Of Volunteers, Boy Scouts and Police ETO (id:#62120)

(Major Upham Battle Pack ID: #4)   [next]   [previous]

Grodno, Poland 1939-09-21 (3 others)

Overview:

The Soviet aggression caught much of the eastern Poland virtually undefended, as most of the Polish forces from the area had already been transferred to the German front. After breaking through overstretched defences of the Border Defence Corps, the Soviet 15th Tank Corps started a fast advance towards the city of Grodno. Commander of the pre-war Grodno Military Area Command Gen. Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński, together with the mayor of Grodno Roman Sawicki, started organizing city defences, based mostly on march battalions, volunteers, Boy Scouts and police forces. Ill-equipped, undermanned and lacking any anti-tank artillery, the Polish defenders relied mostly on improvised anti-tank means such as bottles of gasoline or turpentine, small arms fire, and anti-tank obstacles. On 20 September, the tanks of the Soviet 27th Light Tank Brigade of the 15th Tank Corps reached the city's outskirts. Although both numerically and technically superior, the Soviet forces lacked infantry support and oil, which stopped many tanks. Also, the tank crews had no experience in urban warfare, which was a significant help for the defenders.

Defender: Polish (March Battalion, Volunteers, Boy Scouts and Police.)  

Errata (source)