2nd Rifle Division (Poland)

The 2nd Rifle Division (Polish: 2 Dywizja Strzelców Pieszych, French: 2e Division des Chasseurs or 2e Division d'Infanterie Polonaise) was a Polish Army unit, part of the recreated Polish Army in France in 1940.

2nd Rifle Division
2 Dywizja Strzelców Pieszych
Insignia
Active1939–1940
Country Poland
BranchPolish Army
Part ofXXXXV Corps
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Bronisław Prugar-Ketling

The division (numbering 15,830 soldiers) was commanded by Brigadier-General Bronisław Prugar-Ketling, and was based from late December 1939 to May 1940 at Parthenay in Eastern France. Under Prugar-Ketling the division was charged with holding the defences around Belfort, Alsace.[1] Assigned to part of the French reserves,[2] 45th Corps.[3] Engaged in heavy fighting from June 17 to 19 near the Doubs and Saône rivers,[3] it stopped a German attack on the Clos-du-Doubs hills.[4] but due to the (unknown to the Poles) rapid retreat of the nearby French forces it was surrounded by the Germans; nonetheless it managed to break through to Switzerland over 20–21 June 1940,[5] where its soldiers were interned for the rest of the war, although many "escaped" back into France and eventually made their way to England to rejoin the Polish forces there.[6] In Henri Guisan's defense plan for a German invasion of Switzerland, the 2nd Rifle Division would be rearmed and fight alongside the Swiss forces.

Organization

Structure of the division:[7]

  • Chief of Staff, 2nd Polish Infantry Division
    • 4th Polish Infantry Regiment
    • 5th Polish Infantry Regiment
    • 6th Polish Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Polish Artillery Regiment
    • 202nd Polish Heavy Artillery Regiment

Notes
  1. The Polish Army In France 1939 - 1940. Last retrieved on 31 July 2007.
  2. http://france1940.free.fr/oob/gqg.html
  3. (in Polish) Wojsko Polskie we Francji. Świat Polonii.
  4. Campaign in France - The Poles on the frontlines of WWII. Last retrieved on 31 July 2007.
  5. Hoseason, Julian. "The Polish Army In France & 2DSP Internment in Switzerland 1939 – 1940". www.polandinexile.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. (in Polish) Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Zachodzie - Polskie Siły Zbrojne we Francji, WIEM Encyklopedia. Last retrieved on 31 July 2007.
  7. The Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II: Volume VI Italy and France Including the Neutral Countries of San Marino, Vatican City (Holy See), Andorra, and Monaco. p. 444.
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