Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade (Polish Samodzielna Brygada Strzelców Karpackich, SBSK) was a Polish military unit formed in 1940 in French Syria composed of Polish soldiers exiled after the invasion of Poland in 1939 as part of the Polish Army in France. It was commanded by General Stanisław Kopański. The division fought with distinction in the North African Campaign of World War II, notably during the Siege of Tobruk. In 1942 it formed the backbone of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division. History In December 1939, three months after the invasion of Poland, the Polish Commander-in-chief, General Władysław Sikorski, decided that a Polish unit be created in the French territory of Levant . On 12 April 1940 the brigade was officially formed in Syria, with Colonel Kopański as its commander. The main base of the brigade was established in Homs and the new unit instantly entered the ranks of the French Armée du Levant. As a unit specializing in mountain warfare, the brigade was thought of as a Polish addition to Allied plans for landings in the Balkans. It was modelled after the standard French mountain infantry brigade, with 2 infantry regiments (of 2 battalions each), artillery regiment, reconnaissance regiment (mounted and motorized), signals, engineers and staff. Although new recruits arrived on a daily basis (mostly evacuated from Poland through Romania, Hungary, Greece and Yugoslavia), the brigade did not reach the planned numbers of 208 officers and 6840 soldiers and NCOs. After the capitulation of France and the annulment of all of its pacts with Poland and the United Kingdom, the commander of the Armée du Levant General Eugène Mittelhauser decided to support the new Vichy government of Philippe Pétain, and Sikorski ordered the Poles to leave French territory. On 30 June 1940, the brigade defected to British-controlled Palestine, where it joined the British forces stationed there. Initially composed of 319 officers and 3,437 soldiers, it was soon reinforced to roughly 5,000 men. Among the distinctive features of the unit was the high morale of the soldiers, all of whom were volunteers. In addition, roughly 25% were well-educated, a thing uncommon in European armies of the time. Based in Latrun, the brigade was equipped with British weapons, reinforced and trained. In October 1940 it was moved to Egypt, where it undertook garrison duties. Among other tasks, it guarded Prisoner-of-war camps and prepared the fortification of Alexandria. However, as Poland was still formally