To Arms!

Sunny Morning

August 18, 1939
Second Polish Republic
Kielce Voivodeship
Radom

The past few days had been a whirlwind for Sergeant Andrzej Boruta. Ever since the memorable words of Lieutenant Colonel Chrobaczewski that they were not on Earth, what happened next was rather hazy and not worth mentioning. Life had sped up incredibly, but let's start from the beginning.

Right after Lieutenant Colonel, to the best of his abilities, explained their situation, which wasn't easy considering everyone wanted to know how and what, preparations began to set the unit to combat readiness. Complicating matters, they were to conduct the Soldier's Day festivities as planned.

Given that the day before was the regiment's holiday, and August 15 was also a religious holiday, many soldiers from Radom and the surrounding areas wanted passes to visit their families, if they were still around. Since August 14 and 15 fell on the first two days of the week, it resulted in an extended weekend. This made it challenging to elevate the unit's readiness level, as reported to the command of the 28th Infantry Division, ironically located in Warsaw.

The division commander, General Władysław Bończa-Uzdowski, acknowledged this fact and allowed the unit to relax its deadlines and readiness until the pass issue was resolved. However, the relaxation wasn't too significant. This was due to the fact that the 26th Infantry Division was to be part of the Łódź Army, and this army was to secure the Polish-German border from the northern side of Upper Silesia.

Reports from ground and aerial reconnaissance, as well as intelligence data received by the General Staff, led to the mobilization of the Łódź and Kraków Armies to secure the border. Although there was no talk of invasion yet, given the very nervous movements of the Germans, alarmed by the situation, they anticipated an armed clash on the border.

Therefore, on the same day the general allowed the relaxation of deadlines, August 16, an urgent request for accelerated action arrived. This put the 72nd in a dire situation. Although what exactly happened on the night of August 15 was shrouded in secrecy, it couldn't be hidden that something had happened.

Although during the Soldier's Day festivities, attention could be diverted by the celebration itself, the next day and the following days, rumors grew stronger. Contrary to fears, people didn't panic but were deeply concerned. This gave rise to another problem: while the majority of soldiers on leave independently decided to return to the unit to be armed if necessary, some, influenced by the rumors and their own families, remained at home, regardless of whether they had passes for the following days or not.

This required a swift response. Here stepped in Boruta. Known for his reputation as the regimental Bies, he was loaned by the majors of the other two battalions from the commander of the 1st Battalion, Major Karol Zbrzydło. The 1st Battalion itself was quickly assembled and ready to march into the field on August 16, no surprise given that the 1st was usually the best, and with the Bies, it was the best among the best. At least that's what the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 72nd Regiment said about themselves.

In this way, using his devilish tricks learned over the past twenty years as a non-commissioned officer, Boruta corralled the more problematic stragglers back to the barracks. He spent two days and one night doing so.

Upon returning to his home First Platoon, Sergeant Andrzej Boruta arrived only on August 18th at noon. Exhausted from dealing with stubborn soldiers, he entered the office of his commanding officer, Lieutenant Kamil Pluta, with a blissful dream of catching a moment's rest. The previous night had been like that of a cat with a full bladder, darting from place to place across the entire region.

Although, in truth, the last few stragglers had returned without much trouble, it wasn't due to the sergeant's extraordinary diplomatic skills, but simply because his exhausted face resembled a devil straight from the deepest circles of hell. It must be remembered that Boruta, on any given day, did not have a pleasant appearance.