The 3rd Polish Infantry Brigade (''3 Brygada Strzelców'') was a Polish infantry brigade which served during World War II. Together with the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade they formed part of the

1st Polish Armoured Division The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish ''1 Dywizja Pancerna'') was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by Major General Stanisław Macze ...

and was created from Polish soldiers who had already escaped from Poland to France, and after the fall of France made their way to Great Britain. Their wartime headquarters were in

Biggar High School Biggar High School (Local education authority: South Lanarkshire) is a secondary school located in the town of Biggar, South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shie ...

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

Formation

3rd Polish Infantry Brigade (''3 Brygada Strzelców'') - Col. Marian Wieroński: * 1st Polish Highland Battalion (''1 batalion Strzelców Podhalańskich'') - Lt.Col. K. Complak * 8th Polish Rifle Battalion (''8 batalion strzelców'') - Lt.Col. Aleksander Nowaczyński * 9th Polish Rifle Battalion (''9 batalion strzelców flandryjskich'') - Lt.Col.

Zygmunt Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), Zygmunt I Stary in Polish, King of Poland and Gr ...

Normandy

By the end of July 1944 the Brigade together with the rest of 1st Polish Armoured Division was transferred to Normandy. The final elements arrived on August 1 and the unit was attached to the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

. It entered combat on August 8 during

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

. 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 a large number of German '' Wehrmacht'' and SS divisions were trapped in the Falaise pocket and subsequently destroyed. 1st Polish Armoured Division, including the 3rd Polish Infantry Brigade had the crucial role of closing the pocket and closing the escape route of the German divisions, hence the fighting was absolutely desperate and the 2nd Polish Armoured, 24th Polish Lancers and 10th Dragoons, supported by the 8th Infantry and 9th Infantry Battalions took the brunt of German attacks trying to break free from the pocket. Surrounded and running out of ammunition they withstood incessant attacks from multiple fleeing panzer divisions for 48 hours until they were relieved.

Belgium and the Netherlands

After the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

armies broke out from Normandy, the Brigade was involved in the pursuit of the Germans along the coast of the English Channel. It liberated, among others, the towns of Ypres, Ghent and Passchendaele. A successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by General Maczek allowed liberation of the city of

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

without any civilian casualties (October 29, 1944). The Division spent the winter of 1944–1945 on the south bank of the river Rhine, guarding a sector around

Moerdijk Moerdijk () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. History The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of Fijnaart en Heijningen, Klundert ...

in the Netherlands. In early 1945 it was transferred to the province of

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

and started to push along with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

along the Dutch-German border, liberating the eastern parts of the provinces of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

and

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

with towns such as Emmen, Coevorden and Stadskanaal.

Germany

In April 1945 the Brigade entered Germany in the area of

Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (district of Steinfur ...

. On May 6 they seized the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' naval base in Wilhelmshaven, where General Maczek accepted the capitulation of the fortress, naval base, East Frisian Fleet and more than 10 infantry divisions. Here the Division ended the war and was joined by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. It undertook occupation duties until 1947, when the division was disbanded, see

Haren, Germany Haren (Polish 1945: ''Lwów'', Polish 1945–1948: ''Maczków'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany in the district of Emsland. History Haren was first mentioned in the Middle Ages (around 890) in a registry of the Corvey Abbey. Around 1150 the ...

. The majority of its soldiers opted not to return to now Soviet occupied Poland and stayed in

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

.Montormel
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References

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External links