HISTORY
1st Polish
Armoured Division
Liberators of Beveren
The 1st Polish Armoured Division
was an allied Military created on February 26th,
1942 in Duns, Scotland.
A telegram from General Sikorski to General
Maczek contained the command to form a motorized armoured
unit to protect against the attacks from Nazi-Germany. The
division had a somewhat complicated history, with traditions
deriving from the 10th Motorized Cavalry
Brigade.
During Germany’s attack on Poland, this
brigade was known by the population as “ the Black Brigade”,
deriving from the long black leather coats they wore. They
were famous for their brave and headstrong resistance
against the Germans.
They withdraw themselves behind the
Polish-Hungarian border on September 19th, 1939.
The units were disarmed and interned in Hungary. The
Hungarians didn’t take security too serious and officers and
soldiers reached France via Yugoslavia and Italy. They
formed a new Polish Army in France.
Joining forces with the French troops, they
completed several successful tasks during Germany’s attacks.
After the Capitulation on June 17th, the Polish
found their way through France, North Africa and Portugal to
the United Kingdom.
General Sikorski convinced the British
Government to create a Polish armored unit. The British,
anticipating a German invasion, could use their help.
Towards the end of July
1944 the division was
transferred to
Normandy, where it was to
prove its worth during the
1944
invasion of Europe. The
division twice suffered serious bombings by
Allied aircraft yet it
achieved a brilliant victory against the
Wehrmacht in the battles
for Mont Ormel, Hill 262 and the town of
Chambois. This series of
offensive and defensive operations came to be known as the
Battle of Falaise, in which
14 German
Wehrmacht and
SS divisions were trapped
in the huge
Chambois pocket and
subsequently destroyed.
After this decisive battle, General Maczek's Division
continued to spearhead the Allied drive across the
battlefields of
France,
Belgium,
Netherlands, and finally
Germany. The Division's
"moment of glory" came when its forces captured the German
port of
Wilhelmshaven and accepted
the surrender of the entire garrison, which included some
200 vessels of Hitler's navy, the
Kriegsmarine.
After the capitulation of Germany, the Division was
demobilized in March 1947. Some returned to Poland, most
remained in Western Europe. They fought for all of us, but
didn’t find complete freedom in their own country, which was
placed under a strict communism regime by the Russians.
In
Belgium, the division lost 500 men. Their remains are
honored at the Polish cemetery in Lommel, Aldegem, Antwerp,
Leopoldsburg, Brussels,Tielt and Stekene.
Memorials and Monuments are found in all of these cities to
honor the 1st Polish Armored Division.
Sources:
Captain Czeslaw KAJPUS, Veterans of the 1st Polish
Armored Division
“Non Omnis Moriar” by Czeslaw KAJPUS & Omer Van Dam |
