PSZnZ Badge of the 10th Regiment of Dragoons J.R Gaunt - Gen. Antoni Grudzinski

PSZnZ Badge of the 10th Regiment of Dragoons made by J.R Gaunt in Great Britain (Leszczuk & Barbarski 39a).
Dimensions 40,4mm / 33,6mm
Badge given to General Antoni Grudzinski. Item comes from a set of General Antoni Grudzinski memorabilia, the last photo shows a photograph of the entire set, other items in the set are offered in the current auction.
General condition as shown in the photos.
Provenance:
Christie's Auction "Militaria" , July 11, 1986, Item 227
Private collection, Scotland
1995-2002, Deposited and exhibited at the Polish Institute and the General Sikorski Museum in London-.
Private collection, Scotland
Private collection, Poland
Numismatic Cabinet Damian Marciniak auction, Poland, 2019
Private collection
Brigadier General Antoni Grudzinski (born November 17, 1897 in Vilnius, died December 1, 1981 in London) was an outstanding cavalry officer of the Polish Army and the Polish Armed Forces, who with his service deserved a place in the pantheon of the most outstanding Polish officers. As deputy commander of the 10th Armored Brigade, he received from the Germans the surrender of the largest Kriegsmarine base in Wilhelmshaven on May 6, 1945.
He studied at St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. He began his service in the army in July 1918 in a lancer squadron in Kuban, later renamed a lancer regiment of General Zeligowski's 4th Rifle Division. With the division he returned to the country. He was a student at the cadet school from November 1919 to April 1920.
During the Polish-Bolshevik War, Grudzinski distinguished himself as a platoon commander in the 14th Lancer Regiment, and his skills and leadership abilities were quickly recognized, resulting in further promotions.
In the regiment, as a volunteer lancer, from the beginning of the regiment's existence. He distinguished himself with valor in the battle of Jazloviec. Knight of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari (no.6934).
Participation in the Battle of Jazlowiec:
In the history of Polish arms there are few victories as brilliant as the one achieved at Jazlowiec, in a battle that lasted intermittently for three days and nights - from July 11 to 13, 1919.
Polish troops joined the attack at 5:00 am on July 11, 1919. Within five hours they managed to cross the Strypa River. However, near the village of Duliby they came under heavy Ukrainian fire, which was only broken by the charge of the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Antoni Grudzinski, later a general, described it as follows:
"It boiled over. They are beating from the whole front in front of us. Cekaems crackle and cut the air. Bullets are ripping through the air. Everything is bundled up in the rumble of the gallop. In the eye of excerpts. This one flies from the saddle, there rolls the horse. The snarling, intermittent galloping sound of trumpets "march, march". A gallop. The ranks roared with a shrill "HUR-R-A-A." The horses laid down their ears. From everywhere came an unmuted shout. Fury bubbled up to reach, to chop, to stab, to trample - those there, who are beating at us. A glimpse of the instruction of the squadron's warriors that the infantryman is best "abyssinian" from below, because from cutting from above he will be shielded by a rifle. When with a lance - it's from the underbrush and from above, because from under the armpit and directly it's unwieldy in a crowd, and if at the same time you don't lead the horse away with a push to the left - you can fly out of the saddle yourself. We had good sabers - Russian sabers, mostly "kubanki", which fit well in the hand. We reached and "chop". Now it was every man for himself. It congealed into a shriek, thud and disorderly shooting. It did not take long, they throw down their weapons, hands in the air. The field is swarming with those fleeing. The abandoned cekaems are silent. To the gun positions! The attendants can't keep up with the harnessing [with the establishment of the so-called "front", which is a single-axle vehicle used for towing]. They cut the posts and try to blow on the harnessed horses. Another battery already harnessed set off. Our own follow it. The attendants also cut the halyards, throw the cannons, still and try to save themselves by escaping, but we take them all. [...] In the squadrons gather. They collect captives and prey. Sanitarians of the wounded. Single shots cut short the lives of the maimed, no longer salvageable, horses. For the cavalryman they are tragically painful. To a faithful comrade - a bullet goodbye."
After the war, as a second lieutenant, in 1921 he commands a platoon in the 2nd school squadron. In 1922, as a lieutenant, he becomes regimental adjutant. In 1926, he leaves for the War College, passing the adjutantship to Rt. Julian Miller. As of November 2, 1926, he was assigned to the Higher War College in Warsaw, as a student of the 1926-1928 Normal Course. As of October 31, 1928, after completing the course and receiving the General Staff Officer's Academic Diploma, he was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division Command in Warsaw as a staff officer. On April 24, 1930, he was transferred to the position of acting chief of staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division in Warsaw. As of November 1, 1930, he was assigned to the army inspector in Lviv. He returned in November 1934 to command a squadron in the 14th Cavalry Cavalry Regiment in Lviv, and in January 1935 was assigned to Branch III of the General Staff. During the funeral of Jozef Pilsudski in Warsaw, he was commander of the honor squadron of the Podolska Cavalry Brigade. In July 1939 he was appointed deputy commander of the 14th lancer regiment in Lviv.
He served the September campaign in the Operations Branch of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff in Poland, and then in France, where he was assigned to the Operations Branch of the French XX Corps Staff. Deputy Chief of Detachment III of the Supreme Commander's Staff in London from June 1940. On June 30, 1941, he took command of a reconnaissance squadron of the I Corps, which was reformed into the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment on June 30, 1942. On July 13, 1942, he handed over command of the regiment and moved to the position of deputy commander of the 16th Armored Brigade. He was an officer to the Chief's orders at the Supreme Commander's headquarters in London from 1943 to 1944, and from March to September 1944 was the Supreme Commander's liaison officer to the British 21 Army Group Command. In September 1944, he was appointed deputy commander of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade. From June 1945 to June 1947 he commanded this brigade. In June 1947, he joined the Polish Resettlement Corps and took command of the 54th PKPR Brigade Group there.
The surrender of the garrison and Kriegsmarine base was accepted on behalf of General Maczek by Colonel Diplomat Antoni Grudzinski.
The command of the fortress, the Kriegsmarine base, the "Ostfriesland" fleet, the command of the German 10th Infantry Division, the commanders of eight infantry and artillery regiments, 2 admirals (Weiher and Zieb) 1 general (Gericke) and 1,900 officers and 32,000 non-commissioned officers and privates surrendered to the Poles. In the harbor, the Maczkovks captured: 1 badly damaged cruiser "Köln," 1 command ship "Niassa," 12 submarines (7 of which are still operational), 205 smaller combat and support ships, 94 fortress guns, 159 field guns, 560 heavy machine guns, 40,000 rifles, 280,000 artillery shells, 23,000 hand grenades and 64 million rounds of small arms ammunition. Stockpiles of mines and torpedoes and food supplies also fell into the hands of the 1st Armored Division. These were supposed to last 50,000 men for three months. In addition, the Poles also captured a lot of Kriegsmarine pennants, including the flag of Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (Dönitz's successor). In the city, Gen. Maczek's soldiers also found a Polish eagle, which the Wehrmacht had taken from the Fleet Command building in Gdynia in 1939. Now the emblem has returned to its rightful owners. Soon after the surrender of the Germans, Poles began flying white and red flags and began occupying the city. On May 6, the Polish light cruiser ORP "Conrad" entered the port of Wilhelmshaven. The cruiser was on duty supervising the fulfillment of the surrender conditions at the German base until May 14. Polish sailors and soldiers felt joy as they saw the destruction in the city and the surrendering Germans.
After the end of hostilities, Grudzinski settled in London, where he remained active in the military community, including as deputy chairman of the Military Adjudication Commission and a fellow of the General Sikorski Institute. His life ended tragically on December 1, 1981 as a result of a traffic accident.
Items related to General Grudzinski, such as decorations and personal memorabilia, are unique testimony to the life of a man who devotedly served his homeland in the most difficult moments of its history. Each of these artifacts is not only a valuable historical memento, but also a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Polish soldier.
Bibliography/Sources:
"The Polish Army in the West 1939-47 Commemorative and Specialist Badges a Collectors Companion" by Tony Leszczuk & Krzysztof Barbarski, 2020.
"14 Pułk Ułanów Jazłowieckich wspomnienia i relacje do dziejów", Volume I & II, Dudziński Antoni & Gromnicki Jan, Grajewo 2018
"History of the Jazłowiec Ułans" Collective work, London 1988
Interview with General Antoni Grudzinski : https://www.polskieradio.pl/39/156/Artykul/1435899,Wilhelmshaven-Kriegsmarine-skapitulowala-przed-Polakami
https://dobroni.pl/post/14-pulanow-wkkp-postscriptum-cz2-f647411/strona21
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polish-armed-forces-second-republic-si-y-zbrojne-ii-rzeczypospolitej-polskiej-1918-1939/virtuti-militari-23061-53/
https://przystanekhistoria.pl/pa2/tematy/polskie-wojsko/77635,Bitwa-jazlowiecka.html