After the liberation of Baarle-Nassau, a Polish soldier dresses as a railwayman. 

A restored M-10 in Poland.

A Marder 1 of the 79 infantry division. 

A destroyed Marder 1 of the 79 Infantry Division at Baarle-Nassau. 

Firefight On 3 October 1944, Polish troops from the 1st Polish Armoured Division of Major General Stanisław Maczek approached Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog. In the vanguard, tanks were fighting a duel with a German tracked vehicle, likely a Marder I of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 1719. The battle took place near the railway line south of Baarle Nassau, and the story of this dramatic encounter has been told by Lieutenant Marian Ojrzanowski, who was in charge of a platoon equipped with three M10 Achilles Tank Destroyers (a type of tank with open-topped turrets). The group advanced through densely wooded terrain towards Eikelenbosch, in the wake of the Polish 9th Infantry Battalion. Gradually the tanks were confronted with more and more German infantry armed with anti-tank weapons, and a Cromwell tank was lost before the group was able to eliminate the threat. The wooded terrain in combination with the fierce German resistance slowed down the advance, however, after Polish artillery opened fire in support, the German resistance gradually diminished. At 16:45 the column was approaching the main road to Baarle-Nassau: the drama was about to begin.A head-on collision Ojrzanowski ordered his M-10s to stop briefly to do reconnaissance of the terrain ahead of him, and just as he was about to turn back, shivers ran down his spine. In front of him was a German tracked vehicle in front of a red brick house (Blockhouse 25 or 26). The German gun was deadly, so Ojrzanowski had to act quickly. As he ran back to his own M-10 he shouted a warning to his crew. He jumped into the vehicle, ordering his driver to stand to the left of the house and his radio operator to warn the Cromwell tanks following them. But it was already too late: the first Cromwell was hit twice in the turret, the second fired smoke grenades, retreating and reaching safety. In the meantime, Ojrzanowski's M-10 turned the corner and the lieutenant shouted at the driver to stop immediately. However, it was in vain as at that very moment the microphone did not work! The M-10 rammed the Marder head-on. The impact was unbelievable, and the two crews were stunned for a moment. But then they started firing at each other from close up. The German gunner, probably still shocked by the crash, unbelievably missed three times. Ojrzanowski shouted 'fire' twice in rapid succession and the German tracked vehicle was hit and bursts into flames.Liberation While this drama is unfolding, three Polish infantry battalions had entered Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog. The liberation was reported at 19:45, but the battle continued into the night and the liberation was not fact until the next day. The German wreckage remained there long after the liberation, a sight for the local population, whilst Ojrzanowski's unit had long since moved on to West Brabant.

Een frontale botsing in de strijd tussen twee stalen kolossen

Foto's