Battle of the Bzura

Battle of Bzura
Part of Invasion of Poland, World War II
Polish cavalry brigade "Wielkopolska" during the battle
Date 9–19 September 1939 Location Near Kutno, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland 52°14′00″N 19°22′00″E / 52.23333°N 19.36667°E / 52.23333; 19.36667Coordinates: 52°14′00″N 19°22′00″E / 52.23333°N 19.36667°E / 52.23333; 19.36667 Result German victory Destruction of Armies Poznań and Pomorze
Belligerents
Nazi Germany	Poland
Commanders and leaders
Gerd von Rundstedt Johannes Blaskowitz Walther von Reichenau Günther von Kluge Wilhelm Ulex Erich Hoepner	Tadeusz Kutrzeba Władysław Bortnowski Edmund Knoll-Kownacki Mikołaj Bołtuć Roman Abraham Leon Strzelecki
Strength
12 infantry divisions 5 armoured and motorized divisions 425,000 soldiers	8 infantry divisions 2–4 cavalry brigades 225,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
8,000 dead 4,000 captured 50 tanks 100 cars 20 artillery pieces	18,000–20,000 dead 32,000 wounded 170,000 captured

German victory

The Battle of the Bzura (or Kutno or Battle of Kutno — German name) was a battle in the opening campaign of World War II during the 1939 German invasion of Poland, fought between 9 and 19 September, 1939, between Polish and German forces. Initially a Polish counter-offensive, the Germans outflanked the Polish forces and took all of western Poland.

It was the single largest battle in the 1939 September campaign and took place to the west of Warsaw, near the Bzura River. In it, a Polish breakout attack gained initial success but eventually faltered after a concentrated German counterattack.

The Polish plan for defense against the German invasion, Plan West, called for the defense of the borders. This was dictated more by political than military concerns, as Poles feared that the Germans, after taking over territories they lost in the Treaty of Versailles, would try to end the war and keep those territories. While defending the borders was riskier, the Poles were counting on the British and French counteroffensive (that never came). Due to this, Army Pomorze under general Władysław Bortnowski found itself in the Polish Corridor, surrounded by German forces on two fronts, and Army Poznań under general Tadeusz Kutrzeba was pushed to the westernmost fringes of the Second Polish Republic, separated both from its primary defensive positions, and from other Polish Armies.

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