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The Brigade had been formed from several partisan combat
units, which for operational purposes retained their integrity, but
also were reorganized to assume a regular army structure of regiments
(202 and 204 Infantry Regiments), battalions etc. The Brigade came into
existence at a very difficult time for any truly Polish Underground
organization.
Half of Poland's pre-war territory was occupied
by the Soviets who were executing ruthlessly their policy of extermination.
In the vicinity of Poland's capital the German-Soviet front reached
the Vistula River - the Soviets watched patiently the agony of the Warsaw
Uprising and were in preparation for a winter offensive. The Germans
amassed significant defenses in their desperate effort to stop the Soviet
advance and made constant attempts to clear the hinterland from any
underground activities.
The forests were full of Polish underground combat
units: those which called it home, but also those fleeing from the Soviets
occupied territories in the east and those marching towards Warsaw in
hope to relieve the besieged city. In addition, large detachments of
well equipped Soviet partisans supported by local Polish communist bands,
increased their activity significantly and by committing various atrocious
acts made clear what their true intentions were. A two regiment strong
Brigade numbering close to 1500 soldiers, artillery and support units
could not remain undetected and was like a thorn in the flesh of the
Soviets and Germans.
Still on the German side of the front the Brigade
was approached by the Germans, who tried to recruit it against the Soviets.
Almost from the very beginning of its existence the Brigade's Commanding
Officer, Col. Antoni "Bohun" - Dabrowski had to employ truly
Machiavellian diplomatic skills in order to avoid a binding commitment
to the Germans and preventing the Brigade from being destroyed by them
at the same time. The Soviets, on the other hand, made no secret of
their plans - they were about to annihilate the Brigade. Finding itself
between a rock and a hard place the Brigade was forced to fight back.
Within several months it o perated in the Holy
Cross Mountains region, several major encounters with the Germans, Soviets
and communists occurred: Kurzelow (Aug. 20, Germans), Raszkow (Aug.
23, Germans), Fanislawice (Aug. 24, communists), Zagnansk (Aug. 28,
Germans), Radoszyce (Sept. 1, Germans), Rzabiec (Sept. 8, communists,
Soviets. This action, which cost the communists and Soviets close to
seventy lives infuriated Stalin to the point that he requested Churchill's
intervention), Cacow (Sept. 20, Germans); Sekursk (Oct.12, communists),
Krepa (Nov. 29, Germans), Wegrzynow (Dec.18, Soviets).
To afford this combat business the Brigade rarely
only engaged its full strength in a single encounter deploying usually
a force strong enough to guarantee that the enemy would be subdued..
In early October, in order to distance itself even further from the
anticipated Soviet offensive, the Brigade moved from the place of its
origins, crossed the Pilica River and established new quarters in the
Radomsko region (in December it was ordered back behind the Pilica River
in the Miechow region as the Soviet offensive was not expected before
the Spring of 1945). Mobile and in constant readiness to move, it waited
for the order to go west. That was the idea but there were no plans
for its realization
. And even if there were any, they would be impossible
to follow. The war situation was changing daily and the circumstances
created by big players in the game dictated the moves of the Brigade.
The general direction of the evacuation was Silesia and adjacent, north
- western parts of German-occupied Czechoslovakia with the hope that
the Western allies could be joined somewhere in the southern parts of
Germany. The fateful moment came on January 13, when the Soviet Winter
Offensive of 1945 began.
The Brigade, only 40 km from the front line had
to move quickly and the exodus began on the next day. The urgency of
the situation caused that some of Brigade' s units, dispatched on assignments,
had to be left behind so the actual strength of the Brigade was closer
to 1000 partisans. The first two days were probably the most dramatic
for the Brigade as it tried unsuccessfully and with heavy casualties
to cut its way through the German defenses in Pogwizdow on January 14
and later in the early morning hours of January 15 when it crossed the
Pilica River near Zarnowiec under a barrage of Soviet tank gun fire.
On January 16, in exchange for some German prisoners
of war, a passage through the German defense lines was negotiated and
the Brigade, pressed forward by the front, could continue its odyssey
behind the enemy lines. The first stage, which ended in late January
in Kubice (Lower Silesia) was characterized as meandering between panic
stricken and chaotic German military units and masses of civilians moving
westward to avoid the Soviets . Disoriented German military field commanders
preoccupied with their own problems and not entirely certain as to the
character of the Polish Brigade, granted the right of passage when the
movements of the Brigade seemed to be on a collision course with German
military installations.
The situation changed rapidly in the end of January
in Kubice when the Germans began to insist that the Holy Cross Brigade
join them against the Soviets. The talks continued as the Brigade marched
westward on a borrowed time and in relative peace. The German proposals
were continuously rejected under various pretexts. On February 8, while
still in Lower Silesia the Brigade was joined by some 120 prisoners
of war, former Warsaw Uprising fighters, who fled the capture. Marching
south the Brigade crossed the Czech border in the Sudety Mountains.
Traversing a steep mountain range in wintry conditions
seemed to be beyond the ability of poorly clothed, undernourished and
battle-weary troops. Yet, they did it. From March 18 to April 13 the
Brigade was stationed in a Moravian village, Rozstani, resting after
the 600km march and preparing itself for combat. At least this was the
version given to the German army commanders who wanted the Brigade recruited
for their cause at any cost. The Germans' patience, however, run out.
The Brigade, cut off from its political, military leadership and Polish
authorities residing in London was at the mercy of the Germans. Under
the pressure the Brigade sent to Poland three missions which were parachuted
from German planes.
It has to be stated, however, that the missions
received their instructions from the Brigade, not from the Germans.
Their task was to resume communication with headquarters in Poland and
to bring back information regarding the situation in Poland under Soviet
occupation. At no point they were committed to any anti-Soviet or anti-Communist
subversive activity on behalf of the Germans. A 45 men strong mission
was also dispatched on foot from Rozstani in order to reach the headquarters
in Poland. All those attempts were unsuccessful, as the Soviets and
the "Polish comrades" had already eliminated the Polish underground
quite successfully from the game.
At the same time the Brigade managed to send two
envoys to the Polish Government in London and to the 2 Polish Corps
in Italy in an attempt to organize radio-communication. Both of them
reached their destination but for technical reasons radio-communication
with the Polish authorities had not been established. On April 13 the
last, 300km long episode began when the Holy Cross Brigade commenced
its westward journey in the direction of Plzen in western Czechoslovakia.
The Germans seemed to accept that but in fact on April 18 they laid
an ambush in the vicinity of the town of Tabor. An SS Division was waiting
several kilometers ahead, right on the Brigade's route.
Thanks to good intelligence gathering practices
and a helping hand from the Czech Underground, the Brigade could change
the route and avert the danger. The patriotic (non-communist) Czech
underground cooperated with the Brigade from the very beginning and
under the circumstances, that co-operation was of immeasurable value
for the Brigade. In exchange the Brigade offered its help for the Plzen
Uprising planned by the Czechs (those plans were abandoned by Czechs,
partly because they could not guarantee success and partly because dismal
results of other uprisi ngs were still fresh in memory).
The Brigade marched to the Stankov - Vsekary region
(reached on April 28), southwest of Plzen and began short preparations
for engaging the enemy. A four-man patrol was dispatched immediately
with a mission of crossing the front line and establishing communication
lines with the advancing Americans. Despite all the obstacles it had
to face on its way the patrol fulfilled the task within two days. On
April 30 the Brigade commenced its activities against the Germans by
blocking access routes to Plzen.
German supply routes were successfully cut off
and their combat activities disorganized allowing the Americans to progress
their offensive much faster and with fewer casualties. On May 5 a concentration
camp near Holysov was captured. Approximately 700 woman-prisoners of
various nationalities were freed; some of them in the last moment before
being burnt alive in locked up and barb-wired barracks. Close to 200
SS guards were also captured. On May 6 the first patrol of the American
3 Army reached the Brigade. It meant a symbolic end to the almost 1000
kilometer fight for freedom and in order to emphasize that a special
communique to the Brigade's soldiers had been issued by Col. "Bohun"
- Dabrowski. On the same day, together with Gen. Patton's Americans
the Brigade participated in the final assault on the remnants of the
XIII German Army which resulted in the capture of more than 70 high
rank German army officers including two generals. It
was a single case when a Polish Underground combat unit fought side
by side with the Western allies against the Germans.
•
The war was over, at least officially. Exhausted
armies returned home, but for the soldiers of the Holy Cross Brigade
there was no sweet homecoming. Poland's doors were shut for the next
45 years by ruthless communist regime and Soviet occupation. The Brigade,
along with the 3 US Army, withdrew from Czechoslovakia, another victim
of the Soviet oppressors. Some officers of the Brigade joined the 2
Polish Corps in Italy, but the bulk of the Brigade was transformed in
occupied Germany into Polish Guard Companies under US Command.
Most left that temporary arrangement and emigrated
to various countries, mostly to the USA. From the perspective of time
no one could have a shadow of doubt today that the policies drawn by
Oboz Narodowo-Radykalny on the outbreak of WWII and later by Grupa Szanca
were right and best serving Poland's national interests. Some great
Poles of the time, such as Gen. Kazimierz Sosnkowski and Gen. Wladyslaw
Anders were in support of those views. Unfortunately, they could not
do much - their hands were tied Ð the result of a poor performance of
the Polish government in exile.
The Holy Cross Brigade and its determination were
a reflection of Grupa Szanca's political programme and a sublime example
of truly patriotic zeal valid not only today but also for generations
of Poles to come.
*
The author would like to express his gratitude to Mr.
George Gnat (Lt. "Gnat")
and Mr. Ryszard Moszczynski (Sgt.
"Ryszard") for their contribution (illustrations)
to this
article.
HOLY CROSS BRIGADE |
