Czterej pancerni i pies

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T-34-85 used during making series for pictures inside tank. Museum of Armoured Weapon in Poznań

Czterej pancerni i pies (Four tank men and a dog) is a very successful Polish black and white TV series based on the book by Janusz Przymanowski. Made between 1966 and 1970, the series is composed of 21 episodes of 55 minutes each, divided into three seasons. It is set during in 1944 and 1945, during World War Two, and follows the adventures of a tank crew and their T-34 tank in the 1st Polish Army. Although both the book and the TV series contain elements of pro-Soviet propaganda, they have achieved and retain a cult series status in Poland.

The T-34 tank Rudy (Redhead) with the identifying number '102', a German Shepherd Dog from Siberia Szarik (a little ball in Russian, in Polish the word is similar to Szary meaning Gray) and to a lesser extent the crew Jan Kos, Gustaw Jeleń, Grigorij Saakaszwili, Tomasz Czereśniak, and their commander and mentor Olgierd Jarosz, as well as other heroes of the series, have become icons in Polish popular culture.

The popularity of the series came from it being the first postwar series to depict the era of World War II in a somewhat lighter vein. As the tragic events of the war receded, the Polish public became tired of the mandatory dark, tragic tone of previous television series and films dealing with wartime events. A similar change in attitudes occurred elsewhere in the world at the time. At the same time the series was definitely not a comedy and contained many sad moments and intense battle scenes, while some of the main characters were wounded or killed.

All main heroes were in a way extraordinary. The youngest, Janek Kos, was a marksman, and owner of a well-trained and clever dog Szarik. The loader Gustlik, from Silesia, was very strong, while Grigorij (Russian name Grigoriy) was a skilled driver. Grigorij himself was a Georgian, representing numerous soldiers of the Soviet Army assigned to Polish tank units lacking specialists. The first commander Olgierd Jarosz was a meteorologist and could forecast a weather (in a book he was Russian Wasyl (Vasiliy) Semen). The last member of a crew, Tomek (appearing later), was joyful and played on accordion.

The upbeat view of the war shown in the series was popular, but in many ways problematic. From the standpoint of military realism, the series is in fact almost grotesque, as its heroes have a very relaxed concept of military discipline, frequently fight their own "private" battles in defiance of orders, and effortlessly defeat German soldiers, who are depicted as faceless military incompetents (see Stormtrooper effect). The series is also loaded with a dose of pro-Soviet and pro-Russian propaganda. An emphasis is put on friendship between frontline Polish and Soviet soldiers, but little or no mention of the problems in general Polish-Soviet relations of that era (though they were often suggested in background).

Despite its shortcomings, the series retained its huge popularity and was rerun yearly in Poland until 1989. After 1989 the series is still being sporadically shown in Poland. It was also shown in other countries of the Soviet bloc.

In 2000s the series were released on DVD.

[edit] Characters

[edit] The crew

• Olgierd Jarosz, "Olgierd" - first commander. Played by Roman Wilhelmi.
• Gustaw Jeleń, "Gustlik" - loader. Played by Franciszek Pieczka.
• Jan Kos, "Janek" - gunner/radio operator, later the second commander. Played by Janusz Gajos.
• Grigorij Saakaszwili, "Grześ" - driver. Native Georgian. Played by Włodzimierz Press.
• Tomasz Czereśniak, "Tomuś, Tomek" - second gunner/radio operator. Played by Wiesław Gołas.

[edit] Other

• Marusia "Ogoniok" - Russian nurse, played by Pola Raksa.
• Lidia Wiśniewska, "Lidka" - radio operator, played by Małgorzata Niemirska.
• Franek Wichura - truck driver, played by Witold Pyrkosz.
• The Colonel - played by Tadeusz Kalinowski.
• At least two real tanks were used in this movie. One of them was used for taking scenes inside of a tank with cameras placed in hull, now displayed in museum of armoured weapon in Center of Training of Land Forces in Poznań^[1]. Although there are references to T-34 armed with 76 mm gun, the tank in a movie is T-34/85.

[edit] List of episodes

A wooden tank made by unknown enthusiasts of the series from Rawicz

A pin from the TV show Carson Dial

Season I, 1966

1. Załoga (Crew)
2. Radość i gorycz (Happiness and Bitterness)
3. Gdzie my – tam granica (Where We Are, There's the Border)
4. Psi pazur (Dog's claw)
5. Rudy, miód i krzyże (“Red”, Honey and Crosses)
6. Most (Bridge)
7. Rozstajne drogi (Crossroads [We Are Separating])
8. Brzeg morza (Seashore)

Season II, 1969

1. Zamiana (Exchange)
2. Kwadrans po nieparzystej (A Quarter Past an Odd Hour)
3. Wojenny siew (Wartime Sow)
4. Fort Olgierd (Fort Olgierd)
5. Zakład o śmierć (Death Bet)
6. Czerwona seria (Red Burst)
7. Wysoka fala (High Wave)
8. Daleki patrol (Long Patrol)

Season III, 1970

1. Klin (Wedge)
2. Pierścienie (Rings)
3. Tiergarten (Tiergarten)
4. Brama (Gate)
5. Dom (Home)

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (July 2009)

• You can see a T-34 at the Canadian War Museum with the number of 102 just like Rudy. The running joke amongst Polish-Canadians is that if you see people being photographed beside that particular tank, they are most likely Polish.

[edit] See also

• Captain Kloss

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Czterej pancerni i pies at the Internet Movie Database