Legionary Books, LLC

In September 2009 I began a project outside of the Soldier of Rome series. This particular story takes place in September 1939 at a tiny Polish town called Wizna (which I believe is pronounced "Vyzna"). Here 720 Polish infantrymen under  Captain Władysław Raginis, had only six 76mm artillery guns, 24 heavy machine guns, and 12 bunkers. Facing them was Wehrmacht General Heinz Guderian's entire XIX Panzer Corps of 42,200 men, 350 tanks, plus hundreds of howitzers, artillery guns, mortars, and anti-tank weapons.

It is a story of great heroism in the face of overwhelming odds, much in the same vein as the Greeks at Thermopylae, or the British at Rorke's Drift. I have titled this upcoming book:

Wizna Kampf:

Wrath of the Wehrmacht

Captain Władysław Raginis and the Last Stand of Free Poland

The Poles:

Captain Władysław Raginis – Commander, 3^rd Machine Gun Company, Osowiec Fortress Battalion. Appointed commander of all Polish forces in the Wizna region

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Captain Wenceslaus Schmidt – Commander, 8^th Company, 135^th Infantry Regiment

Captain Stanislaus Brykalski – Battery Commander, Wizna positional artillery

First Lieutenant Witold Kiewlicz – Commander, 136 Engineer Company and of the Giełczyn area, Polish northern flank

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Corporal Pawlak (first name unknown) – Soldier serving under Lieutenant Kiewlicz

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Private Seweryn Bieganski –  A machine gunner under Captain Raginis, later served as his radio operator

*Fictitious Characters

Staff Sergeant Henryk Nastula – Mounted reconnaissance section leader

Sergeant Rostek Goldberg – Anti-tank carbine team leader

Corporal Rosow – Carbine team member

Lance Corporal Domalik – Carbine team member

Lance Corporal Oborski – Carbine team member

Polish infantry marching off to defend their country

Polish Anti-tank carbine soldier and cavalryman

The Germans:

Colonel General Heinz Wilhelm Guderian – Commander XIX Panzer Corps

Major General Ferdinand Schaal – Commander of the 10^th Panzer Division, XIX Panzer Corps

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Colonel Franz Gall – Commander of the Lötzen Fortress Brigade

Lieutenant Colonel Hans Cramer – Commander of Recon Squadron, 10^th Panzer Division

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Captain Ernst Simons – A company commander within the Lötzen Fortress Brigade

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Sergeant Hans Reimann – Platoon Sergeant within the 86^th Infantry Regiment, 10^th Panzer Division

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Private First Class Heinrich Schulz – A soldier serving under Captain Simons

*Fictitious Characters

Corporal Simmons – A squad leader under Sergeant Reimann

Lance Corporal Reinhard Strahm – A rifleman under Corporal Simmons

Private Peter Mueller  – Friend and squad mate of Strahm

Private Michael Hahn – Friend and squad mate of Strahm

Hitler watching Watching Wehrmact Infantry advance into Poland 

Panzer I - Though originally a training vehicle, it saw extensive action during the early days of the war

Panzer II - The primary battle tank of the Wehrmacht during the Polish invasion. Germany only had small numbers of the much heavier Panzer III and Panzer IV models, and the dreaded "King Tiger" was still a few years away from being fielded

*Note about fictitious characters: So little is known about the Polish soldiers who fought at Wizna that regrettably I have to use a number of fictional characters. Aside for Corporal Pawlak and Private Bieganski, I have not been able to find any information regarding the actual non-commissioned officers or enlisted men who fought at Wizna. 
 

Other images:

Władysław Raginis (far right) at the Infantry Cadet School, circa 1930

Heinz Guderian in his half-track mobile command post. The famous Enigma encryption teletype is in the foreground