The water obstacle that the soldiers from Świętoszów had to overcome at the Biała Góra Training Area was the Odra River. At the crossing site, it is approximately 160 meters wide, and in some places its depth reaches as much as 4 meters.
Leopard 2A4 tanks cross water obstacles by driving along the bottom, so before the crews could begin practical training on the Odra River near Krosno Odrzańskie, they first had to complete specialist training at the Naval Training Centre in Gdynia. During this training, the soldiers from Świętoszów underwent so-called oxygen-tolerance tests and learned how to use oxygen apparatus, which is essential equipment for every crew during a crossing. After successfully completing the training in Gdynia and a series of classes at their home unit on the construction and operation of the Leopard 2A4 tank, designed to prepare the tank precisely for the crossing, the soldiers of the 4th Company of the 1st Tank Battalion of the 10BKPanc faced a practical test of their ability to force a water obstacle.
Before the 55-ton Leopard 2A4 submerges and drives along the bottom of a surveyed river or other body of water, the crew must correctly install the equipment required for underwater driving. This includes, among other things, a several-meter-long evacuation tube, which allows the crew to leave the vehicle if it sinks. The tube also supplies air to the tank's interior and engine systems. The tank commander stands at its top, communicating with the driver and indicating the direction in which to proceed underwater. The tank must also be sealed and protected against flooding.
Crossing a water obstacle is an exceptional test for crew commanders and the other crew members responsible for specific functions. For many soldiers of the 4th Company of the 1st Tank Battalion of the 10BKPanc, Friday's crossing of the Odra was a new experience. “The idea behind this training was to allow soldiers who had never before carried out this type of operation in practice to take part in the crossing and thereby expand their training experience. A very important element of the entire water-obstacle-crossing training cycle is the trainees' conscientious approach to all preparatory activities. Their subject-matter knowledge gives them considerable psychological comfort during this unusual operation in the water and minimizes stress. Crossing an aquatic environment along the bottom is also certainly an exciting event for the soldiers. I am pleased that my platoon performed this task exemplary and without any problems,” said Second Lieutenant Bartosz Wiatrzyk, commander of the 1st Platoon of the 4th Company of the 1st Tank Battalion, summarizing his soldiers' training at the Biała Góra Training Area.
The soldiers of the Świętoszów-based 10th Dragon Mechanized Battalion also had to demonstrate equal precision and professionalism when crossing the Odra. The crews of infantry fighting vehicles cross the river on the surface of the water in their vehicles. For the vehicles to safely and correctly reach the opposite bank, they too, like the tanks, must be properly prepared. The driver of an infantry fighting vehicle must demonstrate excellent control of the vehicle during the crossing, which is not always easy given the water's speed and current. Smoothly switching control from the land-driving system to water steering at the beginning and end of the crossing is a critical moment.
However, like the tank crews, the Dragons also crossed the Odra efficiently and without incident, exemplary fulfilling the task assigned to them.
The practical training in crossing a water obstacle at the Biała Góra Training Area was also an excellent opportunity for the soldiers from Świętoszów to cooperate with sappers from the 5th Sapper Battalion in Krosno Odrzańskie, who formed a rescue and evacuation team made up of many specialists for the duration of the training, as well as with soldiers from the 2nd Engineer Regiment in Inowrocław, who built a pontoon bridge on the river.
Capt. Justyna Balik