Garrison life in 1921–39

On 1 September 1939 at 4:45 am, without any declaration of war, Germany carried out an armed assault on Poland. Despite having less arms and equipments at their disposal, the Polish Army mounted fierce resistance at the beginning. As another aggressor – the Soviet Union – joined the war on 17 September, the outcome was already doomed. Fierce fights lasted until 6 October 1939, when the Independent Operational Group “Polesie” commanded by Gen. Franciszek Kleeberg capitulated.

In the showcase (9), you can see a figure of Sergeant Eugeniusz Pokrowski, a commander of the heavy machine gun company of the 21st Infantry Regiment. There are also a collection of gas masks, a fragment of a bandolier of the 16th Uhlan Regiment excavated after the war, and a dog tag of Private Antoni Soroka from the 35th Infantry Regiment, who fell in the village of Rytel. The real pride of the collection is a “Mors” model 39 number “13”, a Polish 9 mm submachine gun (only 39 pieces were produced) , and a 7.92 mm Polish anti-tank gun model 35 “Ur”, which is in a perfect condition. Have also a closer look at the Polish helmet model 31 coated with a characteristic anti-reflective paint named “Salamandra”. 

The second part (10) of the showcase contains uniforms of Major Jerzy Hryniewicz, a sapper, a shelter builder at the Bydgoszcz bridge-defence position, and a gunnery sergeant. Among them, you can see a fragment of a track of Polish TK tankette and a collection of projectiles and bombshells used in Polish guns. We would also like to direct your attention to the grenades used by the Polish Army: defensive grenade model 33 and offensive grenade model 24. Beside, you can also see two Browning machine guns manufactured in Poland: a hand-held machine gun model 28 and a heavy machine gun model 30.