First Polish Armoured Division 1938-47: A History

Product Information

M4A2 Sherman III 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.) Hotchkiss Char léger modèle 1935 H (Three Hotchkiss Char léger modèle 1935 H tanks had been exported to Poland in July 1939 for testing by the Polish Bureau of Technical Studies of Armoured Weapons (pl. Biuro Badań Technicznych Broni Pancernych). 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.)

The Polish military leader in exile, General Sikorski, named General Władysław Anders as commander of the new army. Renault FT light tank (Poland used 174 FT light tanks in different versions: char canon, char mitrailleuse, char signal, NC-1 and M 26/27)After the German surrender, the 1st Polish Armoured Division formed part of the Army of Occupation and their main duties were liberating prisoners of war and caring for the large numbers of Polish refugees. The modernized tank's increased weight led the developers to add a more powerful engine, a 12-cylinder S-12U diesel engine, a modernized version of the Soviet V-46-6 produced in Warsaw by PZL-Wola (850hp instead of 780). The main improvement was the modernized fuel and air injection system. This caused a noticeable decrease in the tank's road endurance. The latest Twardy variants have the 1000hp S-1000 engine with a turbocharger. He married and settled in the countryside, near Henley-on-Thames. He tried to recreate something like his former life in Poland, observing the traditions that his father and forefathers knew. Through the 1970s and 1980s, he played an active role amongst the Polish diaspora. Assembly of the first tank prototype was commenced in 1937 in the Experimental Workshop (WD) located within the area of the State Engineering Plants ( PZInż.) Factory in Ursus near Warsaw, where all Polish tanks were produced in the period of 1931-1939. The work was supervised by Captain Kazimierz Grüner. At the same time two motorised cavalry brigades were formed with the intention that they would be equipped with the tank. [4] of General Stanislaw Maczek covered the flank near Reims with antiquated weapons. The 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade consisted of a tank regiment of two

This is the history of my late grandfather Edward George Shopland and the unit to which he belonged. My grandfather was born and bred in North London and joined the local Territorial Army (TA) unit based in Islington in the early thirties. They saw active service firstly as part of the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) in 1940 and then later, as part of I Corps and Second Army, seeing action across the Northern European theatre. As part of 4th A.G.R.A. they saw action supporting not only the 6th Airborne at the Orne Canal, but many other brigades and regiments of the British Army. They also supported the Canadians and the 1st Polish Armoured Division in Holland, and saw action in support of the Americans in the Ardennes. They ended up in Bochum in the Ruhr as part of 3rd A.G.R.A. - administering displaced persons camps. I would not have been able to compile such an in depth history without the accurate recording of events by ex members of the regiment which was compiled by Mr J Marnham in 1961 to celebrate the regiments 100th birthday. Please visit the Unit Chronology, to find out more detailed information on the Regiment. Immediately after the fall of France, Great Britain was on full alert and preparation for the threat of invasion. By July 1940 remnants of the Polish Army were In April 1945, the 1st Armoured entered Germany in the area of Emsland. On 6 May, the Division seized the Kriegsmarine naval base in Wilhelmshaven, where General Maczek accepted the capitulation of the fortress, naval base, East Frisian Fleet and more than 10 infantry divisions. There the Division ended the war and, joined by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, undertook occupation duties until it was disbanded in 1947; it, together with the many Polish displaced persons in the Western occupied territories, formed a Polish enclave at Haren in Germany, which was for a while known as "Maczków". The majority of its soldiers opted not to return to Poland, which fell under Soviet occupation, preferring instead to remain in exile. [4] Many artefacts and memorabilia belonging to Maczek and the 1st Polish Armoured Division are on display in the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. On the 11th November the Regiment moved to Oploo north of Overloon higher up the Maas, rejoining 3rd Division who were clearing the left bank of the river after two very tough battles for Overloon and Venraij. This period was comparatively uneventful for the regiment with specilist shoots in surport of patrols and small engagements. One of these was the "Castle" of Geesteren which was obstinately defended by young cadets. In the course of this action the Regiment gained its third M.C. adwarded to John Marnham On the 7th December the Regiment moved to La Hulpe south-east of Brussels not far from Waterloo where time was taken to clean all the guns and vechiles.

Object Details

Poland to buy jets, tanks and howitzers from South Korea, says minister". Reuters. 22 July 2022 . Retrieved 7 November 2023. By 1045 hrs, the Canadians had linked up with the 2nd Armoured Regiment. In the afternoon, a Canadian Brigade arrived in the area of Hill 262 MACZUGA. They brought supplies for the armoured regiments.

M4A1 Sherman II 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 core of the Tank Training Centre was to consist of the 5th and the 6th Tank Battalions. At the beginning the Centre was located in the region of Carabalty in the vicinity of Frunze. The training started on 15 Feb. 1942. In the second half of 1942, during the big German offensive in the Caucasus, Stalin agreed that the Polish formation could be used on the Middle Eastern front in Persia (Iran). Towards the end of March troops were evacuated to Iran and he "Anders Army" was transferred from Krasnovodsk across the Caspian Sea to the port of Pahlavi (today Bandar-e Anzali) and a makeshift city comprising over 2000 tents (provided by the Iranian army) was hastily erected along the shoreline of Pahlavi to accommodate them. In January–February 1945, the Regiment took up positions on the peninsula of St Philipsland and the island of Tholen, where there was heavy enemy activity. In late February 1945, the Regiment returned to the district of Dongen-Oosterhout, where the tanks were the advance guard. During this time, the Regiment was frequently on the move and engaged in minor skirmishes, but not without losses. A constant threat 24 hours a day, throughout this time, were the thousands of V-1, buzz bombs. They constantly flew by overhead and sometimes exploded nearby. History [ edit ] Map of the route taken by the Division during World War II. Map of the Division's participation in the Battle of Falaise. Crusader tank of the 1st Armoured Division near Haddington 1943. M4A1 "Grizzly" (Though this tank is preserved at the Polish Army Museum. There is no evidence that the Polish army ever used this vehicle. The vehicle was obtained after the demise of the USSR.)

Forum Archive

Terry Copp, Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy, University of Toronto Press, 2003 ( ISBN 0-8020-3780-1) After the September 1939 defeat, the Polish Army was re-created in France. The armoured units were created there as well (the 10th Armoured-Motorized Brigade of Col. S. Maczek). The first training tanks, however - 42 FTs - were given to the Poles only in March 1940. Many of them were not armed at all, some were armed with 7.5mm Mle.31 MG, only few had 37mm SA-18 guns. Only in May 1940, the first battalion of the 10th Brigade was given the new tanks Renault R-35 and sent to the front in a hurry. After that, the 2nd battalion was equipped with Renault/AMX R-40 tanks and sent to the front. Hard pressed our Poles requested air support: impossible! They were told that in the mêlée the aircrew could not tell friend from foe, the air forces were to concentrate on the approach roads. It is crucial to determine the level of quality of soldiers of the 1st Armoured Division at various stages of the war. General Maczek estimates that the highest level of training and rip of divisional detachments (especially infantry) appeared during the Normandy campaign. After the casualties had suffered in the battle of “Maczuga” and Chambois it took long time to supplemented them. Can anybody help with this one? I have supplied the sddresses of The Sikorski Institute and of Polish Service Records.

Stationed in Scotland, the Polish 1st Armoured Division was formed as part of the Polish I Corps under Wladyslaw Sikorski, which guarded approximately 200 kilometres of British coast in 1940-1941. The commander of the Division, General Stanislaw Maczek, was Poland’s premier mechanized commander, and many of his subordinate officers from the unit he commanded in 1939, the 10th Mechanized Brigade, had made their way to Britain with him. They were organized on the British Armoured Division model, equipped with British uniforms, weapons and tanks. They were initially equipped and trained on Crusader tanks but in late 1943 and early 1944 these were replaced with Sherman tanks and Cromwell tanks. They then participated in war games together with the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Experiments showed that the Erawa dynamic defense decreased the high-explosive jet impact depth by 50 - 70% and penetrator (APFSDS) projectiles by 30 - 40%. Furthermore, explosive containers don't detonate when hit by shot of up to 30mm calibre, shell or mine fragments, or when covered in burning napalm or petrol.Eventually, he gained a foothold as a technical representative in the business of supplying manufacturing machinery to industry. After a great deal of hard work, this led to a profitable agency and a directorship of his own company.