There are legends about his achievements in Podhale during the last war. Cichociemny 2nd Lt. Feliks Perekładowski, at the head of the "Wolf" partisan unit, carried out a series of spectacular actions against the German forces. One of the most famous ones was the ambush on the gendarmerie unit on the bridge near the town of Kamienica.
On the night of May 30-31, 1944, as part of the "Weller 30" operation, a group of Cichociemni was dropped on the outpost near Łańcut. One of the jumpers was 23-year-old 2nd Lt. Feliks Peredzialowski "Friend 2".
Pere Składowski, born in Żółkiew near Lviv, fought as a volunteer in the September campaign, taking part in the defense of Lviv. At the beginning of October 1939, he was captured by the Soviets while trying to cross the Polish-Hungarian border and sentenced to 5 years in labor camps. As a result of the Sikorski-Majski pact, he was released from the camp in September 1941. He joined the Anders Army. He joined the ranks of the Cichociemni two years later.
The first exemplary action
After acclimatization, 2nd Lt. "Friend 2" was sent to the Nowy Sącz District Inspectorate of the Kraków AK District, where he became the deputy commander of the "Wilk" partisan unit. It shone during its first major action on July 27, 1944.
At that time, thanks to a trick invented by him, about 50 German soldiers surrendered to the Poles, who manned the post in Kamienica, 25 km south-west. from Nowy Sącz. The partisans then obtained a lot of weapons and ammunition, and even a truck.
Lt. Feliks Perekładowski himself.
When on the night of August 16-17, 1944, during the operation in Kasina Wielka, the commander of "Wolf" Rtm. Krystian Więckowski, 2nd Lt. Perekładowski took command of the unit. Successive actions carried out under his command strengthened the opinion of the local community as one of the most effective and brave partisans.
He was also respected and adored by his soldiers. He owed it in part to his character traits: a merciless mocker of everything and everyone, a bit of a light-hearted man and a raptus, but a man of great righteousness, spontaneously unable to bear any posturing .
Occupant quota
On September 8, 1944, a month and a half after the July action of Polish partisans in Kamienica, a gendarmerie unit arrived in this town from Łącko, 10 km away. As the harvest has just ended, the commanding officer of the unit orders the peasants to prepare the contingent for tomorrow.
Currently, Kamienica is a quiet village in the Limanowa poviat, but during the German occupation the situation was completely different (photo:Marek Silarski; license CC ASA 2.5).
The residents of the tenement house know very well what is the risk of not following the instructions. The Germans will take the crops by force anyway, and the reluctant ones may encounter a concentration camp, a firing squad or a gallows. The norm in such cases was also pacification of entire villages.
After all, the peasants do not want to be passive. After the departure of the gendarmes, they quickly alert Feliks Peredzialowski. Partisans are camped in Mogielica, the highest mountain in this area. The large forest complex that exists there provides excellent shelter for subversive groups, and the vast space of the Stumorgowa Clearing allows even allied airdrops to be received.
The tenement house for the second time
Pereładowski decides to act immediately. He takes twenty of his best people and leads them towards the tenement house. Cichociemny knows the topography of this area very well. The only road from Łąck to Kamienica leads through the village of Zabrzeż.
The commander decides that the best place to attack the Nazi gendarmes will be the bridge over the Kamienica river, right in front of the village. After reaching the place, the "Wolves" spend the night in a barn by the river, near the bridge. Pending action begins.
Gendarmes come to Kamienica in the morning. First, the Kübelwagen off-road crosses the bridge, followed by a truck loaded with gendarmes. Right after the cars have passed, Peredzialowski orders to place an explosive charge under the bridge. In the bushes, several dozen meters away, he places his people.
Ambush on the bridge
The Germans leave Kamienica in the afternoon well. He is the first to cross the Kübelwagen Bridge again. The partisans are waiting tensely for the truck. Finally there is! When he rides onto the bridge, "Friend 2" gives the order to launch the payload and ... nothing happens!
Members of the "Wolf" partisan unit in the summer of 1944 during the march to Slovakia. It was they who gave Łupnia to the German gendarmes from Kamienica.
So Pereładowski shouts: Ognia ! A truck under heavy fire, possibly damaged, suddenly stops. The gendarmes are jumping out of the load box. They try to respond with chaotic fire.
The fight is short. In a clash with well-hidden Poles, from such a close distance, the Nazis have no chance. They are literally blown away. Only one of them manages to escape - this one will later be declared missing by the Germans.
A little hoax
Meanwhile, 29 dead and wounded - Germans and Ukrainians - are lying on the bridge. The entire crew of the Łącko post. Poles collect their weapons. Pereładowski sends peasants to the village to take care of the wounded. It is by no means an act of grace. More like disinformation.
Cichociemny remembers perfectly well how, in retaliation for the operation in Kasina Wielka, the Germans burned down several villages and murdered about a hundred people. I'm trying to avoid it now. So the orders are deliberately given in Russian. He knows the language very well.
Officers of the 1st battalion of the 1st Podhale Rifle Regiment of the Home Army. from the left:Sec. Feliks Perełaczowski "Friend 2" and the battalion commander Wojciech Lipczewski "Andrzej". The photo was taken after the action in Kamienica.
In this way, he wants to create the impression among the wounded gendarmes that it was rather an accidental action by Soviet partisans. As a result, the Germans may not want to take revenge on the inhabitants of the tenement house.
After the action, the partisans from "Wilk", not disturbed by anyone, returned to Mogielica. They did not suffer any losses in this fight. And the seabs? 17 gendarmes were killed in the fight against the Poles, 12 were wounded, and 1 was reported missing.
Pereładowski's trick was really successful. The Germans believed that they had met Stalin's partisans who ventured into the area and refrained from retaliating. There was one important thing left for them to do. They had to man the gendarmerie post in Łąck with a new crew.
Editor:Krzysztof Chaba; Photo edition:Rafał Kuzak