Battle of Wizna

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Battle of Wizna
Part of the Invasion of Poland
Tactical map of the battle
Date September 7–10, 1939 Location Wizna, Warsaw Voivodeship, Poland Result German victory
Belligerents
Germany	Poland
Commanders and leaders
Heinz Guderian Ferdinand Schaal	Władysław Raginis † Stanisław Brykalski †
Strength
41 000 infantry 350 tanks 657 artillery pieces	900 infantry[1] 6 76 mm guns 42 MGs 2 anti-tank rifles
Casualties and losses
Unknown	~660 casualties 40 captured

The Battle of Wizna 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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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".^[4][5] 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. When the last two shelters under his command ran out of ammunition, he ordered his men to surrender their arms and committed suicide by detonating a grenade against his neck.