VEHICLES OF THE POLISH 1ST ARMOURED DIVISION

CAMOUFLAGE & MARKINGS. FRANCE, BELGIUM, HOLLAND AND GERMANY 1944-1945

This book, illustrated with photos and color profiles, describes the camouflage and mark- ings of various soft-skin and armored vehicles used by the Polish 1st Armoured Division during the 1944-1945 period. Formed in February 1942 in Scotland, the unit was command- ed by Major General Stanisław Maczek. The division joined combat in Normandy on 8 August 1944 during Operation Totalize. It achieved a victory against the Wehrmacht in the battles for Mont Ormel 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 Army and SS divisions were trapped in the Falaise Pocket and subsequently destroyed. Maczek's division had the crucial role of closing the pocket at the escape route of the trapped German divisions. After the Allied armies broke out from Normandy, the Polish 1st Armoured Division pursued the Germans along the coast of the English Channel. During Operation Pheasant a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by General Maczek allowed the liberation of the city of Breda without any civilian casualties. In early 1945, the division was transferred to the province of Overijssel and started to push with the Allies along the Dutch-German border, liberating the eastern parts of the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen including the town of Emmen. In April 1945, it entered Germany. On 6 May, the division seized the Kriegsmarine naval base in Wilhelmshaven.