While I applaud anything that will dispel the myths surrounding Polish experience in WW II, and promote a better understanding of their significant contributions, not everything is worthy of accolades. The author is an expert in German history, having published an impressive amount of scholarship on the German experience in both world wars. So, while he provides a list of sources, he does not provide endnotes, which to my mind would have added a great deal.
To be sure, he is careful to source much of his material, but endnotes are not simply vehicles to list where a scholar procures material, but are also used to contextualize and explain what may not always be clear to readers. In a valuable contextualization Williamson goes back to the Pilusdski years and his post WW I legacy in setting the stage for the territorial ambitions of both Russia and Germany with respect to Polish land.
He also goes to great lengths to dispel some of the most enduring and ridiculous myths about the Polish Calvary and the Polish air force. Bravo for that effort, the long lasting effort by some at making Poles look like yokels with respect to warfare must be contained and the more the myths are dismissed and illuminated for what they are, the better. Bravo also to Williamson for being faithful to Polish names with all their diacritics.
He focuses on the military aspects of the Soviet and Nazi invasions of bit he also introduces a human element. The reminiscences of the survivors in his aftermath section are rich and adding a human face, they enhance the history of the time and the aftermath of the betrayal of Poland.
Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of 1939
Moreover, there are some editing hiccups. For example, in one section the word Angers is used in lieu of Anders. The Soviet Union was not founded until Jan 12, Dimitri rated it liked it Shelves: Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. This is a slim volume pages. Williamson is able to translate Polish primary sources to liven up the corpus, but seems to have no desire to incorporate any secondary material into his bibliography. His treatment of the German campaign focusses on the traditional large-scale German pincer movements and Polish counter-manoeuvres, but the reader is left with one map of Poland and a single map showing the final position of defeat of each Polish Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first.
His treatment of the German campaign focusses on the traditional large-scale German pincer movements and Polish counter-manoeuvres, but the reader is left with one map of Poland and a single map showing the final position of defeat of each Polish Army. Now onto the good stuff. The campaign chronicle in se is a good foundation for in-depth study, with clear recapitulations as to the outcome of all these advances.
It is also preceeded by a decent comparison of all three belligerent forces as they developped during the interwar period. For the benefit of the less polophile reader, the Polish part comes with an encyclopedic intro to the country's reformation as a state in the wake of the Austro-Hungarian implosion. A hefty dozen of individual memoirs and eyewitnesses breathe life into the text, with a few cocky young Wehrmacht recruits thrown in for good measure.
The lesser known aspects of the Polish campaign are present such as the naval siege of the Hel peninsula, the escape of Polish submarines to neutral countries or the relatively intact emigration of the Polish Air Force. I was pleasantly surprised to see Romania playing a role into the survival of the Polish Armed Forces, as the High Command retreated to the southeastern border ahead of the joint German-Russian invasion.
Concerning these allies, the book offers a righteous aroma of l'Albion perfide as they never made good their repeated promises or threats of intervention. From their point of view, the Chamberlain cabinet was still committed to re-armament and there was little to spare that wouldn't endager the material effectiveness of its own forces.
Myths reinforce one another, as do truths. Poland is one of the better examples of the war. The Wehrmacht wasn't the well-tuned Blitzkrieg machine of popular lore, nor did Polish cavalry execute lance charges against PzkW's. In reality, the Polish cavalry fought as mounted infantry, coupling mobility with anti-tank firepower on terrain that was too marshy or rugged to facilitate wheeled transport. The German tank unts, for their part, suffered mass mechanical breakdown. The Sitzkrieg was a necessary breathing spell for them; without Czech Skoda tanks they couldn't have amassed enough penetration power to successfully invade the West.
Aug 16, Paul rated it really liked it Shelves: This is a good introduction for those who just think it was the Nazis that invaded Poland during WW2, this also brings in how the Nazis ally Soviet Russia invaded the Eastern Borderlands of Poland on 17th September This book explores the flaws in both the battle plans of the Poles and the Germans, and considers their performance.
Nov 21, Jan Peczkis rated it really liked it. Unlike most other books on this subject, Williamson gives significant details about the Russo-Polish war in eastern Poland in , countering the mistaken notion that Poles offered almost no resistance to the invading Soviets. It had a high standard of works and plant that was far superior to the parent Bofors equipment factories in Sweden.
The author includes discussion of Polish civil defense before the war. He quotes a British observer who was impressed with it. The planes had been scattered to secret airfields to avert such an occurrence. He provides examples of Polish aerial combat against the Luftwaffe and against German military objectives. Armed with anti-tank rifles and dismounted, cavalrymen were able to surprise and destroy German armoured units. Examples of cavalry success are included. The Poles also managed to blow up the Tczew bridge near the Corridor despite the herculean efforts of the Luftwaffe and German commandos to prevent it.
For this, the Germans later murdered 19 Polish officials and railwaymen in reprisal. Poland was overwhelmed by the two military giants.
They continued the fight for Poland. The Poles, at one point in time in their tragic history, were one of the most powerful nations in Europe. But by the early 's their power was waning and the Austrians, Russians and Prussians conspired to carve their kingdom up amongst themselves, a deed accomplished by the mid 's. Poland would have a brief period of freedom in the Napoleonic Wars when Napoleon, after thrashing the Russians, created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. But Napoleons eventual defeat meant the occupation of Poland by The Poles, at one point in time in their tragic history, were one of the most powerful nations in Europe.
But Napoleons eventual defeat meant the occupation of Poland by Russia. During WWI the Poles fought for several of the powers though with less than enthusiasm. Finally, in , Poland was created as a free and independent nation once again. Herein lay the seeds of their future tragedy. The Versailles Treaty, which created Poland out of the remnants of the Hapsburg Empire, Germany and Russia, sought to use Poland as a buffer state to exist in between Russia and Germany in the hopes of creating a greater form of regional stability. As in so much with the Treaty, however, it's good intentions simply dissolved in the face of cold, hard reality.
Russia emerged from its Civil War as a Communist state, one that wanted it's share of Poland back and willing to grab it by force. At first the Soviet invasion, taking place in , was successful pushing the Poles back to Warsaw. But the Poles won a spectacular victory near their capital, crushing three Soviet armies and even pushing into Ukraine Polish units would get as far as Kiev before being forced to turn back. This astounding military success compelled the Poles to use their military to confront many of their state problems, with some successes except in the case of German Freikorps units barring them from portions of Silesia.
The success at Warsaw, however, gave the Poles a false sense of military superiority, and ensured Soviet dreams of revenge. The Soviet dreams of revenge were mirrored by Germany's. Much of western Poland was former German territory, and the Poles were none too gentle with their Volksdeutsch populations. Even before the Nazi's rise to power, there were many in Germany who called for Poland's destruction.
Poland also had to worry about her eastern frontiers, largely made up of lands grabbed from Russia and Ukraine. In short, Poland was a mess, and she was destined to be the targets of two, very hostile neighbors. But this was only a problem if either the Soviet Union or Germany restored their power. Early Nazi diplomatic successes and the annexing of territory that had formerly belonged to the old Imperial German state by Hitler began to worry the Poles.
However, the Poles and Germans did sign a non-aggression pact not long before the outbreak of war, and the Poles began to undergo the process of military modernization. However it was a slow process and as nowhere near complete by the war. The pressure from Germany, despite the pact, began to increase over the issue of Danzig and the 'Polish Corridor'; a strip of land given to Poland that broke away East Prussia from the rest of Germany.
Poland refused to cede the strip to Germany, even despite the dangling carrot of a 25 year renewal of the treaty between them. Then again, Hitler had a habit of ignoring compacts. The true nail in Poland's coffin, however, was the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed in August of wherein both nations agreed to partition Poland between them. When the Germans invaded on September 1, the Poles fought heroically and determinedly. But by the 17th, the Red Army crossed their eastern frontier and the game was up. During the fighting itself the Poles did very well, giving the Germans numerous bloody noses and even doing well against the overwhelming numbers of the Red Army for a time.
Still, despite their own bravery, they were simply overwhelmed. This is a good, short, high level book on the subject which is largely ignored in the overall historiography of WWII. The author points out several things that should be considered. The Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe were not the battle hardened, masters of war in that they were in The Polish Campaign showcased that, despite a harsh and realistic training regimen, severe discipline, and a highly educated and largely independent Officer Corps, nothing beats actual battle experience.
Many times the untested Germans would make mistakes, rash decisions and just plain get thrashed.
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However, and this is key, they learned from their mistakes, and soberly applied the lessons learned in Poland to refine their forces. All three sides committed ghastly atrocities against one another. The Poles rounded up, shot and deported quite a few ethnic Germans and even some Ukrainians during the course of the fighting and both the Germans and Soviets were brutal in victory with atrocities being the norm upon occupation of a town or city.
The Poles fought on. After the loss of their country thousands managed to flee to Romania and Hungary where they eventually made their way to France and England. Africa, Italy, Normandy, Holland and Germany itself. Still, despite their bravery, heroism and gallantry, the Poles were doomed to spend most of a century under an occupiers boot. Poland would not be free again till the fall of the Soviet Union. Current events show that, not only is the story of Poland important to us now, but that the study of military history, especially European military history, should not go out of fashion.
With events escalating in Ukraine to the point where war could be a possibility, it will behoove many to re-learn the art of war once again. For no one is this more true than the Poles.
Overall a good little book. I still am hoping for a larger, more detailed study of the war, its operations, strategies and individual actions to come out some point soon in the future. Nov 03, Jason Munson rated it really liked it. I will start out by saying about this book, this was a subject matter I was not overly familar with. Start reading Poland Betrayed on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers.
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Although the author provides new first person insights from Polish participants, both military and civilian, there is nothing new in this history at the strategic level that has not already been published. Williamson has taken advantage of English, German, and Polish sources, but has not availed himself of any of the new Russian sources available on this conflict. There is not a single Russian source listed in his bibliography. The portion of the book dealing with the Red Army's invasion of eastern Poland is thus severely lacking.
I bought this book hoping to find out more about this part of the war - and was left disappointed. This book is recommended for those who know little to nothing about the German invasion of Poland in This is a good first book to introduce yourself to the German-Polish and Soviet-Polish Wars of , but it is for the non-specialist and is really mainly a generalist introduction.
I really wanted to love this book, esp. First, there are no notes. No page footnotes, chapter endnotes, or back-of-book endnotes. Second, and extremely critically off putting, there are just two 1-page maps up front. Neither map is very good. Most of the major rivers are marked as are the major cities. The second shows the "conclusion of the campaign", with bubbles near cities telling what happened from about Sept 17th thru Oct 6th. But note that there is NO map of the actual German campaign, showing where the German armies started and how they advanced or where the Polish armies started and where they collapsed.
Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of - David G. Williamson - Google Книги
So the reader encounters discussion after discussion in the text about Germany Army Groups, Armies, and Divisions on the move, attacking or defending, as well as Polish Armies, doing same, without having any exact idea as to where they are on a map! There is absolutely no excuse for the publisher to have failed to have included a good map or two showing the actual locations and movements of the 3 nation's armies during the body of the main campaigns Germany--Sept ; USSR--Sept, Third, this book is short.
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The primary text is only pages of rather large, easy-to-read print, with the text rather significantly indented on all 4 sides. So it reads fast and easy. The author touches on things without going into much detail. So the book covers the material in some width including air force and naval activity but little depth.
The book does greatly benefit from the following: The Soviet invasion is covered in more detail than most other similar books. It is on pages The author makes a strenous sttempt to portray the defeated Polish in an honorable fashion, trying to show how they fought very well at times against a larger force that was more technologically and tactically advanced.
Williamson points out the false historical legend of Polish calvary attacking German tanks or mecanized units; they were taught to dismount and fight, and fought as they were taught. Since the war doesn't even begin until p. He makes sure the reader appreciates the weaknesses of the Polish economy that precluded them from being able to fully re-arm or build up their own arms industry.
Williamson ensures the reader appreciates the difficulties faced by the Polish military both strategically and technologically from Germany and the USSR. The defenseive strategy chosen failed miserably, but it wasn't illogical and part of its failure was due to French and British insistence that Poland not fully mobilize until it was too late! In the Campaigns, the Aftermath, and Survivors' Reminiscences, Williamson brings out the atrocities committed by the Germans and Soviets against all Poles, civilian and military, both during and after the invasions.
Table of Contents, pages v-vii Maps and Illustrations, pages viii-ix Acknowledgement, page x Map 1, page xi Map 2, page xii Background, pages Campaign Chronicle, pages Timoshenko , but there isn't one for Polish President Moscicki, who is only mentioned once in the book, on p. The Polish campaign which opened the European theaters of the second World War has, inexplicably, been one little examined by the military historians of the last 60 years.
This is inexplicable in that it was this campaign that led to many of the military innovations and developments in operational theory, as well as tactics that were used later in the war by Nazi Germany as well as other belligerants. For some reason though, the lessons learned militarily have up till recent years almost assumed to have been 'majically' developed and in place within the Wehrmacht prior to the invasion.
What has been needed is rectification of that myth as well as the corresponding one that claims Polish inferiority in arms. Poland Betrayed is a solid effort that begins the process of rectifying this rather undeveloped area of modern military history. Although I would not agree with other reviewers that this book is anywhere approaching a comprehensive work, Dr. Williamson's narrative is most effective as a concise and fairly well researched overview of the the Polish campaign.
He's done a creditable job as well: His writing is crisp and to the point and the editing for the most part is solid, with only the occasional typo or error. For the sake of this review, the area of the most importance, as I see it, is in simply dispelling the myth of the vaunted Wehrmacht, fighting with superior tactics and operational elan against a backwards Polish Army. Williamson provides examples of Polish planning, counter attacks as they happened.
Furthermore, he apptly describes the Bzura counter-offensive which, the author convincingly argues, with better resources would have stood a good chance of lengthening the campaign significantly as well as seriously damaging several German divisions. Another area in which he refutes conventional wisdom regarding the campaign is the supposed inferiority of Polish Air Force Pilots.
He gives several solid examples based on primary sources of how at least one fighter group gave as good as it got and how it was primarily the Polish equipment in this case that wasn't up to the task. Where the author is less successful is in two areas: In regards to Smygly Rydz, there is very little space spent in detailing how exactly he was to blame; merely accusations made at a few points in the narrative.
As far as the map issue goes there are two large scale maps provided at the beginning of the book that provide little if any support for following what proves to be a rather confused and swirling battle as opposed to the rather straight-forward defeat that has been described by most historians regarding the campaign.