4th Infantry Division (Poland)

4th Infantry Division
2nd incarnation, 1940
Active	1919–39 1940–47 1944–98
Country	Poland
Allegiance	In west: prewar Polish government In east: Polish communists
Branch	Land forces
Type	Infantry, then Mechanized
Size	Varied by historical period
Garrison/HQ	Toruń (1921–1939), Krosno Odrzańskie (postwar)
Engagements	Battle of the Bzura 1939 Battle of France 1940 Vistula-Oder Offensive 1945 Battle of Kolberg 1945 Battle of Berlin 1945
Commanders
Notable commanders	Maj. Gen. Stanisław Franciszek Sosabowski

The Polish 4th Infantry Division (Polish: 4. Dywizja Piechoty) was created following Polish independence after the end of World War I. The division participated in the Polish-Ukrainian War in 1919. During World War II, the division existed as three wholly separate organizations, the original incarnation of the division as part of the prewar Polish Army, the second incarnation armed and equipped by the western Allies, and the final incarnation armed and equipped by the Soviet Union. The second and third incarnations of this division existed simultaneously from 1944 until 1947.

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.

The division was officially formed on April 16, 1919, in former Austrian Galicia. Its first commandants were officers serving in the Operation Group of General Franciszek Aleksandrowicz: Major Wlodzimierz Tyszkiewicz (chief of staff), General Franciszek Kraliczek-Krajowski (divisional infantry) and Colonel Adolf Engel (divisional artillery). At the beginning the division consisted of three infantry regiments (14th, 18th and 37th), three artillery regiments (3rd field artillery, 11th field artillery and 2nd heavy artillery), and eight cavalry squadrons. All units concentrated in late April 1919 near Sadowa Wisznia. Most of divisional soldiers had served in the Austro-Hungarian Army in World War I.