PLEnlist

9 September in military history: the Battles of Krbava Field, 1493, and the Bzura, 1939

Military history · 9 September · Second World War · Full calendar

By Echoes of Battle

Black and white photograph: a Polish armored train with a flatcar in front and a smoking locomotive behind runs along a railway embankment beside a sandy slope and trees, a puff of smoke at its side as a gun fires.
The Polish armored train Danuta during exercises in 1935. In September 1939 it fought in the Battle of the Bzura. Public domain. Narcyz Witczak-Witaczyński, National Digital Archives of Poland (NAC 107-738-66).
Quick answer

On 9 September 1493 an Ottoman army destroyed a Croatian army under Ban Emerik Derenčin on Krbava Field. On 9 September 1939 the Polish Poznań Army turned on the flank of the German forces driving on Warsaw and began the Battle of the Bzura, the largest battle of the September Campaign. Each battle has its own full story below.

Krbava Field, 1493

A Croatian army under Ban Emerik Derenčin chose to fight an Ottoman force under Hadum Jakub Pasha in the open below the castle of Udbina, and Ottoman troops sent round behind its line decided the day. The death toll is unknown, but many of Croatia's leading noble families fell or were captured.1

Read the full story of Krbava Field, 1493 ›

The Bzura, 1939

The Poznań and Pomorze Armies, about 200,000 men, struck the flank of the German 8th Army along the Bzura and threw it back some 20 kilometers. German reinforcements and aircraft then encircled them, and only about 30,000 men broke through to Warsaw and Modlin.2

Read the full story of The Bzura, 1939 ›

Frequently asked questions

What happened at Krbava Field in 1493?

On 9 September 1493 an Ottoman army under Hadum Jakub Pasha destroyed a Croatian army under Ban Emerik Derenčin near Udbina. Many leading Croatian noble families were killed or captured.

Krbava Field, 1493 ›

What was the Battle of the Bzura?

The largest battle of the September Campaign of 1939, a Polish counteroffensive by the Poznań and Pomorze Armies against the flank of the German forces advancing on Warsaw. It began on 9 September 1939.

The Bzura, 1939 ›

Notes

A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.

  1. Suzana Miljan and Hrvoje Kekez, “The Memory of the Battle of Krbava (1493) and the Collective Identity of the Croats”; Croatian Catholic news agency IKA, “Memorial to the Krbava tragedy”. ↩
  2. PAP, “Bitwa nad Bzurą, największa bitwa kampanii 1939 r.”; Alexandra Richie, “The Invasion of Poland”. ↩

Sources

Battle honours of your homeland

The turning points of history

Marathon, Gaugamela, Cannae, Constantinople, Waterloo, Stalingrad: the days the world changed course.

The Battle of Marathon, 490 BCThe Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BCThe Battle of Cannae, 216 BCThe Fall of Constantinople, 1453The Battle of Waterloo, 1815The Battle of Stalingrad, 1942-1943

Based on your country, which we do not store · why? ·

Relive the great battles

Echoes of Battle brings the great battles of history to life, scene by scene on the real map. Enlist below and we will send word to your inbox the day it launches.

Or supply the campaign on Ko-fi ›