The Battle of Wizna (Polish: Obrona Wizny) was fought between September 7 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland and Germany during the initial stages of the invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. According to Polish historian Leszek Moczulski, between 350 and 720 Poles defended a fortified line for three days against more than 40,000 Germans. Eventually the tanks broke through the Polish line and German engineers eliminated all the shelters one by one. The last shelter surrendered around midday on September 10.

Because the battle consisted of a small force holding a piece of fortified territory against a vastly larger invasion for three days at great cost before being annihilated, Wizna is sometimes referred to as the "Polish Thermopylae". One of the symbols of the battle is Captain Władysław Raginis, the commanding officer of the Polish force, who swore to hold his position as long as he was alive. When the last two shelters under his command ran out of ammunition, he ordered his men to surrender their arms and committed suicide by detonating a grenade against his neck.

History

Background

thumb|left|200px|Positions prior to the battle.Before the war, the area of the village of Wizna was prepared as a fortified line of defence. It was to shield the Polish positions further to the south and guard the crossing of the Narew and Biebrza rivers. The long line of Polish defences stretched between the villages of Kołodzieje and Grądy-Woniecko, with Wizna in the centre. The line ran some from the border with East Prussia, along an elevated banks of Narew and Biebrza rivers. The Wizna fortified area was one of the most important nodes in Northern Poland, providing cover of both the river crossings, and the roads Łomża–Białystok and roads towards Brześć Litewski on the rear of Polish forces.

Construction started in June 1939, only two months before the outbreak of World War II.

Although the Polish units were almost entirely composed of conscripts mobilised in August 1939 rather than professional soldiers, their morale was very high. The Polish artillery was much weaker and was soon forced to retreat towards Białystok. After preparation, the Germans attacked the northern flank of the Polish forces. Two platoons defending several bunkers located to the north of Narew were attacked from three sides by German tanks and infantry. Initially the losses among German infantry were high, but after heavy artillery fire, the commander of the Giełczyn area, First Lieutenant Kiewlicz, was ordered to burn the wooden bridge over Narew and withdraw to Białystok. The remnants of his forces broke through the German encirclement and reached Białystok, where they joined the forces of General Franciszek Kleeberg.

At the same time, an assault on the southern part of Polish fortifications became a stalemate. The Polish bunkers lacked adequate anti-tank armament, but were able to rake the German infantry with machine gun fire. However, at 6 o'clock in the evening, the Polish infantry was forced to abandon the trenches and field fortifications and retreat into the bunkers. The German tanks could finally cross the Polish lines and advance towards Tykocin and Zambrów. However, the German infantry was still under heavy fire and was pinned down in the swampy fields in front of the Polish bunkers.

Although Raginis was subordinate to Lieutenant Colonel Tadeusz Tabaczyński, commander of the Osowiec fortified area located some 30 kilometres to the north, he could not expect any reinforcements. On September 8, the Marshal of Poland, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, ordered the 135th Infantry Regiment, which constituted the reserves of both Osowiec and Wizna, to be withdrawn to Warsaw. When the order was withdrawn and the unit returned to Osowiec, it was already too late to help the isolated Poles at Wizna.

Heavy fighting for each of the now isolated bunkers continued. Several assaults were repelled during the night and in the early morning of September 10. At approximately 11 o'clock, German engineers, with the help of tanks and artillery, finally managed to destroy all but two of the Polish bunkers. Both of them were located in the centre of Strękowa Góra and continued fighting despite having much of the crew wounded or incapacitated and most of their machine guns destroyed. After the war, the Poles insisted that Guderian, in an attempt to end the Polish resistance, threatened the Polish commander that he would shoot the POWs if the remaining forces did not surrender. The resistance, however, continued for another hour, when a German envoy arrived carrying a flag of truce and proposed a cease fire.

German losses are not known either. An official release by the Wehrmacht mentioned "several dozen dead".

The Wehrmacht lost at least 10 tanks and several other AFVs in the struggle.

The history of the 10th Tank Division for September 8 mentions 9 killed and 26 wounded in action for the ALA. The I./IR 86, which was the main unit of the capture of the bunkers reported on September 9 at 17:00 the loss of 40 men. There are some losses of the Tank Regiment 8 reported as well. The following fighting at Wysokie-Mazowieckie and Andrzejewo make it difficult to differentiate the losses.

The Battle of Wizna is the theme of the song "40:1", on the album The Art of War by the Swedish metal band Sabaton.

See also

  • Battle of Zadwórze
  • Battle of Westerplatte

Notes

References

;Articles

  • Zygmunt Kosztyła, Obrona odcinka "Wizna" 1939, BKD (Bitwy, Kampanie, Dowódcy) [7/76], 1976
  • P. Kupidura, M. Zahor, Wizna, Wojskowy Przegląd Techniczny i Logistyczny, nr 3, 1999
  • A. Wiktorzak, Wizna - Polskie Termopile, Głos Weterana, nr 9, 1997

;Books

  • Kazimierz Stawiński, Bój pod Wizną. Warszawa 1964. Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej.

;Audio-visual

  • BITWA POD WIZNĄ