10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade
| 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1937-1939 |
| Country | Poland |
| Branch | Land forces |
| Type | Armoured |
| Size | ~40 tanks and tankettes |
| Nickname(s) | "The Black Brigade" |
| Engagements | Battle of Jordanów, Battle of Lwów |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Stanisław Maczek |
The 10th Cavalry Brigade (Polish: 10. Brygada Kawalerii) was a Polish military unit in World War II. It was the only fully operational Polish motorized infantry unit during the Invasion of Poland, as Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade was not completed by September 1, 1939. Commanded by Colonel, later General Stanisław Maczek, it is considered one of few Polish World War II military units (brigade size or larger) not to have been decisively defeated in 1939 . Another was General Franciszek Kleeberg's Independent Operational Group Polesie ( a corps or field army).
The unit was organized in February 1937, partly as an experiment. It was to be a hybrid between a standard motorized infantry brigade and the French concept of Division legere. As Polish cavalry generals still had some doubts about the value of mechanized forces, there was some opposition against reforming standard cavalry units into motorized units. Testing of the new unit was held in a specially created training ground near Kielce, as well as in the Armoured Units Training School. The brigade was conceived as an emergency unit in the Commander-in-Chief’s reserve. Its task was to screen the areas of concentration of Polish troops, to close gaps made by enemy forces in Polish lines and to fight enemy mechanized units.
The brigade's first exercise in offensive action in 1939 was considered a failure. It proved to be insufficiently equipped in anti-tank ordnance to counter enemy armoured units successfully . It was also considered insufficiently versatile, especially when compared with a standard cavalry unit, which had much better off-road capabilities and speed. Because of that, several structural changes were introduced which were later copied during the formation of the Warsaw Armoured Cavalry Brigade. The commanding officer of the unit was Colonel Stanisław Maczek and the chief of his staff was Major Franciszek Skibiński. It is to be noted that, despite being fully motorized, the brigade was still officially named "the 10th Cavalry Brigade". However, most printed sources refer to it as "Motorized" in order to distinguish the unit from its predecessors.
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