Polish Counteroffensive Defeated

As noted earlier, Poland launched a counterattack on September 9th against the northern flank of the German Army Group South i.e. a portion of the German eighth army advancing from the west. The initial attack met with some success as it hit a relatively thin screen of German infantry on flank protection duty. The Germans committed more and more troops first to stem the Polish advance and then to cut off and surround the attacking Polish forces. By September 12th the Polish attack had been halted and by the 15th Polish forces were attempting to avoid encirclement and break out toward Warsaw and Modlin. Only a few made it and the remaining Polish forces were destroyed or captured in the following few days.

The Polish attack did temporarily take the pressure off of Warsaw. 29 German divisions were committed in whole or in part to the defense and subsequent encirclement operations. German air power was committed on a large scale as well. Now Warsaw is on the brink of encirclement as the Germans regroup to focus on Warsaw.