Stanislaw Sosabowski
Encyclopedia
Stanisław Franciszek Sosabowski CBE
(staˈɲiswaf sɔsaˈbɔfskʲi; 8 May 1892 – 25 September 1967) was a Polish
general in World War II. He fought in the Battle of Arnhem
(Netherlands
) in 1944 as commander of the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
.
, in a railway workers' family. He graduated from a local gymnasium
and in 1910 he was accepted as a student of the faculty of economy of the University of
Kraków
. However, the death of his father and poor economical situation of his family forced him to abandon the studies and return to Stanisławów. There he became a member of Drużyny Strzeleckie, a semi-clandestine Polish national scouting organisation. He was soon promoted to the head of all Polish scouting groups in the area.
Army. After training, he was promoted to the rank of corporal
, serving in the 58th Infantry Regiment. After the outbreak of World War I he fought with his unit against the Imperial Russian Army
in the battles of Rzeszów, Dukla Pass and Gorlice
. For his bravery, he was awarded several medals and promoted to First Lieutenant
. In 1915, he was badly wounded in action
and withdrawn from the front.
In November 1918, after Poland regained its independence
Sosabowski volunteered for the newly formed Polish Army, but his wounds were still not healed and he was rejected as a front-line officer. Instead, he became a staff officer in the Ministry of War Affairs in Warsaw
.
Sosabowski was promoted to Major and in 1922 he started his studies at the Higher Military School in Warsaw
. After he finished his studies he was assigned to the Polish General Staff. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
, in 1928 he was finally assigned to a front-line unit, the 75th Infantry Regiment, as commanding officer of a battalion. The following year he was assigned to the 3rd Podhale
Rifles Regiment as its deputy commander. From 1930 he was also a professor of logistics
at his alma mater.
In 1937 Sosabowski was promoted to colonel
and became the commanding officer of the 9th Polish Legions Infantry Regiment stationed in Zamość
. In January 1939 he became the commander of the prestigious Warsaw
-based 21st "Children of Warsaw" Infantry Regiment.
under Col. Teodor Furgalski. Shortly before the German invasion of Poland
started his unit was moved from its garrison in the Warsaw Citadel
to the area of Ciechanów
, where it was planned as a strategic reserve of the Modlin Army
.
On 2 September the division was moved towards Mława and in the early morning of the following day it entered combat in the Battle of Mława. Although the 21st Regiment managed to capture Przasnysz
and its secondary objectives, the rest of the division was surrounded by the Wehrmacht
and destroyed. After that Sosabowski ordered his troops to retreat towards Warsaw
.
On 8 September Sosabowski's unit reached the Modlin Fortress
. The routed 8th Division was being reconstructed, but the 21st Regiment was attached to the core led by general Juliusz Zulauf
. After several days of defensive fights, the core was moved to Warsaw
, where it arrived on 15 September.
Instantly upon arrival, Sosabowski was ordered to man the Grochów
and the Kamionek
defensive area and defend Praga
, the eastern borough of Warsaw
, against the German 10th Infantry Division
. During the Siege of Warsaw
the forces of Sosabowski were outmanned and outgunned, but managed to hold all their objectives. When the general assault on Praga
started on 16 September, the 21st Infantry Regiment managed to repel the attacks of German 23rd Infantry Regiment and then successfully counter-attacked and destroyed the enemy unit.
After this success, Sosabowski was assigned to command all Polish troops fighting in the area of Grochów
. Despite constant bombardment and German attacks repeated every day, Sosabowski managed to hold his objectives at relatively low cost in manpower. On 26 September 1939, the forces led by Sosabowski bloodily repelled the last German attack, but two days later Warsaw capitulated. On 29 September, shortly before the Polish forces left Warsaw
for German captivity
, General Juliusz Rómmel
awarded Col. Sosabowski and the whole 21st Infantry Regiment with the Virtuti Militari
medal.
For more check Battle of Warsaw (1939).
, and was interned at a camp near Żyrardów
. However, he escaped and remained in Warsaw
under a false name, where he joined the Polish resistance
. He was ordered to leave Poland and reach France with important reports on the situation in occupied Poland. After a long trip through Hungary
and Romania
, he arrived in Paris, where the Polish government in exile
assigned him to the Polish 4th Infantry Division as the commanding officer of infantry.
Initially, the French authorities were very reluctant to hand over the badly needed equipment and armament for the Polish unit. The soldiers of Sosabowski had to train with pre-World War I weapons. In April 1940, the division was moved to a training camp in Parthenay
and was finally handed the weapons that were awaited since January, but it was already too late to organise the division. Out of more than 11,000 soldiers, only 3,150 were given arms. Knowing this, the commander of the division General Rudolf Dreszer ordered his unit to withdraw towards the Atlantic coast. On 19 June 1940, Sosabowski with approximately 6,000 Polish soldiers arrived to La Pallice, from where they were evacuated to Great Britain.
, but it soon became apparent that there were not enough young Poles in Canada to create a division out of them.
Then, Sosabowski decided to transform his brigade into a Parachute Brigade, the first such unit in the Polish Army. The volunteers came from all the formations of the Polish Army. In Largo House, a training camp was built and the parachute training was started. Sosabowski himself passed the training and, at 49 years of age, made his first parachute jumps. According to relations of Sosabowski's former subordinates, the colonel was a strict yet just commander. Impulsive and harsh, Sosabowski could not stand any opposition. This made the creation of a Polish parachute brigade possible, but also made contacts with his superiors problematic.
In October 1942 the brigade was ready for combat and was named the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
. Since the Polish General Staff planned to use the brigade to aid the all-national uprising in Poland, the soldiers of the 1st Polish Para were to be the first element of the Polish Army in Exile to reach their homeland. Hence the unofficial motto of the unit: the shortest way (najkrótszą drogą).
In September 1943, Lt. Gen.
Frederick Browning
proposed that Sosabowski reform his unit into a division and fill the remaining posts with Englishmen. Sosabowski himself would be assigned to the newly formed division and promoted to general. However, Sosabowski refused. However, on 15 June 1944 he was nevertheless promoted to Brigadier General.
arrived in Great Britain. The brigade was ready to be paradropped into Warsaw to aid their colleagues from the Home Army, who were fighting a desperate battle against overwhelming odds. However, the distance was too great for the transport aircraft to make a round trip and access to Soviet airfields was denied. The morale of the Polish troops suffered badly, and many of the units verged on mutiny. The British staff threatened its Polish counterpart with disarmament of the brigade, but Sosabowski retained control of his unit. Finally, Polish Commander in Chief Kazimierz Sosnkowski
put the brigade under British command, and the plans to send it to Warsaw
were abandoned. It was not until after the war that general Sosabowski learnt that his son, Stanisław "Stasinek" Sosabowski, a medic and member of the Kedyw
, had lost his sight during the uprising.
. Due to a critical shortage of transport aircraft, the brigade was split into several parts before entering the battle
. A small part of the brigade with Sosabowski was dropped near Driel
on 19 September, but it was not until 21 September when the rest of the brigade finally arrived in the distant town of Grave
, falling directly into the waiting guns of the Germans camped out around the area. The Brigade's artillery was dropped together with the British 1st Airborne Division
and the howitzer
s were to arrive by sea transport. This prevented the Polish forces from being used effectively. Three times Poles under Sosabowski tried to force the Rhine crossing in order to help the surrounded 1st Airborne
. However, the ferry they planned to use to reach the British had been sunk and Poles attempted the river crossing in small rubber boats under heavy fire. Nevertheless, at least 200 men succeeded in crossing and reinforcing the embattled British.
Despite the difficult situation on the front, during a 24 September staff meeting, Sosabowski suggested that the battle could have still been won. He suggested that the combined forces of 30th Corps and the Polish Brigade
should start an all-out assault on the German positions and try to break through the Rhine. This plan was not accepted, and during the last phase of the battle, on 25 and 26 September, Sosabowski led his men southwards and shielded the retreat of remnants of the 1st Airborne. The rate of casualties among the Polish units that fought in the battle was high, in some cases as high as 40%. The cause of it was a decision of Browning who chose place to parachute located 7 kilometres from the bridge.
After the battle, on 5 October 1944, Sosabowski received a letter from Montgomery, where he described Polish soldiers as fighting bravely and offered Sosabowski to award 10 of his soldiers. On 14 October 1944, Montgomery wrote another letter, this time to British commanders, where he made Sosabowski a scapegoat
for the failure of Operation Market Garden
. Sosabowski was accused of criticising Field Marshal Montgomery and the Polish General Staff was forced to remove him as the commanding officer
of his brigade on 27 December 1944. He was made the commander of guard troops and in July 1948 he was demobilised.
He was portrayed by Gene Hackman
in the movie A Bridge Too Far.
authorities in Poland deprived Sosabowski of Polish citizenship. Stanisław Sosabowski had no choice but to remain in exile. Like many other Polish wartime leaders and soldiers exiled from communist Poland he settled down working in West London. He found a job as a factory worker in the CAV Electrics assembly plant in Acton
. He died in London on 25 September 1967. It has been suggested that friends and associates with whom he lived and worked in England were largely unaware of his military accomplishments until they attended his funeral, at which his full rank and achievements were read out.
In 1969 his remains were interred in the Powązki Military Cemetery
in Warsaw
, Poland.
In The Hague
, on Wednesday 31 May 2006, Queen Beatrix awarded the Military Order of William to the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade. The commander of the Brigade, the late Major General Stanisław Sosabowski, was awarded the "Bronze Lion
" posthumously. This happening was the result of a documentary on Dutch TV depicting the Brigade and its commander as having played a heroic and much more significant role in Market Garden than was acknowledged so far. In this film by Geertjan Lassche
, Dutch Prince Bernhard
said the Polish deserved to be honoured with at least a medal.
The following day, on 1 June, a ceremony was held at Driel
, the town where the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade fought. Among the speakers at the ceremony were the mayor of the municipality of Overbetuwe
, the grandson of Sosabowski and his great-grandson.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(staˈɲiswaf sɔsaˈbɔfskʲi; 8 May 1892 – 25 September 1967) was a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
general in World War II. He fought in the Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
(Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) in 1944 as commander of the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Polish...
.
Early years
Stanisław Sosabowski was born on 8 May 1892, in StanisławówIvano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
, in a railway workers' family. He graduated from a local gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and in 1910 he was accepted as a student of the faculty of economy of the University of
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. However, the death of his father and poor economical situation of his family forced him to abandon the studies and return to Stanisławów. There he became a member of Drużyny Strzeleckie, a semi-clandestine Polish national scouting organisation. He was soon promoted to the head of all Polish scouting groups in the area.
World War I
In 1913, Sosabowski was drafted into the Austro-HungarianAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
Army. After training, he was promoted to the rank of corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
, serving in the 58th Infantry Regiment. After the outbreak of World War I he fought with his unit against the Imperial Russian Army
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in the battles of Rzeszów, Dukla Pass and Gorlice
Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive
The Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive during World War I started as a minor German offensive to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians to their south on the Eastern Front, but resulted in the total collapse of the Russian lines and their retreat far into Russia...
. For his bravery, he was awarded several medals and promoted to First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
. In 1915, he was badly wounded in action
Wounded in action
Wounded in action describes soldiers who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed. Typically it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight....
and withdrawn from the front.
In November 1918, after Poland regained its independence
History of Poland (1918–1939)
The History of interwar Poland comprises the period from the re-recreation of the independent Polish state in 1918, until the joint Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939 at the onset of World War II...
Sosabowski volunteered for the newly formed Polish Army, but his wounds were still not healed and he was rejected as a front-line officer. Instead, he became a staff officer in the Ministry of War Affairs in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
Inter-war years
After the Polish-Soviet WarPolish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
Sosabowski was promoted to Major and in 1922 he started his studies at the Higher Military School in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. After he finished his studies he was assigned to the Polish General Staff. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
, in 1928 he was finally assigned to a front-line unit, the 75th Infantry Regiment, as commanding officer of a battalion. The following year he was assigned to the 3rd Podhale
Podhale
The Podhale is Poland's most southern region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains, and is characterized by a rich tradition of folklore that is much romanticized in the Polish patriotic imagination...
Rifles Regiment as its deputy commander. From 1930 he was also a professor of logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
at his alma mater.
In 1937 Sosabowski was promoted to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and became the commanding officer of the 9th Polish Legions Infantry Regiment stationed in Zamość
Zamosc
Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...
. In January 1939 he became the commander of the prestigious Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
-based 21st "Children of Warsaw" Infantry Regiment.
World War II
According to the Polish mobilisation scheme, Sosabowski's regiment was attached to the 8th Infantry DivisionPolish 8th Infantry Division
The 8th Infantry Division was a tactical unit of the Polish Army. It was active in the Polish-Bolshevik War, as well as during the Invasion of Poland in 1939...
under Col. Teodor Furgalski. Shortly before the German invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
started his unit was moved from its garrison in the Warsaw Citadel
Warsaw Citadel
Cytadela is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. It served as a prison into the late 1930s.- History :The Citadel was built by personal...
to the area of Ciechanów
Ciechanów
Ciechanów is a town in north-central Poland with 45,900 inhabitants . It is situated in Masovian Voivodeship . It was previously the capital of Ciechanów Voivodeship.-History:The grad numbered approximately 3,000 armed men....
, where it was planned as a strategic reserve of the Modlin Army
Modlin Army
Modlin Army was one of the Polish armies that took part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. After heavy casualties in the battle of Mława , the Army was forced to abandon its positions near Warsaw around September 10; eventually it took part in the battle of Tomaszów Mazowiecki and surrendered...
.
On 2 September the division was moved towards Mława and in the early morning of the following day it entered combat in the Battle of Mława. Although the 21st Regiment managed to capture Przasnysz
Przasnysz
Przasnysz is a town in Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodship, about 110 km north of Warsaw and about 115 km south of Olsztyn, it's the capital of Przasnysz County. It has 18,093 inhabitants . One of the most important towns in Mazovia during the Middle Ages. City laws - 1427.-Famous...
and its secondary objectives, the rest of the division was surrounded by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and destroyed. After that Sosabowski ordered his troops to retreat towards Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
On 8 September Sosabowski's unit reached the Modlin Fortress
Modlin Fortress
Modlin Fortress is one of the biggest 19th century fortresses in Poland. It is located the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, some 50 kilometres north of Warsaw...
. The routed 8th Division was being reconstructed, but the 21st Regiment was attached to the core led by general Juliusz Zulauf
Juliusz Zulauf
Juliusz Zulauf was a Polish Army major general . A recipient of the Virtuti Militari, he fought with distinction during World War I, the Polish-Ukrainian War, the Polish-Soviet War, and the 1939 invasion of Poland.Juliusz Zulauf was born in Lwów, then the capital of Austro-Hungarian Galicia...
. After several days of defensive fights, the core was moved to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where it arrived on 15 September.
Instantly upon arrival, Sosabowski was ordered to man the Grochów
Grochów
Grochów is a suburb of Warsaw, officially part of the borough of Praga Południe. Currently it is one of the most notable residential areas of right-bank Warsaw. It is heavily built up with blocks of flats. However, there are still many houses remembering the times from before the Second World War...
and the Kamionek
Kamionek
Kamionek, a neighbourhood in Warsaw, located on the right bank of the Vistula River, formally a village, in 19th century with beginning of Industrial Revolution in this part of the Russian Empire, transformed in to textile industry center...
defensive area and defend Praga
Praga
Praga is a historical borough of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It is located on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.- History :...
, the eastern borough of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, against the German 10th Infantry Division
German 10th Infantry Division
The German 10th Infantry Division was created in October 1934 under the cover name Wehrgauleitung Regensburg to hide its violation of the Treaty of Versailles...
. During the Siege of Warsaw
Siege of Warsaw (1939)
The 1939 Battle of Warsaw was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army garrisoned and entrenched in the capital of Poland and the German Army...
the forces of Sosabowski were outmanned and outgunned, but managed to hold all their objectives. When the general assault on Praga
Praga
Praga is a historical borough of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It is located on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.- History :...
started on 16 September, the 21st Infantry Regiment managed to repel the attacks of German 23rd Infantry Regiment and then successfully counter-attacked and destroyed the enemy unit.
After this success, Sosabowski was assigned to command all Polish troops fighting in the area of Grochów
Grochów
Grochów is a suburb of Warsaw, officially part of the borough of Praga Południe. Currently it is one of the most notable residential areas of right-bank Warsaw. It is heavily built up with blocks of flats. However, there are still many houses remembering the times from before the Second World War...
. Despite constant bombardment and German attacks repeated every day, Sosabowski managed to hold his objectives at relatively low cost in manpower. On 26 September 1939, the forces led by Sosabowski bloodily repelled the last German attack, but two days later Warsaw capitulated. On 29 September, shortly before the Polish forces left Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
for German captivity
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, General Juliusz Rómmel
Juliusz Rómmel
Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel was a Polish military commander and a general of the Polish Army. During the Polish-Bolshevik War, he gained great fame for achieving a decisive victory in the Battle of Komarów, the largest cavalry engagement of the 20th century...
awarded Col. Sosabowski and the whole 21st Infantry Regiment with the Virtuti Militari
Virtuti Militari
The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
medal.
For more check Battle of Warsaw (1939).
France
Following the Polish surrender, Sosabowski was a prisoner of warPrisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, and was interned at a camp near Żyrardów
Zyrardów
Żyrardów is a town in central Poland with 41,400 inhabitants . It is situated in the Masovian Voivodship ; previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodship 45 km West of Warsaw. It is the capital of Żyrardów County...
. However, he escaped and remained in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
under a false name, where he joined the Polish resistance
Sluzba Zwyciestwu Polski
Służba Zwycięstwu Polski was the first Polish resistance movement in World War II...
. He was ordered to leave Poland and reach France with important reports on the situation in occupied Poland. After a long trip through Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, he arrived in Paris, where the Polish government in exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
assigned him to the Polish 4th Infantry Division as the commanding officer of infantry.
Initially, the French authorities were very reluctant to hand over the badly needed equipment and armament for the Polish unit. The soldiers of Sosabowski had to train with pre-World War I weapons. In April 1940, the division was moved to a training camp in Parthenay
Parthenay
Parthenay is an ancient fortified town and commune in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France, sited on a rocky spur that is surrounded on two sides by the River Thouet...
and was finally handed the weapons that were awaited since January, but it was already too late to organise the division. Out of more than 11,000 soldiers, only 3,150 were given arms. Knowing this, the commander of the division General Rudolf Dreszer ordered his unit to withdraw towards the Atlantic coast. On 19 June 1940, Sosabowski with approximately 6,000 Polish soldiers arrived to La Pallice, from where they were evacuated to Great Britain.
Great Britain
Upon his arrival in London, Sosabowski turned up at the Polish General Staff and was assigned to 4th Rifles Brigade that was to become a core of the future 4th Infantry Division. The unit was to be composed mainly from Polish CanadiansPolish Canadians
Polish Canadians are Citizens of Canada with Polish ancestry, and Poles who immigrated to Canada from abroad. According to the 2001 census by Statistics Canada, 984,585 Canadians claim full or partial Polish ancestry.-History:...
, but it soon became apparent that there were not enough young Poles in Canada to create a division out of them.
Then, Sosabowski decided to transform his brigade into a Parachute Brigade, the first such unit in the Polish Army. The volunteers came from all the formations of the Polish Army. In Largo House, a training camp was built and the parachute training was started. Sosabowski himself passed the training and, at 49 years of age, made his first parachute jumps. According to relations of Sosabowski's former subordinates, the colonel was a strict yet just commander. Impulsive and harsh, Sosabowski could not stand any opposition. This made the creation of a Polish parachute brigade possible, but also made contacts with his superiors problematic.
In October 1942 the brigade was ready for combat and was named the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Polish...
. Since the Polish General Staff planned to use the brigade to aid the all-national uprising in Poland, the soldiers of the 1st Polish Para were to be the first element of the Polish Army in Exile to reach their homeland. Hence the unofficial motto of the unit: the shortest way (najkrótszą drogą).
In September 1943, Lt. Gen.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Frederick Browning
Frederick Browning
Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning GCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a British Army officer who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He is best known as the commander of the I Airborne Corps and deputy commander of First Allied Airborne Army during Operation...
proposed that Sosabowski reform his unit into a division and fill the remaining posts with Englishmen. Sosabowski himself would be assigned to the newly formed division and promoted to general. However, Sosabowski refused. However, on 15 June 1944 he was nevertheless promoted to Brigadier General.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Warsaw Uprising
In early August 1944, news of the Warsaw UprisingWarsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
arrived in Great Britain. The brigade was ready to be paradropped into Warsaw to aid their colleagues from the Home Army, who were fighting a desperate battle against overwhelming odds. However, the distance was too great for the transport aircraft to make a round trip and access to Soviet airfields was denied. The morale of the Polish troops suffered badly, and many of the units verged on mutiny. The British staff threatened its Polish counterpart with disarmament of the brigade, but Sosabowski retained control of his unit. Finally, Polish Commander in Chief Kazimierz Sosnkowski
Kazimierz Sosnkowski
Kazimierz Sosnkowski was a Polish independence fighter, politician and Polish Army general.-Life:Sosnkowski served successively as founder and first commander of Związek Walki Czynnej , chief of staff of the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions, Polish minister of military affairs, vice-president of...
put the brigade under British command, and the plans to send it to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
were abandoned. It was not until after the war that general Sosabowski learnt that his son, Stanisław "Stasinek" Sosabowski, a medic and member of the Kedyw
Kedyw
Kedyw , was an underground movement - Armia Krajowa organization during World War II, which specialized in active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed action against Nazi German forces and collaborators.-Operations:...
, had lost his sight during the uprising.
Battle of Arnhem
The Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was included among the Allied forces taking part in Operation Market GardenOperation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
. Due to a critical shortage of transport aircraft, the brigade was split into several parts before entering the battle
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
. A small part of the brigade with Sosabowski was dropped near Driel
Driel
Driel is a town in the municipality of Overbetuwe, approximately four kilometers southwest of Arnhem on the south bank of the Rhine, in the Netherlands.-History:...
on 19 September, but it was not until 21 September when the rest of the brigade finally arrived in the distant town of Grave
Grave (Netherlands)
Grave is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. Grave is a fortified city, in the province North Brabant.-Popular attractions:Near to Grave lies a bridge, built in 1929. It is the northern connection to Gelderland, spanning the river Maas...
, falling directly into the waiting guns of the Germans camped out around the area. The Brigade's artillery was dropped together with the British 1st Airborne Division
British 1st Airborne Division
The 1st Airborne Division was a division of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The division was formed in 1941, after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded an airborne force...
and the howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s were to arrive by sea transport. This prevented the Polish forces from being used effectively. Three times Poles under Sosabowski tried to force the Rhine crossing in order to help the surrounded 1st Airborne
British 1st Airborne Division
The 1st Airborne Division was a division of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The division was formed in 1941, after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded an airborne force...
. However, the ferry they planned to use to reach the British had been sunk and Poles attempted the river crossing in small rubber boats under heavy fire. Nevertheless, at least 200 men succeeded in crossing and reinforcing the embattled British.
Despite the difficult situation on the front, during a 24 September staff meeting, Sosabowski suggested that the battle could have still been won. He suggested that the combined forces of 30th Corps and the Polish Brigade
Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Polish...
should start an all-out assault on the German positions and try to break through the Rhine. This plan was not accepted, and during the last phase of the battle, on 25 and 26 September, Sosabowski led his men southwards and shielded the retreat of remnants of the 1st Airborne. The rate of casualties among the Polish units that fought in the battle was high, in some cases as high as 40%. The cause of it was a decision of Browning who chose place to parachute located 7 kilometres from the bridge.
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
for the failure of Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
. Sosabowski was accused of criticising Field Marshal Montgomery and the Polish General Staff was forced to remove him as the commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of his brigade on 27 December 1944. He was made the commander of guard troops and in July 1948 he was demobilised.
He was portrayed by Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
in the movie A Bridge Too Far.
After the war
Shortly after the war Sosabowski managed to bring his only son and his wife from Poland. Soon afterwards, in September 1946 the communist Soviet-backedEastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
authorities in Poland deprived Sosabowski of Polish citizenship. Stanisław Sosabowski had no choice but to remain in exile. Like many other Polish wartime leaders and soldiers exiled from communist Poland he settled down working in West London. He found a job as a factory worker in the CAV Electrics assembly plant in Acton
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
. He died in London on 25 September 1967. It has been suggested that friends and associates with whom he lived and worked in England were largely unaware of his military accomplishments until they attended his funeral, at which his full rank and achievements were read out.
In 1969 his remains were interred in the Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery is an old military cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki"...
in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland.
In The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, on Wednesday 31 May 2006, Queen Beatrix awarded the Military Order of William to the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade. The commander of the Brigade, the late Major General Stanisław Sosabowski, was awarded the "Bronze Lion
Bronze Lion
The Bronze Lion is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can however be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It was first created in 1944 and has since been issued 1210 times...
" posthumously. This happening was the result of a documentary on Dutch TV depicting the Brigade and its commander as having played a heroic and much more significant role in Market Garden than was acknowledged so far. In this film by Geertjan Lassche
Geertjan Lassche
Geertjan Lassche is a Dutch reporter and documentary film maker.-Career:He started his career in journalism in 1996, at the Zwolse Courant, a local newspaper in Zwolle. At the same time he worked on a freelance base, among other things for the local stations RTV Oost, Omroep Gelderland, and Radio 1...
, Dutch Prince Bernhard
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld , later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, was prince consort of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and father of six children, including the current monarch Queen Beatrix....
said the Polish deserved to be honoured with at least a medal.
The following day, on 1 June, a ceremony was held at Driel
Driel
Driel is a town in the municipality of Overbetuwe, approximately four kilometers southwest of Arnhem on the south bank of the Rhine, in the Netherlands.-History:...
, the town where the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade fought. Among the speakers at the ceremony were the mayor of the municipality of Overbetuwe
Overbetuwe
Overbetuwe is a municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 January 2001 as a merger of three former municipalities: Elst, Heteren and Valburg. Overbetuwe is bordered in the north by the river Rhine and in the south by the river Waal. The city hall is located...
, the grandson of Sosabowski and his great-grandson.
Awards
He was awarded many military honours, including:- Knight's Cross of the Virtuti MilitariVirtuti MilitariThe Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
- Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (posthumously, 1988)
- Cross of Independence
- Polish Cross of ValourKrzyz WalecznychThe Cross of Valor is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council for Defense of the State on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valor and courage on the field of battle." It may be awarded to the same person up to four times...
- Gold Cross of Merit with Swords
- Honorary Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Bronze LionBronze LionThe Bronze Lion is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can however be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It was first created in 1944 and has since been issued 1210 times...
Award for Bravery (NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, posthumously, 2006)
See also
- Władysław Sikorski
- CichociemniCichociemniCichociemni were elite special-operations paratroops of the Polish Home Army of the Polish Army in exile, created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland.-The name:...
- Stanisław Maczek
- Western betrayalWestern betrayalWestern betrayal, also called Yalta betrayal, refers to a range of critical views concerning the foreign policies of several Western countries between approximately 1919 and 1968 regarding Eastern Europe and Central Europe...