Battle of Wilno (1939)

Battle of Wilno
Part of Invasion of Poland
Soviet troops entering Wilno, 1939
Date 18–19 September 1939 Location Wilno, Second Polish Republic (now Vilnius, Lithuania) 54°40′N 25°19′E / 54.667°N 25.317°E / 54.667; 25.317Coordinates: 54°40′N 25°19′E / 54.667°N 25.317°E / 54.667; 25.317 Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
Soviet Union	Poland
Commanders and leaders
Mikhail Kovalyov Pyotr Akhlyustin Semyon Zybin	Jarosław Okulicz-Kozaryn
Strength
Two cavalry divisions three armoured brigades	10 infantry battalions (6,500 men) 18-22 guns (including AA guns) ~40 MGs
Casualties and losses
Soviet counts: 13 killed 24 wounded five BT tanks destroyed one BA-10 armoured car destroyed three other AFVs damaged

The Battle of Wilno (Vilnius, Vilna) was fought by the Polish Army against the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, which accompanied the German Invasion of Poland in accordance with Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. On 18–19 September, Soviet forces took over the city of Wilno. Polish forces, concentrated in the west, were relatively weak in the east. The Polish commanders, unsure whether to actively oppose the Soviet entry into Poland, did not utilise the full defensive capabilities of the town and nearby fortifications, although the outcome of the battle would not have been likely any different, given the overwhelming Soviet numerical superiority.

Wilno, capital of the Wilno Voivodship (province or region), was an important industrial centre in the north-eastern part of Poland and the sixth largest city in that country at the time. Administratively a part of the Grodno-based III Military Corps Area and under Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński, it was also an important garrison and mobilization centre. In the pre-war period, the city housed the entire Polish 1st Legions' Infantry Division, as well as the headquarters and the 4th Uhlan Regiment of the Wileńska Cavalry Brigade. Air cover was provided by the majority of the Polish 5th Air Regiment stationed at the nearby airfield of Porubanek (modern Kirtimai). In addition, the city of Wilno was a mobilization centre for the Polish 35th Infantry Division.

Before the outbreak of war, the 1st Division had been secretly mobilized and sent towards Różan in northern Mazovia. The Wileńska Cavalry Brigade soon followed and in the first days of September 1939 left the city for Piotrków Trybunalski. The air assets were attached to the Modlin Army and the Narew Group fighting against the German units trying to break through from East Prussia. By 7 September the 35th Division was fully mobilized and transported to Lvov (modern Lviv, Ukraine); the city was left defenceless.

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