Attempted breakthrough

The division attempts to punch through Łódź and immediately runs into trouble.

The 1st and 256th Brigades begin their attacks.   On the right, the 256th brushes aside cavalry pickets along the Łask-Pabianice road before running into entrenched infantry with ATGM support in front of Pabianice. After losing several of their remaining tanks and armored vehicles, they pause to regroup, but are soon hit by tanks and armored personnel carriers advancing from Piotrków Trybunalski. Unable to stem the tide, the 256th Brigade is pushed back to Łask.   On the left, the 1st Brigade runs into the dug-in tanks of the Soviet 20th Tank Division and makes no progress all day. The 20th was last reported in Ukraine as part of the Soviet 4th Guards Tank Army.   Around midday, 2nd Brigade's 3-77 Armored Battalion, holding the bridgehead at Koło, is probed by Polish mechanized forces and the division rearguard in Krośniewice falls under attack from the Soviet 96th Cavalry Division.   By nightfall it was clear that the 5th Division had made no progress towards a breakout, was now badly scattered, and facing pressure on all fronts. Its commander decided to pull his forces back towards Kalisz and consolidate. 2nd Brigade would stay put, with 3-77 still holding the bridge at Koło. 1st Brigade and division command would shift to Uniejów and leave one battalion on the east side of the Warta to hold the crossing. The 256th Brigade was ordered to fall back along the road to Sieradz and hold the river crossing there.