Polish Greatness (Blog) is devoted to promoting Polish History, and gives tribute to the Polish Armed Forces past and present for their Courage, Honour and Sacrifices.
Churchill at Washington Conference: Winston Churchill met with Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, DC for the First Washington Conference, also called the Arcadia Conference. The leaders and a team of political aides conducted very candid discussions which concluded with several major decisions that shaped the war effort in 1942-1943; the decision to invade North Africa in 1942; to send American bombers to bases in England; and for the British to strengthen their forces in the Pacific. Moreover, the Conference created the Combined Chiefs of Staff, headquartered in Washington, which approved and finalized all military decisions. Arcadia was the first meeting on military strategy between Britain and the United States; it came two weeks after the American entry into World War II. Despite domestic pressure in the U.S. to concentrate the war on Japan, Roosevelt was resolute to approach a "Europe First" strategy - that to win the war the primary objective was to defeat the Nazis.
1989
Berlin Wall Reopened: Following the end of WWII, vehicles and pedestrians were able to travel freely through the gate located in East Berlin, that is, until the Berlin Wall was built on August 13, 1961. The next day authorities closed the gate border crossing which separated east and west sectors of the city. From 1945 to 1957, the Soviet flag flew from atop the gate, but was replaced by an East German flag. During the 1953 riots in East Berlin the Soviet flag was ripped down by protesting West Germans. In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into East Berlin. On June 12, 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan addressed the people of West Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, and issued a demand to Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!". On December 22, 1989, the Brandenburg Gate border crossing was reopened when Helmut Kohl, the West German chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German prime minister. Demolition of the rest of the wall around the area took place the following year.
1990
Lech Wałęsa was sworn in as Poland's President. He was Poland's first freely-elected head of state in 63 years, and the first non-Communist head of state in 45 years. During his presidency, Wałęsa saw Poland through privatization and transition to a free-market economy (the Balcerowicz Plan), Poland's 1991 first completely free parliamentary elections, and a period of redefinition of the country's foreign relations. He successfully negotiated the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Poland and won a substantial reduction in foreign debts, and supported Poland's entry into NATO and the European Union, though both occurred after his presidency. (nb: While working at the Lenin Shipyard (now Gdańsk Shipyard), Wałęsa became a trade-union activist founding the Solidarity movement. Consequently was persecuted and hounded by the communist authorities, placed under surveillance, fired in 1976, and arrested many times. In August 1980 he was instrumental in negotiations that led to the ground-breaking Gdańsk Agreement between striking workers and the government. In 1983 Lech Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, followed by more than 50 awards from 30 countries.)
The Sikorski-Mayski Pact was signed in London between Poland and the Soviet Union, the signatories being General Wladyslaw Sikorski and Soviet Ambassador to the UK, Ivan Mayski. The pact re-opened diplomatic relations between Poland and Russia. A subsequent military pact signed between the two adversaries on August 14, 1941, resulted in the release of tens of thousands of Polish POWs held in Soviet camps. Stalin also agreed to nullify any pacts he had with Nazi Germany, invalidate the 1939 Soviet-German partition of Poland, and granted "amnesty to many Polish citizens. (Many of the released POWs joined Anders Army, the 2nd Polish Corps)
1944
Polish Prime Minister met with Stalin: Stalin, under pressure from Churchill and Roosevelt, finally agreed to meet with Polish Prime Minister Stanislaw Mikolajczyk in Moscow. Mikolajczyk did not approve of Stalin's chicanery regarding the future of the Poland, and attempted to defend Polish interests, to no avail. Stalin did not recognize the legitimate Polish Government in Exile in London, and had already installed his own regime. (On July 22, 1944 Stalin set up the ‘Polish Committee of National Liberation’ (PKWN) which was for all intents and purposes, a puppet-government controlled by Stalin.)
1945
USS Indianapolis sunk after delivery of "Little Boy": At 00:15 on July 30, the USS Indianapolis was hit on her starboard side by two Type 95 torpedoes, one in the bow and one amidships, from the Japanese submarine I-58. The Indianapolis sustained massive damage and took on a heavy list, settling by the bow. In a matter of twelve minutes, she completely rolled over, the stern rose into the air and she plunged beneath the waves. About 300 of the 1,196 crewmen went down with the ship. The ship did not have enough life jackets, and most of the crew were set adrift without life jackets. On July 26, the USS Indianapolis had delivered the atomic weapon components to Tinian, which would later be assembled and dropped on Hiroshima. Then she was on the way to Guam, sailing toward Leyte, then onto Okinawa to join VADM Jesse B. Oldendorf's Task Force 95. (see July 16, 1945)
Józef Beck met at breakfast with Lord Halifax and Winston Churchill in London. On the same day in the afternoon, Beck talked with Neville Chamberlain. Beck came to London as a direct result of the unconditional guarantee given to Poland in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, on March 31, 1939. He arrived to complete the formalities and to gain reassurance that if Poland were attacked by Hitler, Britain would intercede on her behalf.
1943
Newly built gas chambers and crematory V became operational at Auschwitz.
1945
Ohrdruf camp was liberated by U.S. troops, later visited by General Eisenhower. Seeing the Nazi crimes committed at Ohrdruf made a powerful impact on Eisenhower. He wanted the world to know what happened in the concentration camps. On April 19, 1945, he again cabled Marshall with a request to bring members of Congress and journalists to the newly liberated camps so that they could bring the horrible truth about German Nazi atrocities to the American public. On the same day, Marshall received permission from the Secretary of War, Henry Lewis Stimson, and President Harry S. Truman for these delegations to visit the liberated camps.
1989
Signing of the Round Table Agreement between Solidarity, led by Lech Walesa, and the Polish government took place on April 4, 1989 after 58 days of deliberations. The talks took place at the behest of the Polish government in an attempt to defuse growing social unrest due to economic malaise and runaway inflation. Among the demands made by Solidarnosc was the legalization of independent trade unions, the introduction of the office of President (thereby annulling the power of the Communist party general secretary), who would be elected to a 6-year term, and the introduction of a Senate. The Round Table talks were of great importance in paving the way for a free and democratic Poland, and finally abolish communism in Poland.
The Luftwaffe was established on February 26, 1935 in Weimar Germany, in violation of the terms of the Versailles Treaty. With the rise in power of the Nazi Party, German servicemen were secretly trained at the Lipetsk Air Base, in Russia. The Condor Legion, a division of the Luftwaffe fleet was dispatched to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War which served as a valuable testing ground for German aircraft. By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had ready for combat nine Jagdgeschwader ("fighter wings") mostly equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, four 'Zerstörergeschwader ("destroyer wings") equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter, 11 Kampfgeschwader (bomber wings) equipped mainly with the Heinkel He 111 and the Dornier Do 17Z, and four Sturzkampfgeschwader ("dive bomber wings") primarily armed with the iconic Junkers Ju 87B Stuka. The Luftwaffe had just started to accept the Junkers Ju 88A for service, when it encountered design problems, consequently only a dozen aircraft was combat-ready. The Luftwaffe's strength at this time stood at 373,000 personnel (208,000 flying troops, 107,000 in the Flak Corps and 58,000 in the Signals Corps). Aircraft strength was 4,201 operational aircraft: 1,191 bombers, 361 dive bombers, 788 fighters, 431 heavy fighters, and 488 transports.
1939
Galeazzo Ciano, Foreign Minister of Fascist Italy, unveiled a monument to Francesco Nullo in Warsaw. Nullo died on May 5, 1863. He was an Italian patriot, military officer, merchant, and close friend and confidant of Giuseppe Garibaldi. Nullo supported independence movements in Italy and Poland and participated in various revolutions, including the Polish Uprising in 1863. At the end of his career Nullo was appointed the rank of General in Poland, in the Battle of Krzykawka.
1944
The Polish Government-in-Exile defied the British government's wishes and rejected the recognition of the Curzon Line as Poland's eastern frontier. When the Soviet forces recaptured eastern Poland from the Germans, Stalin unilaterally declared a new frontier between the Soviet Union and Poland (roughlyfollowing the Curzon line). The Polish Government-in-Exile in London bitterly opposed this and at the Tehran and Yalta conferences, Roosevelt and Churchill asked Stalin to reconsider, particularly over Lwów, but he refused. During the negotiations at Yalta, Stalin posed the question "Do you want me to tell the Russian people that I am less Russian than Lord Curzon?" The altered Curzon Line thus became the permanent eastern border of Poland and was recognized by the western Allies in July 1945. (Since then the border was adjusted several times, the biggest revision in 1951. (read February 11, 1945)
Szmul Zygielbojm (dob) was a Jewish-Polish socialist politician, leader of the Bund, and a member of the National Council of the Polish Government in Exile. He committed suicide to protest the indifference of the Allied governments in the face of the Holocaust. He submitted a long, detailed "suicide letter", addressed to Polish president Władysław Raczkiewicz and Prime Minister Władysław Sikorski, Zygielbojm stated that while the Nazis were responsible for the murder of the Polish Jews, the Allies were also culpable (for their inaction). Here is an excerpt of his letter: "The responsibility for the crime of the murder of the whole Jewish nationality in Poland rests first of all on those who are carrying it out, but indirectly it falls also upon the whole of humanity, on the peoples of the Allied nations and on their governments, who up to this day have not taken any real steps to halt this crime. By looking on passively upon this murder of defenseless millions tortured children, women and men they have become partners to the responsibility. I am obliged to state that although the Polish Government contributed largely to the arousing of public opinion in the world, it still did not do enough. It did not do anything that was not routine, that might have been appropriate to the dimensions of the tragedy taking place in Poland.... I cannot continue to live and to be silent while the remnants of Polish Jewry, whose representative I am, are being murdered. My comrades in the Warsaw Ghetto fell with arms in their hands in the last heroic battle. I was not permitted to fall like them, together with them, but I belong with them, to their mass grave. By my death, I wish to give expression to my most profound protest against the inaction in which the world watches and permits the destruction of the Jewish people........"
1937
Camp of National Unity (OZN) was founded by the leadership in the Sanacja movement after the death of Pilsudski. The aim of OZN was to improve Poland's national defense and to safeguard the April 1935 Constitution. OZN was strongly pro-military, and its politicians sought to portray Marshal Rydz-Śmigły as successor to Marshal Józef Piłsudski. The OZN adopted 13 theses on the Jewish question. Modeled after the Nuremberg laws, they labelled Jews as a foreign element that should be deprived of all civil rights and ultimately expelled altogether.
1939
Nazi Germany enacted a barrage of anti-semitic legislation, and forced Jews to hand over any personal valuable items. Jewish businesses and bank accounts were expropriated. It was Nazi-legalized robbery on a massive scale. After the Nuremberg Legislation and during 1938 "worse than total expropriation was to follow - economic harassment quickly escalated to violence forcing the Jews to flee the Reich or the newly annexed Austria. Within the second phase 1938 was the fateful turning point." Among the decrees was the decertification of all Jewish physicians, who were no longer allowed to treat German patients; Jewish children were forbidden to attend public school; Jews were forbidden to attend concerts, theatre or opera, or even have a garden.
1944
Churchill advised Stalin that the Polish Government-in-Exile was ready to accept the Curzon Line as a basis for talks and assured him that by the time they resumed diplomatic relations with the Soviets, their government would only consist of members willing to co-operate with Moscow. Stalin remained unconvinced. (Note: The Polish Government in Exile never accepted the Curzon Line, and were not willing to "co-operate' with Moscow.)
Tadeusz Kościuszko (dob) was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer and a military leader who became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States. He fought in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's uprisings against Russia and Prussia, and on the American side in the American Revolutionary War. As Supreme Commander of the Polish National Armed Forces, he led the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising. The Polish Military divisions have honored his memory by naming their units after him - the Kosciusko Squadron (which participated in the Battle of Britain during WW2), a Polish Navy ship and a Polish infantry division. There are monuments to Kosciuszko around the world: the Kosciuszko Mound at Krakow; the Thaddeus Kosciusko Bridge, near Albany, New York; Kosciuszko Bridge in New York City; a statue of Kościuszko in Washington, D.C.'s Lafayette Square near the White House; Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia; and numerous statutes of Kosciuszko in Poland, as well as in US cities such as Boston, Chicago, West Point, Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C.
1945
Yalta conference took place at the Livadia Palace near Yalta in Crimea, Soviet Union at which President Franklin Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Marshal Joseph Stalin presided. Ideally, Yalta was meant to shape a post-war Europe based on peace and collective security, and self-determination for countries which had been liberated from Nazi occupation. But Churchill and Roosevelt gave into Stalins' demands for the sake of peace and security. Consequently, many European nations, including Poland fell under the yoke of Soviet domination and occupation. The Allies won the war, but one of their greatest allies - Poland - was used as a bargaining chip to placate Stalin.
The Holy Roman Empire and Poland concluded the Peace of Bautzen. It was a treaty between the Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and the Piast duke of the Polans Bolesław I Chrobry which ended a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia (Milzenerland or Milsko, the eastern part of the margraviate of Meissen (Miśnia)) as well as Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia.
1667
Treaty or Truce of Andrusovo was signed between Tsardom of Russia & Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
1909
Henryk Władysław Magnuski (dob) was a Polish telecommunications engineer who worked for Motorola in Chicago. He was the inventor of the first Walkie-Talkies and one of the authors of his company success in the fields of radio communication.
1933
President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.
1938
General Felicjan Slawoj-Skladkowski toured northeastern Poland – counties of Braslaw, Swieciany, Dzisna, and Postawy. concentrated his efforts on improving the state administration, especially police force and civil services. He frequently toured Poland, visiting schools, police stations, manufacturing plants and farm estates.
1939
Hitler made a speech to the Reichstag on the sixth anniversary of the Nazis' coming to power, warning that if "Jewish financiers" started a war, the result would be "the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe."
1945
On the twelfth anniversary of the Nazis coming to power, a speech by Adolf Hitler was broadcast wearily appealing once again for the German people to keep up a spirit of resistance. It was the last speech Hitler ever made.
While evacuating German civilians, Nazi officials and military personnel from Gdynia, the German military transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff was torpedoed and sunk by the Soviet submarine S-13. 9,400 people died, making it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history.
President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at Malta for four day discussions preparatory to next week's Yalta Conference.
The German historical film Kolberg premiered in Berlin. The film told the story of the Prussian city of Kolberg successfully holding out against a siege by the French during the Napoleonic Wars. It was intended as Nazi propaganda to encourage the German population to continue the fight against the Allies.
Articles of Warsaw Confederation were signed, ushering in freedom of religion in Poland. It was an important development in the history of Poland and Lithuania that extended religious tolerance to nobility and free persons within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and is considered the formal beginning of religious freedom in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. While it did not prevent all conflict based on religion, it did make the Commonwealth a much safer and more tolerant place than most of contemporaneous Europe, especially during the subsequent Thirty Years' War.
1937
Anti-Semitic riots at University of Warsaw and Warsaw University of Technology.
1944
Message from Churchill to Roosevelt: " London, 28 January 1944 no. 557 " After much thought and talk I have sent the following signal to U. J. (U.J. referred to Uncle Joe, nickname for Stalin) (1) ....... I saw representatives of the Polish Government in London...(and)....informed them that the security of the Russian frontiers against Germany was a matter of high consequence...... and that we should certainly support the Soviet Union in all measures we considered necessary...... I said that although we had gone to war for the sake of Poland, we had not gone to war for any particular frontier line but for the existence of a strong free, independent Poland, which Marshal Stalin had also declared himself supporting. ....... (T)he liberation of Poland....is being achieved... by the enormous sacrifices and achievements of the Russian armies. Therefore Russia and her Allies had a right to ask that Poland should be guided....about the frontiers of the territory she would have. (2) ........ I made it clear that the Polish Government would not be committed to the acceptance of the Curzon line as a basis of examination except as part of the arrangement which gave them the fine compensations to the North (East Prussia) and to the West (Oder Line) which I had mentioned. (4) The Polish ministers were very far from rejecting the prospects...... but...they have asked a number of questions...... in particular they wish to be assured that Poland would be free and independent.....that she would receive the guarantee of the Great Powers against German revenge effectively..... that these Great Powers would also assist in expelling the Germans from the new territories to be assigned to Poland.... that in regions to be incorporated in Soviet Russia such Poles....would be assisted to depart from their new abodes......what (would) their position... be if a large part of Poland West of the Curzon line is soon occupied by the advancing Soviet armies.... Will they be allowed to go back and form a more broad based government in accordance with the popular wish and allowed to function administratively in the liberated areas in the same way as other governments who have been overrun? ......they are.....deeply concerned about relations between the Polish underground movement and the advancing Soviet forces,..... (7)........the Soviet Russia has the right to recognize or refuse recognition to any foreign government, (but) do you not agree that to advocate changes within a foreign government comes near to that interference with internal sovereignty to which you and I have expressed ourselves as opposed? .........(8). I now report this conversation which expresses the policy of His Majesty’s Government....to my friend and comrade, Marshal Stalin.........a good relationship will be absolutely necessary between .....Poland and the Soviet Union. The creation in Warsaw of another Polish government different from the one we have recognized up to the present, together with disturbances in Poland, would raise issues in Great Britain and the United States detrimental to that close accord between the Three Great Powers upon which the future of the world depends..... "
2006
Katowice Trade Hall roof collapsed at Chorzów, 65 killed. At 16:15 GMT (17:15 local time), the central section of the roof of the hall collapsed, possibly due to the weight of snow on the building. According to the police there were roughly 700 people in the hall at the time of the collapse. A further collapse occurred 90 minutes later during rescue operations. Polish government spokesman Krzysztof Mejer confirmed that there had been 65 dead as well as more than 170 injured, including 13 foreigners. There are confirmed deaths of ten foreign tourists – one from Belgium, one from Germany, three from Slovakia, one from the Netherlands, one from Hungary and three from the Czech Republic. . Poland was at that time experiencing very cold weather with heavy snow. This meant that the rescue operation was undertaken in sub-zero temperatures, putting the survivors inside the building at risk of exposure.
At precisely 5:00 pm on August 1st, 2014, Warsaw stops and holds its breath for a minute. It is the 70th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. As every year, the Polish people pay their respects to their fallen heroes. It is also a time for reflection.
The Warsaw Uprising was one of the most brutal, vicious battles of World War Two. Though historians often refer to it as urban warfare, this definition is grossly understated. The Warsaw Uprising was all-out war.
The Polish Underground had been planning this offensive since the outbreak of World War Two, and desperately relied on their alliance with Britain and the United States for their military intervention and war materiel. Churchill and Roosevelt responded amicably with abundant smiles and promises, but delivered too little too late. In the end Britain and the US betrayed their most valuable ally, Poland. Political expediency was the motivating factor, rather than the defence of democracy, honour and justice. Stalin was a political mastermind, and skillfully played Churchill and Roosevelt into bending to his will. Yalta was proof of that. The decades which ensued plunged the world into the Cold War, with Poland and many other nations trapped behind the Iron Curtain. The Warsaw Uprising was a catastrophic battle which lasted 63 days.
Tens of thousands of Polish Home Army soldiers were killed as well as 200,000 civilians. Nazi German armies barraged Warsaw night and day, airdropping bombs, launching heavy artillery, torching buildings, until much of Warsaw was reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble and ashes. All the while, the Red Army stood poised across the Vistula casually watching the destruction and waiting until the Nazi Germans finished their rampage. Then finally, the Russians entered Warsaw claiming to have "liberated" her. It was really a hostile occupation under the guise of "liberation" ! Despite the heavy toll on the lives of Polish people, the events of the Warsaw Uprising is a testament to their fervent desire to be a free nation and people, and to their courage to fight against all odds. The Polish Armia Krajowa (Home Army) endured 63 days of fighting against the full military might of the Nazi Wehrmacht, while possessing few weapons and military equipment of their own.
The West still cannot fathom the devastating effects of the Warsaw Uprising, nor understand it. But the Polish people have not forgotten. Citizens gather every August 1st at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw to honour the memory of the brave men, women, and even children, who fought so courageously against the invaders. The Warsaw Uprising is still very much in the collective memory of the Polish people. So too is the realization that even after 70 years, the West still remains indifferent.
Warsaw after Warsaw uprising (00:06:48m)
Recommended Links:
Virtual Tour of Powązki Cemetery (images from 64th Anniverary)
On August 1st 1944 the Polish Underground launched an Uprising in a desperate attempt to liberate Warsaw, and Poland from the Nazi occupiers. For 63 days the Polish Home Army and Polish civilians fought against overwhelming odds, outnumbered and outgunned by the German wehrmacht. Despite continuous promises of allied support, Britain and the US left the Poles to fight alone, abandoned and subsequently betrayed.
The Warsaw Uprising was a tragedy of epic proportions: 10,000 Polish insurgents were killed in action; 6,000 missing in action; 5,000 wounded in action; 200,000 Polish civilians killed; 700,000 Polish people were expelled from Warsaw and about 85% of the city was razed to the ground. It was followed by yet another no less catastrophic event - the brutal occupation of Polish territory and suppression of its sovereignty and independence by the Soviet regime. Former members of the Polish Home Army were arrested and subjected to mock trials, convicted and imprisoned. Many of them died under so-called "mysterious circumstances."
For over forty years the history of the Warsaw Uprising was heavily censored and maligned by the Soviet regime, and ignored by the West. Only with the end of the Cold War has Poland been able to speak openly about the realities of the Warsaw Uprising.
Marek Jan Chodakiewicz, a research professor of history at the Institute of World Politics, wrote in May 2004, an article entitled, The Warsaw Uprising 1944: Perceptions and Reality"..finally, we are at last free to study the tragedy and triumph of Warsaw in all its complexity. Let us not be crippled by any censorship. All is fair game. May perceptions be replaced with reality."
The disturbing reality is that Western perceptions of the Uprising are still tainted by anti-Polish propaganda and revisionism, which is aided and abetted by the media around the world. With few exceptions, newspapers persistently print inaccurate articles that verge on libelous comments about Polish history of WW2. Apparently few journalists today are concerned with investigative reporting, and prefer to take the easy route by relying on hearsay. Truth continues to be a casualty.
There is a chasm between Western and Eastern perspectives: the West has already relegated WW2 to that of ancient history, dismissing it as irrelevant. But the past is still very much alive in the hearts and minds of Eastern Europeans, particularly the Poles. According to Piotr Wrobel, author of the book, "The Devil's Playground: Poland in World War II", "the war is a vivid memory, the emotional wounds are still fresh". Unlike many other European nations, Poland has been suffered from centuries of invasion, brutal occupation and repression, and the danger of annihilation at the hands of the German and the Soviet invaders.
One cannot discuss World War II without mentioning Poland, however there are countless number of Western publications that have virtually eliminated any reference to Poland. Churchill set this precedent at the end of WW2. He stated that "history will be kind to me for I intend to write it." Indeed. He published a ten-volume treatise about World War II history, in which hardly any mention was made about Poland. It was only a matter of time before the truth would come out. But public reaction was not quite as expected.
Andrzej Wajda
In 1957, the Polish film "Kanal" directed by Andrzej Wajda was the recipient of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The screenwriter of the film, Jerzy Stefan Stawinski was showered with praise for having come up with such a "magnificent story"! Apparently, the press thought this was a fictional story. Upon hearing about this, Wajda told him, "Listen, tell these gentlemen that you didn't make this up, you lived through it."
Jerzy Stefan Stawinski
A Polish public opinion research center CBOS (Centrum Badania Opinii Spolecznej) conducted a poll in July 2009, marking the 65th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. They asked Polish citizens, "Do you consider the Warsaw Uprising important to you personally?" The answer was a resounding yes. Forty-one percent said that it was "Very Important", followed closely by 46% which said it was "Rather Important". Only 8% claimed that it was "not very important", while 3% reported that it was "not at all important". There does not seem to be an equivalent poll from Western sources, but it is safe to say that the Western mentality continues to be mired in apathy.
There are many lessons to be learned by studying the history of the Warsaw Uprising. It is surprising that even among people who are very intelligent and well educated, there is a lack of sufficient understanding and knowledge. This refusal to face the past seems almost tantamount to self-censorship. What would our forefathers say?
The
Trial of the 16 was one of the most sinister crimes perpetrated by the
Stalinist regime against the Polish nation. From June 18 to June 21,
1945 a series of staged trials were held in Moscow at which sixteen
leaders of the Polish underground movement were accused of allegedly
"drawing up plans for military action against the USSR." In the presence
of international observers and journalists, the Soviet court brazenly
ignored legal precepts, and sentenced innocent men to prison on trumped
up charges. Even more shocking was the fact that the governments of the
United States, and of Britain tacitly accepted the courts' rulings and
made no attempt to intercede on behalf of the Polish leaders.
Before
World War Two, Stalin had conducted many mock trials and purges to
eliminate political opposition and consolidate his power. Those victims
however were Russians - the old bolsheviks, heads of the Soviet secret
police, members of the Politburo, diplomats, among others. Before the
Great Purge which took place from 1937 to 1938, there were the Moscow
Trials from 1936 to 1937 which consisted of three major trials. the
Trial of the Sixteen, as well as the Trial of the Anti-Soviet Trotskyist
Center; and the Trial of the Twenty-One. In every case, the modus
operandi was the same. The Russian defendants, or rather, the victims
were allegedly charged with the crimes of plotting to assassinate
Stalin, overthrow the Soviet regime, and conspire with the western
governments to destroy communism, dismember the Soviet Union, and
restore capitalism to the masses. The Russian defendants were all
sentenced to death, and shot. They had confessed to the crimes under
torture.
(1943) Polish bodies exhumed - Katyn
The Stalinist regime made similar accusations against
the Polish leaders in the 1945 Trial of the 16. But this trial was just
one scenario of a much larger conspiracy. From the very inception of
the war it was Stalin's mission (as well as that of Hitler's) to erase
every vestige of Polish leadership and authority - the belief that a
headless Polish state could more easily be conquered and repressed.
Among the Soviet crimes against the Poles were the infamous Katyn
Massacres in which over 16,000 Polish officers were arrested by the
Soviet NKVD, deported to Russia and systematically executed. Over a
million Polish civilians including members of the intelligentsia, had
been deported to Russian gulags and either executed or worked to death.
This was genocide - the calculated destruction of the Polish people,
their culture, and their leadership.
Prisoners in Russian Gulag
Typical of Soviet chicanery, Colonel Pimenov of the
Soviet NKVD, on behalf of General Ivanov, sent cordial invitations to
the Polish leaders to attend a conference in the city of Pruszkow,
Poland and, giving his "word of honour", guaranteed their personal
safety. Incidentally, that the Soviets chose Armii Krajowej Street
as the location for the conference could not have been a coincidence, I
believe, but rather a devious means to lull the Polish leaders into a
false sense of security. These gestures led the Polish leaders to
believe that they were being called upon to form a Polish Provisional
Government. In reality the future of Poland had already been decided by
Stalin. It was fait accompli. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945,
the Big Three (Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill) agreed upon a Polish
Provisional Government which would hold "free and unfettered elections",
as soon as possible. But it was a ruse. Just a month earlier the Polish
Provisional Government had been taken over by the Soviet-backed Polish
Committee of National Liberation (or PKWN). The Polish Government in
Exile was outraged and issued a statement protesting the actions of the
Soviet Union as having "taken over the sovereign rights of the Polish
nation.
Churchill-Roosevelt-Stalin at Yalta Conference February 1945
On March 26 and 27, 1945, the Soviet NKVD
captured and arrested the sixteen Polish leaders and deported them to
Moscow where they were imprisoned in the infamous Lubyanka prison and
subjected to months of brutal torture. The Polish leaders were accused
of numerous crimes: such as having collaborated with Nazi Germany; acts
of sabotage and terrorism against the Red Army; creating propaganda
against the Soviet Union; planning a military alliance with Nazi
Germany; owning a radio transmitter, printing machines and weapons; and
membership in the Polish underground.
Immediately after
the arrest, the Polish Government in Exile sent a message of protest to
Washington and London calling for the immediate release of the sixteen
Polish leaders. But it fell on deaf ears. Stalin attempted to deflect
scrutiny by declaring that the whole episode was merely a ploy concocted
by the so-called "Fascist Polish Government", in their effort to
discredit the Soviets, and that it was nothing more than fabrication.
Even when the truth finally came out on May 5th, Stalin shrugged it off,
saying that, "there is no point in linking the case of the Trial of the
Sixteen with the support for the Soviet-backed government of Poland
because the sentences will not be high." Apparently, the American and
British governments agreed hence no action was taken to intervene.
Soviet
accusations against the Polish leaders were a complete sham, in
particular allegations of collaboration with Nazi Germany. The fact is
that the Polish Underground had fought ferociously against Nazi German
occupation for the entire six years of the war, culminating in the
heroic Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Neither did the Poles engage in any
sabotage or terrorist activities against the Red Army. There is an
abundance of historical documentation which attests to the fact that the
Polish Home Army made many and frantic efforts to solicit the
participation of and assistance by the Soviet Red Army in fighting
against the Nazi Germans. The Poles fought alone. In a tragic and
shocking turn of events, the Red Army advanced as far as the opposite
bank of the Vistula, and then stopped short. The Soviet plan was to
allow the Nazi Germans to slaughter as many Polish insurgents as
possible before advancing on Warsaw and thus (so-called) "liberating"
the Poles.
Okulicki defending himself in Russian court June 1945
In the Trial of the 16, the Soviet Union was guilty
of countless violations of international law; of kidnapping and
detaining citizens of a foreign country, of charging them with alleged
crimes committed on foreign soil, of depriving the Polish prisoners of
basic human rights, and subjecting them to torture. Moreover, General
Okulicki's witnesses were expressly prohibited from even entering the
court, and none of the Polish defendants were permitted to plead in
their defense. Initially the judge conceded only three witnesses (though
Okulicki requested six). But later the judge announced that the three
witnesses could not attend the trial due to "bad atmospheric
conditions." What's more, the prosecution was unable to provide evidence
to support their claims against the Polish defendants. It was a
travesty of justice doled out to absurd proportions.
On
June 21, 1945, after only three days, the Soviet court delivered its
verdicts. Of the sixteen Polish defendants, only one was not forced by
the Soviets to admit to alleged crimes, while the others pleaded guilty.
By 1951 only two survived. The United States and Britain remained tacit
throughout the trial, and to add insult to injury, on July 6, 1945,
formally withdrew their support from the legitimate Polish Government in
Exile. For the ensuing twenty years, Soviet and Polish communists
conducted large-scale man-hunts for former members of the Secret Polish
State, and the Home Army (Armia Krajowa). The war had ended in 1945 -
but not for the enslaved Polish nation.
POLISH LEADERS ON TRIAL
LEOPOLD OKULICKI (Niedźwiadek)
Commander in Chief of the Armia Krajowa
Okulicki was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He died on Christmas Eve 1946.
The
cause of death was attributed to complications brought about by a
hunger strike, but speculation indicates that Okulicki may have been
murdered.
JAN STANISLAW JANKOWSKI
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and the Government Delegate
Jankowski
was sentenced to 8 years in prison. He died in prison March 13, 1953
just two weeks before the end of his sentence. Suspicions abound that
he was murdered.
ADAM BIEN
MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Bien was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.
STANISLAW JASIUKOWICZ
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs
Jasiukowicz was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
KAZIMERZ PUZAK
Head of the Council of National Unity, and
PPS-WRN Socialist Party
Puzak was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison and released in November 1945.
He
returned to Poland and refused to emigrate. In 1947 he was arrested
again by the infamous secret police, Urzad Bezpieczenstwa and sentenced
to 10 years in prison. Puzak died April 30 1950.
ALEKSANDER ZWIERZYNSKI
Deputy Head of the Council of National Unity and
Head of the Labor Party
Zwierzynski was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
KAZIMERZ BAGINSKI
Member of the Council of National Unity
Baginski was sentenced to 1 year in prison after which he was released.
He was forced to emigrate to the United States.
EUGENIUSZ CZARNOWSKI
Member of the Council of National Unity
Head of Ziednoczenie Demokratyczne
Czanowski was sentenced to 6 months in prison.
JOZEF CHACINSKI
Member of the Council of National Unity
Head of the Labor Party
Chacinski was sentenced to 4 months in prison.
STANISLAW MIERZWA
Member of the Council of National Unity
Mierzwa was sentenced to 4 months in prison.
ZBIGNIEW STYPULKOWSKI
Member of the Council of National Unity.
Stypulskowski was sentenced to 4 months in prison.
Upon his release he was forced to emigrate to the United Kingdom.
FRANCISZEK URBANSKI
Member of the Council of National Unity
Urbanski was sentenced to 4 months in prison.
STANISLAW MICHALOWSKI
Member of the Council of National Unity
Michalowski was acquitted of all charges.
KAZIMERZ KOBYLANSKI
Member of the Council of National Unity
Kobylanski was acquitted of all charges.
JOZEF STEMLER
Member of the Council of National Unity
(interpreter for the group of 16)
Stemler was acquitted of all charges.
ANTONI PAJDAK
Deputy Government Delegate
Pajdak was subjected to a secret trial, and sentenced to 5 years in prison in November 1945.
He was not released until 1955.
The soul of Poland is indestructible. She will rise again like a rock which may for a spell be submerged by a tidal wave but which remains a rock.
Winston Churchill.
While battles raged throughout Europe on land and in the air, the greatest military campaign of World War Two was being fought on the high seas. It was the Battle of the Atlantic - the longest series of battles which lasted for the entire six years of the war - from September 1st, 1939 to May 8, 1945. Thousands of allied ships made perilous journeys sailing through treacherous routes across the Atlantic and back again. Ships criss-crossed the vast expanse of seas - from the North Sea, the Irish Sea to the Labrador Sea, the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Outer Banks and the Arctic Ocean. Vessels from the United States, Canada, Norway, Poland, Belgium, Greece, Brazil, the Netherlands, just to name few, took part in massive allied convoys. By the end of the war there had been more than one hundred battles asea and as many as one thousand encounters with enemy vessels. The losses of ships and men was disastrous.
Just three days after the start of the war, Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany and launched an immediate blockade. But it was too late. Ships of the Kriegsmarine had already mobilized during the previous month and were asea ready to launch attacks against the British and French fleets.
Naval Message from Commander in Chief of British Home Fleet
SS Athenia begins to go down
The very first casualty of WW2 was the British SS Athenia. She departed Liverpool on September 2nd, 1939 at 13:00 hours carrying 1,103 passengers and 315 crew. The next day she was spotted 61 miles (97 km) northwest of Inishtrahull, Ireland by the German submarine U-30 and tracked for several hours. At precisely 19:40 hours Oberleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp, the commander of U-30 ordered an attack.
Fritz-Julius Lemp
Two torpedoes were launched - the first struck the Athenia while the second misfired. By the next morning at 10:40 hours, the Athenia had sunk. Of the people aboard 98 passengers and 19 crew perished. The news of the attack provoked worldwide public outrage. The Athenia was an unarmed passenger ship. The German attack upon her was in violation of the Hague Convention and London Naval Treaty which forbade the sinking of any vessel, unless she carried contraband or was conducting military operations. German propaganda went into full swing in an effort to evade responsibility and accused Churchill for having ordered the heinous attack as an elaborate plot to demonize Germany, as well as an attempt to pressure the United States to enter the war. (NB. It was not until 1946, that German Admiral Donitz finally confessed that their U-30 was indeed responsible.)
Churchill depended upon American assistance and desperately needed the US to join the war. It would be two years before the US entered the war, in response to the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese air force. On the morning of December 7, 1941, the 353 Japanese fighter planes launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, damaging eight US battleships and sinking four others. Also attacked and destroyed were three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, one minelayer, and 188 US aircraft: 2,402 Americans were killed - 1,282 wounded.
In the meantime, Britain had no choice but to face the Nazi threat alone. During the month of September 1939 German U-boats sunk a total of 50 ships (200,728 tons) and damaged 2 ships (16,916 tons). Most were British vessels such as steam merchants, steam trawlers, steam tugs, and motor tankers. About a dozen vessels were of other nationalities including Danish, Finnish, Belgian, Norwegian, Swedish, and French.
On September 14, 1939 the HMS Ark Royal, an aircraft carrier, miraculously escaped an attack by a German U-39. Three torpedoes had been launched but detonated prematurely. Within the span of a few moments the U-39 was sunk by escort British destroyers. (But on November 13, 1941 she was hit by a torpedo from U-81 and sank the next day. She had survived many "near misses" and was until then considered a "Lucky Ship". )
HMS Ark Royal
On September 17, 1939 the HMS Courageous was patrolling the coast of Ireland when she was torpedoed by a U-29 and sank in twenty minutes. Five hundred and nineteen men, and the captain lost their lives. She was a carrier which served during World War I, and was present when the German Fleet surrendered. She was recommissioned during WW2 and reverted to her original role of patrolling the North Sea.
The numerous losses of the first month and those that were to follow virtually destroyed British morale. But the most shocking event was the cold-blooded and daring attack by a German U-boat on Scapa Flow, a vital British base located at Orkney Islands, in Scotland. On October 14, 1939 at 01:16 hours, the commander of the U-47, Gunther Prien, successfully infiltrated the naval base and launched two torpedoes on the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship that had served during WW1, and which was laying at anchor. At first the U-47 fired only one torpedo and turned to make a quick get-away. But upon noticing there was no immediate threat from British warships, the U Boat returned and launched a second torpedo which ripped a 9 meter (30 ft) gash in the Royal Oak. She capsized with 833 men aboard.
U-47 departing Kiel for Scapa Flow
The Kriegsmarine planned the attack in retaliation for the humiliation that Germany suffered in its surrender after WW1. The attack was also meant to demonstrate just how easily U-Boats could breach British security. The length of Scapa Flow measures approximately 312 square kilometres (120 sq mi), with a shallow bottom roughly 60 metres (200 ft) in depth, but most areas no deeper than 30 metres (or 98 feet).
Route taken by U-47 into Scapa Flow to attack and out again
It was an impressive feat on the part of Prien to navigate this waterway so skillfully amid tight British security, to launch the attack and then silently retreat. It set British authorities into a panic. German Command conferred Prien with high praise for his success and he decorated a war hero. This was just the beginning of a long and deadly battle.
Incidentally, Scapa Flow is one of the great natural harbours of the world equipped with enough space to contain several navies. More than 1000 years ago, Viking ships used to anchor there. But it is known for being the chief British naval base during WW1 and WW2. (The base was closed in 1956.)
: WW2 in Colour 1941 U-Boat Campaign against the US (00:10:00)
For the next three months, the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee and her sister ship the Deutschland prowled the North Atlantic working in tandem to track and destroy British vessels. Together they sunk nine merchant ships totalling over 50,000 tons. British and French navies combined forces to track down the enemy ship. An allied fleet of 3 battle cruisers, 3 aircraft carriers and 15 cruisers were immediately set asea and eventually spotted the Admiral Graf Spee near the mouth of the River Plate. Battle ensued but the enemy escaped towards shelter in Montevideo harbor, where in December 1939, it was scuttled by the crew.
Kriegsmarine vessel Admiral Graf Spee
SAILING CONVOYS
Allied ships and merchant ships were virtual sitting ducks asea while German submarines prowled beneath the waves laying in wait for the opportunity to torpedo the vessels and sink their valuable cargo. Despite the numerical superiority of the British Royal Navy they continuously suffered disastrous losses; a total of 175 warships, 3,500 merchant vessels, and 30,264 merchant sailors were lost by the British, as compared to the loss of 783 German U-boats and 30,000 German sailors.
Any semblance of hope that the British had in gaining a military advantage over Germany had vanished when France, her biggest ally was conquered by German forces in June 1940. The Battle of Britain which ensued had fortunately ended with a decisive British victory. But throughout it England stood alone. Despite British numerical superiority on the seas, she still relied on the scant number of French ships which joined the Free French forces and a few Canadian built corvettes to make up the shortfall. British naval forces were strained beyond the breaking point in a desperate attempt to meet with all contingencies.
British ships that had already been allocated to positions in the Atlantic had to be re-assigned elsewhere to meet the immediate threats: Italy had just declared war and was bent on raiding British and French colonies in the Mediterranean; British forces were deployed in the Norwegian Campaign and the Low Countries, and hundreds of British vessels were dispatched to Dunkirk in the largest naval rescue mission in history - to evacuate allied soldiers from the beaches and harbours. Churchill called it "a colossal military disaster" and that"the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" was stranded in Dunkirk on the brink of annihilation.
British Dunkirk Evacuation Footage- Operation Dynamo 1940 (00:03:57)
In a desperate attempt to minimize Allied losses, British Command implemented a convoy system which at first was voluntary, but quickly became mandatory for all ships. Each convoy consisted of up to 70 unarmed merchant ships carrying goods to Britain - war materiel and supplies that were vital for the continuation of the war effort. Flanking each convoy were one or more escort destroyers, whose mere visible presence was sufficient to deter enemy attack. It so happened that when the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau encountered an eastbound British convoy of 41 ships (HX-106), they spotted the escort, an old battleship HMS Ramillies and immediately fled the scene. No doubt they considered it better to avoid a battle than risk damaging their 15" guns.
Initially the Kriegsmarine were caught by surprise by the sight of escorted convoys but it did not deter them from continuing their terror tactics at sea. Enemy attacks continued unabated and British losses continued to rise. British Command realized that the convoy defenses were not as secure as originally expected. However as the war progressed the Allies began to gain the advantage.
Aerial view of Convoy escorted by Allied Battleship April 1941
SURFACE RAIDERS
On November 5, 1940, in one of the most dramatic and powerful attacks of the Kriegsmarine, the Admiral Scheer fired upon Convoy HX-84 and in the process very quickly sunk five allied ships and damaged several others. The remainder of the convoy was able to escape only because of the sacrifice of the escorting Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, and the failing light. British Command temporarily suspended all convoys and dispatched the Home Fleet to hunt down the Scheer. They couldn't pin her down. The Scheer virtually disappeared in the South Atlantic area, then reappeared in the Indian Ocean a month later.
The German Cruiser, Admiral Hipper launched an attack on Convoy WS 5A, on Christmas Day 1940. however were driven off by escorting cruisers. Two months later, on February 12 1941, Hipper encountered Convoy SLS 64 and sank seven of its nineteen ships.
Operation Berlin was launched in January 1941 when the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, two infamous and impenetrable battlecruishers that could outgun any Allied ship, was put out to sea in hunt and destroy missions. With so many German battleships in the Atlantic the British Navy had to scramble to provide battleship escorts to its allied convoys. It was a prudent move and was directly responsible for saving convoys on two occasions. The following month, the HMS Ramillies deterred an attack on Convoy HX 106. In March, the HMS Malaya was able to protect Convoy SL 67.
In the most infamous raid on Allied Convoys, the Germans launched Operation Rheinubung. A new and powerful German battleship, the Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen were set out to sea to attack convoys but were intercepted by a British fleet off the coast of Iceland. In the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the British battlecruiser HMS Hood was torpedoed and sunk. The Bismarck was damaged and headed towards France but was bombed by PBY Catalinas, from the carrier Ark Royal. Three days later the Bismarck was sunk by Home Fleet. It marked the end of the warship raids.
THE POLISH CONNECTION
The Polish Navy was an integral part of the Allied forces in the Battle of the Atlantic. Though they possessed far fewer ships than Britain or the US they nonetheless made enormous contributions in the allied war effort. Polish ships took part in the Battle of Narvik, shelling shore batteries, and engaging Nazi raiders. They also participated in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force, shelling the coast around Dunkirk. The Polish ship Blyskawica boldly entered the Dunkirk canal amid heavy enemy bombing and gun fire.
ORP Blyskawica Polish distroyer- WW2
Crew cleaning 4-inch anti-aircraft gun-ORP Błyskawica 12 September 1940
Piorun (Thunderbolt), Blyskawica (Lightning), Orkan (Windstorm), Burza (Thunderstorm), and Garland, were the Polish destroyers which protected the English Channel. They also escorted convoys in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, took part in naval operations at Tobruk, Dieppe, Lefoten, Murmansk, Malta, and Normandy, carried valuable cargo to Murmansk and Africa, participated in massive allied landings in North Africa, Salerno, and the D-Day Invasion of Normandy.
The ORP GROM (Thunder) was sunk on May 4, 1940 during the Norwegian Campaign by a German He111. There were 154 survivors,59 KIA, 30 WIA. But before being hit GROM was able to bomb German troops around the Narvik area, and delivered equipment to the HMS Enterprise.
The ORP Piorun (Thunderbolt) became famous and celebrated for its role in the hunt for the Bismark. (story in Part 3). She was originally commissioned for the Royal Navy and christened HMS Nerissa, but after the ORP GROM had been sunk, she was transferred to the Polish Navy as a replacement vessel.
ORP Piorun
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound
Sir Dudley Pound, the British First Sea Lord decorated several Polish sailors in 1942 for their valor. He made the following statement.
"Last night I asked my Chief of Staff to give me a list of all Polish warships fighting alongside the Royal Navy. I was shocked to learn how few they are because in all dispatches of naval operations and major engagements I almost always find a name of a Polish ship that distinguished itself."
Among the materiel resources available to the Polish Navy were 8 Submarines, 7 Destroyers, 6 Minesweepers, 3 Escort Destroyers, 2 Gun Boats, 2 Light Cruisers, 1 Torpedo Boat, and 1 Minelayer. As a matter of fact the command of several British ships were temporarily given to the Poles, including the famous submarine ORP Sokol (formerly HMS Urchin). The Urchin was supposed to have been commissioned to the Royal Navy, but because of the the lack of trained personnel was given to the Polish. The ORP Sokol teamed up with her sister sub the ORP Dzik and earned a reputation for being the "Terrible Twins". Sokol patrolled the Bay of Biscay off the port of Brest, escorted numerous convoys in the Mediterranean, and took part in naval runs on the port of Taranto and Naples.
In October 1941 ORP Sokol scored her first victory, damaging the Italian cruiser Citta di Palermo. A few days later she was able to sink the 2,469 ton transport ship Balila. In November she succeeded in breaking through the anti-submarine nets, entered the port of Navarino and damaged the Italian destroyer Aviere but was attacked by Italian torpedo boats and destroyers. They all missed the target. Sokol was able to escape and in the process was able to launch another three salvos and succeeded in sinking another Italian vessel - a transport steamer of 5,600 ton.
In April 1942, Sokol was heavily damaged by a German air raid and had no recourse but to return to the shipyards at Blyth for repairs. Within weeks she was back in the Mediterranean harassing enemy ships up and down the coast of Italy, and North Africa. Throughout the war, ORP Sokol sank or damaged about 19 enemy ships totalling 55,000 tons. All the crew and officers were decorated with Poland's highest medal, the Virtuti Militari. The records of their bravery are stored in the National Record Office located in Kew, England.
ORP Sokol
In 1939 Polish ships were fewer than 1,000, but by the end of the war had increased to well over 4,000 vessels. Of the total number of men and ships, 404 Polish sailors were KIA, and 5 Polish warships sunk, the largest casualties having occured with the sinking of the ORP Orkan. Four Polish midshipmen were among the casualties of HMS Hood when the Nazis torpedoed and sunk her.
Though little mention is made of the Polish Navy today, their role during WW2 was nothing short of astonishing. Of the numerous missions for the Royal Navy, Polish ships sailed a total of 1,213,000 nautical miles, escorted 787 convoys, carried out 1,162 combat patrols, sank 2 U-boats and 11 probably damaged, sank 39 Nazi transports and 20 aircraft.
ORP Sokol Flag
WAR OF ATTRITION
The Battle of the Atlantic was a tonnage war. Throughout the war the allies struggled desperately to maintain a steady flow of vital supplies from North America to Britain; supplies, without which Britain would have surely lost the war. Convoys of up to 70 unarmed merchant ships, under the protection of British, Canadian, Polish, and later American, air and naval forces, brought food, war materiel and supplies to Britain. There were over 200 convoy routes charted. Over a million tons of goods were required by Britain each week just to survive and to continue the war effort and most particularly to supply weapons and equipment necessary in preparation for the massive D-Day invasion. The United States provided ship and air force escorts in September 1941 based on the Lend-Lease program which came into effect earlier that year. Through this program the US will have shipped over $31 billion of supplies to Britain.
With the rise of Hitler to power, Germany embarked on a massive remilitarization, coded "Plan Z". It not only disregarded all the restrictions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 but superceded its limits to an alarming degree. The German navy had been forced to limit its materiel assets; no more than 15,000 men, 6 battleships of a maximum displacement of 10,000 tons each; 6 cruisers with maximum displacement of 6,000 tons each; 12 destroyers with a maximum displacement of 800 tons each; and 12 torpedo boats with a maximum displacement of 200 tons each. Submarines were expressly prohibited.
Hitler earmarked 1938 as the year in which the Kriegsmarine would have achieved its monumental objective of assembling a fleet of 800 ships in addition to 10 battleships and battlecruisers, 4 aircraft carriers, 5 heavy cruisers, 44 light cruisers, 158 destroyers and torpedo boats, various smaller vessels, and 249 submarines. Quite an ambitious undertaking, but one which had to be shelved virtually on the eve of World War II. In its stead, Germany reallocated all its available resources towards the construction of U-boats, which together with existing capital ships, armed merchant cruisers and aircraft were more than sufficient to make up for any weaknesses of the Kriegsmarine.
At the very beginning of the war, the Kriegsmarine had only 57 Type II U-boats in her fleet, primarily relegated to the tasks of mine-laying. The temporary shortfall was quickly remedied and soon massive hordes of German U-boats were prowling the North Atlantic and leaving a trail of destruction in every wake. Its most effective strategy has often been referred to as the "Wolf Pack", a technique suggested by Karl Donitz, Commander of German U-boats. In a memo to Grand Admiral Eric Raeder, he recommended that"effective submarine warfare could bring Britain to her knees." It almost did.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
"Without ships, we cannot live." Churchill uttered these words as a dire warning that unless Britain win the Battle of the Atlantic, the consequences would be catastrophic. Fortunately, the tide began to turn in 1943. While the U boat menace persisted throughout the rest of the war, the Kriegsmarine no longer wielded the same degree of threat. A variety of factors contributed to the change of Allied fortunes including an increase in resources and technological developments. First and foremost was their ability to intercept and decipher German Enigma messages, thanks to the efforts of the Polish Underground who cracked the Enigma code before the war even started. The Germans did not suspect a thing!
