The 9th Division found itself alone at the spearhead of the abandoned Polish push towards Dresden . It received orders to retreat on 26 April . Attempting to withdraw quickly and to form back with the main forces , it was intercepted by the Germans and sustained heavy losses . The units were moving with insufficient security , on the assumption that the line of retreat was safe ; at the same time the Germans captured Polish orders with details of their planned withdrawal routes . Coordination between the units was also lacking . 26th Infantry Regiment from the 9th Division took very heavy casualties ( 75 percent ) in the " valley of death " around Panschwitz-Kuckau and Crostwitz . A Polish military hospital convoy from the same division was ambushed near Horka , with most of its personnel and wounded executed ( about 300 casualties ) . There was only one survivor , chaplain Jan Rdzanek . The division commander , Colonel Aleksander Łaski , was taken captive . As a result of these losses , the 9th Division ceased to be an effective force ; the remaining personnel were merged into the Soviet 19th Guards Rifle Division
most of its personnel and wounded executed
War crimes of the Wehrmacht
Battle of Bautzen (1945)