The original edition was published under the title

Niczego nie żałuję

Translation:

Katarzyna Winciorek

Editors:

Łukasz Przybyło (English edition)

Krzysztof Schramm (Polish edition)

Cover design:

Teresa Oleszczuk

DTP (print):

Wanda Zawadzka

Composition of the eBook:

Epubeum

Copyright @ Zygmunt Jatczak, Krzysztof Schramm

Copyright @ 2014, 2015 by DROICHEAD

Copyright © 2020, 2021 Tetragon sp. z o. o.

Cover photo: Zygmunt Jatczak directs the fire of the Bren light machine gun, the German legionnaire Neumann shoots. Franchini plantation, 1950 (Zygmunt Jatczak’s family archive)

Title-page photo: Zygmunt Jatczak with “Błyskawica” machine pistol. Warsaw, August 1944 (Aleksander Karcz, canvas, oil paint)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Tetragon

kontakt@tetragon.com.pl

www.tetragon.com.pl

ISBN (ebook) 978-83-66687-20-2

ISBN (print) 978-83-66687-15-8

Map 1. Operations of the Thirteenth Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion in 1951 (Krzysztof Schramm’s archive)

Zygmunt Jatczak in Indochina, Franchini Plantation, 1951 (Zygmunt Jatczak’s family archive)

Introduction to the First Edition

Zygmunt Jatczak is a living legend of the Polish Home Army and French Foreign Legion. He fought in the Warsaw Uprising in the “Miotła” Battalion1 and was a soldier in the Thirteenth Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion in Indochina. Decorated several times, he received, among others, the Cross of Valor for the Warsaw Uprising, and the Military Medal (Médaille militaire) for his service in Indochina. Mr. Jatczak returned to Poland and lives in the north of the country. He is an honorary member of the Association of Former Soldiers and Friends of the Foreign Legion in Poland. His memoirs, presented in this book, were collected during our meetings between 2009 and 2014.

Our many encounters and days of conversations are for me, a historian, a trip into the past. In this journey, I am guided by the Hero of those times. A prisoner of Majdanek,2 a soldier in the Warsaw Uprising, he showed me the real story of the days of the insurrection in Warsaw, sparing none of its gravity, heroism, or tragedy for the city and its inhabitants.

My Guide and Friend also took me on a voyage to the legendary Foreign Legion of the olden days. I heard a first-hand narrative about Sidi Bel Abbès, the Legion’s maison-mère, in Algeria. I also traveled with him to fight against the Communist Viet Minh. Together we traversed southern Indochina, I met my Friend’s old brothers-in-arms—and on his path, he met quite a few of those, whose stories would shape history. He knew General Salan and General Bieagard, the French paratrooper legend; Lieutenant Imbot, who later became a general; and General de Lattre. I followed my Friend on his patrols in the jungle and rice fields and I saw the Legion’s battles and operations through the eyes of their participants. There are only a few people left today who remember these events. There are fewer and fewer Warsaw Uprising insurgents left and scarce are those who remember the fight against Communism in Indochina.

Zygmunt Jatczak, my Friend, calls himself a lucky man to have survived all of these “adventures.” I am lucky that I have him as a Friend.

Here I would like to express my greatest gratitude toward Zygmunt Jatczak for his friendship and the time he devoted to telling his story.

I would like to thank Zbigniew Truszczyński, the President of the Association of Former Soldiers and Friends of the Foreign Legion in Poland, thanks to whom I met Zygmunt Jatczak. I address a special thank you to Andrzej Wojtas, who not only enabled me to publish a series of articles about my Friend in the magazine Komandos, but also convinced me to write this book.

The Introduction to the Second Edition, Revised and Extended

Zygmunt Jatczak’s memoir Niczego nie żałuję [I regret nothing], originally published in 2014, showed for the first time the life of the incredibly lucky man that Zygmunt was. After all these years, his story has finally been told and is available to a wider audience. Articles, books, radio programs, and films have been made. Both the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Pawiak Prison Museum in Warsaw have expressed an interest in him. The memory of Zygmunt Jatczak is alive in the Association of Former Soldiers and Friends of the French Foreign Legion in Poland, where he was an honorary member. Mr. Jatczak was present, though not personally, at exhibitions dedicated to the Legion and its heroes held by the Association in the Polish cities of Bydgoszcz, Poznań, and Warsaw.

The many public meetings that took place as a part of the promotion of the book were a great opportunity for further and longer conversations between the two authors. Especially noteworthy was the wonderful encounter with the Hero in Olsztynek in Poland (organized by the city’s administration). Tens of hours spent between 2015 and 2020 at the Hero’s home which helped unveil stories that Zygmunt had never shared before. They have now found a place in this book, which has been extended by both new written content and illustrations.

With the help of my friends at the Association of Former Soldiers and Friends of the French Foreign Legion in Poland, my various ideas could come to life and Zygmunt Jatczak was able to appear at many public events in person. The Legionnaires were also present at the encounter in Olsztynek, for which I am extremely grateful.

I thank Alain Barthelemy from France and Andrew Mitchell from Ireland for their kind help and for providing me with unique sources. The photographs from Indochina and the Journal des marches et opérations de la 13 DBLE 1951 (Thirteenth DBLE War Diary 1951) allowed me to present many previously unknown details. Indeed, they may be the first-ever published sources about the First Indochina War. A documentation of Thirteenth DBLE as well as the Bande noire’s (Black band) operations in 1951, which today could be referred to as special service units, can rarely be found in professional literature.

Most significant for my Friend must have been France’s recognition of his service in Indochina. Zygmunt Jatczak was appointed to the rank of Knight (Chevalier) of the Legion of Honor by the President of the Republic of France on April 3, 2017. The honorary ceremony took place on July 7, 2017, at the Town Hall in Olsztynek. Colonel Roland Delawarde, the Embassy of the Republic of France’s defense attaché, who had also served in the French Foreign Legion, decorated Mr. Jatczak on behalf of the president of France. My Friend was saluted by an Association of Former Soldiers and Friends of the French Foreign Legion in Poland delegacy, who came with the Association’s banner, and by the Association’s President, Zbigniew Truszczyński. The Hero was also congratulated by Olsztynek city officials and delegations from the Polish Army and veterans’ organizations.

After the decoration with the Legion of Honour: Colonel Roland Delawarde, Zygmunt Jatczak, Zbigniew Truszczyński, Olsztynek, July 7, 2017 (Photography by Krzysztof Schramm)

That I Regret Nothing caused such huge interest and that the first edition has been sold out convinced my Friend Zygmunt and me to work on the second edition. The revised, completed, and extended version of the memoir was published thanks to the kind interest of the Tetragon publishing house and its owners, Mr. Łukasz Przybyło and Tadeusz Zawadzki.

Thank you.

Krzysztof Schramm

Poznań, June 2020

Memories of Zygmunt Jatczak,
Hero of the Home Army and the Foreign Legion

It was probably 2008 or maybe already 2009 when I heard about Zygmunt Jatczak for the first time. It was during one of the meetings of the Association of Former Soldiers and Friends of the Foreign Legion in Poland. The then president Zbigniew Truszczyński asked me, “You know Krzysztof, that in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, near Olsztyn, lives a Legion veteran of the Indochina War. I have been in touch with him, maybe it is worth your time to contact him? He will tell you his story, and you should write it down, it is worth it...”

This historian needed no further explanation, Zbyszek made an appointment for me, first by telephone. One, another, and then another telephone call and this is how our acquaintance began. I did not know then how lucky I was, that I had just met an extraordinary man. Not only the hero of the old days but most of all, a Great Man.

The publication of the memoir I Regret Nothing became a dream come true for my friend. The result is a book that tells the story of his life.

With a smile and a sense of great joy, he posed for photos with the book in his hands, he was proud of it. I felt the same.

He felt a fulfilled man, not only thanks to his family but also thanks to History, in which he is enrolled in golden letters. He enjoyed the second edition of the book and knew about the preparations for the English edition. The story of his life is already immortal, and he will soon go out into the world.

In August 2020 I learned about his stroke. My friend had a serious health condition, and there was possibility of him not recovering. But thanks to the care of his family, Zygmunt slowly regained his strength, and we were able to talk again. We planned another meeting, but unfortunately his health deteriorated in January. The commandos from Lubliniec were lucky enough to visit him... I was not so lucky. Zygmunt Jatczak passed away on February 9, 2021. We met at the funeral.

My friend loved life, he enjoyed it, although it was not always good for him, as he used to say, “I regret nothing” and at the end of our meetings he would always tell me, “Goodbye Krzysiu and come back soon...”

Friend! Goodbye, we will meet again in a while.

Krzysztof Schramm

Poznań–Olsztynek 2021

From the left are Halina, Zygmunt, Zofia, mother Marianna, Leokadia

Warsaw, 1930 (Zygmunt Jatczak’s family archive)

1 “Miotła” Battalion was a unit of the Home Army—the primary Polish resistance movement in the Second World War. The battalion distinguished itself in numerous underground operations and took part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Before the Uprising it was directly subordinated to Home Army HQ with a main mission of assassinating Polish traitors. “Miotła” means broom which is a direct reference to the performed tasks.—Ed.

2 Majdanek was a German concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in the Second World War. It had seven gas chambers, two wooden gallows, and some 227 structures in all, placing it among the largest of Nazi-run concentration camps.—Ed.