Battle of Chojnice (1939) 1939
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 September 1939 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1939 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Poland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | 1939 Invasion of Poland, Battle of the Border | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 53.7000, 17.5667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Chojnice occurred during the 1939 German invasion of Poland on the first day of the hostilities, 1 September. A detached unit from the Polish army Chojnice Detached Group under Colonel Kazimierz Tadeusz Majewski, part of the Czersk Operational Group under Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki, was assigned the task of defending the city of Chojnice, a major regional communications center, against the advancing German 20th Motorized Infantry Division in order to protect the southern flank of Army Pomorze.
The German attacks started at 04:30 with Stuka dive bombers, from 3/1 Stuka Geschwader, attacking the Tczew bridge. The Wehrmacht then tried to sneak armoured cars into the station, but the Poles destroyed the bridge beforehand. Finally, an armored train attack on Chojnice was repulsed.
The Polish troops managed to hold back the German advance until the early afternoon, but at 14:00 the German troops threatened to surround the city and the Polish units were forced to retreat east towards Rytel. The 18th Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment was ordered to cover the retreat of the infantry, and launched a mounted attack against the Germans at Krojanty.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Chojnice (1939) (revision 1370437139), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Chojnice (1656) 1656 · 0 km
- Battle of Chojnice (1454) 1454 · 0 km
- Charge at Krojanty 1939 · 5 km
- Battle of Tuchola Forest 1939 · 31 km
- Battle of Czarne 1627 · 41 km
- Battle of Koronowo 1410 · 41 km
Other battles of the 1939 Invasion of Poland
- Battle of Borowa Góra 1939
- Battle of Cześniki 1939
- Battle of Częstochowa (1939) 1939
- Battle of Danzig Bay 1939
- Battle of Gdynia 1939
- Battle of Grodno (1939) 1939
- Battle of Hel 1939
- Battle of Husynne 1939
- Battle of Jaworów 1939
- Battle of Kampinos Forest 1939
All 39 battles of the 1939 Invasion of Poland →
Browse more: battles in Poland · Europe · World War II era battles