AAR - BrisWingsofGlory WGS Campaign 1, Mission 9 - Polish Air Force 1939-45
France 1940 Mission 9 Defensive Patrol Montcornet 18/05/1940
Four days after the breakthrough at Sedan the Wehrmacht's panzer spearheads were steamrolling across northern France in a race to the sea. Ahead of them the Luftwaffe bombed and strafed military and civilian targets almost at will. Having placed all their faith and confidence in the 'impregnable' Maginot Line, the French High Command was unable to react with sufficient speed or determination to stem the German tide. To the north the British Expeditionary Force was withdrawing in good order to the Channel, while demoralised French units were throwing down their arms all along the front to the call of 'sauve qui peut!'
Despite the general disorder select units were able to mount local counterattacks aimed at the shoulders of the German advance. One such unit was the French 4e Division cuirassée (4DCR) commanded by Colonel Charles De Gaulle. A scratch unit formed only days before at Laon from three independent armoured battalions numbering just 95 tanks, 4DCR attacked the Germans at Montcornet. The initial assault was successful in halting the advance of German units, however soon stalled as the thirsty French Char B1bis tanks ran out of fuel and the lighter Renault R35 tanks ran into swampy terrain.
The Wehrmacht quickly recovered and call for Luftwaffe support in the form of Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' dive bombers.
At their forward base the GC II/7 'Patrouille Polonaise' also received a request to provide air cover for De Gaulle's attack. Fortunately the flight was back up to full strength thanks to the resourcefulness of Adjutant Władysław Chciuk. He had flown back to an aircraft park the previous evening, only to find the men responsible for supplying replacement aircraft did not work after 1700hrs. Chcuik soon found a sentry who was prepared to open a hangar and 'procured' a Morane on his own authority.
Twenty minutes after the call was received the Polish Flight took to the air led by Sous Lieutenant Władysław Gnyś in 'White 15', with Sous Lieutenant Tadeusz Kowalewski in 'White 6' and Adjutant Władysław Chciuk flying 'White 7'.
The 'Patrouille Polonaise' flying at an altitude of 5000 metres. To the north the Polish pilots see a column of French tanks dispersed along the road waiting to be refuelled.
At that moment Ltn. Frank Norbert's Stuka Kette of II./StG77 is approaching the same tank column at 4000 metres from the north .....
..... and deploys to strike! Leutnant Norbert's Ju 87B-2 'S2+AC' leads the attack in the centre, with Ltn. Hans Rohleder's Stuka 'S2+AH' on his right wing and Ltn. Friedrich Mann's 'S2+AN' on Norbert's left.
As the Stukas close on the immobile French tanks, the three Morane MS.406 fighters flown by S-Lt. Gnyś, S-Lt. Kowalewski and Adj. Władysław Chciuk turn into the Luftwaffe formation. Ltn. Mann manoeuvres around the oncoming French fighters, but both Władysław Gnyś in 'White 15' and Tadeusz Kowalewski in 'White 6' open fire on Ltn. Norbert's 'S2+AC'. Cannon shells and machine gun fire rake the Stuka as it is about to dive on the French column, causing heavy damage.
Norbert has just started his vertical descent when Władysław Chciuk dives down in pursuit, firing a quick burst at the fleeting target.....
.....which ignites the dive bomber's fuel tank!
Committed to his attack Leutnant Frank Norbert ignores the flames and releases his bombs before pulling out .....
... at which time the fire engulfs his machine. Even as Norbert's 250kg bomb scores a direct hit on a heavy Char B1bis tank, his Junkers Ju 87B-2 'S2+AC' crashes in flames. Leutnant Norbert is able to escape the burning dive bomber but his gunner Unteroffizier Ulrich Schumann dies in the flames. The Stuka pilot is soon captured by angry French 'poilus' and suffers some roughly handling until an officer appears to take him as a prisoner. In the sky above Adj. Chcuik notes the fiery crash with a deep sense of satisfaction, claiming the Stuka as his first victory.
As the Poles reform to come around again Ltn. Rohleder drops his bombs long missing his target, while Ltn. Mann lines up a Renault R35 at the rear of the column.
Leutnant Friedrich Mann's aim is good, his bombs upending the ten tonne R35.
Keen for another victory Władysław Chciuk turns his attention to Ltn. Hans Rohleder's Stuka 'S2+AH' as it makes for home.
Chcuik fires a high deflection burst at the Stuka. Although his machine guns fail to find their target the Polish warrant officer is pleased to see his 20mm shells burst along the port wing and fuselage.
Ltn. Rohleder takes evasive action, his gunner Feldwebel Klaus Meyer blazing away at the Morane as it passes behind the Stuka. But even as Ltn. Rohleder appears to have avoided one enemy fighter, S-Lt. Tadeusz Kowalewski dives in to attack.
His first burst inflicts more damage on 'S2+AH' but his second misses the mark.....
.....allowing Leutnant Rohleder and Feldwebel Meyer to escape over German occupied territory. Rohleder is able to get his machine back to base but the Stuka is so badly shot up the aircraft is deemed beyond repair and scrapped.
As Adj. Chcuik and S-Lt. Kowalewski are forced to break off they are so intent on the Stuka they fail to notice each other. Their Moranes collide, and although Chcuik's 'White 7' comes away unscathed Kowalewski's 'White 6' sustains serious damage.
On the other side of the battlefield Sous Lieutenant Władysław Gnyś in 'White 15' sets off in pursuit of Ltn. Mann's 'S2+AN' as the Stuka heads for home.
His bombs gone Ltn. Mann opens the throttle on his Junkers Jumo V12 engine. S-Lt. Gnyś banks around to chase the Stuka....
....but his tired Morane is slow to close on the Luftwaffe dive bomber.
Finally overtaking his quarry Władysław Gnyś opens fire, his cannon and machine guns wreaking terrible damage on the Stuka, shooting up control surfaces as well as the Jumo engine. 'S2+AN' gunner Uffz. Reinhard Junge returns fire causing some damage to the French fighter.
It is too little, too late however as Mann dives down to tree top height escaping destruction. Like Hans Rohleder, Friedrich Mann is able to nurse his crippled aircraft home but it the Stuka is also too badly shot about to be repaired and likewise scrapped. With the loss of three aircraft (one shot down, two scrapped) and two crew there would be much uneasy talk in the StG 77 mess that night about the vulnerability of the Stuka when confronted with modern fighter aircraft.
Sous Lieutenant Władysław Gnyś returns to base with more than few holes in 'White 15'. There is no critical damage however and the Morane is airworthy by 22 May.
Adjutant Władysław Chciuk brings 'White 7' home with very little damage, which is repaired in 48 hours.
Sous Lieutenant Tadeusz Kowalewski's 'White 6' sustained the heaviest damage in the collision with Chcuik's Morane. Although no critical systems were effected the structural damage was sufficient to keep the aircraft grounded for a week.
Despite the efforts of GC II/7 De Gaulle's 4DCR suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Stukas and also German ground forces that brought up 88mm flak guns to use as anti-tank artillery. Although lead elements of De Gaulle's force reached Montcornet, the Germans held the bridges on the Serre and the unsupported French tanks could not force a crossing. That night under heavy artillery bombardment the remaining tanks of 4DCR withdrew to their start lines at Laon, bringing back 130 prisoners.
And still the Wehrmacht pushed west towards the Channel coast.....
The teams for this mission - Polish pilots left to right Paul, Rod and Wayne (forum member Whiskysierra) with Pete and Shane helping me out flying Stukas.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks