The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D. A Canadian Hero

Chapter 3: ESCAPE TO DANGER – Fighting with the POLISH UNDERGROUND ARMY – The A.K.

Section 3.5 : Activities Conducted by Brooks' Platoon Spring 1944

Things were getting hotter and hotter as spring 1944 continued and my platoon had several short actions.

• On 12^th May 1944 my unit attacked a German patrol of 30 men, killing three and wounding five.
   
  
• On 14^th May 1944, I took four men from my unit and ambushed a Grenzschutz (German border patrol) in the mountains near Wielki Rogacz (near Piwniczna), wounding four men.
   
  
• We stayed in hiding at Labowa waiting for orders from London to blow up an important railway tunnel at Kamionka (between Nowy Sącz and Gorlice). Orders did not arrive and while waiting we executed three Ukrainian confidants at Łabowa.
   
  
• About 22^nd May, Lieut. Przyjaciel arrived by air from Italy and was attached to the 1^st Company of the 1^st Battalion, 1^st P.S.P. This officer organized a raid on the S.S. at Kamienica in which my platoon took part.
   
  
• A raid took place on 25^th May 1944 in which we ambushed in broad daylight a truck filled with Storm Troopers. We killed several of them and captured two whom we used as hostages.
  We hoodwinked the hostages into believing we were heavily armed and strong in numbers then sent one of them into the village of Kamienica with an ultimatum to the CO of the garrison to surrender.
  A whole SS company was lined up outside the brightly-lit garrison, when we arrived! We loaded up with arms, food and equipment, but we didn't shoot any of the men. We also did not take their personal monies or watches. We wanted them to realize that we were soldiers too and not just barbarians who shot everybody.
   
  
• On about 26^th May 1944 the 1^st Company returned to the Przysłup area, where we ambushed a lorry load of Germans, six of whom were killed and 15 wounded. The same night we destroyed two bunkers at Szlachtowa, on the Slovakian border.
  
  Any time our Platoon or Company could either destroy or inflict casualties on the border posts (such as Frydmanie, Nowej Białej, Trybszu and Bukowinie - Podszklu) of the Third Reich Slovakei Army we took the opportunity with a lot of satisfaction. This was always considered to be a continued "payback" for the early hours of September 1, 1939 when Slovak German troops invaded the region of Podhale. At the time, the Polish forces were very thin and could not stop the enemy troops in their unprovoked attack on Zakopane, Nowy Targ and Yordanova.

PHOTO: Polish Partisan Unit of Polish Home Army "Wilk" ("Wolf") in Podhale  Unit on the way to Slowakei (Slovakia) via Gorce Mountains to attack border posts of Third Reich Slovakei Army in Nova Spiska Ves and Niedzica; Commander of Unit at this time leut. Krystyn Więckowski "Zawisza" Photo Courtesy of:  Hubert Brooks Private Collection

PHOTO: Polish Partisan Unit of Polish Home Army "Wilk" ("Wolf") in Podhale  Unit on the way to Slowakei (Slovakia) via Gorce Mountains to attack border posts of Third Reich Slovakei Army;  front row left in photo– leut. Gustaw Górecki "Gustaw" Photo Courtesy of:  Hubert Brooks Private Collection

Polish Home Army Group "Wilk"on the way to Slovakia Summer 1944 Photo Courtesy of: IPN through Michał Maciaszek, GRH Commander, The Polish Historical Society, Nowy Targ,Poland

PHOTO: Polish Partisan Unit of Polish Home Army "Wilk" ("Wolf") in Podhale  Unit Returning Home After Successfully Attacking Border Posts of Third Reich Slovakei Army. Partisans captured a Slovaks Border Guard outpost and captured significant armaments and equipment. On this mission my good friend partisan Czech Officer S. Wróbel a.k.a. "Szwejk" (later commander of a Company within this 1 psp AK Battalion) played a particularly effective role taking part in the attack on the old Slovakian border post above Lesnica Jago where his language skills made it easier for us to open the door of the police station, because he just started to talk in Czech easily answering the question "who's there?". Photo Courtesy of: Hubert Brooks Private Collection

Polish Home Army Group "Wilk"on the way to Slovakia Summer 1944
The Partisans captured Slovak Border Guard outposts in the summer 1944 and liberated a good deal of armament and equipment.

Photo Courtesy of: IPN via Michał Maciaszek,
GRH Commander, The Polish Historical Society, 34-400 Nowy Targ,
ul. St. Dorothy 55, Poland

From time to time various platoon and unit commanders got together to discuss strategy and tactics. One such get together occured late spring 1944.

PHOTO: Polish Partisan Leaders Meet to Discuss Strategy and Tactics  From Left Standing: 1) leut. Jan Tokarczyk "Baca", 2) leut. Feliks Perekładowski "Przyjaciel" 3) Unknown 4) leut. Gustaw Górecki "Gustaw" 5) Unknown 6) leut. Jan Wojciech Lipczewski "Andrzej", "Wierzyca" (far right) Photo Courtesy of: Hubert Brooks Private Collection

The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D.