The basic activities of soldiers

In the home garrisons, the brigade units trained soldiers intensively, especially as many reservists who reached a high level of proficiency in summer and autumn left after partial demobilisation.

The exhibited photo DRM 1901_26 refers to the basic activities of soldiers (mounted riflemen) i.e. exercises related to individual training in the post-motorised period.

Year 1936 and subsequent revolutionised the life of mounted riflemen and brought about a shift from live horses to horsepower. The second photo shows an individual training competition in motorcycle riding, more exactly Sokół 1000 M111 with a sidecar. The Sokół 1000 M 111 motorcycle was developed for the army by Eng. Tadeusz Rudowski in 1936. Those motorcycles came in two versions, i.e. solo and with a sidecar. The solo version was intended for messengers, officers and was used as liaison vehicles, whereas the version with the sidecar was used in reconnaissance units as support vehicles after fitting a light machine gun (rkm model 28 Browning) in the sidecar. At the same time, a special platform (instead of the sidecar) was developed to allow the installation of a heavy machine gun enabling, among other things, air defence fire. The design assumptions and price (around 4,200 Polish zloty) meant that most produced vehicles were sent to military units, where they became basic motorcycle equipment. Various types of rallies, both long-distance or off-road, were used to improve the riding, operating and repair skills which enhanced the proficiency of not only mounted riflemen and officers of the 10th Mounted Riflemen Regiment.

Przemysław Kucia