16th Infantry Division (Poland)

The 16th Pomeranian Infantry Division (Polish: 16. Pomorska Dywizja Piechoty) is a military unit of the Polish Army. It was first raised on 16 August 1919 during the Polish uprising, before going on to serve during the subsequent war with the Bolsheviks. At the start of World War II the division fought briefly against the advancing German Army before being destroyed on 19 September 1939 after being surrounded in the Kampinos Forest. The Division was raised once more in 1945 following the Soviet take over of Poland, however, it did not see further action during the war. Afterwards it continued to serve, undergoing a number of changes in name and role. Today, it exists as the 16th Mechanised Division.

The Polish 16th Infantry Division was created on August 16, 1919, during the Greater Poland Uprising under the name of Pomeranian Rifle Division (Polish: 4. Dywizja Strzelców Pomorskich). After the uprising it was officially accepted into the Polish Army and took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War. Commanded by gen.dyw. Kazimierz Ładoś, the division never reached its planned strength and was dispatched to the front without some of its forces. It was then composed of:

As part of the Polish 4th Army the division took part in the Kiev Offensive. Withdrawn to the area of Wieprz, it was attached to Piłsudski's army group to commence the Polish counter-assault during the battle of Warsaw of 1920. It continued its front-line service during the battle of the Niemen River, where it advanced along the Kobryń-Pińsk railway and highway, and on to the signing of the Treaty of Riga. Partially demobilized, it retained its geographical description as an unofficial nickname (thus the division is often referred to as 16. Pomorska Dywizja Piechoty).

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