Pojazdy wojskowe - Polska (do 1945 roku): książki - historia

Czołgi i samobieżne działa pancerne Wojska Polskiego 1919-2016

Czołgi w Wojsku Polskim to blisko sto lat historii. Pierwsze tego typu pojazdy dotarły do naszego kraju w 1919 roku. Po raz pierwszy zostały użyte bojowo w czasie wojny polsko-bolszewickiej. Znaczenie czołgów w nowych doktrynach wojennych wzrastało proporcjonalnie do rozwoju motoryzacji. Układy napędowe zyskiwały coraz większą moc, coraz grubsze stawało się opancerzenie, coraz większe montowano w czołgach działa.

Nieco później pojawiły się pojazdy o zbliżonej konstrukcji i zadaniach, czyli samobieżne działa pancerne. Ich historia w Wojsku Polskim, w etatowym wykorzystaniu, rozpoczęła się wraz z II wojną światową.
Przez dziesięciolecia czołg był uniwersalnym symbolem wszystkich armii świata. To właśnie wojska pancerne decydowały o sile danej armii. Przez dziesięciolecia czołg był również najbardziej fascynującym pojazdem wojskowym.

Niniejsza książka przedstawia blisko stuletnią historię czołgów i samobieżnych dział pancernych w Wojsku Polskim. Ten okres historia podzieliła na cztery części: II Rzeczpospolita, II wojna światowa, powojenny czas zwany potocznie PRL i ostatnie 28 lat ponownego funkcjonowania Polski jako kraju niepodległego i suwerennego. Te cztery okresy były również bardzo ciekawym czasem rozwoju konstrukcji i wykorzystania czołgów w Wojsku Polskim.
To pierwsze opracowanie przedstawiające całościowo historię czołgów i samobieżnych dział pancernych w Wojsku Polskim od momentu, gdy pierwszy czołg wjechał na ziemię polską (1919 rok), do wczoraj (2016 rok).

Pojazdy mechaniczne Wojska Polskiego 1939

Jest to drugie, rozszerzone i poprawione wydanie. W zamierzeniu to swego rodzaju przewodnik po typach i rodzajach pojazdów mechanicznych w Wojsku Polskim II Rzeczpospolitej w momencie najwyższej próby - we wrześniu 1939 roku.

Ma na celu uporządkowanie wiedzy na temat motoryzacji armii polskiej.

Polish Armor of the Blitzkrieg (Osprey)

The Polish army during the Blitzkrieg conjures up tragic images of infantry and dashing, but ineffective and ultimately doomed cavalry charges. In actuality the Poles, in the midst of a large-scale re-armament programme, had up to 600 armoured vehicles available at the time of the German attack, as well as a number of newer and better designs in various stages of development.

Facing the inventors of the 'Lightning War', who attacked in great numbers, on multiple fronts and with total mastery of the air, the Polish armoured formations were up against it.
But outdated equipment, doctrine and enormous odds did not stop these units from fighting with bravery and determination before being finally overwhelmed.

This volume is a complete technical study of the machines that formed the backbone of Poland's defences on the ground, using never-before-seen photographs and a comprehensive design and developmental history that reveal a full picture of Poland's armoured forces in the context of their greatest challenge.

Panzer II vs 7TP : Poland 1939 (Osprey)

Hitler's lightning invasion of Poland in 1939 marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. This was the period when armoured warfare inscribed itself into global consciousness as the Poles desperately sought to stave off the Blitzkrieg.
At the heart of the fighting on the ground, large numbers of Nazi Germany's PzKpfw II battled against Poland's better-armed but much less numerous 7TP tank. The two types both possessed unique strengths and weaknesses - unlike the 7TP the PzKpfw II was always equipped with radio, which proved critical for command and control purposes in the heat of combat. But the German tank was blighted by thin armour, which could not withstand Polish gunfire at combat ranges.
This fully illustrated, detailed work evaluates the qualities and idiosyncrasies of each tank, giving a stark and arresting crewman's-eye-view of the brutal armoured combat at the height of the invasion of Poland.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - Technical Specifications - The Combatants - The Strategic Situation - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Aftermath - Bibliography - Index.

First Polish Armoured Division 1938-47

The First Polish Armoured Division was formed in Scotland in February 1942 from Polish exiles who had escaped first Poland and then France. Its commander, Stanislaw Maczek, and many of its men had previously served in Polish 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade (10 BKS), which had taken part in the Polish invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938 and given a good account of itself in the defence of Poland against German and Soviet invasion of 1939.
Under Maczek's leadership the division was trained and equipped along British lines in preparation for the invasion of France.

Attached to 1st Canadian Army, the division was sent to Normandy in late July 1944. It suffered heavily during Operation Totalize but went on to play a crucial role in preventing an orderly German withdrawal from the Falaise Pocket by its stand at Hill 262. They then played their part in the advance across Western Europe and into Germany.
This detailed history, supported by dozens of archive photos, concludes by looking at the often-poor treatment of Maczek and his men after the war.

Armoured Hussars (Volume 1) - Images of the Polish 1st Armoured Division 1939-47

This wonderful album is a brilliant pictorial history of the 1st Polish Armoured Division composed of about 250 photographs, documents and publications largely collected by WO1 Alexander Leon 'Manka' Jarzembowski, a veteran of 2nd Armoured Regiment, as he soldiered for Poland between 1917-1949.
The collection lay in albums unseen for decades until recent interest in the Division and its Commanding Officer, General Stanislaw Maczek, caused Jarzembowski's son, Jan, to revisit his father's archive in order to provide a narrative for the almost forgotten Division and for his father's memory.

The photographs themselves cover the period from 1939 and the invasion of Poland before moving onto the French Campaign of 1940; the bulk of the images illustrate the story of the Division from arriving in the UK in 1940, reforming in 1942 and then its campaigns in North-West Europe 1944-45 - its pursuit of the Germans across northern France, Belgium and Holland, and finally into Germany.
Included are some of the final Divisional parades prior to disbandment in 1947. There are also many interesting photographs of dignitaries who visited and inspected the Division thorough out those years, including General Sikorski.

The range of images available in this album is wide and impressive with many excellent shots of uniforms, equipment and armour, which not only provide an aid to historians and veteran's families, but, expertly annotated by the author, are of great value to military modellers as reference material.

This album is a tribute to the gallant men of the Polish 1st Armoured Division. General Maczek and his men fought the Second World War from the very beginning to the very end with extreme bravery, but gained nothing for their efforts, yet maintained their dignity and pride to the end of their, often very long, lives.

Armoured Hussars (Volume 2) - Images of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, Normandy, August 1944

Provides a highly-illustrated account of the 1st Polish Armoured Division's baptism of fire in Normandy in August 1944, from Operations Totalise and Tractable to the victory at Falaise, culminating at the climactic battle on Mont Ormel - the site of this triumph was justly named 'A Polish Battlefield' by the Canadians.

This album contains contributions written by the distinguished military author and Normandy veteran Ken Tout, who was recently awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit by the Republic of Poland for popularising the Polish soldiers of the Second World War. Serving as a young Sherman tank crewman in the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, Ken watched the Poles go in to action on 8 August and witnessed their savage baptism of fire.

The album features many dramatic photographs and documents, numbering over 250, from the renowned Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum (PISM) as well as from the author's collection. It is also supplemented by eight pages of colour plates featuring divisional armour, uniforms, maps and a centre page-spread of a close-quarter action on Mont Ormel, based on the memoirs of a regimental commander. Illustrated by the renowned military artist, Peter Dennis, this depiction also features on the front cover.

This book will appeal to all who have an interest in the Second World War and the Normandy Campaign, and is a fitting tribute to those Polish soldiers who fought so gallantly for Europe's freedom as part of the Allied Liberation Army and played a decisive role in the defeat of German forces in France at the Battle of the Falaise Pocket in August 1944.

Pojazdy Powstanców Warszawskich 1944

Popularna, bogato ilustrowana publikacja przedstawiająca motorowy fragment wysiłku bojowego Powstańców Warszawskich, dotyczący walk widzianych przez pryzmat pojazdów pancernych (czołgów, dział pancernych, samochodów pancernych, transporterów opancerzonych), pojazdów specjalnych (strażackich, sanitarnych i in.) i transportowych, wykorzystywanych przez Armię Krajową.
Prowadzoną za pomocą losów historycznych pojazdów opowieść, wzbogacono szkicowym obrazem działań bojowych oraz przekazem przygotowań motoryzacyjnych do walk powstańczych.

Pojazdy są prezentowane w miejscu ich zdobycia na wrogu (jak np. czołgi "Pantera" zdobyte na Woli), zbudowania w czasie walk lub przechowywania w oddziałach AK przed Powstaniem Warszawskim oraz w miejscu ich użycia bojowego.
Wiele zdjęć zawartych w książce nie było dotychczas publikowanych. Stanowi ona rozszerzenie poprzednio wydanej publikacji "Pojazdy Armii Krajowej w Powstaniu Warszawskim" zawierające nowe fakty, które ustalono w ciągu ostatnich 15 lat.

Książka objęta patronatem Urzędu do Spraw Kombatantów i Osób Represjonowanych w 70 rocznicę wybuchu II Wojny Światowej