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The Romanian Bridgehead was an area in southeastern Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, now located in Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
. During the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland in 1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak invasion of Poland contingent....
 of 1939 (at the start of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
), on September 14 the Polish Commander in Chief Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland

Marshal of Poland is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, this rank is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army in other NATO armies....
 Edward Rydz-Smigly
Edward Rydz-Smigly

Edward Rydz-Smigly sometimes Edward Smigly-Rydz ; nom de guerre Smigly, Tarlowski, Adam Zawisza) was a Marshal of Poland, Poland political figure, Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, and a Artist and poet....
 ordered all Polish troops fighting east of the Vistula
Vistula

The Vistula , is the longest river in Poland at 1,047 km in length. It drains an area of 194,424 km? , of which 168,699 km? lies within Poland ....
 (approximately 20 divisions still retaining cohesion) to withdraw towards Lwów, and then to the hills along the borders with Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
 and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
.

The plan was a fall back plan in case it was impossible to defend the Polish borders, and assumed that the Polish forces would be able to retreat to the area, organise a successful defence until the winter, and hold out until the promised French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 offensive on the Western Front
Western Front (World War II)

The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, and Denmark....
 started.






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The Romanian Bridgehead was an area in southeastern Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, now located in Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
. During the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland in 1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak invasion of Poland contingent....
 of 1939 (at the start of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
), on September 14 the Polish Commander in Chief Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland

Marshal of Poland is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, this rank is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army in other NATO armies....
 Edward Rydz-Smigly
Edward Rydz-Smigly

Edward Rydz-Smigly sometimes Edward Smigly-Rydz ; nom de guerre Smigly, Tarlowski, Adam Zawisza) was a Marshal of Poland, Poland political figure, Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, and a Artist and poet....
 ordered all Polish troops fighting east of the Vistula
Vistula

The Vistula , is the longest river in Poland at 1,047 km in length. It drains an area of 194,424 km? , of which 168,699 km? lies within Poland ....
 (approximately 20 divisions still retaining cohesion) to withdraw towards Lwów, and then to the hills along the borders with Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
 and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
.

The plan was a fall back plan in case it was impossible to defend the Polish borders, and assumed that the Polish forces would be able to retreat to the area, organise a successful defence until the winter, and hold out until the promised French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 offensive on the Western Front
Western Front (World War II)

The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, and Denmark....
 started. Rydz-Smigly predicted that the rough terrain, the Stryj
Stryj

Stryj may refer to:*Stryj, Lublin Voivodeship *Stryi, Ukraine - Stryj in Polish...
 and Dniestr rivers, valleys, hills and swamps would provide natural lines of defence against the German
Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party , which established a Totalitarianism dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945....
 advance. The area was also home to many ammunition dump
Ammunition dump

An ammunition dump, ammunition compound, ammunition depot, bomb dump or ammo dump, is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives....
s that were prepared for the third wave of Polish troops, and was linked to the Romanian port of Constanta
Constanta

Constanta is the oldest living city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located on the Black Sea coast. Constan?a is part of the group of four equal size cities which ranks after Bucharest, Romania's capital, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Ia?i....
, which could be used to resupply the Polish troops.

This plan is one of the reasons the Polish-Romanian Alliance
Polish-Romanian Alliance

The Polish?Romanian Alliance was a series of treaty signed in the interwar period by the Second Polish Republic and the Kingdom of Romania. The first of them was signed in 1921 and, together, the treaties formed a basis for good foreign relations between the two countries that lasted until World War II began in 1939....
 was not activated by Poland. Poland and Romania had been allied since 1921 and the defensive pact was still valid in 1939. However, the Polish government decided that it would be much more helpful to have a safe haven in Romania and a safe port of Constanta that could accept as many Allied
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
 merchant ships as required to keep Poland fighting. The Polish Navy
Polish Navy

The Polish Navy is the branch of Polish Armed Forces responsible for naval operations. It has 60 ships and about 14,300 commissioned and enlisted personnel....
 and merchant marine were mostly evacuated prior to September 1; they were to operate from French and British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 ports and deliver the supplies through Romania.

However, the Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)

The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II, sixteen days after the beginning of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland ....
 on September 17 (following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

The Molotov?Ribbentrop Pact, colloquially named after Soviet Union foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and Nazi Germany foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and signed in Moscow in the early hours of August 24...
) made all those plans obsolete. As a result, Polish units were ordered to evacuate Poland and reorganise in France.

Up to 120,000 Polish troops withdrew through the Romanian Bridgehead area to neutral Romania and Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
. The majority of those troops joined the newly-formed Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West

Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight along the Western Allies and against Nazi Germany and its allies....
 in France and the United Kingdom in 1939 and 1940. Until the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 entered the war and Germany attacked the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that commenced on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 kilometer front ....
), the Polish army was one of the largest forces of the Allies.

The Romanian government also received the treasury of the National Bank of Poland
National Bank of Poland

Narodowy Bank Polski is the central bank of Poland. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish zloty. The Bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has branches in every major Polish town....
 in 1939. One part of it, consisting of 1,261 crates containing 82,403 kg
Kilogram

The kilogram or kilogrammeThe spelling kilogram is used by the International Committee for Weights and Measures and the U.S....
 of gold, was loaded aboard a commercial ship in the port of Constanta
Constanta

Constanta is the oldest living city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located on the Black Sea coast. Constan?a is part of the group of four equal size cities which ranks after Bucharest, Romania's capital, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Ia?i....
, and transported to Western Europe. The transport was escorted by ships from the Romanian Navy, in order to prevent an interception by Soviet submarine
Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability....
s in the Black Sea
Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
. The second part of the treasury, totaling 3,057,450 kg, was deposited in the Romanian National Bank. It was returned to Poland on September 17, 1947.

See also

  • Polish Defensive War
    Invasion of Poland (1939)

    The Invasion of Poland in 1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak invasion of Poland contingent....
  • Western Betrayal
    Western betrayal

    Western betrayal or Yalta betrayal are popular terms in many Central European countries, especially in Poland and the Czech Republic which refers to the foreign policy of several Western countries which violated allied pacts and agreements during the period from the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 through World War II and to the Cold War,...
  • Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
    Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

    The Molotov?Ribbentrop Pact, colloquially named after Soviet Union foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and Nazi Germany foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and signed in Moscow in the early hours of August 24...
  • Polish contribution to World War II
    Polish contribution to World War II

    The European theater of World War II opened with the German Invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The Polish Army was quickly pushed back. In keeping with the terms of the of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Germany informed the Soviet Union that its forces were nearing the Soviet interest zone in Poland and so urged the Soviet Union to move into...
  • Romania during World War II
    Romania during World War II

    In November 1940, after a brief period of nominal neutrality under King of Romania Charles II of Romania, the Kingdom of Romania joined the Axis Powers....
  • Sarny Fortified Area
    Sarny Fortified Area

    Sarny Fortified Area was a line of bunkers and trenches along both sides of the Sluch river, in the area of the town of Sarny, northern Volhynia in Ukraine....