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Polish 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade (Polish 10 Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej, French 10e Brigade blindée polonaise) was an armoured unit of the Polish Army. Organized in France during World War II, mostly by the veterans of the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade who managed to escape from Nazi and Soviet occupied Poland. Led by general Stanisław Maczek, it took part in the Battle of France of 1940. It was later recreated in Great Britain as a part of the First Polish Armoured Division Polish 1st Arm Div Badge Source: Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Main article: Polish government in exile On 1 September 1939, without a formal declaration of war, Germany invaded Poland. ...
Polish 1st Armoured Division at Haddington 1943 The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish 1 Dywizja Pancerna) was an Allied military unit during World War II, created in February 1942 in Scotland. ...
Polish Army (Polish Wojsko Polskie) is the name applied to the military forces of Poland. ...
Combatants Allies: Soviet Union United Kingdom United States and others Axis Powers: Germany Japan Italy and others Commanders Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4...
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Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H...
1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...
Polish 1st Armoured Div Patch The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish 1 Dywizja Pancerna) was an Allied military unit during World War II, created in February 1942 in Scotland. ...
History When Poland was defeated by Germany in 1939, many Polish soldiers went to France to create new army to fight the Nazis. These forces were commanded by general Władysław Sikorski, who was also the prime minister of Polish government in exile. Unfortunately, French generals were not interested in Polish relations about campaign in Poland and German tactics of Blitzkrieg. They considered Polish soldiers and officers incompetent, and believed in the Maginot Line. When general Maczek and his veterans tried to create Polish mechanized division, they could not get the equipment necessary for training, so the new unit grew very slowly. WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Eugeniusz Sikorski (May 20, 1881 – July 4, 1943; pronounce ) was a Polish military and political leader. ...
The Government of the Polish Republic in exile was the government of Poland after the German occupation of Poland in September 1939. ...
One of the defining characteristics of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is close co-operation between infantry and tanks. ...
The Maginot Line (IPA: [maʒino], named after French minister of defense André Maginot) was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France constructed along its borders with Germany and with Italy in the wake of World War I. Generally the term...
Everything changed, when Germany invaded France in 1940, simply going around French fortifications. General Maczek's unit suddenly received all the equipment they had asked for, with one condition: they had to go into action immediately. That was impossible, because many Polish soldiers had no idea how to use the new equipment and there was no time for exercises. General Maczek decided to lead a small force of his best trained men, hoping that the rest of his unit would join them later. That small force was called 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade (10 Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej) in honour of the "Black Brigade" from 1939. On June 6, 10th Brigade had one tank battalion, two strong motorized cavalry squadrons, one anti-tank battery and one anti-aircraft battery. June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ...
The brigade was attached to French 4th Army near Reims, and was ordered to cover its left flank. However, Maczek's unit was much too weak to do it successfully against German armoured divisions. Polish soldiers managed only to cover one retreating French infantry division by attacking German forces in Champaubert-Montgivroux. Later the brigade had to withdraw with the rest of French troops, and joined the French XXIII Corps. On June 16 the brigade attacked by night the town of Montbard over the Burgundy Canal. Maczek's soldiers completely surprised the Germans and took many prisoners. Location within France Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ...
June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ...
Montbard (population 7900 in 1991) is a town in eastern France, a sub-prefecture of the Côte dOr département, in the Burgundy région. ...
The Canal of Burgundy is located in central eastern France. ...
But the brigade by then was fighting alone, with the French units on both flanks either routed or in retreat. There were no French forces to use that victory, and the decimated Polish unit found itself surrounded and without fuel. On June 18, general Maczek decided to destroy useless equipment and to withdraw on foot. Later that day he had to split the remnants of his brigade into small groups, so they could pass the enemy lines. Many of Maczek's men, including the general himself, found their way to the United Kingdom, where a Polish armoured unit was recreated, while others joined the Polish and French resistance organizations in France and Belgium. June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ...
10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade was a small unit, but with excellent fighting spirit. Most of its soldiers managed to get to Great Britain, when the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade was recreated as a part of general Maczek's Polish 1st Armoured Division. Polish 1st Armoured Division at Haddington 1943 The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish 1 Dywizja Pancerna) was an Allied military unit during World War II, created in February 1942 in Scotland. ...
Sources Stanisław Maczek, "Od Podwody do czołga", Lublin-London 1990
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