Mobilizacja alarmowa 1 Dywizji Piechoty Legionów w sierpniu 1939 roku
Alert mobilisation of the 1st Infantry Division (Legion) in August 1939

Summary/Abstract: The 1st Infantry Division (Legion) of Józef Piłsudski was generally acknowledged as an elite unit. It was also the only division in the Polish Army whose all regiments, including the light artillery regiment, were decorated with the Virtuti Militari Cross for their engagement in the Polish-Soviet War. In the mobilisation plan “W”, the division was included in the so called coloured units, intended for alert mobilisation in the card system. The beginning of mobilization in the Vilnius garrison, like in all other units subject to alert mobilization, took place at dawn on August 24, 1939. The supplementation of the garrison’s personnel to the war etatings took place smoothly and without any major difficulties. The relations emphasise the excellent attendance of the reservists. The mobilisation of a sufficient number, and above all quality, of horses and horse-drawn vehicles and the appropriate equipping of all soldiers proved to be a huge problem. The division’s mobilisation, despite some difficulties, generally proceeded as scheduled. Its symbolic end was the parade that took place on the evening of 27 August in front of the mausoleum on Rossa – it was a symbolic farewell to the Marshal, whose name the division bore. The next day, in the evening, the transport of the unit to the area of the planned concentration began.

• Details
• Contents