MOLOTOV: THE MAN AND THE COCKTAIL

The Winter War 1939-1940 - Part 1 - How to Destroy a Tank (00:04:04m)


Have you ever wondered why they call it a Molotov Cocktail? During the Winter War in the early throes of World War 2 the Soviets air-dropped tons of incendiary and cluster bombs on Finnish targets and fortifications. This set off a storm of condemnation against the Soviets, and when asked why they were bombing innocent Finnish people, Soviet Minister Vyacheslav Molotov wryly answered that he was not bombing them, but was instead delivering food to the starving population.

In no time at all the Finns started to call these air bombings, "Molotov Bread Baskets". But the term quickly evolved into "Molotov Cocktails" when the Finns began launching retaliatory strikes against advancing Russian tanks using home-made incendiary "Molotov Cocktails". The Finns aptly called it "a drink to go with the food."

This is just one of Molotov's enduring legacies, that makes him second to Stalin as one of the most evil mass murderers in history.

As Stalin's protege, Molotov was complicit in numerous war crimes. In the period 1932-33, he implemented Stalin's policy for the collectivization of agriculture, and committed an endless series of horrendous atrocities; the violent deportation of millions of kulaks to the notorious Soviet labor camps where they were worked to death, or died from exposure in sub-arctic elements.  Molotov also signed the Law of Spikelets, and was personally involved in directing the massive confiscation of 4.2 million tonnes of grain from Ukrainian farmers.  It instigated a man-made famine that killed over 10 million Ukrainians. It was genocide, the Holodomor, a fact which the Soviet administration continues to deny to this day.  Furthermore, during the Great Purge (1934-40) Molotov personally approved over 370 execution lists, far exceeding that of any other Soviet leader including Stalins'

The least known but among the most sinister was the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed by Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Molotov and Foreign Minister of the German Nazi Reich Joachim von Ribbentrop. This pact was a secret protocol contained in the Soviet German Non-Aggression Agreement signed on August 23, 1939 on the very cusp of World War 2.  It laid the basis for the joint German and Soviet invasion of Poland. On September 1, 1939, the German armies invaded Poland from the north, west and south.  Then on September 17, 1939, the Soviet armies invaded from the east converging with their German counterparts, and partitioning sovereign Polish territory between them.

In the battles that ensued during that September every Polish military unit on the ground, and in the air was mobilized. Though the Poles were outnumbered and outclassed by German war materiel, they did not succumb easily but fought like "mad-men" to defend their beloved homeland.  Even Polish civilians participated in defense tactics by erecting barricades and digging trenches. Throughout the war, the Polish Underground secretly began to stockpile a variety of weapons, in preparation for the Warsaw Uprising (August 1944). Needless to say, guns and rifles were hard to come by and difficult to conceal. The consequence of being caught hording them, was execution on the spot. The Polish resistance had to augment their meager supplies by manufacturing a variety of weapons such as home-made grenades, flame-throwers, and of course, Molotov Cocktails - along with the ingenious contraptions used to launch them upon those nasty Nazi tanks.

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POLISH GREATNESS BLOG: " BOOK SELECTIONS - "ZOLNIERZ POLSKI " ( Polish Soldiers)

Zolnierz Polski is a rare gem of a book illustrating Polish military uniforms of the World War II era, as well as that of the Polish People's Army. Each of the uniforms was drawn in minute detail - representing military dress of Polish fighting men - of land, sea and air. In addition to Polish uniforms, the book also contains drawings of weapons, ammunition, insignia, badges, medals and more! There is no other book like this on the web - or in the world!

When Poland was invaded by Germany and Russia in September 1939, the Polish army evacuated and eventually made its way to France, where they fought alongside their French allies. The uniforms worn by Polish soldiers were anything but "Polish" , and was decidedly French in design. But when France fell to the Nazis, the Polish armies fled to Britain and served under the British Army. Their uniforms were British design, but had the addition of distinctive "Poland" appliques on each sleeve. In this blog post, I have included just a few of the images presented in this book. Information about publisher of this book will be presented at the very end of this special series.

Many people do not realize that Poland was the 4th largest ally in World War II. What Poland lacked in numbers, they made up for in military skill, prowess and phenomenal courage and guts. The Polish soldier, then as well as now, is committed to fighting for freedom - and believes that there can be no freedom if others are languishing in chains.

Their motto has been and always will be - For Your Freedom and Ours.

POLISH ARMY

INSIGNIA 1939

Army 1939
Signs degrees on the epaulettes of jackets and coats trace troops and aviation.

  1 Polish Marszalek
  2 General weapons
  3 General division
  4 Brigadier General
  5 Colonel
  6 Lieutenant colonel
  7 Major
  8 Captain
  9 Lieutenant
10 Ensign
11 Ensign
12 Senior
13 Sergeant
14  Platoon Leader ( NCO )
15  Corporal
16  PFC
17  Private
Signs made ​​senior matt silver or ribbons in the same color.

POLISH NAVY

INSIGNIA 1939

 

Polish Navy 1939
Signs degrees on the epaulettes and sleeves Navy.

  1 Admiral
  2 Vice-admiral
  3 Rear-admiral
  4 Commander
  5 Lieutenant Commander
  6 Lieutenant Commander
  7 Captain
  8 Lieutenant
  9 Ensign
10 Ensign
11 Senior boatswain
12 Boatswain
13 Boatswain Mate
14 Mate
15 Senior sailor
Signs made ​​of a golden color belt, gold embroidery.

POLISH AIR FORCE IN THE WEST

1941-1945

Polish Air Force in the West 1941 - 1945
Signs degrees on the epaulettes sleeves and collars .

  1 PFC
  2 Corporal
  3 of plutonium
  4 Sergeant
  5 St . Sergeant
  6 Ensign
  7 Aspirant
  8 Student school cadets
  9 Corporal - pupil school cadets
10 Corporal - Cadet
11 Sergeant - Cadet
12 Ensign
13 Lieutenant
14 Captain
15 Major
16 Lieutenant colonel
17 Colonel
18 Air commodore
19 Brigadier General

Polish Armed Forces in the West 1941-1945
BADGES

 

Polish Armed Forces in the West, 1941-1945

  1 Generals - dark blue ( velvet ) , tabs crimson
  2 Infantry - dark blue , its yellow tabs
  3 Light Artillery - dark green ( velvet with officers ) , black tabs
  4 Heavy artillery - dark green ( velvet with officers ) tabs pulley
  5 Flak - dark green - its yellow tabs
  6 Artlyleria Boats - black and green pennants
  7 Cavalry and comp. recognition - pennants magenta - navy
  8 Weapon Armor - black -orange pennants
  9 A link - black ( velvet in ofic . ) Tabs blue
10 Sappers - black ( velvet in ofic . ) , Belt tabs
11 Columns Auto - black , orange tabs
12 Accomplished longitude - black ( velvet in ofic . ) Tabs white
13 Accomplished weapons - light green ( velvet in ofic . ) Tabs black
14 Accomplished train - light blue, magenta tabs
15 Accomplished stewardship - sapphire , crimson tabs
16 Health service - Cherry ( velvet in ofic . ) Tabs navy
17 Accomplished Veterinary - Cherry ( velvet in ofic . ) Light green tabs
18 Arboriculture - raspberry ( velvet in ofic . ) Tabs black
19 Gendarmerie - pulley , its yellow tabs
20 Chaplaincy - golden embroidery on patkach color uniforms .

WORLD WAR TWO: INVASION OF POLAND - THE DEVILS' PACT

On September 1, 1939 without a declaration of war, Hitler attacked Poland setting off World War II.  It was Blitzkrieg, the likes of which had never been seen before in the history of modern warfare. The German Wehrmacht encircled Polish defences crushing them with combined forces of land, sea and air: sixty divisions, 6 brigades, 9,000 guns, 2,750 tanks, 2,315 aircraft, and over 1.5 million troops. Then, on September 17th, the Soviet Red Army invaded Poland from the east, overwhelming Polish defenses. Soviet power consisted of 33 divisions, 11 brigades, 4,959 guns, 4,736 tanks, and 3,300 aircraft.  The combined German-Soviet forces destroyed and crippled Polish defences.  Facing this onslaught were only 39 Polish divisions (not all fully mobilized), 16 brigades, 4,300 guns, 880 tanks, and 600 aircraft (many of which were obliterated). The Polish government saw no other alternative but to order an immediate evacuation of Polish troops.

Molotov signing the Pact

Just a week before the outbreak of war, an agreement was made between Germany and Russia, the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact", or more formally, the "Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union." This agreement, drafted by Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslay Molotov, and German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, stipulated the conditions  which called for mandatory consultation, arbitration in the event of a disagreement, neutrality if either party declared war against a third power, and prohibiting membership in any alliance "which is directly or indirectly aimed at the other."  But more importantly the Pact provided guarantees that neither signing party would instigate military aggression on the other.  

These were the non-secret conditions but it also contained a secret protocol which established "spheres of influence".  That is, the Soviet Union was "assigned" Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, and areas east of the Pisa, Narev, Vistula and San Rivers;  while Germany would occupy the West.  Eleven days after the joint invasion of Poland, the secret protocol of the Pact was modified to give Germany a larger portion of Poland, and most of Lithuania allotted to the Soviet Union. 

Molotov Ribbentrop Pact

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact made headline news the following day in the Soviet newspapers Pravda and Izvestia, publishing the famous photo of Molotov signing the Pact, while Stalin stood behind him smiling. International reaction by governments and media was one of surprise and utter shock.  In the preceding months, Britain, France and the Soviet Union had been conducting negotiations of their own with the objective of establishing a "Tripartite Alliance".  With the sudden turn of events, Time Magazine coined the phrase "Communazi Pact" to describe the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and referred to its signatories and collaborators as "Communazis".  

Just six months later, Germany and the Soviet Union entered into a trade negotiations that was substantially larger than the original agreement signed in August 1939;  according to the terms, the Soviet Union would provide millions of tons of supplies to Germany in exchange for German war machines and materiel.  But the agreement was never finalized because on June 22, 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and in so doing, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and trade agreements were null and void.

For decades since the end of the World War Two, historians have been debating the motives of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and opinions continue to vary widely.  Edward Hallett Carr,  a British historian, Marxist and expert in the history of the Soviet Union, maintained that the Pact was necessary for the Soviet Union in order for them to buy time.  From his point of view, the Russians were not ready for war in 1939 and needed "at least three years to prepare". (A statement which I believe to be preposterous.) He stated furthermore that "in return for non-intervention Stalin secured a breathing space of immunity from German attack."  In other words, it was a defensive measure against the possibility of a German attack.   Another historian, Werner Maser disputes the claim that the Soviet Union was threatened by Hitler, and asserts that "it is a legend" that was created by others, including Stalin himself.  Neither Germany nor Japan possessed the military might to successfully invade the Soviet Union.  Others like Viktor Suvoroy speculated that Stalin's primary reason for signing the Pact was due to his expectation that it would provoke a conflict between the capitalist countries of Western Europe. 

It has been debated ad naseum that the Soviet Union needed to establish so-called buffer zones, using Poland and other Baltic countries, in order to defend itself from Germany.  But history has often shown that this is merely a precursor for invasion and occupation.  Shortly before the outbreak of war, Stalin attempted to negotiate a deal which would he hoped would allow Soviet troops passage through Polish territory in the event that Germany attacked.  Polish authorities refused to give their consent.  According to Polish Foreign Minister Jozef Beck, once the Red Army entered Polish territory, they might never leave.

The controversy about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact has never abated since its inception. Typically, the Soviet Union would for decades continually deny the very existence of the secret protocol. But eventually they had to bow to public pressure:  on August 23, 1986 demonstrations were held in 21 western cities including New York, London, Stockholm, Toronto, Seattle, and Perth.  Tens of thousands of people joined the Black Ribbon Day Rallies to bring attention to the Secret Protocols.  On August 23, 1989, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a  public demonstration, referred to as Baltic Way, was organized. An estimated two million people formed a human chain, linking hands over a span of 600 kilometers (370 miles) across Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSR.  It was meant to attract international attention to their desire for independence from illegal Soviet occupation.
 

Human chain in Lithuania

Public pressure eventually led to the creation of a special commission headed by Mikhail Gorbachev and Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev to "investigate" whether such a protocol actually existed.  By December of 1989, the commission announced its conclusions to the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies and passed a declaration on December 24. They confirmed the allegations to be true, and at the same time, condemned and denounced them.  The Federal Republic of Germany had already made a similar declaration on September 1, 1989.  The Soviet document was declassified only in 2002  and was subsequently published in a scientific journal.  In an effort to allay tensions between Russia and Poland,  Putin wrote an article in August 2009 for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, condemning the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as "immoral".


August 23 has been proclaimed by the European Parliament as European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism.  In addition, a parliamentary resolution was passed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which condemns both communism and fascism for starting World War Two.  It calls upon the world to remember the victims of both Stalinism and Nazism on the 23rd of August.  Oddly, the Russian legislature was offended by this proclamation and  threatened the OSCE with "harsh consequences" - this, despite Russian condemnation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

The United States Congress, in 1982 established Baltic Freedom Day, to be commemorated by Americans every June 14th.