Battle of Tuchola Forest


The Battle of Tuchola Forest was one of the first battles of World War II, during the 1939 invasion of Poland. The battle began 1 September and ended 5 September with a major German victory. Thanks to poor Polish command and control, as well as German numerical and tactical superiority, the Germans managed to cripple Poland's Army Pomerania and, by breaking through the Polish Corridor, to connect mainland Germany with East Prussia.
The battle was fought against the judgment of General Wladyslaw Bortnowski, the commander of Army Pomerania, who believed the Corridor to be a very poor defensive position and had repeatedly asked for permission to withdraw his forces from it.

Prelude

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Polish forces in the theater comprised elements of the Pomeranian Army: 9th Infantry Division under colonel Józef Werobej, the 27th Infantry Division under general Juliusz Drapella, and Czersk Operational Group under gen. Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki.
German forces in the theater were composed of elements of the 4th German Army under general Günther von Kluge, specifically 19th Panzer Corps, and 2nd Army Corps under general Adolf Strauß. Those units were based in Western Pomerania west of the corridor.
19th Panzer Corps consisted of the 2nd Motorized Division under general Paul Bader, the 20th Motorized Division under general Mauritz von Wiktorin and the 3rd Panzer Division under general Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg. 2nd Army Corps was composed of two infantry divisions: the 3rd Infantry Division under general Walter Lichel and 32nd Infantry Division under general Franz Böhme.

Battle

Despite several tactical Polish victories, including the successful cavalry charge at Krojanty on 1 September, and the destruction of a German armored train near Chojnice, the German armies were able to advance quickly. Not all Polish forces were in position by 1 September and the rapid German advance generated confusion in the Polish ranks. In addition, communications problems prevented cohesive action on the part of the scattered Polish forces. The Poles were soon forced to abandon plans for a counterattack and retreated, pursued by more mobile German motorized and armored troops. The German forces had a significant amount of armor support, including over 300 tanks commanded by the famous panzer expert Guderian.
Most Polish units were surrounded by 3 September. Some were destroyed, while others managed to break through towards Bydgoszcz.

Aftermath

By 5 September the Germans had in large part completed their takeover of the Polish Corridor. At that point some German forces moved to erase isolated pockets of Polish resistance further north in fortified areas on the Baltic Coast, while others continued their push south-east, deeper into Polish territory.
On 6 September, Adolf Hitler visited Guderian and congratulated him on his swift progress.

Order of battle

Polish

German