Good day all.
Like the subject line says, did General Bronisław Rakowski who commanded the
2nd Warsaw Armoured division ever write a memoir or biography?
Regards
Chris.........
Good day all.
Like the subject line says, did General Bronisław Rakowski who commanded the
2nd Warsaw Armoured division ever write a memoir or biography?
Regards
Chris.........
Hi Chris,
Not that I am aware of. General Rakowski did author some writings on the history of the Polish cavalry and its tactics before the outbreak of WW2.
Rakowski died in 1950, not too long after the end of WW2, so had he lived longer he may have joined the other prominent Polish exiled forces generals in recording their memoirs. He certainly had a most interesting story to tell.
Posted below is a picture of Rakowski as he appeared upon arrival at Buzuluk, the gathering point for the Polish Army in the Soviet Union after the Sikorski-Maisky Agreement of 1941 which released hundreds of thousands of Poles from the Soviet Gulags.
My father met the general in 1945 in Italy when standing sentry at the entrance to a building where some officers were meeting. The general walked up alone dressed casually in an overcoat without any visible insignia. My father stopped him for questioning and Rakowski politely and with a grin identified himself with a comment to the effect of “I am a fellow soldier” ahead of presenting some identification – much to my dad’s shock and embarrassment as he immediately jumped to attention. My dad said during the exchange he was impressed by how very friendly and down to earth he was with absolutely no air of pretense.
Regards,
Tony
All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
Thanks for that Tony and for that wonderful reminiscence of your father. I had no idea Rakowski was so amiable, makes the picture of my uncle being decorated by General Rakowski all the more intriguing!
Chris...........
Hi again Chris,
Please do post the picture of your uncle being decorated by General Rakowski, if I am correctly understanding that by “picture of my uncle” you are referring to a photograph of this event.
Here’s a photo of the general from the book "Ramie Pancerne 2. Polskiego Korpusu" (1 Prasy 2 Warszawskiej Dywizji Pancernej Rome 1946) with the caption “Gen. Rakowski pins a medal to the breast of a maimed cadet.”
Regards,
Tony
All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
As an aside, I only just now noticed what appears to be an SS Totenkopf insignia on the belt of the soldier being decorated. T.
All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
Hey Tony, yes I'm very familiar with that image (a curious keep sake of the cadet). Here is the picture of my great uncle Michal Krzywoszanski recieving the Bronze Cross of Merit with swords, BKZzM –Brązowy Krzyż Zasługi z mieczami He was in the LADC of No. 3 squadron. From his records and reading the history of the 4th Armored Regiment I believe the picture was taken August 21, 1944 near Osta del Rio. When he passed away in the late 80's the medal was unfortunatly buried with him. I've never learned of the citation but from what his son and other family members related it might have been due to his habit of climbing into damaged but operable tanks, starting them up and driving them off the side of steep roads at Monte Cassino and other later engagements then jumping off just before the wreck tumbled over.
Chris.........
Last edited by ChrisW01; 02-27-2011 at 06:39 PM.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for posting the picture of your great uncle receiving his award. It’s great for your family to have the moment captured in this photograph. A real heirloom.
I’d think that destroying potentially repairable tanks would elicit a reprimand rather than an award!
Regards,
Tony
All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
Similar Threads
Bookmarks