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{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Jablunkov
| partof =
| image =
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| territory =
| result = Polish victory
| combatant1 = {{
| combatant2 = {{flagicon|Poland}} [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]]
| commander1 = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} Hans Albrecht Herzner
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| notes =
}}
[[Image:Jablunkov Pass from the old fortifications.JPG|thumb|Jablunkov Pass seen from the old fortifications]]▼
▲[[
'''Jabłonków Incident''' ({{lang-pl|Incydent jabłonkowski}}, {{lang-cs|Jablunkovský incident}}) refers to the events of the night of August 25/26, 1939, along the [[Second Polish Republic|Polish]] - [[Slovak Republic (1939-1945)|Slovak]] border, when a group of [[Nazi Germany|German]] ''[[Abwehr]]'' agents attacked a rail station in [[Mosty u Jablunkova|Mosty]]. The main purpose of the attack was to capture the [[Jablunkov Pass]], with its strategic railroad tunnel, until the arrival of the German armed forces.<ref name="kurowski"/> The attackers were repelled by units of the [[Polish Army]], and the incident is regarded as a prelude to the [[Polish September Campaign|German invasion of Poland]].<ref name="crowe"/> The Jabłonków Incident has been named the first commando operation of the [[Second World War]].<ref name="mueller"/>▼
▲'''Jabłonków
== Prelude ==
According to [[Adolf Hitler]]'s order, the invasion of Poland was planned for 4:25
Part of Germany's plan to invade Poland, ''[[Fall Weiss (1939)|Fall Weiss]]'' (Case White), involved small groups of Germans dressed in ''Räuberzivil'' ("robbers' civvies" - inconspicuous, rugged [[casual attire|casual]] clothing) crossing the border the night before and seizing key strategic points before dawn on the day of the invasion. The secret [[Abwehr]] battalion detailed to undertake these operations was given the euphemistic title of "Construction Training Company 800 for Special Duties". A group under the command of Lieutenant
▲According to [[Adolf Hitler]]'s order, the invasion of Poland was planned for 4:25 a.m., on August 26, 1939.<ref name="kurowski"/> However, on August 25, the attack was delayed because on that day Hitler learned that Britain had signed a new treaty with Poland, in which it promised military support if Poland was attacked.<ref name="history"/>
The
▲Part of Germany's plan to invade Poland, ''[[Fall Weiss (1939)|Fall Weiss]]'' (Case White), involved small groups of Germans dressed in ''Räuberzivil'' ("robbers' civvies" - inconspicuous, rugged [[casual]] clothing) crossing the border the night before and seizing key strategic points before dawn on the day of the invasion. The secret [[Abwehr]] battalion detailed to undertake these operations was given the euphemistic title of "Construction Training Company 800 for Special Duties". A group under the command of Lieutenant Dr. [[:de:Hans-Albrecht Herzner]] of ''Abwehrstelle'' [[Wrocław|Breslau]], who later became commandant of the [[Nachtigall Battalion]], the first foreign legion of the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'', was instructed to prepare the way for the assault of the 7th Infantry Division by infiltrating the border. They were to capture a railway station at [[Mosty u Jablunkova|Mosty]] in the Jablunka Pass in the Carpathian Mountains to prevent the destruction of the single-track railway tunnel which was the shortest connection between [[Warsaw]] and [[Vienna]].<ref name="hoffman"/><ref name="ecnext"/><ref name="wordpress"/>
▲The Jabłonków Pass, which separates mountain ranges of [[Moravian-Silesian Beskids]] and the [[Silesian Beskids]], is one of the most important transport routes in the [[Western Carpathians]]. In October 1938 together with the territory of [[Zaolzie]], it was annexed by the [[Second Polish Republic]]; therefore, Poland controlled a key railroad connection, the [[Košice-Bohumín Railway|Košice-Bohumín railway line]]. The rail tunnel and the station at Jabłonków are part of the line. The Germans knew that failure to capture the line and the tunnel would seriously affect [[Wehrmacht]] moves in southern Poland.<ref name="crowe2"/>
==Attack ==
The task of the [[Abwehr]] detachment under Herzner was to capture both the rail station at Mosty and the strategic tunnel to prevent its destruction by Polish forces. It was ordered to
[[Polish Army]] headquarters were fully aware of the strategic importance of the tunnel and it was mined as early as June 1939 by soldiers of the 21st Sapper Battalion from [[Bielsko]], under reserve Colonel Witold Pirszel, who was a mining engineer.<ref
▲The task of the [[Abwehr]] detachment under Herzner was to capture both the rail station at Mosty and the strategic tunnel to prevent its destruction by Polish forces. It was ordered to of occupy the Jabłonków Pass before the actual hostilities. The German agents were ordered to disable demolition systems and make way for the 7th Infantry Division from [[Munich]], stationed nearby.<ref name="kurowski3"/> The German agents included mostly volunteers, members of the German minority of [[Zaolzie]], some of whom belonged to the Kampf-Organisation in [[Jablunkov|Jabłonków]].{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}
The German detachment of some 70 agents dressed in civilian clothes (some sources put the number at 24),<ref name="mueller4">[https://books.google.com/books?id=9WGAexVXyHwC&dq=Mosty+incident+1939&pg=PA155 Canaris By Michael Mueller, Geoffrey Brooks, p. 155]</ref> set off from [[Čadca]] on
▲Polish Army headquarters were fully aware of the strategic importance of the tunnel and it was mined as early as June 1939 by soldiers of the 21st Sapper Battalion from [[Bielsko]], under reserve Colonel Witold Pirszel, who was a mining engineer.<ref name="fortyfikacje"/> The tunnel was guarded by soldiers of the local post of the [[Border Guard (Poland)|Border Guard]] from the village of [[Svrčinovec|Świerczynowiec]], and an infantry platoon of the 4th Regiment of [[Podhale Rifles]]. The nearest [[National Defense (Poland)|National Defense]] outpost was stationed in [[Trzyniec]]. In summer of 1939, every day after the last train, Polish sappers armed the explosives for the night on both sides of the 300-meter long tunnel. {{citation needed|date=November 2012}}
== Aftermath ==▼
▲The German detachment of some 70 agents dressed in civilian clothes (some sources put the number at 24),<ref name="mueller4"/> set off from [[Čadca]] on August 25 late in the evening. During the night, it crossed the Polish - Slovak border near the mountain of [[Velký Polom]] and reached the station at Mosty at around 4 a.m. on August 26, not knowing that Adolf Hitler had cancelled his order and delayed the attack on Poland for September 1. The agents set their positions on a hill near Mosty station and began shooting at the station building, as well as at a house where the principal of a local Polish school lived. In the following minutes, the Germans captured the station after some fighting, and took prisoner a group of workers on their way to the [[Třinec Iron and Steel Works]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} [[Franz Kurowski]] writes that Lieutenant Hans Albrecht Herzner persuaded a Polish lieutenant at Mosty station to talk to other Polish soldiers to stop fighting, because Germany had been at war with Poland since 4:24 a.m., and the bloodshed was unnecessary.<ref name="kurowski5"/> However, they had no idea that the station was equipped with a military communication system, located in the basement. A female telephonist managed to call Polish units guarding the tunnel, and the alarm was raised.<ref name="fortyfikacje6"/> Polish sentries armed with machine guns took positions on both sides of the tunnel and an observation post was established. A chaotic exchange of fire took place after which the Germans realised that the operation was a failure and scattered in the nearby woods. Some agents managed to capture a locomotive and tried to enter the tunnel, but were repelled by Polish police.<ref name="onet"/> The Germans remained under heavy fire, while trying to withdraw to Slovakia. They managed to return to Slovakia at around midday of August 26, with two wounded.<ref name="mueller4"/>
The tunnel in Jabłonków was blown up by Colonel Witold Pirszel on 1 September
The incident provided the Polish Armed Forces with a warning that an invasion was likely imminent, causing the Polish government to quietly begin accelerating mobilization efforts. A full scale mobilization was not yet initiated due to fears of provoking the Germans and potentially angering Britain and France. The Polish Air Force would disperse most of its operational aircraft to secondary airfields leaving only trainers and non-operating aircraft at their normal bases. As a consequence the [[Luftwaffe]] would bomb mostly empty airfields on the first couple days of the war.<ref>[Case White: The Invasion of Poland; 2019, R. Forczyk, p.92]</ref>
▲== Aftermath ==
▲The tunnel in Jabłonków was blown up by Colonel Witold Pirszel on September 1, 1939, at 6 a.m., a few minutes before German troops arrived. Rail communication in one part was reintroduced in February 1940, and in the other part in 1941.<ref name="google"/>
== See also ==
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== References ==
{{reflist
▲<ref name="wspolnota-polska">[http://www.wspolnota-polska.org.pl/index.php?id=epb01 "The destruction of Poland comes first". Official webpage of Association Wspolnota Polska]"Major General Eugen Ott, the commander of the 7 of Infantry Division concentrated in this area, sent an expression of regret and apology to General Józef Kustroń, the commander of the Polish 21st Infantry Division. It was described by the German side as an incident "caused by an insane individual"</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jablonkow Incident}}
[[Category:Operation Himmler]]
[[Category:1939 in Germany]]
[[Category:1939 in Poland]]
[[Category:1939 in international relations]]▼
[[Category:Abwehr operations]]
[[Category:Invasion of Poland]]
[[Category:History of Poland (1918–39)]]▼
[[Category:Germany–Poland border]]
[[Category:Military history of Poland during World War II]]
[[Category:Military history of Germany during World War II]]
[[Category:Cieszyn Silesia]]
▲[[Category:1939 in international relations]]
[[Category:Battles and conflicts without fatalities]]
[[Category:Battles involving Germany]]
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