10th Cavalry Brigade – the nucleus of the 1st Armored Division

The history of the 1st Armored Division is rich in heroic deeds on the battlefield. Its nucleus was the 10th Cavalry Brigade, which had a great combat past.

In the years 1921–1939, it initially existed in the Polish Army as the 10th Cavalry Brigade – a tactical cavalry formation, created by combining several cavalry regiments and one horse artillery division. In 1937, its reorganization and rearmament into an armored and motor unit began. At the beginning of the September Campaign in 1939, it was the only large motor unit of the Polish Army.

During the defensive war in September 1939, the Brigade fought in Poland under the command of Col. Stanisław Maczek. From September 1 to 7, protecting the southern wing of the Kraków Army, it fought against the overwhelming German forces near Myślenice and Wiśnicz (including the Battle of Jordanów). In the next phase, from September 7 to 13, as part of the Carpathian Army, it fought bloody battles near Rzeszów, Łańcut and in the San valley near Jarosław. Finally, defending Lviv from the north after a three-day attack with heavy losses, on September 17, 1939, it captured the key ridge of Hill 324 – Zboiska. The Germans called the 10th Brigade the “Black Brigade” or the “Death Brigade”. To commemorate this, soldiers of the 1st Armored Division wore a black shoulder plaque on their left shoulder.

When the ammunition was running out and the troops of Soviet Russia unexpectedly entered the borders of Poland on September 17, 1939, the remnants of the Brigade (approx. 1.5 thousand soldiers) along with the rest of the heavy equipment crossed the Polish-Hungarian border on the Tatar Pass on September 19, 1939 . In Hungary, soldiers were interned.

Although the unit ceased to exist, a large group of its soldiers managed to escape from the internment camps and get to France, where the Brigade was recreated in 1940 in Camp de Coëtquidan under the name of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade under the command of – appointed on November 15, 1939 to the rank of brigadier general – Stanisław Maczek.

During the French campaign of 1940, the Brigade was only at the stage of organization. The French showed reluctance to arm Polish units, explaining that they were reorganizing the army. Brigade officers managed to obtain only small amounts of simple training equipment. The attitude of the French authorities towards the Brigade changed only after the German army attacked France on May 10, 1940. On May 24, General Maczek received an order specifying the form of the Polish unit. Within 5 days, the brigade had to reorganize, receive and learn how to use new equipment and move to Paris. Then the Brigade took part in heavy and bloody battles with the Germans. It fought at Champeabert Montmirail and Montgivboux, covering the flanks of two French infantry divisions. Then, in order to open the way to the Loire River for French troops, the Brigade fought to cross the Burgundy Canal near Montbard (June 16-17, 1940). This battle is a beautiful page in the Brigade’s combat history in the short French campaign.

On June 18, near the town of Moloy, General Maczek decided to disband the Brigade, which did not have any vehicles at that time. He divided the people into small units and ordered them to march alone to the south of France. The soldiers managed to get to Great Britain. Here, Polish troops were again reconstituted, entrusted with the defense of an important part of the British coast in Scotland.

In 1942, based on the former units of the 10th Brigade, the 1st Polish Armored Division was formed in Great Britain, which from 1944 until the end of World War II fought on the Western Front in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and northern Germany. Continuously under the command of General Stanisław Maczek.