During the Interbellum, the division was stationed in Vilnius (then named Wilno), which was part of the Second Polish Republic in 1922–1939.
On the evening of the September 7, the division's units were scattered and tried to break through the German lines and escape eastwards, towards the Vistula.
On September 8 Colonel Tadeusz Pełczyński began reconstruction of the division, with two infantry regiments (77th, 86th), and some artillery, which managed to cross the Vistula.
The unit took part in the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski, finally capitulating on September 27.
Initially, the division consisted of the following infantry regiments that were previously the armed forces of the Republic of Central Lithuania: