Lieutenant-Colonel Zdzislaw Szydłowski
9th Flemish Rifle Battalion (Poland)

My father, who finally was in command at Maczuga, told me of the feelings of the men. They were not beaten, but they were in a serious position. I have the impression that General Maczek was surprised they hung on, but they would not give up. The Polish soldiers were happy to meet the Canadians on that hill. The biggest emotion was relief and also it was pride that the cork stayed. That was the impact of the whole action. Pride overruled fear.

(Chris Szydłowski quoted in Whitaker, Normandy, 293)

Born on 21 September 1900 in Lwów, Poland, Zdzisław Mateusz Lubicz-Szydłowski was a soldier and scientist, having received a doctorate in biology from Poznair University in 1928. After Poland’s independence in November 1918, he served in the army during the Polish-Ukrainian War then the Polish-Soviet War and took a commission in 1923. In 1929, he had a duel with fellow officer and medical doctor Alojzy Pawelek. The next year, Szydłowski shot and killed Pawelek in his office after a violent argument. Szydłowski was arrested and briefly imprisoned but resumed his military career.

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