10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade (Poland)
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Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade ( pl, 10 Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej, french: 10e Brigade de cavalerie blindée polonaise) was an armoured formation of the
Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; th ...
. It was organized in
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during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
as part of the Polish Army in France, mostly by veterans of the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade who managed to escape from
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and
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
occupied Poland ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...
. Led by General Stanisław Maczek, it took part in the Battle of France in May 1940. It was later reformed in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
as a part of the 1st Armoured Division.


1939-40

{{Black Brigade Under the terms of the
Franco-Polish Military Alliance The Franco-Polish Alliance was the military alliance between Second Polish Republic, Poland and French Third Republic, France that was active between the early 1920s and the outbreak of the Second World War. The initial agreements were signed in ...
, France and Poland were allies in the lead-up to World War II. After
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
was defeated by
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in September 1939, many Polish soldiers made their way to France where a new Polish Army in France was created to continue the fight against the Germans. These forces were commanded by General
Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...
, who was also Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile. French generals were not, however, interested in Polish information about the German tactics of Blitzkrieg displayed in the campaign in Poland. There was a general belief among the French High Command that the Polish armed forces had been incompetent, as well as a continuing belief in the impregnability of the Maginot Line. When General Maczek and his veterans tried to create a Polish mechanized division, they were not able to procure the equipment necessary for rapid training, so the new unit developed very slowly. This state of affairs changed when Germany invaded the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
in 1940, out-flanking the French fortifications. General Maczek's unit suddenly received all the equipment they had asked for on condition: that they go into action immediately. This proved impossible because many Polish soldiers were unfamiliar with their new equipment and there was no time for training. 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, comprising veterans of the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade (the so-called "Black Brigade"), was now renamed the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade (''10 Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej''). On June 6, the brigade had one tank battalion, two strong motorized cavalry squadrons, one anti-tank battery and one anti-aircraft battery. The brigade was attached to the French Fourth Army near Reims and ordered to cover its left flank. However, Maczek's unit was much too weak to hold back full German armoured divisions successfully. Polish soldiers managed to cover only one retreating French infantry division by attacking German forces in Champaubert-Montgivroux. Later, the brigade had to withdraw along with French troops and joined the French XXIII Corps. On June 16 the brigade attacked by night the town of
Montbard Montbard () is a commune and subprefecture of the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Montbard is a small industrial town on the river Brenne. The ''Forges de Buffon'', ironworks established by Buff ...
over the Burgundy Canal. Maczek's soldiers completely surprised the Germans and took many prisoners. The brigade was by this time fighting alone, with the French units on both flanks either routed or in retreat. There were no French forces to exploit its victory and the decimated Polish unit found itself surrounded by the enemy and without fuel. On June 18, General Maczek decided to destroy most of his equipment and withdraw on foot. Later that day he split the remnants of his brigade into small groups, so they could pass more easily through enemy lines. Many of Maczek's men, including the general himself, found their way to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
where a Polish armoured unit was eventually recreated, while others joined the Polish and French resistance organizations in France and Belgium.


Formation in Britain and Post Cold War

The 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade was a small formation, but with an excellent fighting spirit. Most of its soldiers, after reaching Britain, formed part of General Maczek's 1st Armoured Division created in February 1942. The brigade fought as part of the 1st Armoured Division in north-west Europe in 1944-45, but was disbanded after the war. However it was reformed in 1995 and later equipped with Leopard 2 tanks purchased from
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(see :pl:10 Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej (III RP)). It is now part of the
11th Armoured Cavalry Division The 11th "Lubuska" Armoured Cavalry Division ( pl, 11 Lubuska Dywizja Kawalerii Pancernej) is an armoured division of the Polish Land Forces, which traces its history to the formation of the 11th Infantry Division of the Polish Armed Forces in th ...
headquartered at
Żagań Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielo ...
.


References

*Stanisław Maczek, "Od Podwody do czołga", Lublin-London 1990 Reference: "With the tanks of the 1st Polish Armoured Division" A Tomaszewska (H L Smit and zn, Hengelo, Holland ic 1946) Armoured brigades of Poland Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1947 Military units and formations established in 1995 Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish Cavalry Brigades