After Action Report #1
September 1st, 1939
Polish forces defend against a German assault
Reported by Thomas Lund Kiilerich

Germany has attacked our sovereign nation, I’ve been put in command of a hastily thrown together taskforce which has been ordered to block the German advance down one of the few good roads in the area. At both sides of the highway my men have been busy preparing several trench lines; unfortunately there was no time to prepare any gun positions as the guns have just arrived.

My force consists of 1 ATR squad, 1 Infantry squad, 2 Bofors 37mm AT guns, 2 75mm Field guns and an armoured car. I’ve been promised reinforcements are on the way.

I have ordered my infantry squad to take up positions on the left side of the highway, and 20 meters behind the trench line I have emplaced one of the 37mm AT guns. On the right side of the highway the ATR squad is ordered to occupied the other trench line, they also have one 37mm AT gun directly behind their position. All my infantry is armed with the excellent 7.92mm Kb wz98, the exception is Corporal Zygmunt Kucharski who’s been equipped with the excellent 7.92mm Kb ppancwz35 ATR.

My two 75mm field guns and the armoured car are in position 370 meters behind the ATR squad, in a reversed slope position; they’ll stay here out of sight until the enemy attack materializes.

Suddenly all birds seem to go quiet, the dogs in the village stop barking and the only sound that can be heard is a low rumbling in the distance. I get a report that 3 low flying bombers are approaching from the N, at the same time both AT guns report tanks moving towards our position on both sides of the highway.

All units are ordered to hold their position and hold their fire, we don’t want to give our position away just yet.

Both field guns are at the same time ordered to move forward to their firing position on the hill.

The bombers drop their ordinance in the village behind our position without doing any harm. My AT gunners have now identified the 3 tanks as a Pz II and 2 PZ I’s, how foolish of the enemy commander to advance them without infantry support! We’ll make them pay for this mistake.

At a distance of 250 meters I order my AT guns and ATR to open fire, the AT guns will concentrate on the Pz II and the ATR is ordered to engage the right most Pz I. After a few rounds from our valiant AT guns the enemy realizes that they have run into opposition and open fire. A well aimed burst from one of the Pz I’s kills Zygmunt Kucharski.

At the same time enemy infantry emerges from the cornfields 150 meters from our position, over the open ground they charge us. At 120 meters I order both squads to open fire, several of the enemy go down, but the rest continue forward, stopping now and then to get off a few shots.

All along the line fire intensifies, it seems as if the enemy is concentrating his fire on our two AT guns, both are down a crew member. Suddenly a crew member on our left gun leaves the gun and runs for the rear; then a second and finally the sergeant turns around and follows suit. 20 meters behind the gun the sergeant comse to his senses and tries in vain to persuade the 2 crew members to come with him forward again.

On the hill behind our lines the two gun crews are struggling to get their pieces into position.

After a few minutes both AT guns are again firing away, the enemy infantry stalls and then turns tail and runs for the rear. The enemy tanks on the other hand are still advancing and now they have company, another 3 tanks are advancing. But our field guns are now in position, let’s hope they have better luck than our AT guns.

Our right hand trench line is in danger of being overrun, the crew of the AT gun behind it have all been gunned down and several of the squad members are dead or dying. A Pz I has been destroyed 20 meters short of the trench, but a Pz II is just about to cross, our only chance to save the squad lies with the 2 field guns.

Behind the new batch of enemy tanks the infantry reappears and their numbers seem to grow, once again they advance on our line. The crew of our left most gun is suddenly silent, all 4 crewmembers lie dead or wounded around the gun.

The enemy tanks and infantry start to make their present felt, advancing, firing and advancing again, always inching closer. Our infantry is firing as fast as humanly possible and their fire is taking its toll as enemy after enemy goes down, but still the enemy advance. Both of our squad leaders lie dead in the trenches as do many of their men.

The ATR squad is now down to 3 men, all of them wounded to some degree, the Pz II is roaming around just behind the trench and have cut down several of their comrades. Suddenly one jumps out of the trench and run for the rear.

On the left flank the last 4 surviving members of the infantry squad look on in horror as the German steel monsters continue to roll forward, even though the infantry has been beaten off. Their spirit broken they abandon the trench line and run for the rear. At this very moment a 75mm shell from one of the field pieces tear into the forward Pz I and it slowly roll to a stop, no crewmembers seem to have survived the hit.

On the right flank shell after shell from the two field pieces hit the marauding Pz II and it comes to a halt across the trench, 4 penetrations are later counted.

Suddenly engine noise can be heard from behind our lines, the crewmembers of the 2 field guns look nervously over their shoulders, but draw a breath of relief: friendly tanks! One of our fine TKS armed with a 20mm FK wz38, two Vickers E armed with two fine 7.92mm machine guns each situated in separate turrets and last but not least a truck with another infantry squad.

The three tanks are at once ordered to proceed down the road and cover our infantry retreating from the trenches. The truck is ordered to move up behind the field guns and wait there. Finally the armoured car is also ordered to advance.

While this is happening the enemy attack on our right flank has melted away in the face of our field guns, neither infantry nor armour has been able to withstand their accurate fire.

On the left flank the situation is reversed. Here enemy infantry has reached the trench line and more infantry is spotted in the rear running forward to consolidate their gain. But our fire is still accurate and a Pz I is hit, at first no sign of damage, but slowly smoke is seen pouring out and a side hatch flies open. A crew member is trying to escape the flames but is cut down as another shell explodes next to the vehicle. Still the enemy advance.

As the enemy continue their advance on our two field guns they are surprised and caught in the open by our three tanks. One of the Vickers E open up with both turrets and cuts down two enemies; the TKS spots a Pz II and a salvo kicks up dirt all around it. Still the enemy advance. A Pz IV C is also spotted in the mix and I order one of the field guns to open fire on it, telling them to direct their fire at the tracks.

Once again the enemy begin to advance on our right flank. Will these Germans never run out of reinforcements! Two Pz IV C’s, a Pz II and a lot of infantry are spotted, nothing stands between them and my two field guns. At once I order my infantry reinforcements to dismount and take up position on the ridge next to the guns.

Both field guns are now concentrating their fire on the Pz IV advancing up our left flank when suddenly a shell hits the track and the tank abruptly skews 90 degrees before rolling to a halt, thereby showing its weak flank to our gunners. The next shell rips into it and the Pz IV explodes.

At the same time the enemy infantry is in trouble, caught between a rock and a hard place. The two Vickers E tanks are putting down a curtain of fire through which the enemy infantry cannot advance. Our riflemen on the ridge likewise throw round after round at them. The few enemy survivors try to reach the safety of the trench behind them.

On the right flank the enemy tanks have now reached the trench line, their infantry advancing in front of them. The field guns fire round after round, most ricochet off the panzers but the number of hits alone most he unnerving to the crewmembers. I order the infantry squad to advance a little further to get a better field of fire and order the two Vickers tanks to advance as well. The TSK is kept in an over watch position to cover their advance. If I can just keep the infantry away from my guns I think I have a chance of stopping the Germans for good.

The Germans continue their advance, but at what cost, their infantry cannot advance in the face of our machinegun and rifle fire and their tanks are having a hard time as well. One of our field guns claim another victim and our gun crews let out a cheer. Now there’s just an immobilized Pz II left on the right flank and a Pz I on the left.

I order the two field guns to concentrate on the Pz II and order the TSK to advance on the Pz I.

And it’s all over, the last Germans flee the battlefield. The final tally tells the story, the brave Polish defenders fought off a vicious German assault.

These Germans aren’t that tough after all, I now have renewed hope that our gallant forces will prevail.