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The11th Carpathian Infantry Division (Polish11 Karpacka Dywizja Piechoty), was a tactical unit of thePolish Army in the interbellum period, which fought in theInvasion of Poland in 1939. Elements of the unit would go on to serve in thePolish Armed Forces in the East.
Its headquarters were located inStanisławów, with some regiments stationed in nearby locations, such asStryj andKolomyja. It consisted of these regiments:
The division, under ColonelBronisław Prugar-Ketling, was part of theKraków Army as a rear unit. It was supposed to concentrate in the area ofZawiercie, to cover activities of the neighboring units -Polish 7th Infantry Division and the Slask Operational Group. However, original plans had been changed, because of theLuftwaffe bombing of Polish rail connections.
On September 3 and 4, parts of the division left train nearBochnia and was ordered to protect the line of theDunajec river. Lacking artillery, antiaircraft and field hospital (which had been stuck inRzeszów), the unit entered the battle immediately, but German pressure was too hard. On September 7, the division began retreat towards theWisłoka and from there - eastwards, towardsPrzemyśl. There, on September 11 and 12, it was engaged in bloody fighting with the Germans. On September 17, the division fought in the Janów Forest, halting advance of German 7th I.D. and 57 I.D. Remnants of the unit, numbered at no more than 1000 men, managed to break into besiegedLwów, where it capitulated.
An 11th Infantry Division (seepl:11 Dywizja Piechoty (LWP)) was reformed became part of thePolish Armed Forces in the East. A 1944 formation of the division was originally intended to become part of the Third Army, which was never fully formed. After 1945 it became successively the 11th Motorised Division (1949), the 11th Mechanised Division (1950), the 11th Armoured Division (1963), and finally the11th Armoured Cavalry Division in 1992, which still serves the Polish Army today. The 11th Armoured Cavalry Division is part of the 2nd Mechanised Corps.