Major Henryk Cygielski, Virtuti Militari, Monte Cassino

Major Cygielski, VM, was a Polish soldier who served with distinction during WWII and later built a successful career in the UK pharmaceutical industry. For his leadership and bravery during the Battle of Monte Cassino he was awarded the Virtuti Militari Cross, 5th class, Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage.

Born in Siedlce, Poland he attended the local junior school before completing his secondary education in Koluszki in 1937. Following a year at the Officer School for reservists in Skierniewice he was accepted into the Infantry Officer School at Komorowo, graduating in 1939.

At the outbreak of WWII he was assigned to the 5th Legion Infantry Regiment in Wilno, arriving on 3 September 1939. In the early days of war he organised an officer training course for government officials who had been evacuated from Warsaw. These young men known as ‘złota młodzież’ (‘gilded youth’) came from privileged backgrounds and were attached to various government ministries. Among them was Zbigniew Racieski who later became a correspondent for Radio Free Europe.

As Poland fell to German and Soviet invasions Henryk, along with the 2nd Detachment of the 5th Infantry Division, crossed the border into Lithuania where he was interned until spring 1940. When the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in 1940 Polish prisoners were transferred to Soviet camps. Henryk was held in various camps near Moscow before being moved to Kozielsko, a site from which groups of Polish officers were removed and executed in the Katyn Massacre. By sheer luck he was sent instead to Juchnowo, where after a series of interrogations by the NKVD, forerunner of the KGB, he was sentenced to five years hard labour for ‘wearing the uniform of the Polish Army.’

In spring 1940 he was transported via Murmansk to the Kola Peninsula where he endured months of forced labour, digging irrigation ditches and building a military airfield. Prisoners were subjected to starvation rations with food allowances determined by their work output.

After the signing of the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement in mid-1941 Polish prisoners in the Soviet Union were declared ‘amnestied’ and released. The reality however, was more complicated. Still under guard, Henryk and other prisoners were transported by ship and rail to Arkhangelsk where they found themselves in yet another camp, this time with no food or shelter. After weeks of suffering and protest they were packed into cattle wagons, 50 men per carriage, and transported south. They arrived at a camp 500km east of Moscow where they were formally informed of the amnesty.

Henryk and his friend Janek Romaszko escaped from the camp travelling from village to village, relying on Henryk’s fluent Russian to avoid detection. However after 2 weeks they began to attract the attention of Soviet authorities. Facing the prospect of capture and imprisonment they made the strategic decision to return to the camp. Their absence had been covered by fellow prisoners sparing them any punishment.

Soon after, Henryk travelled by rail to join the Polish Army forming at Tatiszczewo where he was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division, but soon volunteered for the Special Parachute Battalion (Battalion S). He reported to Capt. Kiedacz and was appointed deputy to Lt. Zielinski, commander of 1st Company. Over the next six months he underwent intensive training.

In August 1942 Battalion S was evacuated from the Soviet Union along with the rest of the Polish forces, bound for the Middle East. Just before departure, Henryk suffered a severe knee injury while rescuing a drowning soldier. He was taken to hospital in Tehran where British doctors recommended amputation. Refusing the operation he was transferred to a Polish Red Cross hospital where he made a slow but complete recovery. He rejoined his unit in Iraq 2 months later where Battalion S was restructured as the 15th Poznan Lancer Regiment.

Following promotion to Lieutenant, Henryk worked to convert the regiment into an armoured reconnaissance unit, the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division. In September 1942 he was transferred 920 miles by road to Mughazi Camp near Gaza as Deputy Commander of the 1st Squadron, travelling through Iraq and Jordan. The regiment transitioned from a parachute unit to an armoured cavalry detachment, using Staghound and Fox armoured cars. Before leaving Iraq he spent 2 months in Kirkuk defending an oil refinery alongside RAF fighter planes.

Under British administration Gaza was a base for further training. Shortly after arrival the 1st Squadron underwent high-altitude training in Lebanon, travelling via Haifa, Beirut and Damascus and spent Christmas 1942 in the mountains. In 1943 the regiment trained in Palestine before moving to Quassassin, Egypt, for Christmas. By the end of 1943 the squadron was prepared for battle and in early 1944 it was transferred to Italy as part of the Polish II Corps.

The 1st squadron, with Capt. Zielinski in charge and Lt. Cygielski as deputy, marched to Civitanova and then to the section of battlefront on the River Sangro. An eruption of Vesuvius, adjacent to Naples, covered all the vehicles with a layer of dust. On 5 April 1944 the squadron took over the battle zone Capracotta, relieving the 6th unit of the 2nd brigade of Carpathian Rifles. Lt. Cygielski was sent to the English school for instructors in anti-mine training, after completion of which he returned to the squadron and organised courses in de-arming mines for the squadron and regiment.

After relief from the frontline near Capracotta, he went with the squadron to Route 6 (Naples–Monte Cassino) as a base for further battles for Monte Cassino. The next station was Viticuso and the Gorge of Inferno, immediately before transfer to the Castellone hill near Monte Cassino. Lt. Cygielski took part in the whole of the Battle of Monte Cassino in May 1944 as leader of the attack squadron of the 1st Regiment of Poznan Lancers under the command of Major Smrokowski, commander of the 1st Commando Company who arrived from England to take part in the Battle for Monte Cassino.

Between 16 and 19 May 1944, Lt. Cygielski led an assault squadron comprising 3 officers and 59 Lancers, securing key positions while navigating difficult terrain under heavy enemy artillery and machine-gun fire. Despite intense bombardment the squadron held their ground, evacuated wounded soldiers and continued operations with determination. On 19 May they discovered that the enemy had withdrawn, marking the capture of the hill. The squadron suffered 5 dead, 16 wounded, and 3 shell-shocked but earned commendation from Major Smrokowski, who praised their courage, discipline and cooperation with the Commandos.

For his fighting activity at San Angelo Lt. Cygielski was awarded the Virtuti Militari Cross, 5th Class, Cross no. 8662. The award was made by General Sosnkowski Commander-in-chief of the Polish Forces, on 31 July 1944 at the celebrations at Ancona, Italy. For his service within the association of the 15th Lancers Lt. Cygielski was also awarded the Cross of Merit (Krzyż Zasługi) along with other Polish and British decorations, including the Cross of Valour (Krzyż Walecznych), the Monte Cassino Cross (Krzyż Monte Cassino) and 6 medals for various battle campaigns. A detailed account of the combat action of the Commando and Lancer group can be found on pages 297-308 of the book ‘The History of the 15th Regiment of Poznan Lancers, 1918-1962’, published in 1962 by the Association of Poznan Lancers.

Following the conquest of Monte Cassino Lt. Cygielski returned with the squadron as deputy to Capt. Zielinski and took part in armoured vehicle regimental battles in the direction of Ancona. After the wounding of Capt. Zielinski in the battle for Case Nuove, Lt. Cygielski took over command in the action at Chiaravelle, Iesi, Borgo Loreto, Angeli, Borgo Stazione, Cerreto, Villa Milliani alla Sega, and finally on the river Metauro.

At the end of August 1944, peritonitis necessitated an urgent operation under field conditions with subsequent evacuation to the hospital in Bari for convalescence. Lt. Cygielski returned to his regiment at Predappio, where Lt-Colonel Kiedacz was blown up by a mine; at his funeral Lt. Cygielski directed the honorary squadron. The regiment was at that time stationed in Civitella di Romagna.

In December 1944, Lt. Cygielski left Civitella di Romagna with the regiment, travelling through Porto Civitanova, Lanciano, Canossa and Maglie. After the regiment's division, he moved with the 15th Regiment to Egypt for tank training. He completed a tank instructors' course in Abbasia and later passed the entrance exam for the British Army Staff College in Haifa where he studied from August 1945 to February 1946, earning the title of Staff Captain (S.C.).

Declining offers to join the British Army or serve as a liaison officer, he pursued higher education in Beirut, studying Economics and Commerce at the American University and Chemistry at the French University. After two years, he relocated to England, completing a BSc in Chemistry at Imperial College London in 1951.

The Polish Government in Exile promoted Lt. Cygielski to the rank of Captain in 1964 and finally to the rank of Major in recognition of his contribution at the Battle of Monte Cassino and his service to the Polish Army.

His civilian career included 23 years at Sterling Winthrop, Surbiton, where he retired as a Director of Sterling-Winthrop (Continental) Ltd in 1985. For his contributions he was awarded the Order of Merit, Officer Class.

Major Cygielski was married to Ismini Zographides with whom he had two daughters. He passed away in 1997. His ashes were laid to rest in 1998 in the Powązki Military Cemetery Warsaw in the section for the Polish Armed Forces in the West. The interment was accompanied by full military honours from the Representative Company of the Polish Armed Forces together with representatives from the UK and Italy.