Flames of War: The Black Brigade 4: 16th Motorized Artillery Bttn (16. Dywizjon Artylerii Motorowej)

In 1931 the Polish high command decided to disband the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment and in its place the 1st Artillery Regiment was established with its annual birthday being celebrated on 16th September on the anniversary of the Battle of Dytiatyn, in which the 4th Battery of the 1st Artillery Regiment commanded by Captain Adam Zajac faced off against the Soviets 8th Division Cossacks. In the closing hours of the battle Captain Zajac along with two other battery officers and aboout 50 ratings and their pieces were killed. After the battle the commander of the 8th Infantry Division, Colonel Stanislaw Burhardt-Bukacki wrote "as proof of the recognition of this valor and sacrifice 4th battery of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment will be known as 'the death battery' and awarded the Virtuti Militari'

Official symbol of the 1st Motorised Artillery Regiment

On September 15th 1938 the 1st Artillery Regiment once again went through an internal reorganisation and was provided with two 75mm batteries, one 100mm battery and two 120mm batteries, as well as a communications, a technical and an administrative platoon and transport pool.

Through August and September 1938 the regiment accompanied the 10th Cavalry Brigade in its Volhynian manoeuvres ending in Lutsk. Immediately following the end of these field tests the regiment was transported to Skoczow where it joined Independent Operational Group 'Silesia' under Brigadier General Bortnowski participating in the Zaolzie reoccupation in October.

Portrait shot of Battery 1 of the 1st Motorised Artillery Regiment

In the summer of 1939 the Warsaw Armoured Brigade was formed within which the organisational structure provided for the support of light artillery to be provided to the 10th Cavalry Brigade. Because of this within the organisational structure of the 1st Artillery Regiment the III Squadron was instituted on 25th June 1939. According to this order the squadrons organisation was due to be completed by 1st August. On July 24th the Army Administration Office was instructed to equip III Squadron with a battery of four 75mm field guns and a battery of four 100mm howitzers.

Battery 1's 75mm field guns showing the pneumatic tyres and gun shields to good effect

According to a mobilisation plan, in case of war, the regiments subdivisions would be liquidated and different element allocated to new formations and signed off to new organisations. I Squadron would be allocated to the 10th Cavalry Brigade and as such was stationed around Rzeszow.

On August 15th the squadron was placed in combat readiness after an emergency mobilisation order was received. On 31st August, on the first day of general mobilisation the I Squadron was renamed the 16th Motorised Artillery Battalion. On the occasion of this event the commanding officer, Major Kazimierz Zmudzinski organised a dinner for the senior officers of the 10th Cavalry Brigade.

16dam. on the move...

There was a third battery, comprising four 75mm's which should have also been allocated to the 16th dam but for one reason or another they were never signed off, instead becoming a constituent part of the remnants artillery battalion.

Colonel Kazimierz Zmudzinski

The battalion went to war with 10BK but for the tale of what happened from this point you will have to read part IV of Maczeks biography!

Staff Structure of 16dam in September 1939

Battalion Commander: Major Kazimierz Zmudzinski

1st Battery - Captain Jerzy Janasiewicz
2nd Battery - Captain Wincenty H. Pawlowski
Ammunition Column - ppor. Downie-Berger

Personae Dramatis - September 1939

Battalion Commander - Major Kazimierz Zmudzinski
Adjutant - ppor. Alfred Zawadzki
Technical Officer - see. Eugeniusz Olszewski
Payroll Officer - ppor. Rez Waclaw Sierakowski
Doctor - ppor. Rez Dr Abraham Kupfer

Commander of Reconnaissance Platoon - ppor. Jerzy Zarski
Observation Officer - ppor. Rez Eugeniusz Siedlecki
Liaision Officer - ppor. Henryk Greiner

Commander of the Communications Platoon - ppor. Henryk Jozefowicz

Commander of 1st Battery - Captain Jerzy Janasiewicz
Technical Officer - ppor. Rez Jerzy Wendecker
Scout Officer - ppor. Rez Andrzej Kowerski
Fire Officer - ppor. Rez Marian Garczynski
1st Platoon Commander - ppor. Zygmunt Haupt
2nd Platoon Commander - ppor. Rez Tadeusz Smyczynski

Commander of 2nd Battery - Captain Wincenty Pawlowski
Technical Officer - ppor. Rez Tadeusz Olanczyk
Scout Officer - ppor. Rez Kazimierz Hawrysz
Fire Officer - ppor. Rez Marian Kupniak
1st Platoon Commander - ppor. Stanislaw Taras
2nd Platoon Commander - ppor. Stanislaw Gawlikowski

Modelling the 16th Motorised Artillery Battalion

The entire 16th Motorised Artillery Battalion as it was in 1939

There is not a massive range of artillery to choose from when choosing to field the Black Brigade. They only had a battery of four 75mm's and a battery of 100mm howitzers. That's not to say that there were not other more unusual pieces fielded by their allied formations, such as 1st KOP's 65mm mountain artillery battery but to stick to the point we just need to deal with the 16th Motorised Artillery Battalion whilst modelling the Black Brigade. 

Battery 1 with its 75's, caissons and the C4P artillery halftracks

Battery 1's command team, staff team, spotter and transports

The 75's are no problem here as the artillery pieces produced by Battlefront are, for once, the correct ones. The only issue with these guns is the tires for the caissons. Normally the same tires were used on canon and caisson but Battlefront supplies two types of pneumatic tires which meant I had to copy and cast up another 8 of the thicker tires to supply the caissons with ones that matched. No big deal really and easily done in a day.

A closer look at one of the 75's with its caisson and half track

Another close study of one of the 75's showing the dirt road on the base to good effect,
Battlefront  Germans being re-purposed and of course the gun officer in his leather jacket!

Where the 100mm howitzers are concerned however, these required a considerable work over to resemble the motorised versions of the gun.

Battery 2 of the 16th Motorised Artillery Battalion

Now the problem with these guns is that unless you happen to have a Polish military library to hand, images of this fine specimen of a death dealing piece of engineering are  as rare as rocking horse shit. I was able to find one image and one image only of one of these Polish versions of the 100mm motorised howitzer and it doesnt really give a lot away.

However I did come across a nice range of photos of a 1/72nd resin kit of this cannon produced by Mars of Poland and I ended up using these as the visual keys that I needed to produce 4 of theses bad boys.

A before and after shot showing the original Battlefront 100mm howitzer and what it should really look like with 10BK

A view of the rear of the pieces

Taking some of the 100mm howitzers that Battlefront produce I was essentially going to have to do a complete rebuild from the ground up.

The only pieces retained from the original Battlefront 100mm Howitzer

Thick pneumatic tyres again needed to be cast up to provide all of them. The gun trail needed to be considerably lengthened, a new gun shield needed to be created as well as adding the guns furniture. 

a view showing the brass pins put into the original pieces and the plastic trail arms to be used

The barrel extensions in place and the start of the gun shield construction

The completed gun trails ready for everything else to be fixed to them.

I believe I wouldnt be too far off of the mark if I described this particular mini project as a Major ball ache but entirely necessary because as we all know; the devil is in the details!

The completed howitzers less gun shields showing gun sites and gun trail handles and hinges fixed in place

The completed gun shields

The final assembly of the 100mm wz. 14/19 howitzers

A rear view of the final assembly of the four howitzers 

The crews for the guns were a real hodge podge and were a mixture of Battlefronts Early War German Artillery Crew in Greatcoats (on the sage council of Ricky Moore). Not a perfect fit but with the merest nip and tuck they fit in just fine (so long as you are happy believing that in the hottest September on record the professionals soldiers of the Black Brigade were running around in Great Coats. 

A look at one of the complete howitzer bases with its C4P tractor

A close study of one of the long wheel base C4P Artillery Tractors used with Battery 2

I just decided on them because I really liked the variety to the artillery crews that True North provide) so I mixed them in with True North's 10th Motorised artillery crews. I love the results. Thanks for the heads up Ricky.

A close up view of one of the howitzer bases showing two of the Battlefront Germans used as Black Brigade artillerymen

Another view of the same gun

Finally these artillery pieces all need their half tracked tractors, of which it appears there were two types. 

The howitzer batteries command elements showing command base, staff team and spotter with their two PF 621L transports.

The short chassis ones that pulled the 75's and the long chassis' ones that pulled the 100mm's. How these are actually converted I've covered in a previous blog but the painting, just as with the artillery pieces is pretty much the same as with all of the other vehicles that I've done for my Polish army, with some slight differences for the muddying up which I will share shortly.

A close look at Battlefront Germans in greatcoats being used as a Black Brigade artillery spotter team

Another look

... so there we have it. The artillery for the Black Brigade is complete and looks the part. I am not really a fan of having to do artillery because of the amount of prep work that needs to go into it to make it work, obviously in this case having to completely rebuild four artillery pieces into ones that nobody in the world produces in 15mm... however I have to say that the work I put into these two batteries has given me a sense of satisfaction as the 100mm battery may very well be the only one of its type in the world... they may actually be unique! Thats no small thing to claim either!

Onto the next then....