Review offered by Colonel (Retd) Waldemar Kotula. Curator of the 'Hall of Tradition' museum, Sagen, Poland.

Return to Ypres

An interesting, new historical study on the topic of liberation of Ypres in September 1944 by the soldiers of the 1st Polish Armoured Division has been recently given onto the hands of enthusiasts of the history of Polish warfare. The album "The liberation of Ypres, Belgium" by Chris Lock and Milena Kolarikova, which describes these events, has just been released in the UK.

The authors, during the years that they have spent in Belgium, devoted a lot of time to conduct a comprehensive historical research on facts and events related to the years of the Second World War on the fields of Flanders. The Ypres Salient has witnessed not only the horrors of the Great War but unfortunately also in the timeframe of 1940 until 1944, many, equally tragic events that took place during the German occupation.

Following the tracks of the tanks of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, analysing archival resources and interviewing the last witnesses of the events, the authors recreated the course of the fighting for Ypres on the sunny Wednesday of September 6th 1944. On that day, the soldiers of general Maczek liberated the city that to that day has learned the effects of war cataclysms like only few other towns did, from German occupation and saved it from destruction. The Polish commanders knew the fate of the city in the previous war perfectly well and they knew that they could not repeat it. “History is looking at us not only from the walls of the medieval city, from the arch of the entrance gate, from the memorial of the 1914-1918 war, but also from the thousands of crosses in the Allied cemeteries from the previous war, which we passed giving pursuit.” Once upon a time, every meter of land torn out in an attack was a success, paid for by the masses of fallen. And today? The tactic of speed triumphs "- wrote General Maczek about the fighting for Ypres in his war memoirs. Thanks to the painstaking research work of the authors of the album we can now witness for the first time, in such a great level of accuracy, the course of the fighting depicted hour after hour, which despite the short time period it occurred characterized itself by a considerable level of intensity. In the book, we will find a list of Polish and German forces engaged in combat operations, we can learn about the scope of aid provided by the city residents for the 3rd Rifle Brigade of the 1st Polish Armoured Division and the losses sustained by them. For the first time in historiography, researchers present unknown facts about the cooperation of Poles and Czechoslovaks during the fights. We get to know the actions of 7 officers from the Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade of gen. Alois Liska, that gave support to the Poles on the liberation trail in Flanders. The authors also verified data about soldiers of general Maczek that have fallen during the fights. Not everyone knows that with the liberation, the glorious tradition of the ceremony of "The Last Post" - a well-known signal played on military ceremonies and a sign of homage paid daily, from July 2, 1928, at 8.00 p.m., by the inhabitants of the city for the men who fought and died during World War I - has been immediately reinstated in the city. This local tradition was interrupted during the German occupation in 1940-1944.

An added value to the publication are the introductions written by Major General Stanisław Czosnek, professor Andrzej Maczek, Czech historian Dr Zdenko Marsalek and Flanders regionalist Dominiek Dendooven. Ch. Lock and M. Kolarikowa, in a specific epilogue, they also bring closer the figures of 9 Polish dead who are commemorated forever on a plaque on the wall of the cloth hall in Ypres. Those 9 dead & 7 wounded Polish casualties are also commemorated together within the new 1PAD Ypres Golden Book of Remembrance. Together they emphasize the need to revive history and the need to commemorate the events of 1944. They also refer to facts related to the upholding of the tradition of the 1st Polish Armoured Division by the Żagań "Black Division" (11th Armoured Cavalry Division) and its presence in the fields of Flanders as part of their annual historical journeys. On one of them, which took place in August 2018, Mr Lock was an Subject Matter Expert and local guide for the soldiers from Żagań. Worth emphasizing, is the fact that the historical combat study contains a rich iconography consisting of documents from the Flanders, British and Czech archives, including copies of combat documents and carefully prepared sketches of the battlefield, diagrams and many unique photos. They should be of help to all enthusiasts of military history traversing the fields of Flanders.

It was also the intention of the authors, a British and Czech marriage which is passionate with the history of the last war. Chris Lock was, as he proudly emphasizes, a former tank crew member serving in the famous Royal Tank Regiment and was also for many years a crew commander & deputy watch commander with Avon Fire & Rescue Service. He is a history buff, explorer and photographer.

For many years his wife, Milena, has been studying and commemorating the fates of Allied soldiers who fell in Flanders in both world wars. She was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for her achievements. The effects of the 12 years of stay of the married couple in Belgium are, among others, The Tank Memorial Ypres Salient, commemorating British armoured soldiers and written studies about the combat actions of Polish and Czechoslovak soldiers in Flanders during the last war. The Ypres Golden Book of Remembrance compiled by Mr Lock and dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the 1st Polish Armoured Division is exhibited in the St George's Memorial Church at Ypres during the occasion of the most important commemorative events in the city. In 2021 the book will be placed for public display & honour within the St Martin's Cathedral over the weekend of the town's Liberation anniversary.

After receiving replenishment for the losses suffered in the Normandy Battle in August 1944, the 1st Polish Armoured Division entered Belgium on September 6th 1944. Within a week, the Division has taken Ypres, Tielt and then Ghent. The Belgians particularly appreciated the fact that the 1st Polish Armoured Division tried to minimize the losses of the civilian population. The following cities were not taken by storm, but flanked, forcing the Germans to retreat. "Welcomed with an ovation in Ghent, the armored units poured out on the flower fields of Belgium, between Ghent, St. Nicolas and Antwerp, as far as the Scheldt River” - recalled the commander of the 2nd Armoured Regiment, Lt. Col. Stanisław Koszutski. “There were still shots fired in the suburbs of the captured cities in the same time when an orchestra was playing in the square and people danced in the in premises. People gave parties and the graves of the fallen were drowned in flowers. People prayed in churches for us and for Poland, spontaneously and sincerely, ”he added. As a result of the bloody fighting around Ypres and in the city itself the 1st Polish Armoured Division has captured 430 German soldiers. During the operations, soldiers from the 3rd Rifle Brigade, mainly from the 9th Battalion commanded by Lt. Zdzisław Szydłowski and 10th Regiment of Mounted Rifles have stood out with their meritorious deeds. General Stanisław Maczek signed the Honor Book of the city as it’s liberator. The same book was signed in 1918 by the Marshal of France and Poland, Ferdinand Foch.

Text: Waldemar Kotula

Książka „Wyzwolenie Ypres, Belgia” Ukazała się długo oczekiwana książka „Wyzwolenie Ypres, Belgia” autorstwa małżeństwa – Chrisa Locka i Mileny Kolarikovej. Autorzy w znakomity sposób przedstawili historię wyzwolenia Ypres przez 1 Polską Dywizję Pancerną dowodzoną przez Generała Stanisława Maczka. W swojej opowieści wątki historyczne łączą ze współczesnością miasta. Razem z autorami śledzimy dokładne miejsca walk i ich przebieg, a jednocześnie odnajdujemy te miejsca we współczesnym mieście. Książka posiada bogatą dokumentację zdjęciową oraz szczegółowe opisy i mapy umożliwiające czytelnikowi dokładne zapoznanie się z przebiegiem walk. Niezwykle cenne są analizy przeprowadzone przez Chrisa Locka, który służył między innymi w słynnym brytyjskim 3 Królewskim Pułku Pancernym w czasach zimnej wojny na granicy wschodnich i zachodnich Niemiec. Jak wspomina, miał to ogromne szczęście i zaszczyt, że mógł w czasie swej służby wojskowej poznać żołnierzy z oddziałów 1 Polskiej Dywizji Pancernej przydzielonych do jego pułku. Razem z Chrisem Lockiem i naocznymi świadkami walk stoczonych przez żołnierzy Generała Maczka uczestniczymy w tej podróży do tamtych czasów. Poznajemy i odwiedzamy także miejsca upamiętniające te walki w Ypres i uczestniczymy w uroczystościach na Polskim Cmentarzu Wojennym w Lommel w 75. rocznicę wyzwolenia Belgii, gdzie oddajemy hołd poległym polskim żołnierzom. Wśród grobów odnajdujemy groby żołnierzy poległych w Ypres. Jest to najlepszy sposób poznawania historii. Autorzy wykazali się ogromną wiedzą historyczną, wieloletnią mozolną pracą w poszukiwaniu dokumentacji i prowadzeniu badań historycznych w dostępnych źródłach na całym świecie. Wśród wielu historycznych informacji dowiadujemy się m.in. o udziale w składzie 1 PDPanc podczas walk o wyzwolenie Ypres kilku oficerów Czechosłowackiej Samodzielnej Brygady Pancernej (CIABG). Pięknie edytorsko przygotowana książka ma format A4, dzięki czemu publikowane zdjęcia i dokumenty są wyraźne i czytelne. Wysoką jakość dopełnia twarda oprawa i dobry papier. Autorzy zadbali o szatę graficzną oraz właściwą proporcję zdjęć i tekstów, co umożliwia łatwe czytanie książki. Książka napisana jest w języku angielskim i liczy 241 stron. Zadowoli ona osoby o dużej znajomości tematyki 1 Polskiej Dywizji Pancernej, ale przyciągnie także uwagę tych, którzy chcą poznać tę tematykę. Autorzy w dedykacji do książki piszą: „Książka została napisana dla upamiętnienia i jest poświęcona Generałowi Stanisławowi Maczkowi i jego żołnierzom z 1 Polskiej Dywizji Pancernej, którzy walczyli i oddali swe życie, wyzwalając Ypres w środę 6 września 1944 roku”. Składamy wielkie podziękowania i gratulacje Chrisowi i Milenie za ogromną pracę, jaką wykonali, aby napisać i wydać tę książkę, dzięki której historia wyzwolenia Ypres i pamięć o polskich bohaterskich żołnierzach będzie żywa i będą mogli ją poznać nie tylko mieszkańcy Ypres, ale też wiele osób na całym świecie. Jak wspomnieliśmy, książka ta jest już do nabycia. Szczegółowe informacje można uzyskać poprzez stronę www.chrislock.be. Osoby mieszkające w Belgii wkrótce będą mogły ją nabyć w sklepie Ypres Town Tourist Office. Z całego serca polecamy i zachęcamy każdego do zakupu tej niezwykłej książki. Będzie to piękny prezent pod choinkę.

The liberation of Ypres, Belgium”

The liberation of Ypres, Belgium written by married couple - Chris Lock and Milena Kolarikova has been published. The authors presented the history of the liberation of Ypres by the 1st Polish Armoured Division commanded by General Stanisław Maczek. In their story, they combine historical threads with the present day of the city. Together with the authors, we follow the exact locations of the fights and their course, and at the same time we find these places in the modern city. The book has a great photo documentation as well as detailed descriptions and maps enabling the reader to get acquainted with the course of the fights. The analyzes carried out by Chris Lock who served in the famous British 3rd Royal Tank Regiment during the Cold War on the border of eastern and western Germany are extremely valuable. As he recalls, he was very lucky and honored that during his military service he could meet former Polish soldiers, some from the units of the 1st Polish Armoured Division assigned to his regiment. Together with Chris Lock and the eyewitnesses of the fights of soldiers of General Maczek, we take part in this journey to those times. We also get to know and visit places commemorating these fights in Ypres and participate in the celebrations at the Polish War Cemetery in Lommel on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belgium, where we pay tribute to the fallen Polish soldiers. Among the graves, we find the graves of soldiers who fall in Ypres. This is the best way to learn history. The authors have demonstrated great historical knowledge, many years of hard work in searching for documentation and conducting historical research in available sources around the world. Among the many historical information we learn also about participation in the 1st PAD several officers of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group (CIABG) during the fights for the liberation of Ypres. A beautifully edited book is in A4 format, thanks to which the published photos and documents are clear and legible. The high quality is complemented by a hard cover and good paper. The authors took care of the graphics and the right proportion of photos and texts, which makes it easy to read the book. The book is written in English and has 241 pages. It will satisfy people with a great knowledge of the subject of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, but it will also attract the attention of those who want to learn about this subject. The authors in the dedication to the book write: "The book was written to commemorate and is dedicated to General Stanisław Maczek and his 1st Polish Armoured Division soldiers who fought and lost their lives liberating Ypres on Wednesday, September 6th, 1944". We would like to express our gratitude and congratulations to Chris and Milena for the enormous work they have done to write and publish this book, thanks to which the history of the liberation of Ypres and the memory of the Polish heroic soldiers will be alive and will be known not only to the inhabitants of Ypres, but also to many people at all over the world. As mentioned, this book is now available for purchase. Detailed information is available by link www.chrislock.be. People living in Belgium will soon be able to buy it in the Ypres Town Tourist Office store. We wholeheartedly recommend and encourage everyone to buy this amazing book. It will be a beautiful Christmas gift.

Bogdan & Joanna Wielgat

Dear Chris and Milena!

I am closing the end of 2020 year with an amazing book in my hand, the ‘1PAD Liberation of Ypres’ from Chris Lock and Milena Kolarikova BEM, about liberation of the city of Ypres.

The 1st Polish Armoured Division deserved very positive feedback and good review! I would like to thank the authors of the book for completing and describing such an important episode from the 1PAD history. It is a barely unknown episode from the liberation of Belgium by Polish Forces during II WW to many people in Poland. Interesting book to read, study and explore, full of profesional research and my favourite type of showing history based on the real examples by “hunting now and then". Great Hunting History inside! I can honestly recommend it, as a great supplement source of the history for our 1PAD heritage.

Well done Chris and Milena. #Pod100

Tobiasz Siotor.