The Battle of Lwów (sometimes called the Siege of Lwów) was a World War II battle for the control over the formerly Polish city of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) between the Polish Army and the invading Wehrmacht and the Red Army. The city was seen as the key to the so-called Romanian Bridgehead and was defended at all costs.
First clashes
thumbnail|left|Sketch showing the Polish defences around September 13
Initially, the city was not to be defended, as it was considered to be too deep behind the Polish lines and too important to Polish culture for warfare. However, the speed of the Nazi invasion and the almost-complete disintegration of the Polish reserve Prusy Army after the Battle of Łódź resulted in the city being in danger of a German assault. On September 7, 1939, General Władysław Langner started to organise the defence of the city. Initially, the Polish forces were to defend the Bełżec – Rawa Ruska – Magierów line against the advancing German forces. General Rudolf Prich was given command of the Polish forces in the area, and on September 11, he prepared a plan to defend of the area. The Polish units were to defend the line of the San River, with nests of resistance along the Żółkiew – Rawa Ruska – Janów to the west of the – Gródek Jagielloński line. The assault group was composed of two motorised infantry companies and a battery of 150 mm guns. The group outflanked the Polish defenders and reached the outskirts of the city but was bloodily repelled by the numerically-inferior Polish defenders. The Polish commander of the sector had only three infantry platoons and two 75 mm guns, but his forces were soon reinforced and held their positions until dawn. The same day, the command of the city's defence was passed to General Franciszek Sikorski, a veteran of World War I and the Polish–Soviet War.
The following day, the main forces of Schörner arrived, and at 14:00, the Germans broke into the city centre but again were driven back after heavy city fighting with the infantry units formed of local volunteers and refugees. To strengthen the Polish defences, General Kazimierz Sosnkowski left Lwów for Przemyśl on September 13 and assumed command over a group of Polish units that was trying to break through the German lines and to reinforce the city.
Schörner decided to fall back and to encircle the city while he awaited reinforcements. His forces achieved a limited success and captured the important suburb of , together with the surrounding hills. However, the Polish forces were now reinforced with units that had been withdrawn from central Poland and new volunteer units formed within the city. In addition, the Polish 10th Motorised Brigade, under Colonel Stanisław Maczek, arrived and started the heavy fighting to take back the suburb of Zboiska. The town was recaptured, but the surrounding hills remained in German hands and gave a good view of the city centre. Schörner placed his artillery there to shell the city. In addition, the city was almost constantly bombed by the Luftwaffe. Among the main targets for the German air force and artillery were prominent buildings, such as churches, hospitals, water plant and power plants.
The German units consisted of an entire 1st Mountain Division.
Polish
{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="text-align:center;border:1px solid #ccc;"
|+ style="font-weight:bold;" | Polish Army
! ROWSPAN=1 style="background:#ccc;" |
| style="background:#ccc;"|Division or Brigade
| style="background:#ccc;"|Regiments
|-
! ROWSPAN=6 style="background:#ccc; border-bottom:1px solid gray;"| Southern Front <br /><small>Sosnkowski</small>
| 35th Infantry Division <br /><small>Szafran</small>
| 205th Infantry Regiment <br> 206th Infantry Regiment <br> 207th Infantry Regiment
|
|- style="background:#eee;"
| 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade <br /><small>Maczek</small>
| 10th Mounted Rifle Regiment <br> 24th Uhlans Regiment
|-
| 11th Infantry Division<br /><small>Prugar-Ketling</small>
| 48th Rifle Regiment <br> 49th Rifle Regiment <br> 53rd Rifle Regiment
|-style="background:#eee;"
| 24th Infantry Division<br /><small>Schwarzenberg-Czerny</small>
| 17th Infantry Regiment <br> 38th Infantry Regiment <br> 39th Infantry Regiment
|-
| 38th Infantry Division<br /><small>Wir-Konas</small>
| 96th Infantry Regiment <br> 97th Infantry Regiment <br> 98th Infantry Regiment
|-
|}
German
{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="text-align:center;border:1px solid #ccc;"
|+ style="font-weight:bold;" | Wehrmacht
! ROWSPAN=1 style="background:#ccc;" |
| style="background:#ccc;"|Corps
| style="background:#ccc;"|Division or Brigade
| style="background:#ccc;"|Regiments
|- style="background:#eee;"
! ROWSPAN=7 style="background:#ccc; border-top:1px solid gray; border-bottom:1px solid gray;"| 14th Army <br /><small>List</small>
! ROWSPAN=2 | XVIII Corps <br /><small>Eugen Beyer</small>
| 1st Mountain Division <br /><small>Ludwig Kübler</small>
| 98th Jäger Regiment <br> 99th Jäger Regiment <br> 100th Jäger Regiment
|-style="background:#eee;"
| 2nd Mountain Division <br /><small>Valentin Feurstein</small>
| 136th Jäger Regiment <br> 137th Jäger Regiment <br> 130rd Jäger Regiment
|-
! ROWSPAN=3 | XVII Corps <br /><small>Werner Kienitz</small>
| 7th Infantry Division <br /><small>Eugen Ott</small>
| 19th Infantry Regiment <br> 61st Infantry Regiment <br> 62nd Infantry Regiment
|-
|}
Soviet
{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="text-align:center;border:1px solid #ccc;"
|+ style="font-weight:bold;" | Soviet Army
! ROWSPAN=1 style="background:#ccc;" |
| style="background:#ccc;"|Corps
| style="background:#ccc;"|Division or Brigade
| style="background:#ccc;"|Regiments or Battalions
|- style="background:#eee;"
! ROWSPAN=7 style="background:#ccc; border-top:1px solid gray; border-bottom:1px solid gray;"| 6th Army <br /><small>Golikov</small>
! ROWSPAN=3 | 2nd Cavalry Corps <br /><small>Kostenko</small>
| 3rd Cavalry Division <br /><small>Kotovsky</small>
| 34th Cavalry Regiment <br> 60th Cavalry Regiment <br> 99th Cavalry Regiment <br> 158th Cavalry Regiment <br> 44th Tank Regiment
|-style="background:#eee;"
| 5th Cavalry Division <br /><small>Blinov</small>
| 11th Cavalry Regiment <br> 96th Cavalry Regiment <br> 131 Cavalry Regiment <br> 160th Cavalry Regiment <br> 32nd Tank Regiment
|-style="background:#eee;"
| 24th Light Tank Brigade <br /><small>Fotchenkov</small>
| 101st Independent Tank Battalion <br> 102nd Independent Tank Battalion <br> 106th Independent Tank Battalion <br> 117th Independent Tank Battalion
|-
! ROWSPAN=1 | 17th Rifle Corps <br /><small>Kolganov</small>
| 10th Tank Brigade <br /><small>Ivanov</small>
| 51st Independent Tank Battalion <br> 54th Independent Tank Battalion <br> 57th Independent Tank Battalion <br> 62nd Independent Tank Battalion
|-
|}
Eyewitness account
From Lemberg to Bordeaux (Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux), written by Leo Leixner, a journalist and war correspondent, is a firsthand account of the battles that led to the fall of Poland, the Low Countries and France It includes an eyewitness description of the Battle of Lwów. In August 1939, Leixner had joined the Wehrmacht as a war reporter and was later promoted to sergeant, and in 1941, he published his recollections. The book was originally issued by Franz Eher Nachfolger, the central publishing house of the Nazi Party.
See also
- Lwów Eaglets
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
- List of World War II military equipment of Poland
- List of German military equipment of World War II
- List of Soviet Union military equipment of World War II
References
;Inline
;General
;Further reading