Battle of Pszczyna Battle of Pszczyna ( Polish : " Bitwa Pszczyńska " ) refers to the series of battles between 1 and 4 September 1939 near the town of Pszczyna during the Invasion of Poland . Battle of Pszczyna formed part of the battle of the border . Overview . The battle can be divided into four phases : During the first two days Polish forces suffered a defeat and were forced to retreat . The main reason of the Polish defeat ( apart from huge German material and numerical superiority ) was that the Polish commanders incorrectly predicted the direction of the main German attack on 2 September . As the result , the whole Polish plan of defense failed , because then it became impossible to activate a huge trap , which was prepared for German tanks , called the " big bag " trap , which was weak in front , but strong on its sides - with strong artillery assisting in attacking targets which entered the ' bag ' . Also overmuch certainty after great successes of the previous day ( espeially fierce , few hours - long combat - with use of the " big bag " trap - near Brzeźce village ) contributed to Polish defeat . Because of their certainty , Polish commanders decided to make " the big bag trap " more shallow - which meant that it was less flexible , and Polish positions would be easier to crush if the defense was not successful ( as it happened ) - but on the other hand - if the defense was successful ( which didn ' t happen since the unexpected direction and strength of the German main attack were deadly ) , the shallow " bag " would be more effective because the German attack would be stopped faster and with greater casualties for the enemy due to a greater concentration of firepower . The defeat suffered at Pszczyna ( which also caused a loss of a significant percent of divisional artillery ) forced the Polish High Command to pull back the entire frontline , and cede the territory of Upper Silesia to the Germans . On 1 September : Between 2nd and 4 September : Casualty list according to : the latest book about the battle : " Bitwa Pszczyńska 1939 " ( " Battle of Pszczyna 1939 " ) by Janusz Ryt After the long and bloody combat of Ćwiklice on 2 September , German war correspondent K . Frowein - after seeing one of the Polish heavily wounded - wrote : War correspondent K . Frowein – 2 IX 1939 : " " This was the first Polish soldier I have ever seen . Bloody piece of human suffering . Legs pulled up to his chest because of pain , face – greenish - pale . " " From his thin lips almost inaudible scream was getting out – " Water ! Water ! " . We unbuttoned his uniform jacket – smeared with blood and entrails . German orderly gave him canteen with water . For the last time a smile appeared on his face , when he whispered : " Danke " . A few minutes later he died . Now he rests in peace where he fell , under a straight , wooden cross , decorated with Polish helmet and a plate with inscription : " Six Polish soldiers " . " " This Polish infantryman died like a real soldier . Until the end he was defending his post , completing his orders . When deadly bullets reached him , his munition holds were empty , and in the magazine of his rifle there were only 2 bullets . " " K . Frowein ' s account according to the book : " Polen Feldzug . Hitler und Stalin zerschlagen die Polnische Republik " .