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The 1st Grenadiers Division (, ) was a Polish Infantry unit formed in France during the early stages of World War II . Created on French soil after the fall of Poland in the effect of the Polish Defensive War of 1939 , the division took part in the Battle Of France of 1940 . HISTORY As an effect of the Franco-Polish Military Alliance , the formation of a Polish division in France started in early September of 1939 , shortly after the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War . The French government passed the military camp in Coëtquidan to the Polish military mission and allowed for a voluntary levy among the Polish Diaspora of France, particularly numerous in coal-producing regions of Flandres. After the Polish defeat and formation of the Polish Government In Exile , on November 13 , 1939 , the Polish commander in chief Władysław Sikorski ordered the 1st Grenadiers Division to be formed. Initially headed by Col. Stanisław Maczek , since January of 1940 its commanding officer was Col. Bronisław Duch . It was formed along the French regulations and fully equipped with French weapons and uniforms. Altogether, the unit had approximately 13,000 soldiers, 2600 NCOs and 580 officers of all grades. They were sworn by the Commander in Chief on May 25 , 1940 , shortly before arriving at the front line in Lorraine . At the end of April of 1940 , the division was moved to Colombey-les-Belles in Lorraine. There it received the long-awaited heavy equipment and received final training. On May 18 it was moved to the area of Sarry . There it was attached to the French XX Corps, one of the units defending the Maginot Line of defences. Initially divided between the two units of the Corps, the French 52nd Infantry Division and the ''Sarry Fortress Group'', the division carried over mostly sheltering tasks. It first entered combat on June 14 , when it was attacked by the German forces. The following day the division was centered and successfully defended its positions. However, during the night the French 52nd Division broke down and withdrew soon after it was attacked to Dieuze . Fearing his Corps being cut in two, its commander ordered the Poles to withdraw to the second line of defences. It withdrew to the area of Dieuze, where it covered the retreat of the French division throughout the day of June 16 . The following night it successfully cut itself out from the enemy and withdrew to the defensive line of the Marne-Rhine Canal , where it commanded the area around Lagarde . In the effect of a two-days long Battle Of Lagarde the division receives heavy damage, but manages to hold the positions. However, the 52nd Division was destroyed by the Wehrmacht and the remainder was disbanded by the commanding officer. The remnants of the XX Corps, then composed mostly of the Polish division and a small detachment of the Sarry Fortress Group, withdrew to the forests around Baccarat . There it forms a perimeter defence in and around the town of Meriller. Not attacked directly, the XX Corps got surrounded by the enemy on June 19 . The division broke through to Neureville , but then was unable to continue the assault. On June 21 , after receiving information of the Franco-German capitulation talks, General Bronisław Duch disbanded the unit and ordered his men to either flee to neutral Switzerland , or to join the Polish forces in the United Kingdom . Many of them chose the latter option, including the general himself. Altogether, the division lost approximately 5200 men during the Battle Of France . ORDER OF BATTLE
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