Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski The Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 17 September to 26 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski . It was the second largest battle of the Invasion of Poland ( Battle of Bzura was the largest ) and also the largest tank battle of the campaign . It resulted in the destruction of the Polish forces . The battle can be divided into two phases - from 17 to 20 September and from 21 to 26 September . They are often referred to in Polish sources as the First and Second battle of Tomaszów , respectively . First phase . In the first phase ( also known as the " First Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski " ) , Polish forces , composed of Army Lublin and Army Kraków under general Tadeusz Piskor attempted to break through the German positions around Tomaszów towards the Romanian Bridgehead area . Both armies joined forces on September 15 , in the area southwest of Frampol . Their road towards south was blocked , however , by two German corps - VIII Army Corps ( around Biłgoraj ) , and by XXII Panzer Corps , consisting of 2nd Panzer Division and 4th Light Division ( around Hrubieszów , Zamość and Tomaszów Lubelski ) . Polish forces , concentrated around Frampol , were surrounded by six to seven German divisions . Since neither Army Kraków , nor Army Lublin had any aircraft , general Antoni Szylling , commander of Army Kraków , decided to risk and attack the Germans , without knowing their real strength . He knew that panzer forces had already approached Rawa Ruska , and hoped that their units would be stretched along the road from Jarosław to Rawa . Polish forces included one of the largest Polish armored units of that time , the Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade , and Szyling , together with general Piskor , decided that the Warsaw Brigade would make a demonstration attack on Tomaszów , drawing the attention of the Germans . Joined Polish forces were made of five infantry divisions - 3rd , 21st , 22nd , 23rd , and 55th . Furthermore , they consisted of 1st Mountain Brigade , Kraków Cavalry Brigade , and Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade . However , after days of heavy fighting , Polish units were reduced to 30 - 50 % of their original strength ( except for the Armoured Brigade ) , lacking food , antitank ammunition , petrol and maps . Furthermore , communication between separate divisions was scarce , and they had no air support , which was a huge disadvantage , as they had no idea about movements and location of German forces . These plans , however , were quickly changed , after the Germans destroyed key Polish unit , 21st Mountain Division near the village of Dzikowiec , on September 15 / 16 , killing general Józef Kustroń . General Piskor , realizing that German forces were stronger than he had thought , decided to act quickly , without waiting for all his divisions to concentrate . On September 17 , he ordered Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade to attack Tomaszów and keep the town until main forces of Army Kraków joined the brigade . Tomaszów was attacked on September 18 in the morning , and by 1 p . m . half of the town was in Polish hands . Meanwhile , however , 4th Light Division joined the battle , striking rear Polish units and forcing them to withdraw . Thus , the attempt to capture Tomaszów in a surprise attack , failed . In the night of September 18 / 19 , Warsaw Brigade , supported by infantry of 23rd and 55th divisions , attacked Tomaszów again , but without success . Third attack took place in the night of September 19 / 20 , but Polish units were disorganized and demoralized . After a series of chaotic skirmishes , with number of killed and wounded growing , and ammunition shrinking , general Piskor decided to surrender . Some 11 , 000 Polish soldiers were captured , with small groups managing to hide in forests . Meanwhile , Operational Group " Boruta " ( named after General Mieczysław Boruta - Spiechowicz ) , which was part of Army Kraków , separated from main Polish forces and marched towards Narol . Surrounded by Germans , Polish units were destroyed one by one . Some managed to reach the area of Rawa Ruska , where 3 , 000 soldiers surrendered on September 20 , ending this phase of the battle . Second phase . The second phase ( also known as the " Second Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski " ) involved Polish units from the so - called " Northern Front " - remaining elements of Army Lublin , Army Modlin and Operational Group s Wyszków , Narew and Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade under generals Emil Krukowicz - Przedrzymirski and Stefan Dąb - Biernacki . On September 20 , these forces were some 40 kilometers north of Tomaszów , in the area of Sitaniec . General Dąb - Biernacki , who commanded them , until the final hours had no idea about the ongoing battle and did not help fighting troops . At the same time , general Piskor did not know about Dąb - Biernacki ' s units operating northeast of Tomaszów . Altogether , forces of " Northern Front " had 39 , 000 soldiers and 225 cannons . They were divided into three groups - Cavalry of general Władysław Anders , Operational Group of general Jan Kruszewski , and Operational Group of general Emil Krukowicz - Przedrzymirski . Polish forces were no match to German 10th Army and 14th Army , guarding the roads to the south , but general Dąb - Biernacki , at a meeting of his officers on September 18 in the village of Wereszcze Duże near Chełm , decided to go along with an attempt to break to Hungary or Romania . Dąb - Biernacki already knew that Red Army had invaded Poland the day before , so time was of crucial importance . " Northern Front " forces marched southwards from the area of Chełm in two columns , towards Zamość , which Dąb - Biernacki decided to attack . On September 18 , Poles attacked Krasnystaw , but failed to capture it . On next day , Dąb - Biernacki ordered the attack on Zamość to be carried out on Sept . 20 , but in the night of Sept 19 / 20 , he found out about the ongoing battle of Tomaszów Lubelski and decided to help . " Northern Front " units headed towards Tomaszów , but on September 20 in the evening , they were attacked by 4th Light Division and 27th Infantry Division near Cześniki . Meanwhile , units of Operational Group of general Emil Krukowicz - Przedrzymirski reached the area of Tomaszów , and on September 21 , a few hours the first phase of the battle had ended , attacked troops under command of general Ernst Busch ( 28th Jäger Division and 8th Jäger Division ) . Since Polish forces proved to be stronger than expected , field marshal Wilhelm List decided to send reinforcements to general Busch - 68th Infantry Division , 27th I . D . , and 2nd Panzer Division , which had just mopped Polish forces in the first phase of the battle of Tomaszów Lubelski . In the evening of September 22 , cavalry of general Władysław Anders attacked , capturing Krasnystaw , and then reaching Sambor . Other Polish units were not successful , and in several skirmishes were surrounded on September 23 . General Dąb - Biernacki ordered his officers to capitulate , escaped the encirclement , and left Poland , ending up in France . General Przedrzymirski refused to obey the order , and on September 24 attacked Krasnobród , but then was stopped by 8th Jager Division . Most of the remaining Polish forces capitulated around 26 September .