Armoured Forces Training Centre
Encyclopedia
Armoured Forces Training Centre - Armoured Forces Training Centre of the Polish Forces in the West
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In December 1944 Gen Anders ordered formation of the Armoured Forces Training Centre in Italy. The Centre was to be commanded by Lt Col Szostak and administered by the base of the 2nd Corps. Training personnel was appointed by the commanding officers of the 2nd Armoured Brigade, the Carpatian Ulan Regiment, the 7th Armoured Regiment
and the 7th Anti-tank Artillery Regiment.
The Centre was to retrain officers and train tank drivers, armoured car drivers, gunners, self-propelled and tractor artillery drivers, and radio operators. The trained personnel was to be sent to the 7th Armoured Regiment for further specialist training according to the training programmes prepared by Lt. Col Szostak. Subsequently they were allocated to the front line regiments. Units of the Centre were located in the neighbouring Italian towns.
Work of the Centre led to the formation of the 2nd Warsaw Armoured Division. Gen Anders, secret order nr 23 of 11 May 1945, outlined the structure of the division by re-organizing and reinforcing 2nd Armoured Brigade. Field Marshal Alexander
, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces responsible for all military operations in the Mediterranean Theatre, inspected the marching troops of the Division on the fields of Loreto airfield and said "if I were to select the best unit commanded by me, I would choose you". In 1945 there were about 2000 men and instructors in the Centre. In August 1946 the Centre was shipped to the United Kingdom and joined the Polish Resettlement Corps
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Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...
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In December 1944 Gen Anders ordered formation of the Armoured Forces Training Centre in Italy. The Centre was to be commanded by Lt Col Szostak and administered by the base of the 2nd Corps. Training personnel was appointed by the commanding officers of the 2nd Armoured Brigade, the Carpatian Ulan Regiment, the 7th Armoured Regiment
Tank Training Centre
Polish Army Tank Training Centre- training unit of the Polish Tank Units in the Soviet Union, the Middle East and Italy.-Formation:On 20 September 1941 Major Szostak, Commander of the Polish Armoured Forces in the Soviet Union submitted a wide ranging training plan for the Polish Units by proposing...
and the 7th Anti-tank Artillery Regiment.
The Centre was to retrain officers and train tank drivers, armoured car drivers, gunners, self-propelled and tractor artillery drivers, and radio operators. The trained personnel was to be sent to the 7th Armoured Regiment for further specialist training according to the training programmes prepared by Lt. Col Szostak. Subsequently they were allocated to the front line regiments. Units of the Centre were located in the neighbouring Italian towns.
- Gallipoli : headquarters, Armoured Reconnaissance Unit, General W. Anders Officer Cadet Armoured Cavalry School and Signals Squadron
- GalatoneGalatoneGalatone is a town and comune located in Salento, in the province of Lecce , ancient seat of the Marquess of Galatone.-History:...
: battle tank and artillery units - AlezioAlezioAlezio is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.-History:Alezio was a centre of the Messapi, who would call it Alytia like their former capital in Acarnania. According to Pliny the Elder, the Aletines descended instead from the Iapyges, who descended...
: reserve battle tank unit - LecceLecceLecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
: repair unit
Work of the Centre led to the formation of the 2nd Warsaw Armoured Division. Gen Anders, secret order nr 23 of 11 May 1945, outlined the structure of the division by re-organizing and reinforcing 2nd Armoured Brigade. Field Marshal Alexander
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis was a British military commander and field marshal of Anglo-Irish descent who served with distinction in both world wars and, afterwards, as Governor General of Canada, the 17th since Canadian...
, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces responsible for all military operations in the Mediterranean Theatre, inspected the marching troops of the Division on the fields of Loreto airfield and said "if I were to select the best unit commanded by me, I would choose you". In 1945 there were about 2000 men and instructors in the Centre. In August 1946 the Centre was shipped to the United Kingdom and joined the Polish Resettlement Corps
Polish Resettlement Corps
The Polish Resettlement Corps was an organisation formed by the British Government in 1946 as a holding unit for members of the Polish Armed Forces who had been serving with the British Armed Forces and did not wish to return to a Communist Poland after the end of the Second World War...
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Command structure
- CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
: Lt Col SzostakStanislaw SzostakStanislaw Szostak was a colonel of the Polish Armoured Corps.He was born in Berazino, today's Belarus, the son of Władysław and Maria Nieciejowska of Hrynica. He was injured in a car accident and died in 1961... - Deputy Commander: Mjr C. Florkowski
- Battle Tank Unit: C.O. Mjr W. Samira .
- The unit consisted of: Introductory Training Squadron, Battle Tank SquadronSquadronSquadron has different meanings:*Squadron , a cavalry or other unit that consists of a number of troops.*Squadron , a unit of aircraft that consists of three or four "flights", with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, depending on aircraft type and air force.*Squadron , a unit of 3-4 major naval vessels...
, Tank Gunner Training Squadron, Tank Driver Training Squadron- Armoured Cavalry Unit: C.O. Capt. Cichocki.
- The unit consisted of: Introductory Training Squadron, Armoured Car and Tank Squadron, Gunner Training Squadron, Armoured Car Drivers Squadron (Stag Hounds), and Signal Squadron
- ArtilleryArtilleryOriginally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Unit: C.O. Capt. J Obierek.
- Artillery
- The Unit consisted of: Battery of Artillery Tractor Drivers, Self-Propelled Artillery Training Battery
- Reserve Battle Tank Unit : C.O. Capt. M. Kosiewicz.
- The Unit consisted of 3 squadrons
- General W. Anders Officer Cadet Armoured Cavalry School: C.O. Capt. C. Orzeszko.
- The School consisted of: Tank Study Section, Tank (type C) Repair Section