaw Zygmunt Kaliszek (21 V – 21 VIII 1920)
• Colonel Ferdynand Zarzycki (22 VIII – 24 IX 1920)
• Colonel Wlodzimierz Ostoja-Zagorski (25 IX – 23 XI 1920)
• Colonel Franciszek Sikorski (24 XI 1920 – I 1921),
• General Henryk Minkiewicz (IV 1921 – 1 V 1922),
• General Franciszek Zielinski (6 VI 1922 – 19 X 1924)
• General Ferdynand Zarzycki (3 XII 1924 – VII 1927)
• General Wlodzimierz Maxymowicz-Raczynski (31 VII 1927 – 28 IV 1937),
• General Mikołaj Bołtuć (28 IV 1937 – VIII 1939),
• Colonel Mieczyslaw Rawicz-Myslowski (VIII – 1 IX 1939),
• Colonel Tadeusz Lubicz-Niezabitowski (1-4 and 12-13 IX 1939)
• Colonel Mieczyslaw Rawicz-Myslowski (4-12 IX 1939)
• Colonel Jozef Werobej (13-18 IX 1939)
• General Mikołaj Bołtuć (19-21 IX 1939).

Following the Polish defeat in 1939, the 4th Infantry Division was reconstituted in France, under the command of Stanisław Franciszek Sosabowski. The 4th was assigned to a training camp in Parthenay, in western France. The French high command was reluctant to give the 4th Infantry Division weapons sorely need at the front, so the 4th was forced to train with pre-World War I weapons. By the time of the German invasion of France, only around 3,500 men, out of 11,000, of the 4th Division had been armed. When the impending French defeat became apparent, Sosabowski ordered his forces to retreat to the Atlantic coast. 6,000 Polish soldiers were evacuated from La Pallice, a harbor near La Rochelle, France.[1] In June they were evacuated for England, and the 4th Infantry Division was again reconstituted in Scotland, under the Polish I Corps, along with the Polish 1st Armored Division, the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, and the 16th Independent Armored Brigade. The 4th Division was charged with coastal defense of eastern Scotland, against the threat of a German invasion from Norway. This western incarnation of the 4th Division saw no combat after the defeat of France in 1940, and was inactivated in 1947.

In 1944, the Soviet Union also stood up a Polish 4th Infantry Division within the Polish First Army, part of the 1st Belorussian Front. The division consisted primarily of Poles deported to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics after the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, although many of the officers and commissars were from the USSR. As part of the First Army, this eastern incarnation of the 4th Division fought in Poland near Warsaw, at Kolberg, and north of Berlin in Germany during 1944–45.

Following the end of the war, the Soviet-organized 4th Division was incorporated into the army of the Polish People's Republic. By a Resolution of the Provisional Government of May 26, 1945, the division's personnel and equipment (with the exception of artillery and the sanitary battalion) served as a nucleus to form the staff and some branches of the Internal Security Corps (KBW). The division commander became the first commander of the Internal Security Corps.

Following reformation from two reserve infantry regiments, the division was stationed in the town of Krosno Odrzańskie as part of the Silesian Military District. During the Cold War, the division became mechanized on the organizational lines of Soviet motor rifle divisions.

The 4th Division also participated in the suppression of protests in Poznań in 1956.

The 4th Mechanized Division was inactivated in 1998.

• Polish army order of battle in 1939
• Polish contribution to World War II
• List of Polish divisions in World War II