First Polish Armoured Division 1938-47 by Evan McGilvray

Author:Evan McGilvray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / World War II
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2022-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

After a day of fighting it was necessary to replenish the tanks with fuel and ammunition, reinforce troop numbers and get the overall battle group ready to go and join battle. To the end it was still not really possible to discern any difference between battle groups preparing to move on towards another battle. Everything was just done as a matter of routine. The battle group moved out in the wake of the tanks, the same guard as on the preceding day. This was followed by an anti-tank unit, command group, a company of riflemen as well as a squadron of dragoons, infantry command, further armoured units and the remains of the rifle battalion; altogether there were about 100 vehicles. Into this was thrown the confusion of night, dust, no lights and tired drivers. Despite the original order of the column being dispatched immediately, it did not leave until 0200 hours.

The group began to make mistakes along the route. The column was too complicated and overlong and the drivers were tired as well as trying to navigate in the dark through hostile territory aided only by operational maps of which, without doubt, there were not enough to go round. The idea was that they were to keep in radio contact with the main headquarters and advise how the operation was going. The move towards Chambois is controversial for one reason: the fate of the young Frenchman who was to ride with the Polish tanks and guide them to their objective of Chambois. Wysocki claims that the lad did not really know the way to Chambois and eventually simply skipped off into the night and was never seen again, leaving the Polish column to try to find their own way there. However, there is reliable evidence suggesting that the French guide was killed by an enemy sniper, but all the time it would seem that the Poles are suggesting that the Frenchman was a coward. However, everything about this move was odd, but then so is war. As the Polish column moved along it seemed that there was not really a war in many ways and it certainly caught the Germans unawares as the Polish tanks were more or less given a free pass owing to a colossal error by a German military traffic policeman who shepherded the Polish tanks directly into the staff buildings of the 2nd SS Panzer Division, taking prisoners and capturing an officers’ casino. The CO of the 2nd Armoured Regiment realized that they were not in Chambois but instead in Champeaux, while earlier Captain Wielogórski’s squadron had been sent to Hill 239, 3 kilometres to the south of Champeaux. Furthermore, during this night of chaos the Polish tanks had been attacked by Allied aircraft as the tanks were not where they should have been and the Poles could hardly give away by signalling who they were and so there was some more unnecessary damage and further casualties.

At his post in the area of Hill 159 close

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