Battle of Wizna 1939
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| 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 | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 53.2125, 22.4897 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Wizna (Polish: Obrona Wizny) was fought between September 7 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland and Germany during the initial stages of the invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. According to Polish historian Leszek Moczulski, between 350 and 720 Poles defended a fortified line for three days against more than 40,000 Germans. Although defeat was inevitable, the Polish defence stalled the attacking forces for three days and postponed the encirclement of Independent Operational Group Narew fighting nearby. Eventually the tanks broke through the Polish line and German engineers eliminated all the shelters one by one. The last shelter surrendered around midday on September 10.
Because the battle consisted of a small force holding a piece of fortified territory against a vastly larger invasion for three days at great cost before being annihilated, Wizna is sometimes referred to as the "Polish Thermopylae". One of the symbols of the battle is Captain Władysław Raginis, the commanding officer of the Polish force, who swore to hold his position as long as he was alive.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Wizna (revision 1371162639), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Łomża (1939) 1939 · 27 km
- Skirmish at Białaszewo 1863 · 33 km
- Battle of Kolno 1794 · 43 km
- Battle of Prostki 1656 · 54 km
- Battle of Brańsk 1264 · 56 km
- Battle of Rajgród 1831 · 60 km
Other battles of the 1939 Invasion of Poland
- Battle of Borowa Góra 1939
- Battle of Chojnice (1939) 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
All 39 battles of the 1939 Invasion of Poland →
Browse more: battles in Poland · Europe · World War II era battles