Bavarian pioneers help in Silesia

The Bundeswehr is supporting Poland in dealing with the flood disaster in Upper Silesia. In the next few weeks, around 100 soldiers of a pioneer machine company from the Panzer Pioneer Battalion 4 from Bogen in Lower Bavaria will be deployed in two villages near Glucholazy.

Bodzanów and Nowy Swientów were particularly affected by the flooding on September 15, 2024. As part of the "Operation Phoenix" of the Polish Home Guard forces, the German pioneers belonging to the 10th Panzer Division are helping to rebuild destroyed infrastructure and eliminate flood damage. They are supporting the 2nd Polish Pioneer Regiment deployed in Glucholazy.

Currently, a pioneer machine company from Bavaria is providing support in the operational area near Glucholazy with excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks, and other heavy pioneer equipment. Since October 11, 2024, the construction machinery of the Pioneer Battalion 4 has been working in Bodzanów. Initial results are already visible: the riverbed has been cleared, the village road has been repaired, and the first wooden bridges have been built.

"We are happy to help," says the commander of the Panzer Pioneer Battalion 4, Lieutenant Colonel Florian Balthasar. "We can derive many things here in Silesia from our experience during flood operations in recent years in Germany." The battalion was deployed during the flood disasters in 2016 in Simbach (Bavaria) and 2021 in the Ahr Valley (Rhineland-Palatinate).

Poland had requested assistance in eliminating the flood damage in Upper Silesia. The invitation was extended as part of international emergency and disaster relief.

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