First Polish Armoured Division 1938-47: A History

Product Information

Sikorski and the Government in Exile (Davies, 2001). Inverlochy Castle near Fort William (STS No.38) was made available for the training of Special At 2200hrs, 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, 1st and 2nd Armoured Regiments, 10th Dragoons, 10th Mounted Rifles, 10th Coy Engineers, two batteries Anti Tank Support moved to a protected night bivouac 3kilometers northeast of Ypres. On the 19th of August Lieutenant-Colonel Koszutski’s group, reinforced by the 9th Battalion of the Light Infantry, arrived on Hill 262. On the night of August 19th/20th, therefore, two armoured regiments and three battalions of light infantry held this strategic position. It was to be a terrible night.

On 4 October 1944 at 1415hrs, 9th Rifle Brigade plus one Anti-Tank Battery and one squadron from the 1st Armoured Regiment captured the western outskirts of the forest near Baarle-Nassau. The TK-3 (TK) and TKS light turretless reconnaissance tanks, commonly called tankettes (in Polish: tankietka), were the most numerous armoured vehicles of the Polish Army at the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. Their number of over 500 vehicles constituted formally a significant tank force. Unfortunately, they were not fully capable tanks, and, apart from few cannon-armed ones, could not fight against other armoured fighting vehicles. Abarinov, Vladimir (1991). The Murderers of Katyn. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 978-0-7818-0032-7. On 19 September 1944, patrols of the 1st Armoured Regiment detached in the direction of Axelsche – Sabuek encountered enemy forces along the Spun – Kreek Canal.M4 Sherman IC Firefly medium tank (The Sherman was the basic tank in Polish armoured units in the West 1943-1947. The 2nd Warsaw Armored Brigade, fighting in Italy, used M4A2 Sherman III, later also M4 Sherman I, M4 Sherman IC Firefly, M4A1 Sherman II and M4A3 (105) HVSS Sherman IVBY.) The LWP Polish formation fought along the Allied side in the USSR, after the Anders Army had left the USSR. The LWP Polish forces soon grew beyond the 1st Division into two major commands - the Polish First Army ( Berling's) and the Polish Second Army (commanded by Karol Świerczewski). The most significant tank formation in the initial period was the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade equipped with T-34 tanks, that first fought in the battle of Studzianki. Inter War [ edit ] The Blue Army included the 1st Tank Regiment of 120 Renault FT tanks, the fourth largest tank unit of the world. On 10 March 1935 design work on a new model called 10TP was started. Major Rudolf Gundlach headed the design team consisting of, among the others, engineers Jan Łapuszewski, Stefan Ołdakowski, Mieczysław Staszewski, Kazimierz Hejnowicz and a process engineer Jerzy Napiórkowski.

The Polish forces reorganized in the Soviet Union in March 1942 and the name Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the period 1941–42, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. in Polish) 1 PUŁK PANCERNY W WALCE OD CAEN PO WILHELMSHAVEN (The 1ST Armoured Regiment in Action from Caen to Wilhelmshaven), preface by Col. Franciszek Skibiński (Commander 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade), authored by unknown regimental historian, published 1945 On this day, 1st Armoured Regiment bypassed Ypres, thus cutting off the retreat of the Germans, who were still occupying the town.

In the summer of 1941, the Battalion's duties included: protecting nearby airfields; guarding Broughty Ferry on the Scottish East Coast; and building anti-invasion obstacles around Dundee. In addition to their military duties, the Battalion assisted the local population with the harvesting of wheat and potatoes.

The Poles now call that hill “Maczuga”, which means “The Mace”. And that is it exactly: the battle of “Maczuga” hill was the final, crushing blow which broke German power." On 4th January 1940 General Sikorski and the French Premier had signed a military agreement to form a Polish Army in France. Before the war, in 1939, the Polish Army still had 102 Renault FT light tanks, of which 70 formed the 2nd armoured battalion in Żurawica and 32 the two Armoured Trains Units (as armoured draisines). Some of these tanks were "iron" FT CWS. The combat usefulness of FT tanks in 1939 was very limited, since they were obsolete and extremely slow by the standards of the day, but they participated in the defense of Poland in September 1939; the 2nd Armoured Battalion formed three light tank companies (numbers: 111, 112, 113), equipped with Renault FT tanks. commanded by Brigadier-General Bronislaw Pruger-Ketling was despatched to the front near Belfort. The 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade under the command In September 1943 it was necessary to reorganize the almost battle-ready Division according to the new British war establishment, assuming a composition of one armoured brigade and one infantry brigade with artillery support and services. The core of the Division remained 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, although two of its three regiments previously belonged to the 16th Armoured Brigade. The 3rd Rifle Brigade was then to be created, which until departure to the front, was the weakest element due to insufficient training and incomplete ranks.The Poles moved their tanks into position…, and commenced the massacre. The German columns came to a standstill under the persistent Polish fire. In panic men abandoned their equipment, setting fire to whatever would burn, cars, tanks and other vehicles. Then they took to their legs to save themselves. The bodies of men and horses strewed the road. When night came, the smoke of burning war material was so dense and impenetrable that visibility was reduced to nil and our Polish allies could advance no further. The Polish forces also had a 4TP light tank designed (Also known as PZInż.140 light tank) (only one prototype built). During the Invasion of Poland in 1939 the Hotchkiss Char léger modèle 1935 H tanks together with 3 Renault Char léger Modèle 1935 R tanks were incorporated into an ad hoc "half company" unit of lieutenant J.Jakubowicz formed on 14 September 1939 in Kiwerce, Poland. The unit joined the task force "Dubno" and lost all of its tanks during the marches and fighting with German and Soviet armies and Ukrainian insurgents.) When we reached the Command Post the Polish major greeted us, he was shaking with emotion and I became part of a scene of delirious joy. We laughed, we wept, we embraced each other. The soldiers told long stories in Polish to the Canadians who understood not a word but nevertheless burst into peals of laughter! At the end of 1934, because of the liquidation of WIBI and establishing of the Design and Testing Centre of the Armoured Forces reporting directly to the Armoured Forces Command, most of the "A la Christie" project documentation was destroyed under the supervision of a special commission. Only a few hand-written notes and calculations were left. The 1st Armoured Regiment was part of the vanguard for this action. At 1200hrs on 1 September 1944, the vanguard moved out under the command of Major Zgorzelski, 10th Dragoons, which also consisted of 10th Dragoons minus one squadron, one Battery Artillery Support, and one Battery Anti-Tank Support. At 1835hrs due to enemy resistance, supported by artillery, the vanguard engaged the enemy. At 1930hrs, the vanguard crossed the bridge at Blangy.