Slovak invasion of Poland

• 1. Introduction

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  The Slovak invasion of Poland began at 5:00 a.m. on the 1st of September 1939, in the same opening hours as Nazi Germany's larger assault to the north. A newly created republic, less than six months old, was already marching into its neighbor's territory. Slovakia had been declared a state only on the 14th of March 1939, and here it was, fielding over 50,000 soldiers under a field army codenamed Bernolák. Who were these soldiers, why did their government commit them to a German war, and what happened to the people caught in their path?

• 2. A State Born Into Dependence

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  Slovakia's independence in March 1939 came not from revolution but from Germany's dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. The new Slovak State was a client of Berlin from its first day. Before its creation, the southern Slovak portion of Czechoslovakia had held a substantial Hungarian population; that region had been seized by the Royal Hungarian Army following the First Vienna Award on the 2nd of November 1938. That loss of territory left Slovakia smaller and more dependent on German goodwill for its survival.

  The official justification for joining the Polish campaign rested on a strip of disputed borderland. Poland had taken that area on the 1st of October 1938, in the immediate aftermath of the Munich Agreement the previous month. Slovak politicians also resented that some Polish leaders had backed Hungary's territorial claims in the region. These grievances, real or amplified, gave the Slovak government a face-saving reason to present the war as a recovery of Slovak land rather than simple service to Berlin.

• 3. The Secret Agreement

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  On the 20th and the 21st of July 1939, Slovak officials met privately with German counterparts and agreed to two things: Slovak troops would join the attack, and Slovak soil would serve as a staging ground for German forces. The agreement was kept secret for weeks. On the 26th of August, Slovakia mobilised its armed forces and formally created Field Army Bernolák, which counted 51,306 soldiers. Beyond that frontline force, 160,000 reservists were called up, with 115,000 of them entering active service before the 20th of September.

  The army was led by Slovak Defence Minister Ferdinand Catlos, who set up his initial headquarters in Spisska Nova Ves. After the 8th of September, that headquarters shifted to Solivar near Presov as the campaign progressed. Bernolák was placed under the German 14th Army, commanded by Wilhelm List, and formed part of the broader German Army Group South.

• 4. Three Divisions, One Motorized Unit

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  Bernolak's three infantry divisions each covered a distinct sector of the border. The 1st Division, named "Janosik" and commanded by Anton Pulanich, operated in the sector running from Spisska Nova Ves to Presov. The 2nd Division, "Skultety" under Alexander Cunderlik, held the Brezno-Poprad corridor. The 3rd Division, "Razus" under Augustin Malar, guarded the sector east of the High Tatra mountains.

  A fourth element, a motorized unit called "Kalinciak," was created on the 5th of September, but the fighting wound down before it ever reached the front. On the opposing side stood the Polish Carpathian Army, made up mainly of infantry units with light artillery support and no tanks at all. That mismatch, combined with the fact that Poland's main strength was engaged far to the north against the German thrust, left the Slovak forces facing thin resistance across their entire line.

• 5. The Campaign Itself

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  No formal declaration of war preceded the attack. The 1st Division moved first, occupying the village of Javorina and the town of Zakopane and pressing toward Nowy Targ. Its mission was to protect the German 2nd Mountain Division's left flank. On the 4th and the 5th of September, it clashed with regular Polish Army units, and by the 7th of September it halted its advance 30 kilometers inside Polish territory. One battalion stayed on until the 29th of September, holding Zakopane, Jurgów, and Javorina.

  The 2nd Division never crossed into combat; it remained in reserve and took part only in mopping-up operations alongside the Kalinciak group. The 3rd Division drew the longest defensive task, guarding 170 kilometers of Slovak border between Stara Lubovna and the Hungarian frontier. It fought minor skirmishes before pushing into Polish territory and stopping its advance on the 11th of September.

  Two or three Slovak air squadrons, operating under the codename Lalia (meaning Lily), flew reconnaissance, bombing, and close-support missions alongside German fighters. Slovak aviation losses came to two planes: one shot down by anti-aircraft fire and one lost in an accidental crash. One Polish aircraft was shot down. Total Slovak casualties for the entire campaign were 37 killed, 114 wounded, and 11 missing.

• 6. Aftermath and Prisoners

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  All Slovak units had withdrawn from Polish territory by the end of September 1939. On the 5th of October, a victorious military parade was held in Poprad. Bernolak's divisions were gradually demobilised, and the Army Group itself was officially disbanded on the 7th of October.

  The Slovak Army had taken around 1,350 civilian prisoners during the campaign. In February 1940, approximately 1,200 of them were handed over to the Germans; some of the remaining prisoners were transferred to the Soviets. Those who stayed were held in a Slovak prison camp at Lest.

  All of the disputed borderland, whether Poland had held it since 1920 or only since 1938, was awarded to Slovakia. A Slovak parliamentary resolution on the 22nd of December 1939 confirmed the arrangement. That border held until the 20th of May 1945, when the line was restored to its 1920 position. Because the war had begun without a declaration and Slovakia no longer held any Polish prisoners of war by the end, no formal peace treaty was ever concluded between the two countries.