The original division was formed in 1918 and took part in shielding the Polish borders during the Polish-Ukrainian War. During the Polish-Bolshevik War it was commanded by Col. Szubert and reinforced to three brigades (13th Bde under Herman, 14th Bde under Pogórzelski and 7th Artillery Bde under Luberadzki). It took part in the Battle of the Niemen as part of the Polish 3rd Army. After the war the division was dispersed in several barracks in western Poland, among them in Częstochowa, Piotrków Trybunalski, Lubliniec and Łódź. Mobilized prior to the outbreak of World War II, it took fought in the Invasion of Poland during 1939 as part of the Kraków Army's northern wing. Dislocated on the main axis of the German panzer assault, the division was surrounded on 3 September and almost destroyed