Battle of Wólka Węglowa

Battle of Wólka Węglowa
Part of Invasion of Poland
Date September 19, 1939 Location Wólka Węglowa (near Warsaw), Poland Result Polish tactical victory
Belligerents
Poland	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Edward Godlewski	Hans Schuber
Strength
2 cavalry regiments (1,000 men)	2,300 men and 37 tanks
Casualties and losses
105 killed 100 wounded	52 killed 70 wounded

Battle of Wólka Węglowa (Polish: Bitwa pod Wólką Węglową) refers to the battle on September 19, 1939, that took place near Wólka Węglowa (near Warsaw), during the last stages of the Polish counteroffensive (battle of the Bzura) of the Invasion of Poland.

It was a cavalry battle, as Polish Uhlan cavalry (14th Jazłowiec Uhlan Regiment of Podolian Cavalry Brigade and elements of the 9th Lesser Polish Uhlans Regiment) retreating towards Warsaw encountered German units. The commanding officer of the 14th Regiment, Col. Edward Godlewski gave orders to commence a cavalry charge. German infantry was taken by surprise, but machine guns and tanks hidden nearby opened fire on the cavalry. Eventually Polish units broke through towards Warsaw, as intended, but at the cost of heavy losses (105 killed, 100 wounded - about 20% of initial strength).

The battle was witnessed and described by Italian war correspondent Mario Appelius.

References

This article incorporates information from the revision as of 16 April 2006 of the equivalent article on the Polish Wikipedia.