In July 1930, a secret Polish intelligence operation began under the cryptogram "Auntie", which was later transformed into the "Trolley" operation. The aim was to capture correspondence from German transit trains running from Russia to East Prussia and Gdansk. Thanks to it, most of the information about the state of the German army was collected, making it one of the most successful intelligence in the interwar period. In addition to Polish intelligence officers, professional counterfeits and cashiers were also involved in the operation.

 

This action was organized by the outstanding military intelligence officer Jan  - one of the most controversial and colourful figures of the Polish Second Republic. Bon vivant, a perfect and extremely inventive organizer who at the same time struggled with accusations of drunkenness, personal conflicts and bravura that exceeded military rules.

 

Born on 1 January 1902 in Skawin, Jan Zychon ran away from home as a teenager to join the Polish Legions. After 1920 he went to Division II of the General Staff of the Polish Army, and in 1928 he took over the 7th Branch of Polish Intelligence in the Free City of Gdansk. Two years later, he moved it to Bydgoszcz, where the famous Exposition No. 3 was created - where the famous Branch No. 3 was established – the base of his greatest successes, including Operation "Wózek", which consisted of photographing military correspondence taken from German transit wagons travelling through the "Pomeranian Corridor". The operation was so effectively protected that the Wehrmacht did not discover its scale for years.

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Żychoń's relationships with his immediate colleagues were characterized by a blend of protective loyalty and soldierly severity. Witnesses emphasized that he was capable of awarding bonuses from his own money, but equally quick to "rein in line" those who stopped taking their duties seriously. Mutual respect was cemented by the branch's operational successes.

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In his interactions with his superiors, the major could be provocative. In a fit of anger, he would smear his superior's head with mustard. The most famous episode involves a note left for the Germans at the vacant Bydgoszcz Branch on 5 September 1939: the major's business card bore the inscription "Götz von Berlichingen" - an allusion to the knight whose favourite insult was "Kiss my ass." This gesture infuriated Wehrmacht officers and later became a legend in Polish intelligence.

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Zychon loved socializing – luxury cars, lavish banquets – and would get into arguments with the Gdansk police and ostentatiously parade his uniform through the streets of the Free City. Excessive drinking, which he used to relieve stress, and nightly brawls gave his opponents a pretext for attacks, but also built his reputation as a soldier with "the imagination of an lancer

 

The spectacular successes of the Bydgoszcz Branch provoked the envy of some of his colleagues – especially those in the "East" Department. As early as the 1930s, they were bombarding their superiors with complaints about alleged embezzlement and betrayal. The disputes also spilled over into exile, where in 1944 Zychon filed a slander suit and won, but the atmosphere of accusations forced him to resign from the intelligence service.

 

Disappointed by the intrigues, the major requested a line assignment. As deputy commander of the 13th Wilno Rifle Battalion "Rysiów" of the Po0lish 2nd Corps, he died on 18 May 1944 from wounds suffered during the attack on Monte Cassino.

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“Byla Sobie Fotka” Facebook post

(translated from Polish)

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