Panzers drive into the city, smashing barricades and mounting the city’s ruins. The Siege of Warsaw has begun. Thanks again to World of Tanks PC for making these two bonus episodes possible. The Vikings will visit Greenland this upcoming Saturday to conclude our Viking Expansion series! bit.ly/EHPatreon
The way we were taught about Poland in history class is criminal compared to what actually went down. We were taught that Poland was barely able to put up a fight because their army was so outdated that they were still using horses while the Germans used tanks. No mention of the Polish tanks that actually outclassed German armour at the time. No mention of holding out for five weeks. No mention of the Red Army also joining in at the end to seal the deal. No mention of how tens of thousands of Polish troops made their way to France to continue fighting as an army and contribute more to the war effort than other nations in some cases. No mention of how there was still resistance forces in Poland. No mention that Poland was actually quite possibly some of the bravest, most heroic badasses that ever saw combat in WWII.
...and probably you were taught a lot about 'Polish Death Camps' instead :( Funny thing about horses is, that Germany not only used cavalry but depended on horses in about 50% of logistics for Eastern Front.
@@insaneweasel1 But they were not Polish, the Germans just build them there because it was easier to transport Jews and Poles from the area to the camps.
RedTheRed owo but still Polish armed forces won dozens of battles in WW2. They liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherlands..They defended UK...They fought in North Africa and Italy... They fought on atlantic... They fought on the sky of Europe.
My homewtown of Breda, in the Netherlands, was liberated by Polish soldiers on 29th October 1944. And for that, we will be ever gratefull. Dziekujemy wam Polacy!
You may not known that. Gen Stanisław Maczek commander leding 1st Polish Armoured Division till end of his life work as a bartender in hotels of Edyburg Scotland. That was all what western powers cud ofer soliders without country. Because country under stalins regime (hunting and kiling rebells that did fiht nazies) was it moustly by name.
And USSR actually portrayed this fact not as invasion but liberation of Belarus, Ukraine and Vilnius from attacked and unstable Poland. According To Russian history books the war started in 1941, which is from Polish perspective bu.. Rubbish
Poland never expected support from the USSR. After all, they had a pact with Germany and Poland, meaning that neutrality seemed like the most sensible option.
I am Polish and when I see the international comments of people that understand the betrayal of our allies and are aware of the bravery of polish soldiers i'a glad and happy as hell. The true history is not forgotten. Thank you!
My great greatfather actually saved one Polish POW near the end of the war. The germans were marching them across our village and he managed to "stole" one young Pole and hide him in a basement. That young man survived and after the war he returned home to Poland somewhere near Krakow.
Jesus Christ.. I was under the impression that poles surrendered without much of a fight.. But this video has revealed how courageously they fought and held our.. Long live Poles
@@TheFiresloth Still, help from the British, one front and only one army to fight. Poland had no allies, two front war and had one million troops less than Soviets and Germany combined.
@@guillman Two fronts, the italians attacked in the south when they saw France in a position of weakness. For the british, they weren't that numerous compared to the French and retreated back to England quicky after the line broke. What I mean is, there's no real comparison here. The Polish were crushed, and the French were crushed too, like most countries the Germans invaded at the time. It doesn't really indicated anything.
@@TheFiresloth Except that the French and British actually outnumbered the Germans, and that the Italians weren't really a big factor anymore since Paris got taken and most of the French armies got destroyed.
Oh come on! Stop shaming Italy for changing sides so many times! It's not like the same government kept switching sides! The King of Italy declared war on the Central Powers in WWI. WWI ends. Mussolini assumed power and made the King less than a figurehead, considering how little he's talked about. Mussolini joins the Axis and fights Italy's former allies. Mussolini is defeated and a new government is put in place by the Allies to fight in northern Italy, which was occupied by the Germans. WWII ends. The Italian parliament decide to exile the Italian royal family despite them not having anything to do with the rise of Mussolini or his actions.
This is why Portuguese have an iconic phrase for the English "amigos de peniche" it's translated to "frieds of peniche " peniche is a fisher city in Portugal and in ww1 Portugal was in a alience with the British to fight the other countries. The British were supposed to be at peniche and help out in the war ....but they never came, and so sarcastically we called them the friends of peniche. This term is still used today when we want to call someone, 2 faced, a people that betrais and all that
france: Lasts 4 weeks with help of the british and fights against a weakend germany poland: without any help last 5 weeks against 2 of the most powerful nations
Well, yes, pretty bad commanders ^^' Like, we have better tanks than Germans, just as Poland. But we never learned how to use them and they were only used to protect infantry, instead of fighting armored divisions who were, as a consequence, left unmatched ^^ But we last against an entire italian army with only a few alpine divisions in the Alpes.... though, this mostly because Mussolini was a bad commander XD
Hungary didn't put Polish units into prisons or anything. Hungary opened his border to the Polish army and let in nearly 50k man. They treated the soldiers respectfully and tactfully when they started to disarm them (Most of the weapons were later send to the Finnish - Soviet war to help the Finns) and they provided the Polish a chance to travel to a third party country to join to the fight again on the Allies side. To the ones who stayed in Hungary for a longer time the goverment provided a "guest-loving" welcome.
@@kapitan19969838 Well i have nothing bad to say about hungary really but i was wondering if the guest loving meant that they were killed. They were part of the axis anyway.
Brits: Do we help Poland? - Nah, noone cares. Americans: Do we help Poland? - Nah, noone cares. Literally everyone in western europe: Do we help poland? - Nah, noone cares.
What could the West have done against the Soviets? Stalin had agreed to Churchill and Roosevelt's demand to restore the previous polish government and then he went back on the deal. Save from vaporizing half the Soviet Union it seems nigh impossible to get Poland at that point in the war.
another thing school tends to forget to mention is that the poles were the first to break the enigma code and gave all their knowledge to British codebreakers, that would later carry on their work and save millions of lives.
Get used to Polish token characters whenever WWII will be covered - Poles were literally everywhere, fighting against Poland's enemies. It became a little problematic after 1941, when one of the enemies became the allies of Polish allies, and then after Stalingrad even some of resistance groups that considered Soviets to be worse than nazis started switching sides (a minority, i think even a very small minority, but this shows how f*** up the situation was).
The Soviets had no chance of reaching Warsaw, nor were they aware of the plans for the uprising before it happened. The whole point of the uprising was to give legitimacy to a government that lost it’s own by fleeing to a neutral country years earlier so they could have a say in the after war talks
@@amogususus12 good lord, do you even learn history properly or are you fed propaganda from childhood? Dem poles will never admit that Poland was truly a greedy hyena of Europe, and still dreams to return to former glory - hence fascism is on the march in country again.
@@baka_ja_nai The Warsaw uprising of '44 was supposed to coincide with the soviet assault forcing the germans to fight a battle on multiple fronts. However the on the day it began Soviet troops stalled their advance and waited. Despite pressure from the other world leaders Stalin's forces would not come to Polish aid and the uprising failed. Thousands died in the fighting.
Poland: The time has come! Let us destroy these Nazi bastards!! Allies: Fuck yeah!! We're right behind you Poland! Poland: I'm holding them off! You guys on your way yet!? Allies: Yeah we're getting ready, just hang in there! Poland: Ah shit now Russia is here, guys hurry up!! Allies: We are launching our attack now!!! **France gently shoves Germany in the back... Germany turns around and glares... France timidly backs off** Allies: Damn they defeated our brilliant attack. We shall have to devise a new strategy. Poland: **fighting for his life** Too... MANY... Allies talking amongst themselves: What to do, what to do... any ideas? Poland: Ouch!! Arggh!!! HEELPP!!!!! Allies: Yes yes Poland we hear you, but you cannot rush the planning process of a major military operation! This requires time and coordination! I assure you, we shall render aid as soon as we have a plan! Poland: **gurgle** Allies: Ah, a brilliant idea! Let's run it through all the proper channels and make sure it's watertight! Are we set? Good! Okay Poland! We are ready! **silence** Allies: Poland? ...Hello?? **more silence** Allies: Well we tried our very best. Nothing more we could have done. Oh look! I believe Denmark and Norway need our help! Let's devise a plan...
By the time the Soviets decided to attack Poland there was no point trying to defend them they were going to fall anyways. If France and the UK had even managed to stop Germany, they would have fallen to the Soviets anyways.
@@Auriel_Direnni Poland thin their ranks(armed vehicles). In some cases even to fifty percent(inflantry). Nazies spend whole year to rebulding their strenghts, before attack on France.
so, my family is polish, and we came from a little village named Grac. before the war, (my immidiate family lives in Michigan) would get letters from Grac, asking for lace for dresses, and things like that. the story goes, that the people of Grac, (being the helpful polaks that we are) found two Jewish boys, and they were fleeing from the Nazis. we helped them and harbored them in the village. so the SS came by and basically told my family members "surrender the boys, we know you have them" and my family basically said "go stick your bratwurst where the sun don't shine". the the Nazis mounted bulldozer blades on the front of their tanks, and ran over the entire village...every man,woman, and child. a cousin went over in the 1970s, and he wondered where the village went, because he saw nothing but farmland, and one of the old timers there told him this........THAT'S why great grandma Graczyk hated Nazis so much, and it's also why i take pride in being polish.....to tough to kill, to stupid to die.
Part 1 - Invasion of Poland Part 2 - Fall and division of Poland so.... Part 3 - The Home Army and Secret State, and Forces in Exile Part 4 - The Warsaw Uprising Part 5 - The Western Betrayal The complete history of Poland during WWII
Part 3.1 The Ljudova Army. Part 3.2 The Jewish uprising in hetto. Paer 3.3 Start an uprising not telling the closest (in front) ally. Part 3.3 Loses of Soviet troops tried to link to Warsaw. Part 3.4 Wha...
I doubt there will be more. This is sponsored series (which are always 4 episodes max) by video game focusing on tanks and the series is defence of Poland which is over now.
@@benogurok5175 Lets be honest, the Soviets were allies of the Polish allies, not the allies of the Polish home army. Many other cities to the east of Warsaw had similar uprisings, which liberated the cities or helped Soviet army during their attacks. Soviets were informed about some of those. But the Home army troops were later detained by NKVD or executed by them. Sharing information only allowed Soviets to target home army members more efficiently. So the plans were adjusted, forces from other cities were diverted to Warsaw in order to be able to start an uprising a bit earlier and hold a bit longer. Hell, even Radio Moscow - the voice of Soviet state - openly called for an uprising... So: - Soviets knew that uprisings like this happened in any major Polish city, - they called for an uprising themselves, - they had just dealt two colossal defeats to German Army, meaning that Germans simply had no troops to make effective resistance in the area - they knew that Western Allies wanted to help the resistance (and probably knew about the plans from them - after all, British were informed about almost every move) - they actively searched and detained any home army partisans that were going to Warsaw before the uprising, according to Soviet documents and they helped by: - denying western Allies landing in their territory, making airlift unable to carry enough supplies, as British air drops had to fly from Italian airports instead. - killing, imprisoning, and otherwise hindering the resistance - declining Polish army under their command request to allow to support the resistance on their own - stopping 'coincidentally' for a month in place even though they were just in the Warsaw outskirts What the Polish resistance should have done? They should have bombed the bridges on Vistula that Soviets secured south of Warsaw, making sure that there aren't any on the river. Then Soviets would either need to cooperate with the uprising, or color the river red while crossing. Sadly, Polish resistance did not use Soviet ways of doing diplomacy, and they paid the price
@@amogususus12 a)The Soviets were informed two days after the beginning of the rebellion. b) They tried to get to Warsaw but even at the time they were near city they had huge lack of supplies and ammunition, so they were repelling German attacks.
There was an attempt Srly tho Poland is so underrated, it's history is every bit as cool as all the other major European countries. They're actually one of the most badass ones despite getting the short end of the stick for most of modernity
I think Stalin would have betrayed Hitler in 1939 if France had actually continued its attack and captured at least the Rhineland. I still blame Britain and France for betraying Poland in 1939.
Indeed; he was already stalling ( :) ) as he was supposed to attack on 12th or 14th. However, it wouldn't change much. Basically, with starting conditions as they were, campaign was forgone conclusion since about day 4.
Russia always interned a war with Germany. The non aggression pact was only to allow Russia to stabilize their country and build up their army. Unfortunately for Russia they underestimated that Germany would defeat it's enemy's so quick, and declare war on Russia without concluding their war with Britain.
The French stopped. They were winning and they stopped. *THEY WERE WINNING AND THEY STOPPED?!* I mean, it would've been *FUNNY,* but this is another instance WW2 could've been prevented.
As always,my country was basicly let down by its leaders.French Units were dominating the Germans,but in this offensive on the German border,the French Commander (cant remember which one it was) actually thought it was a traped to cut off and surround the French Army in the middle of hostile Germany (mounting partisans group would have been as easy as we saw in our reality). The irony is that,on many point,especially armement,France learned a lot from WW1.The rifles were shorter,simpler,our tanks were the best of the early war,our piltos were fairly good. But maybe the most important point of a war,the Strategic planning was still bogged down in a WW1 doctrine of defense.Now that doctrine was excellent.But it was excellent to attack and hold kilometres of continuous trenches with no mass armoured forces.We had a defensive doctrine where our equipement and just the simple Historical/Military context allowed us/Should have forced us to go on the offensive
Because the video gives pretty much no context to the realities the French were facing. The French had conducted a slow advance with what amounted to half their standing army which came to an abrupt halt once they hit the German minefields and discovered they had no way to clear them. The French realized that their hasty mobilization had missed the engineers and none were attached to the attacking units, nor had any of the infantry been trained to detect mines. The lack of adequate engineering support would have stalled the French had they proceeded, since they had more minefields and several rivers to cross. Gamelin had good reasons for calling a halt. The deficiencies discovered in the short advance were already making it clear that the French weren't ready to attack. The French army was physically incapable of swift and bold offensive action in September of 1939... its very mobilization structure prevented it, to say nothing of its training and doctrine.
Polish propaganda doesn't want you to know that she bullied her own little sibling for land in the 1920s (see Polish-Lithuania War) and agreed to the Nazi partition of Czech in order to seize Czech territories. Some 'underdog'.
If extra history continues this series, they should focus on the fearsome 303rd squadron. The squadron, is so vicious and ferocious in the defense of britain that they would close up to point blank range of the their target and hit them hard. So vengeful at the lost of their home country, that some of them are willing to ram enemy bombers to seek revenge for what they've lost. By the end of the battle, they're the highest scoring hurricane squadron and highest ratio of kill-to-lost among the RAF. They would never loose another country. They will never fail again. Not over their dead bodies.
One name, sorry to all Poles for butchering the spelling, but I mean only respect: Wladyslav Raginis. It's a shame he wasn't mentioned here, often referred to as the Leonidas of modern history.
Haha 😆 I don't think we're in nearly as bad situation as we were back then, or suffered more than Jews all over Europe did, but nonetheless I am (and I am sure my countrymen as well) grateful, thank you very much/बहुत धन्यवाद् 😊 and be well/अच्छा हो
Polish soldiers from Polish armed forces on wes, mostly Polish 1st Armored division commanded by gen. Stanisław Maczek liberated part of France, were most important unit in Falaise pocket, liberated almost whole Belgium and Netherlands. They atacked north western germany and took main base of Kriegsmarine in Vilhemshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of Polish general.
After war gen. Stanisław Maczek end as bartender in "Dorchester" in "Learmonth" Hotel in scotish Edynburg He and other polish soliders wasnt recodnised by western powers as war combatants. Gen Stanisław Sosabowski(commander of paratroopers from Arnhem) work for the rest of his live as storekeeper(didnt have any insurance) Jan Zumbach(303 ace of battle for britain) was an adventurer he ordered txi comapny, was gold smuggler, mecrinary in africa, in 1962 he organized and comand Katanga airforce (rebelius province of congo). In 1967 he was hired for similiar work in Biafrze (they where rebelius province of Nigeria) He cudnt go back to poland because comunist wil capture executed him as many others (they did this to polish pilots that fight in battle for britain -Stanisław Skalski). Work for western alies so traitors for the stalins comunist regime in Poland. Komandor Zbigniew Przybyszewski, who in 1939 roku leed Hell artilery and damaged Schleswig Holsein was kiled by shot in back of the head, as many of his subordinates and superiors.
@andr andr What I mean is this: After the Treaty of Versailles Germany was brought to its knees. Every decision had to be negotiated with the two empires - Britain and France. That was until the German-Soviet non-aggression agreement, known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. That pact divided central and eastern Europe into spheres of influences, one German and one Soviet. Neither Great Britain nor France had been asked to acknowledge or approve the pact, meaning that Germany made a decision without consulting with the two empires. As such, it undermined the imperial status of both. Britain and France had two choices - either just accept what happened, or answer with force. They decided to answer with force, and they had a volunteer to deliver that answer - Poland. And thus by signing an alliance with Britain and France two days after the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, Poland openly declared to Germany that Britain and France should not be ignored the way Germany did, sealing its fate. That is why it was Poland that stood up defending the imperial status of Britain and France, and not Britain and France who allied themselves with Poland to protect it (which they didn't thus proving this point).
Loved this two part series. It also highlighted the reasons why Poland fell, which by large has been swept under the rug in history in favor of better versions for the allies. Forced to not mobilize, no promised reinforcement or aid. It's truly impressive what they accomplished.
Honestly, I find the way France and Britain treated Poland disgraceful. They forbid the Poles setting up a proper defense. Despite their promises they do nothing to support Poland after the Germans attack. And after the war they leave them in the clutches of the Soviets who grab a massive chunk of the country to enlarge Belarus and Ukraine(land that STILL hasn't been given back).
@@bigboykenob2244 More like Germany: 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 Operation Tannenbaum 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 Switzerland: What was that? Germany: Just a cough and btw we will respect your neutrality (Says that while murdering neutral nations right in front of Switzerland's face)
If the Czech count as "half of europe" Hitler didn´t even annex Slovakia....fun fact Slovakia was the only ally of Germany during the Invasion of Poland
People acting like Poland was weak before the war started, and surprised that they lasted so long.. Poland was actually quite advanced, and doing quite well economically, which shows in the quality of their tanks and their army in general.. They were quite a big factor in Europe before the war started, some would even say on par with the main powers like France and the UK.. They were never backwards, it's just that the Germans just made them out to be, making up myths like they got charged by horses and stuff like that.. we just don't see them on the same light anymore because of what happened, but they were really quite powerful, especially during the Napoleonic wars.. They even put up a better fight than France
Advanced ? Yes. Economically ? Insignificant next to Germans. 40% of budget went for maintaining army that was literally half-mobilized instead of funding more 37mm Bofors, repurposing 40mm AA Bofors to AT role, buying RADIOS, Ur rifles etc. Despite that, true enough, actually, nobody did better at their first encounter with Germans - even US forces in Africa were given blody nose by Germans, and were.
Well, economically it *was* quite outdated. Mostly agrarian, 70% of Poles actually lived in the countryside. And most of those farmers were illiterate. Polish village was literally the symbol of the poverty in the Second Republic, and eastern portion of the country was fully agrarian, and mostly inhabited by non-Poles, while the cities there were mostly Polish speaking. It was the other way around in the west, where the countryside was Polish speaking, yet Germans dominated the cities. On the other hand, Poland was basically the colony for 3 foreign powers just before 1918. Poles had lived under 3 different law systems, under 3 different administrative systems, sometimes even using different units of measurement. Hell, the trains weren't able to move across the country freely, just because the Russians used other type of rails. They had to glue this 3 different parts together, fix their economy, while there was almost no industry in the whole country aside from Łódź region, Warsaw and of course Silesia, once it joined the country. Yet, in the 20 years of Interwar period, Poles were able to fix most of these problems (albeit they didn't solved the overpopulation of the countryside, it's poverty and illiteracy - it were the Soviets and their Communist lackeys that finally did the massive agrarian reform solving that [of course by removing the landed gentry and confiscating their land] - Communists simply forced the peasants to move into the cities [fun fact: those people had to REALLY adapt to an urban life - they initially brought their lifestock with them to the middle of the cities, imagine that], they learned them to write and educated them, managing to achieve what the Second Republic never could). One could argue that the Interwar Poland simply didn't have enough time - for example the completion of the modernization of the army was scheduled to the mid 40s, while the urbanization to the 50s. Who knows what would have happened? Yet, Poles managed to do amazing things - building the modern port city in Gdynia from what was basically a fishing village. As the port in Danzig was off limits to them - Poles had only the Postal Office and fort in Westerplatte under their control, but the city actively denied anything, having their own parliment, a currency and police, basically acting as a city state. Aside from Gdynia, they also managed to do a magnificent enginering and architectual feat - building the rail network from the vital coal mines of Silesia all the way to the newly built port. In the 30s, another project was succesfully achieved - the COP, or the Central Industrial Region. Silesia was a region just next to Germany, so once the war would brake out, Poles would immidetely loose their main industrial region (and so they did, back in 1939). So the plan was to create another one to the east. And so they did. One of the newly built cities there was named accordingly - Stalowa Wola, meaning "the Steel Will". So in short, pre war Poland was not a giant, it wasn't really comparable to the likes of France or Britain. Politically, the government obviously aspired to be a Great Power, threatening all their neighbours, alienating them in the process. Even colonial attempts were made. But economically, they couldn't even be compared to Germany. Yes, that Germany, that was falling apart, with huuge inflation and all the sactions... Even that Germany was way richer than Poland. Yet, Poland was very vigorous. The generation who grew up in independent Poland, unlike their parents, who had lived under foreign occupation, were very possitive, ambitious. The nation was literally full of hope. They dreamt of making their country great. And if not for war, maybe they would have succeeded. Sadly, most of those young men and women died, either on various fronts, or in their homeland, be it shot in the middle of a day on a street or with weapons in their hands, fighting the enemy in the streets, in the forests and in the villages. That youth was bled out, in the end. By the time the People's Republic was estabilished, only handful of those teenegers remained. The heart of the nation was dead. Just like with the British or French generation that bled out on the Fields of Flanders and France, so did that generation of young Poles, 20 years later. They are now known as a "Lost Generation", just as they were.
Vitalis Well,France did not a giant economically in WW2.İf they are a giant,Germany was a giant Anyway.They had half of Germany’s GDP.Germany had largest GDP in Euorpe if we not add Britain to his Empire.Germany had far greater population than both Britain or France 40 million’s compare 80 in 1940.Why every people believing France was too powerful in WW2,they had larger tank and artillery force than Germany but still behind the other features than Germany.
I salute to Poland. I’m from Finland and I think we have much in common with Polish. Both of our nations were attacked by a foreign power and our armies fought bravely against a greatly superior army and actually managed to make a stand. I have always admired finnish army for the miracles of winter and continuation wars but I have to say Polish army is much tougher for while standing alone against both Germany and USSR while Finland actually got help from Germany. Also, you made a huge contribution to the second world war in the ranks of allied forces. Be proud and as we say in Finland, ”Keep the flag high” - Cpl Aho, Finnish defense forces, Armoured brigade
I actually did some research on Polish land forces and it’s really cool that you have a lot of equipment that Finnish army has also. For example Leopard 2A4 is the main battle tank of the Finnish army and your KTO Rosomak armored vehicle is based on finnish Patria AMV armored vehicle. We clearly have the same taste ;)
@@venniaho6025 So it seems. It's also interesting how we share a relatively similar history of fighting against the Red Army (Polish-Soviet War and the Winter War). As a fun fact I can add that there were also Polish volunteers fighting in the Winter War on the Finnish side. Unfortunately, there were only six of them as Sweden wasn't allowing Polish soldiers (even those who were already in Sweden) to cross to Finland. There were around 100 pilots in Stockholm that were ready and eager to join although there probably wouldn't be enough equipment for them anyway. There was also an idea to sent to help Polish soldiers interned in Lithuania and Latvia but those countries didn't agree to this. The Polish government in exile wanted to start cooperation with Finland and sent more support or even organize an expedition, unfortunately, other Allies were opposing this idea. In the end, the Finnish government didn't acknowledge the Polish one in exile which meant no possible cooperation.
Baptized in fire Forty to one Spirit of Spartans Death and glory Soldiers of Poland Second to none Wrath of the Wehrmacht brought to a halt ~Sabaton, 40:1
The 8th of September it starts The rage of the Reich A barrage of mortars and guns Stand past, the bunkers will hold The captain has pledged his life I'll face my fate here! The sound of artillery strike So fierce The thunder of guns
"From near and far, they arrived, joined the force, ready to serve the allied command, sent into training, though they already earned their wings, they were ready to fly, they were fit for the fight"
"Once in the air, the battle began. They had proven their worth, now they fight for revenge. Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land. Let their story be heard, tell of 303rd. Fighter pilots from Poland in the Battle of Britain, guarding the skies of the isle."
@@hawtdawg8049 "Even at night, shadows cover the ground, fighting goes on from dusk till dawn, with the claw of the Reich with the claw of the eagle, they were ready to fly, they were ready to die!"
@@rekerboi1125 "Up in the air, the battle goes on. They had proven their worth, now they have their revenge. Fighter pilots in exile fly over a foreign land. Tell their story again, tell of 310. Men from Czechoslovakia in the Battle of Britain, guarding the skies of the isle."
@@hawtdawg8049 "Over the battlefield, brave men long way from home, few are the chosen ones, sent to the sky to die. Over the battlefield, brave men long way from home, few are the chosen ones, sent to the sky to die!"
@@Zender22 no he means during the korean war poland sent troops to assist south korea agienst the north koreans along with many MANY other UN and nato forces.
We never died tho. "Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, kiedy my żyjemy" - "Poland is not yet lost, so long as we still live". They would have to kill each and every one of us
Yes. The Poles continued fighting. Their military-in-exile was one of the most import ones in the war, while their resistance movement was one of the 4 major resistance movements of the war (alongside the French resistance and both the Soviet and Yugoslav partisans).
The last I've heard of it, the French were actually preparing a second probably much larger offensive. But it got called off, considering the timing quite possibly because by then Poland was obviously not going to hold up long enough. Thus meaning the German army would be able to redeploy many forces soon enough and you'd have to choose between fighting in the open fields in Germany, or have them come at you at your prepared positions in the Maginot Line, as well as the expected lines in Belgium, hopefully with Belgium help (Though those decided to not do so in the end, trying to desperately cling to neutrality) Well the flaw in that defensive setup became obvious the next year, but on paper it sounds ok. Force the enemy to a killing field of your own choosing (Belgium), because they probably wouldn't care to try the Maginot Line.
@@Quickshot0 French could atleast raid important targets or destroy bridges, railways... With such space to spare behind them they could lay minefields, let germans pay for trying to retake lost ground and retreat before fight would become costly for french. But that is too much to expect from them, since they were already too slow and late.
There is one mistake at 2:20, the arrow suggest an offense from Hungary. There were no troops crossing the Hungarian-Polish border in order to invade Poland. Hungary's prime minester decided not to give access to the Germans.
USSR : We lost so many soldiers in WW2! We are the heroes! Me : Yeah and when the war started you sided with Hitler and went against a country a third of your size, that was already fighting like hell against him.
@@elemperadordemexico because Britain and the us really didn't like loosing the war, hence they came up with the plan to forget about what russia did pre 1941
Despite undeniable epicness and heroism, Wizna is really just a small episode of the defense of Poland. This series was just a short broad overview of the campaign, with the selective close-up snapshots clearly focusing on the armored units (because of the WoT being the sponsor, I guess).
@@sitdownlad7918 if you weren't dumb & actually listened to the video you'd understand that Poland did not surrender or give up, they were defeated, overwhelmed by the superior quantity/quality of its invaders, they didnt go down without a fight & the Polish resistance was fierce, also not to mention they contributed to helping the Brits break the enigma code
@@sitdownlad7918 The video was literally about Poland never giving up. Uprising, fighting in France, in the air above Britain, in US tanks, the Poles didn't give up even when the entire country was overrun. They never surrendered. They were wiped off the map and still fought
Poor Poland. Constantly attacked and partitioned by her neighbors. Forgotten by her allies, but yet she still stands to defend Europe against invasion from barbarians. From the Ottomans to the Soviets, Poland stands with her people and her Church to defend herself and her neighbors.
Poland that's not have to worry about being invaded or attacked again it's a member of NATO which is means is under our protection and we Canadians will protect Poland!!!😀😀😀😀😀
Damm, imagine being a polish soldier and seeing the soviets you just thought were coming to help you start shooting at you. The mental fatigue that must have on one is incredible.
Not many knew about this Polish defence. We're always under impression that Germans are so fast and aggressive while Polish didn't do anything for their countries. They just waited for British and French troops. Even after world war 2, Poland became part of Iron Curtain. So no acknowledgement for these defenders. An area so large, with unique culture and at important location for Europe has always remained a mystery for 3rd world countries. In my city, There was a Polish camp. One of the only 2 in India. Granted permission by Local king(Raja). Polish children lived here while war raged in Europe. That generation visited the campsite many times with Polish delegation. Thank you Polish warriors...
Thank you so much for this particular series. Throughout my childhood, the invasion of Poland was only ever talked about in terms of how quick it was, but never with any attention to the Polish people themselves, or their efforts to combat the invasion. Thank you for putting a human face on the people of Poland in this war.
This series means so much to me because my great grandpa fought in WW2 as a polish general. He was one of the few generals who survived the war. Thanks for making this series.
@transylvanian So what you are saying we should not have defended ourselves against crazy looters and murderers that commies were - we should surrender, have all Poles of higher IQ muredered or exiled, have all our property stolen ("nationalized"), have concentration camps (gulags) built 20 years earlier than Germans built them, have millions dead of starvation and milions sent to Siberia... that would be better for us? Is that really what you are saying?
@@ithadtobeaname7327 Denmark was one of those countries that Germany took peacefully, where the Nazis were practically welcomed. These types of "conquests" also prolonged British and French hesitation because it was easy for Hitler to just tell them "They WANTED German rule! I'm just giving them what they want! No one is dying, no war will happen! Calm down!"
I visited Poland; going to Krakow and I was awed at the courage, bravery and tenacity of the country during WWII. Truly a nation that does not get sufficiently recognised. Love that you’ve done a series on them.
I think for that they should start with the French Revolutionary Wars, as without them the Napoleonic Wars have no context. As for another story (that they said they would get to at some point), what about the English Civil War Era and Praise-God Barebone? (Highly influential Preacher, Leather-Seller, and Politician, and father of the also Highly Influental doctor/economist/financial speculator Nicholas Barbon) Or for an underdog, perhaps the Jacobite Risings? :)
They don’t necessarily need the French rev. Wars for context - those only happened because of the seven years war and in the opposite direction they napoleon I Wars would contribute to the First World War eventually. Lots of ground to cover though anyway with what was basically a WW.
And at the end the west sold Polish leaders and freedom to the USSR. And now in the present day their grandchildren aren't even allowed to be UK plumbers. Western Europe still owns a great debt to Poland that we're far from paying off.
@@pand9293 Us was the only one with nukes at the time. Profit no cold war order after that. Remember that USRR sponsored and suported comunist revolutions all around the world. All those civilians deaths was avoidable if only soliders did one more pusch. Patton was for it.
@@marcinmalczewski8610 And we would've had Eastern Europe turned into a wasteland, both nuclear and otherwise, with possibly up to 100 Million more deaths. Yeah, SO preferable... The Mistake your making here is that the Soviets would've just instantly caved. Which they very likely wouldn't have.
Well, yeah. Anything more would have required the logistics of carrying food, ammo and oil further inside Germany, which they didn't have yet. They had to be close enough that they could get supplies without extensive use of trucks and other things like that they didn't have available at the time.
You perhaps forgot to mention that when the Russians were on the other side of the river the were also shooting civilians trying to escape Warsaw. And maybe the fact that children as young as 10 were fighting during the siege. I'm not surprised tho a lot of facts about Polish history are often misinterpreted or hidden. Like the Turkish invasion on Europe and Leopold's small/lack of input in the actual victory. I love your videos though especially the series about Katherine the Great 😊
It's unfortunate that Poland became oppressed till 1990. Just think 1939-1990. And they just gained freedom a few short years prior. Tragic. the West failed Poland.
To those who want to know more on this style of stuff and the insides of Poland after it was conquered, Check out the book, The Uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, Sure it was made in 1968, But it was created by a US army vet from WW2, I heavily recommend checking it out, It holds such an amazing amount of information and so much detail.
Polish Jews uprised becose uprisings are part of our Polish history. They were Jews but with Polish hearts. They knew polish history and they knew what to do. Poland Uprised in 1793 Kosciuszko uprising, 1804 Wielkopolskie uprising, 1830 November uprising,1846 Krakow uprising, 1864 January uprising, 1918 Wielkopolskie uprising, 1919 Sejny uprising and THREE Silesia uprisings, 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising, 1944 Warsaw Uprising, 1944 Wilnus uprising after WWII of course important to mention is "Solidarity" after which whole iron curtain fall. It is not easy to occpy the Poland.
Polish soldiers were fighting everywhere. After they lost their country they fought in North Africa (Tobruk), England (303 Squadron), Norway (battle of Narvik), Italy (Monte Cassino) and conquered Berlin alongside with Russians... They also liberated parts of Belgium and the Netherlands and had the greatest resistance movement in Europe and one of the largest in the world (Polish Underground State). Such a brave people and so underrated country. Forgotten and failed by the West
Thank you for making this miniseries! Taking the popular format into consideration, it was a really nice little introduction to the topic for the wider audience. The only nitpick I have is that when talking about the battle of the Bzura you should've shown it being fought more to the west of Warsaw. Videos like this are really important because as a nation we never really got over the WW2. There's much bitterness bout it, its consequences and the perceived lack of knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of our experience by the world. It's only getting worse in recent years and it negatively affects our internal politics and international relations. Hopefully, this will be a tiny contribution to changing things for the better. I know you usually don't make the "lies" video for the sponsored series, but I would really like to see one this time. Not so much to hear about mistakes, but about your thoughts, the writing process and so one. For example, the reasoning behind using the name Danzig instead of Gdańsk (which I fully understand in this context, but unfortunately there will be some of my countrymen offended by it).
You guys don't understand the holiday, its not about being occupied, its about Poland still being a country in general, so please learn the true meaning of this before talking about it
"And after that 17% of Polish population were killed, capital destroyed, industry stolen, teritory of Poland cut, Polish independence sold in Teheran, and Yalta, by Polish "allies"- of course first they gave Poland a bill, for borrowing equipment for soldiers fighting in western Europe - and occupants get rid of reponsibility, not paying a coin for that" That should be ending. Many people, including me decided to leave Poland, to run at least a bit better life. Long time, before Poland will recovery.
It's sad that many of the soldiers that survived the war had the choice of either returning home and being tried as a traitor to the party, or stay in the west, being refused pay or retirement money from the governments they aided during the war. Though there's one issue with the last part of this comment- germans did nothing to get out of paying reparations. It was the polish communist government that refused to accept western aid because big brother viewed it as inviting foreign influence. So that one's on us. Or the pzpr to be precise.
You forget the loss of our heritage in the hand of Nazi and Soviet. The loss of Polish writing, Polish art, Polish knowledge, Polish riches. Everything's gone. Then abandoned behind the Iron Curtains by our Allies. And now they have the gut to tell Poland what to do and threatened Poland in EU. Look at our Allies befriending Germany like the whole World War II never happened. I just wished that Hitler burn down Paris the way he burned down Warzawa.
Polish rebelss (taken by the NKWD using gestapo prisons and similiar methods) belived that help wil came. Polish resistance fight comunist unjust (stealing and redestribution of welth, capturing rebelius element ) North Corea, Soviet union, China communism was aways built in similiar maner -lots of vicims: soliders, police oficers, entrepreneurers, teachers, old goverment workers... those that didnt agree on that. Independent, stuborn, country oriented politicans was repleced by the konformists, sellouts that doo what Soviets want. Often ex prisoner led investigation (tortures) aginst ex policeman (this kind of pepole cooperates with NKWD). Where still finding unmarked graves corpses of NKWD prisoners after hard investigation (broken bones), pregnat prisoners. There are stil writings in the prison cells: prisoner names, dates. In one of such cells there is "good help us".
Does anyone else really want to see a movie about the Polish defense now? I'm a bit of a sucker for tragic or bittersweet endings, and the Polish deserve a lot more recognition than they get for their heroism in WWII. A defiant stand in the face of insurmountable odds, refusing to back down until the last bullet is spent, knowing that they can never win, but making the enemy pay dearly for their victory.
I learned more new information about ww2 and my grandmothers home country in this video than I have in nearly any other piece of media in a long time. wonderful job EC!
Panzers drive into the city, smashing barricades and mounting the city’s ruins.
The Siege of Warsaw has begun.
Thanks again to World of Tanks PC for making these two bonus episodes possible.
The Vikings will visit Greenland this upcoming Saturday to conclude our Viking Expansion series! bit.ly/EHPatreon
New video YAY!!!
Can you do a video on the free city of Danzig?
Do A video of the 1916 rising in ireland
I love your history videos. Can you do one about the German Jews during the war? I can't wait to see what you have next time!
Could you follow this up with Warsaw Uprising?
The way we were taught about Poland in history class is criminal compared to what actually went down. We were taught that Poland was barely able to put up a fight because their army was so outdated that they were still using horses while the Germans used tanks. No mention of the Polish tanks that actually outclassed German armour at the time. No mention of holding out for five weeks. No mention of the Red Army also joining in at the end to seal the deal. No mention of how tens of thousands of Polish troops made their way to France to continue fighting as an army and contribute more to the war effort than other nations in some cases. No mention of how there was still resistance forces in Poland. No mention that Poland was actually quite possibly some of the bravest, most heroic badasses that ever saw combat in WWII.
...and probably you were taught a lot about 'Polish Death Camps' instead :( Funny thing about horses is, that Germany not only used cavalry but depended on horses in about 50% of logistics for Eastern Front.
@@piotrd.4850 a lot of the camps were in Poland.
Where do they teach history like that?
@@insaneweasel1 But they were not Polish, the Germans just build them there because it was easier to transport Jews and Poles from the area to the camps.
@@piotrd.4850 so polish army was fully motorized then?
I swear, every single thing that could go wrong for Poland happened in this war.
No, they just have unreliable allies.
@@notBrandonNova Isn't an unreliable ally a thing that "could go wrong"?
RedTheRed owo but still Polish armed forces won dozens of battles in WW2. They liberated part of France, almost whole Belgium and Netherlands..They defended UK...They fought in North Africa and Italy... They fought on atlantic... They fought on the sky of Europe.
Polish is the true defenders of Europe.
The polish squadron 303 or 304 had the most kills in The Battle of Britain.
My homewtown of Breda, in the Netherlands, was liberated by Polish soldiers on 29th October 1944. And for that, we will be ever gratefull.
Dziekujemy wam Polacy!
You may not known that.
Gen Stanisław Maczek commander leding 1st Polish Armoured Division till end of his life work as a bartender in hotels of Edyburg Scotland.
That was all what western powers cud ofer soliders without country.
Because country under stalins regime (hunting and kiling rebells that did fiht nazies) was it moustly by name.
Thank you.
My great grandpa fought the nazis in the Netherlands
Same for Roeselare in Belgium, we owe them big time.
@@marcinmalczewski8610 the best the Russians offered was Katyn.... Some of us remember...
The saddest moment: The Polish Soliders thought that soviet union came to help them.
Because you heard that somwhere? Use ur brain sometimes.
@@Maeeastro That was to Philosphical Inquiry ?
And USSR actually portrayed this fact not as invasion but liberation of Belarus, Ukraine and Vilnius from attacked and unstable Poland. According To Russian history books the war started in 1941, which is from Polish perspective bu.. Rubbish
Poland never expected support from the USSR. After all, they had a pact with Germany and Poland, meaning that neutrality seemed like the most sensible option.
Poland has a good reasons to be distrustful of the serpent nation of Russia.
I am Polish and when I see the international comments of people that understand the betrayal of our allies and are aware of the bravery of polish soldiers i'a glad and happy as hell. The true history is not forgotten. Thank you!
That's Karma. 19 years earlier you betrayed your allie Ukraine and split their terretory with the USSR to make a good peace.
I'm American
In my Opinion Poland is the BEST country in Europe at the moment!
Lucky you also bla
@@theq4602 because you're racist.
@@abdiyusuf8561 their is a difference between racism and not wanting people who are lazy and don't respect other people's culture
,,Because we don't beg for freedom, we fight for it"-
Witold Urbanowicz 303 squadron
Fighter Pilots in exile
Fly over foreign land
Let their stories be heard
Tell of 303rd
My great greatfather actually saved one Polish POW near the end of the war. The germans were marching them across our village and he managed to "stole" one young Pole and hide him in a basement. That young man survived and after the war he returned home to Poland somewhere near Krakow.
Bless your great grandpa
LocalHeretic 1127 Respect!
And when i hide young people in my basement "polish" police threatens me :-(
@@rzul u hide them for what
My Great Grandfather Escaped A Soviet Train That Was Heading To A POW Camp!
That's explained why Poland Anthem entitled: "Poland Is Not Yet Lost"
That anthem is way older than this war, though.
Inspect History but the anthem was adopted in 1927
I mean they still used this anthem, even now ..
*It's the lyrics of the anthem not its title.
Inspect History It might be in reference to the Miracle on the Vistula. I’m not sure though.
Things lost when needed most
-car keys
-wallet
-phone
-trustworthy and reliable allies
Maybe because 2:1 is not a favorable relation to attack efficiently. You need at least 3:1.
If France and Britain invaded Germany in 1939 they would have lost WWII.
germany has the same problem in both world wars 😂
Cars and Pickup-trucks from 2021 would have made great war vehicles for 1939 Poland!
Copy
Jesus Christ.. I was under the impression that poles surrendered without much of a fight..
But this video has revealed how courageously they fought and held our..
Long live Poles
Yeah, I never knew the Poles did this well against the Germans before.
Not only that, Poland created underground state, and was still fighting till last days of war.
Google the battle of Wizna - a small episode of the defence of Poland, but a really epic one. Sabaton's song "40:1" is about that.
You may like this book "A Question of Honor" by Lynne Olsen & Stanley Cloud.
France fell in 40 days, and fighting only Germany. Poland lasted five weeks, and these numbers were never a secret.
Gotta love how the Poles lasted longer than the French even though the French had help from the British
Actually, France held ten days more.
@@TheFiresloth Still, help from the British, one front and only one army to fight. Poland had no allies, two front war and had one million troops less than Soviets and Germany combined.
@@guillman Two fronts, the italians attacked in the south when they saw France in a position of weakness. For the british, they weren't that numerous compared to the French and retreated back to England quicky after the line broke.
What I mean is, there's no real comparison here. The Polish were crushed, and the French were crushed too, like most countries the Germans invaded at the time. It doesn't really indicated anything.
@@TheFiresloth Except that the French and British actually outnumbered the Germans, and that the Italians weren't really a big factor anymore since Paris got taken and most of the French armies got destroyed.
TheFiresloth
The Italians did next to nothing, and even if they did, weren’t nearly as strong as the Red Army.
Report uk and france for being afk
Gold XDD
_France has been kicked for being afk_
_UK has been kicked for being afk_
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
Hypixel: You will be afked in 10 seconds.
Uk and France:
Oh come on! Stop shaming Italy for changing sides so many times! It's not like the same government kept switching sides!
The King of Italy declared war on the Central Powers in WWI.
WWI ends.
Mussolini assumed power and made the King less than a figurehead, considering how little he's talked about.
Mussolini joins the Axis and fights Italy's former allies.
Mussolini is defeated and a new government is put in place by the Allies to fight in northern Italy, which was occupied by the Germans.
WWII ends.
The Italian parliament decide to exile the Italian royal family despite them not having anything to do with the rise of Mussolini or his actions.
Come on, they'll be back online in just a few moments
About time Poland gets some recognition for its struggles in WWII.
yet most games just let you play as US or UK infantry
History House Productions they werent a major power tho
Shiki in movies it mostly USA and russia. When they show UK it's about battles they lost mostly
Ein Gamer They were quite important to the war effort though. Their army was over 400,000 strong by the end of the conflict.
history house productions the yanks take all the credit for both world wars and act like Poland does not exist
Poland and Finland are one of the best countries that were defending during ww2
Amen
Do Seguin true!
And Greece.
5 weeks?
Of course, they defend bravely, but they fall as others
Don't forget Germany...they defended agains litteraly the world for years lol
This is why Portuguese have an iconic phrase for the English "amigos de peniche" it's translated to "frieds of peniche " peniche is a fisher city in Portugal and in ww1 Portugal was in a alience with the British to fight the other countries. The British were supposed to be at peniche and help out in the war ....but they never came, and so sarcastically we called them the friends of peniche. This term is still used today when we want to call someone, 2 faced, a people that betrais and all that
So 'Amigos de Peniche' is the other name for 'British' in Portugal?
@@filiplubos1981 I guess it means fake friend in general.
classic British behaviour 😂😂
like, is there any ally they didn't betray at one point or another? 😂😂
@@filiplubos1981 it means fake, or two faced people in general
What’s something that Poland doesn’t have?
Loyal Allies.
spacecraft
@@wuestenfuchsxy poland can into space
And cowardice
True
@@BunnyhopsX not true
france: Lasts 4 weeks with help of the british and fights against a weakend germany
poland: without any help last 5 weeks against 2 of the most powerful nations
Polish flag:
White: purity, honour
Red: Sacriface
Blue: Good allies
Well, yes, pretty bad commanders ^^'
Like, we have better tanks than Germans, just as Poland. But we never learned how to use them and they were only used to protect infantry, instead of fighting armored divisions who were, as a consequence, left unmatched ^^
But we last against an entire italian army with only a few alpine divisions in the Alpes.... though, this mostly because Mussolini was a bad commander XD
USA: I’ll put one there, and the other there.
Japan: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
Japan: I surrender.
USA: Good
@Scrub Scribe and finland humiliates the soviets
@Scrub Scribe The "Never invade Russia in the winter" also applies to Finland.
The blue in polish flag represents reliable allies
Oh wait
Good one xD
At first I wanted to write "but there is no blue" but then I realised
Cin3kTERTV blue? Oh oh yep
Right, I see what you did there :)
You said that same thing in Part 1.
Don’t ever forget the Warrior Bear Wojtek!
Bless you Wojtek.
germans:" wait a minute we can talk about this poland were sorry"
poland:" WOJTEK GET HIM!"
germany:" WAIT N-"
We all know the only reason Germany lost was due to wojket.
Hail Commander Wojtek!
Hungary didn't put Polish units into prisons or anything. Hungary opened his border to the Polish army and let in nearly 50k man. They treated the soldiers respectfully and tactfully when they started to disarm them (Most of the weapons were later send to the Finnish - Soviet war to help the Finns) and they provided the Polish a chance to travel to a third party country to join to the fight again on the Allies side. To the ones who stayed in Hungary for a longer time the goverment provided a "guest-loving" welcome.
thats why, and for many more reasons, Hungary to this day, is our best friends...even more,like brothers.
"guest-loving" are you saying they were taken in the back and shot in the head?
@@Jebu911 That's the Red Treatment, not Hungarian
@@kapitan19969838 Well i have nothing bad to say about hungary really but i was wondering if the guest loving meant that they were killed. They were part of the axis anyway.
@@Jebu911 Yeah, they were. Not by choice. Pál Teleki refused to attack us
But... Poland was abandoned by their allies yet again after the war, being stuck on the other side of the iron curtain...
Brits: Do we help Poland? - Nah, noone cares.
Americans: Do we help Poland? - Nah, noone cares.
Literally everyone in western europe: Do we help poland? - Nah, noone cares.
What could the West have done against the Soviets? Stalin had agreed to Churchill and Roosevelt's demand to restore the previous polish government and then he went back on the deal. Save from vaporizing half the Soviet Union it seems nigh impossible to get Poland at that point in the war.
@@StavAngr
Poland today: Man, fuck all you guys.
Rest of Europe: Why do you have to be so bitter?
Poland: ...
Poland outlasted a vicious double-cross, an entire world war, and it can outlast the demonic Kalergi Plan.
@@StavAngr Yest the Allies should have continued their brutal taxing war by attacking the USSR - that would have end well.
Warsaw fell but the Army fights on!
Respect to Poland! From the Philippines.
Thanks for doing this. In school they always oversimplified Poland and said that they basically fell immediately.
They did lol
Well we did. But still our soldiers fought on other fronts.
another thing school tends to forget to mention is that the poles were the first to break the enigma code and gave all their knowledge to British codebreakers, that would later carry on their work and save millions of lives.
By comparison of the war as a whole, they fell immediately, saying nothing of soldiers moving to other nations and taking up arms again.
"Poland has fallen, but it is not defeated."
Damn, you really missed an opportunity to say "Poland has fallen, but it is not yet lost."
@Error_404 PL reference to polish national anthem. First line goes: "Poland is not yet lost until we live(...)"
@Error_404 PL Polish National Anthem
@Error_404 PL The "Poland is not yet lost" part is what I believe he is referencing but aight
Looking at the history of Poland makes me sad but inspired of their bravery. Long live Poland
I finally have some context for that one Destroyer ship that signaled “I AM A POLE!” while firing on the Bismarck.
Get used to Polish token characters whenever WWII will be covered - Poles were literally everywhere, fighting against Poland's enemies. It became a little problematic after 1941, when one of the enemies became the allies of Polish allies, and then after Stalingrad even some of resistance groups that considered Soviets to be worse than nazis started switching sides (a minority, i think even a very small minority, but this shows how f*** up the situation was).
sweet sweet revenge, that.
"Warsaw. City at war.
Voices from the underground
Wispers of freedom
1944
Help that never came"
-Sabaton
I'm very sure that one of the guys shown at the end of the video is inspired by the sabaton video.
Another myth for uneducated idiots. That's not how things happened in reality.
The Soviets had no chance of reaching Warsaw, nor were they aware of the plans for the uprising before it happened. The whole point of the uprising was to give legitimacy to a government that lost it’s own by fleeing to a neutral country years earlier so they could have a say in the after war talks
@@amogususus12 good lord, do you even learn history properly or are you fed propaganda from childhood?
Dem poles will never admit that Poland was truly a greedy hyena of Europe, and still dreams to return to former glory - hence fascism is on the march in country again.
@@baka_ja_nai The Warsaw uprising of '44 was supposed to coincide with the soviet assault forcing the germans to fight a battle on multiple fronts. However the on the day it began Soviet troops stalled their advance and waited. Despite pressure from the other world leaders Stalin's forces would not come to Polish aid and the uprising failed. Thousands died in the fighting.
Poland: help, I'm being attacked by two
France and UK: we'll watch how it goes
Germany and USSR: lol
Poland: The time has come! Let us destroy these Nazi bastards!!
Allies: Fuck yeah!! We're right behind you Poland!
Poland: I'm holding them off! You guys on your way yet!?
Allies: Yeah we're getting ready, just hang in there!
Poland: Ah shit now Russia is here, guys hurry up!!
Allies: We are launching our attack now!!!
**France gently shoves Germany in the back... Germany turns around and glares... France timidly backs off**
Allies: Damn they defeated our brilliant attack. We shall have to devise a new strategy.
Poland: **fighting for his life** Too... MANY...
Allies talking amongst themselves: What to do, what to do... any ideas?
Poland: Ouch!! Arggh!!! HEELPP!!!!!
Allies: Yes yes Poland we hear you, but you cannot rush the planning process of a major military operation! This requires time and coordination! I assure you, we shall render aid as soon as we have a plan!
Poland: **gurgle**
Allies: Ah, a brilliant idea! Let's run it through all the proper channels and make sure it's watertight! Are we set? Good! Okay Poland! We are ready!
**silence**
Allies: Poland? ...Hello??
**more silence**
Allies: Well we tried our very best. Nothing more we could have done. Oh look! I believe Denmark and Norway need our help! Let's devise a plan...
By the time the Soviets decided to attack Poland there was no point trying to defend them they were going to fall anyways. If France and the UK had even managed to stop Germany, they would have fallen to the Soviets anyways.
Dick move france and uk
@@Auriel_Direnni they couldve helped a little but naaaah
@@Auriel_Direnni Poland thin their ranks(armed vehicles). In some cases even to fifty percent(inflantry). Nazies spend whole year to rebulding their strenghts, before attack on France.
What a brave country. They stood alone against two military superpowers, they lost but they did prove themselves.
Stonersloth Hughes they lasted longer against two superpowers than France did against just one
We Poles - I'm not from Poland, but of majority-Polish descent - are a hardy lot, indeed. The shields of Europe!
so, my family is polish, and we came from a little village named Grac. before the war, (my immidiate family lives in Michigan) would get letters from Grac, asking for lace for dresses, and things like that.
the story goes, that the people of Grac, (being the helpful polaks that we are) found two Jewish boys, and they were fleeing from the Nazis. we helped them and harbored them in the village. so the SS came by and basically told my family members "surrender the boys, we know you have them" and my family basically said "go stick your bratwurst where the sun don't shine". the the Nazis mounted bulldozer blades on the front of their tanks, and ran over the entire village...every man,woman, and child. a cousin went over in the 1970s, and he wondered where the village went, because he saw nothing but farmland, and one of the old timers there told him this........THAT'S why great grandma Graczyk hated Nazis so much, and it's also why i take pride in being polish.....to tough to kill, to stupid to die.
1 year later but damm talk about balls of steal!.
Poland did a good job their army was Brave
Then they all died.
@@javamoul2368 Not all
poland war marshal was extremely talented his plan when off without a hitch the ones that failed him was france and britain
@@patthonsirilim5739 u forgot that a quarter of the Polish army was surrounded by German troops b4 the Soviets attacked
their army was beaten, I would hardly call that a good job
Part 1 - Invasion of Poland
Part 2 - Fall and division of Poland
so....
Part 3 - The Home Army and Secret State, and Forces in Exile
Part 4 - The Warsaw Uprising
Part 5 - The Western Betrayal
The complete history of Poland during WWII
Part 3.1 The Ljudova Army.
Part 3.2 The Jewish uprising in hetto.
Paer 3.3 Start an uprising not telling the closest (in front) ally.
Part 3.3 Loses of Soviet troops tried to link to Warsaw.
Part 3.4 Wha...
@@amogususus12 By trying to get to the city before the rebellion gets crushed and thus running out of scheduels and plans?
I doubt there will be more. This is sponsored series (which are always 4 episodes max) by video game focusing on tanks and the series is defence of Poland which is over now.
@@benogurok5175 Lets be honest, the Soviets were allies of the Polish allies, not the allies of the Polish home army.
Many other cities to the east of Warsaw had similar uprisings, which liberated the cities or helped Soviet army during their attacks. Soviets were informed about some of those. But the Home army troops were later detained by NKVD or executed by them. Sharing information only allowed Soviets to target home army members more efficiently.
So the plans were adjusted, forces from other cities were diverted to Warsaw in order to be able to start an uprising a bit earlier and hold a bit longer.
Hell, even Radio Moscow - the voice of Soviet state - openly called for an uprising...
So:
- Soviets knew that uprisings like this happened in any major Polish city,
- they called for an uprising themselves,
- they had just dealt two colossal defeats to German Army, meaning that Germans simply had no troops to make effective resistance in the area
- they knew that Western Allies wanted to help the resistance (and probably knew about the plans from them - after all, British were informed about almost every move)
- they actively searched and detained any home army partisans that were going to Warsaw before the uprising, according to Soviet documents
and they helped by:
- denying western Allies landing in their territory, making airlift unable to carry enough supplies, as British air drops had to fly from Italian airports instead.
- killing, imprisoning, and otherwise hindering the resistance
- declining Polish army under their command request to allow to support the resistance on their own
- stopping 'coincidentally' for a month in place even though they were just in the Warsaw outskirts
What the Polish resistance should have done? They should have bombed the bridges on Vistula that Soviets secured south of Warsaw, making sure that there aren't any on the river. Then Soviets would either need to cooperate with the uprising, or color the river red while crossing. Sadly, Polish resistance did not use Soviet ways of doing diplomacy, and they paid the price
@@amogususus12 a)The Soviets were informed two days after the beginning of the rebellion.
b) They tried to get to Warsaw but even at the time they were near city they had huge lack of supplies and ammunition, so they were repelling German attacks.
Poland is so freaking badass
No wonder their national anthem is named "Poland Is Not Beaten".
@@darreljones8645 poland not beaten?
Guderian: HoLd My BeEr
@@ferdinandrayoso9444 no u
Finland was the same way😂
There was an attempt
Srly tho Poland is so underrated, it's history is every bit as cool as all the other major European countries. They're actually one of the most badass ones despite getting the short end of the stick for most of modernity
I think Stalin would have betrayed Hitler in 1939 if France had actually continued its attack and captured at least the Rhineland.
I still blame Britain and France for betraying Poland in 1939.
Indeed; he was already stalling ( :) ) as he was supposed to attack on 12th or 14th. However, it wouldn't change much. Basically, with starting conditions as they were, campaign was forgone conclusion since about day 4.
Russia always interned a war with Germany. The non aggression pact was only to allow Russia to stabilize their country and build up their army. Unfortunately for Russia they underestimated that Germany would defeat it's enemy's so quick, and declare war on Russia without concluding their war with Britain.
Stalin was planning to attack in 1942.
@@Askhat08 with executing his officers in 1938
The French stopped. They were winning and they stopped. *THEY WERE WINNING AND THEY STOPPED?!*
I mean, it would've been *FUNNY,* but this is another instance WW2 could've been prevented.
I think this, more than anything else, is why people tend to think so poorly of the French in regards to WWII.
LEGOMANIAC419 France could’ve reunited the kingdom of the Franks
As always,my country was basicly let down by its leaders.French Units were dominating the Germans,but in this offensive on the German border,the French Commander (cant remember which one it was) actually thought it was a traped to cut off and surround the French Army in the middle of hostile Germany (mounting partisans group would have been as easy as we saw in our reality).
The irony is that,on many point,especially armement,France learned a lot from WW1.The rifles were shorter,simpler,our tanks were the best of the early war,our piltos were fairly good.
But maybe the most important point of a war,the Strategic planning was still bogged down in a WW1 doctrine of defense.Now that doctrine was excellent.But it was excellent to attack and hold kilometres of continuous trenches with no mass armoured forces.We had a defensive doctrine where our equipement and just the simple Historical/Military context allowed us/Should have forced us to go on the offensive
Why are you stopping?
I don't know what to do, I didn't think we'd get this far!
Because the video gives pretty much no context to the realities the French were facing. The French had conducted a slow advance with what amounted to half their standing army which came to an abrupt halt once they hit the German minefields and discovered they had no way to clear them. The French realized that their hasty mobilization had missed the engineers and none were attached to the attacking units, nor had any of the infantry been trained to detect mines. The lack of adequate engineering support would have stalled the French had they proceeded, since they had more minefields and several rivers to cross. Gamelin had good reasons for calling a halt. The deficiencies discovered in the short advance were already making it clear that the French weren't ready to attack. The French army was physically incapable of swift and bold offensive action in September of 1939... its very mobilization structure prevented it, to say nothing of its training and doctrine.
This part of polish history needs to be told more often. Usuly we only hear about it having been Europes punching bag.
Punching Bag? We are European Pizza that Europe like to take part of us.
@@AlexS-oj8qf I ment further back in history, not in modern times. In the past your homeland went through alot.
I adore a good Underdog story
Less of an underdog story and more of a series of tragedies. There is no happy ending.
@@joesummer2700 At least not until 1990.
Polish propaganda doesn't want you to know that she bullied her own little sibling for land in the 1920s (see Polish-Lithuania War) and agreed to the Nazi partition of Czech in order to seize Czech territories. Some 'underdog'.
@@joesummer2700 truth be told, war never has a happy ending.
me too
If extra history continues this series, they should focus on the fearsome 303rd squadron. The squadron, is so vicious and ferocious in the defense of britain that they would close up to point blank range of the their target and hit them hard. So vengeful at the lost of their home country, that some of them are willing to ram enemy bombers to seek revenge for what they've lost. By the end of the battle, they're the highest scoring hurricane squadron and highest ratio of kill-to-lost among the RAF. They would never loose another country. They will never fail again. Not over their dead bodies.
Respect for Poland from Australia
Rommel was an Australian?
@Maximilianmus Oh yeah yeah Thanks Australia! Respect for You too!
One name, sorry to all Poles for butchering the spelling, but I mean only respect:
Wladyslav Raginis. It's a shame he wasn't mentioned here, often referred to as the Leonidas of modern history.
Polish people suffered most during ww2.. But they never surrender.
Massive respect from India 🇮🇳✌️🇵🇱 stay strong ✊
Hmm i think the Jews suffered worse tbh
@@cherryslat5702 Don't forget that Poles suffered a lot because they helped Jews a lot too.
@@cherryslat5702 a lot of jews were polish citizens, do they count as poles or jews?
Thank you.
Haha 😆 I don't think we're in nearly as bad situation as we were back then, or suffered more than Jews all over Europe did, but nonetheless I am (and I am sure my countrymen as well) grateful, thank you very much/बहुत धन्यवाद् 😊 and be well/अच्छा हो
Polish soldiers from Polish armed forces on wes, mostly Polish 1st Armored division commanded by gen. Stanisław Maczek liberated part of France, were most important unit in Falaise pocket, liberated almost whole Belgium and Netherlands. They atacked north western germany and took main base of Kriegsmarine in Vilhemshaven. Germans signed capitulation in front of Polish general.
After war gen. Stanisław Maczek end as bartender in "Dorchester" in "Learmonth" Hotel in scotish Edynburg
He and other polish soliders wasnt recodnised by western powers as war combatants.
Gen Stanisław Sosabowski(commander of paratroopers from Arnhem) work for the rest of his live as storekeeper(didnt have any insurance)
Jan Zumbach(303 ace of battle for britain) was an adventurer he ordered txi comapny, was gold smuggler, mecrinary in africa, in 1962 he organized and comand Katanga airforce (rebelius province of congo). In 1967 he was hired for similiar work in Biafrze (they where rebelius province of Nigeria)
He cudnt go back to poland because comunist wil capture executed him as many others (they did this to polish pilots that fight in battle for britain -Stanisław Skalski). Work for western alies so traitors for the stalins comunist regime in Poland. Komandor Zbigniew Przybyszewski, who in 1939 roku leed Hell artilery and damaged Schleswig Holsein was kiled by shot in back of the head, as many of his subordinates and superiors.
@@sprint12polska Pimped out Polish style!
Some people still say 'Poles weren't significant'. I mean can I punch someone through the screen?
Britain and France: *STARTS WW2 OVER POLAND*
Britain and France: *END OF WW2* What's Poland?
whats France?...
Actually it was Poland who stood up for Britain and France, not the other way round.
@Michał Michałowskii Not sure what history book you've read but last time I checked it was Germany who started the war.
@andr andr What I mean is this:
After the Treaty of Versailles Germany was brought to its knees. Every decision had to be negotiated with the two empires - Britain and France. That was until the German-Soviet non-aggression agreement, known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. That pact divided central and eastern Europe into spheres of influences, one German and one Soviet.
Neither Great Britain nor France had been asked to acknowledge or approve the pact, meaning that Germany made a decision without consulting with the two empires. As such, it undermined the imperial status of both.
Britain and France had two choices - either just accept what happened, or answer with force. They decided to answer with force, and they had a volunteer to deliver that answer - Poland. And thus by signing an alliance with Britain and France two days after the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, Poland openly declared to Germany that Britain and France should not be ignored the way Germany did, sealing its fate.
That is why it was Poland that stood up defending the imperial status of Britain and France, and not Britain and France who allied themselves with Poland to protect it (which they didn't thus proving this point).
Loved this two part series. It also highlighted the reasons why Poland fell, which by large has been swept under the rug in history in favor of better versions for the allies. Forced to not mobilize, no promised reinforcement or aid. It's truly impressive what they accomplished.
Honestly, I find the way France and Britain treated Poland disgraceful. They forbid the Poles setting up a proper defense. Despite their promises they do nothing to support Poland after the Germans attack. And after the war they leave them in the clutches of the Soviets who grab a massive chunk of the country to enlarge Belarus and Ukraine(land that STILL hasn't been given back).
Maybe Poles shouldn't have tried to steal that "massive chunk of the country" back in 1919... You know, just to begin with.
@@mdokuch96 The massive chunk of the country that is historically Polish and has been since the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
@@1987MartinT the massive chunk of modern Poland is historically German. How about returning "gifts of bloody tyrant Stalin"?
@@mdokuch96 You mean: retake tiny part of what we owned for 600 or so years before ? ;)
@@mdokuch96 Those lands were Polish for much longer time than German.
Germany: Can I get Sudetenland ?
France & England: But only this, no more !
Germany: Ok
(Actually annexes half of Europe)
Blitzkrieg Time !
Germany: *Looks at Switzerland* Hi there.
Germany: *Looks at everyone else* Burn in hell.
@@bigboykenob2244 More like
Germany: 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 Operation Tannenbaum 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵
Switzerland: What was that?
Germany: Just a cough and btw we will respect your neutrality (Says that while murdering neutral nations right in front of Switzerland's face)
@@bigboykenob2244 Germany didn't attack them because so many germans had money in swiss banks, it would cause a second great depression
"I want that thing!" Repeat. Oversimplified put it accurately.
If the Czech count as "half of europe"
Hitler didn´t even annex Slovakia....fun fact Slovakia was the only ally of Germany during the Invasion of Poland
People acting like Poland was weak before the war started, and surprised that they lasted so long.. Poland was actually quite advanced, and doing quite well economically, which shows in the quality of their tanks and their army in general.. They were quite a big factor in Europe before the war started, some would even say on par with the main powers like France and the UK.. They were never backwards, it's just that the Germans just made them out to be, making up myths like they got charged by horses and stuff like that.. we just don't see them on the same light anymore because of what happened, but they were really quite powerful, especially during the Napoleonic wars.. They even put up a better fight than France
Advanced ? Yes. Economically ? Insignificant next to Germans. 40% of budget went for maintaining army that was literally half-mobilized instead of funding more 37mm Bofors, repurposing 40mm AA Bofors to AT role, buying RADIOS, Ur rifles etc. Despite that, true enough, actually, nobody did better at their first encounter with Germans - even US forces in Africa were given blody nose by Germans, and were.
Well, economically it *was* quite outdated. Mostly agrarian, 70% of Poles actually lived in the countryside. And most of those farmers were illiterate. Polish village was literally the symbol of the poverty in the Second Republic, and eastern portion of the country was fully agrarian, and mostly inhabited by non-Poles, while the cities there were mostly Polish speaking. It was the other way around in the west, where the countryside was Polish speaking, yet Germans dominated the cities.
On the other hand, Poland was basically the colony for 3 foreign powers just before 1918. Poles had lived under 3 different law systems, under 3 different administrative systems, sometimes even using different units of measurement. Hell, the trains weren't able to move across the country freely, just because the Russians used other type of rails. They had to glue this 3 different parts together, fix their economy, while there was almost no industry in the whole country aside from Łódź region, Warsaw and of course Silesia, once it joined the country.
Yet, in the 20 years of Interwar period, Poles were able to fix most of these problems (albeit they didn't solved the overpopulation of the countryside, it's poverty and illiteracy - it were the Soviets and their Communist lackeys that finally did the massive agrarian reform solving that [of course by removing the landed gentry and confiscating their land] - Communists simply forced the peasants to move into the cities [fun fact: those people had to REALLY adapt to an urban life - they initially brought their lifestock with them to the middle of the cities, imagine that], they learned them to write and educated them, managing to achieve what the Second Republic never could).
One could argue that the Interwar Poland simply didn't have enough time - for example the completion of the modernization of the army was scheduled to the mid 40s, while the urbanization to the 50s. Who knows what would have happened?
Yet, Poles managed to do amazing things - building the modern port city in Gdynia from what was basically a fishing village. As the port in Danzig was off limits to them - Poles had only the Postal Office and fort in Westerplatte under their control, but the city actively denied anything, having their own parliment, a currency and police, basically acting as a city state. Aside from Gdynia, they also managed to do a magnificent enginering and architectual feat - building the rail network from the vital coal mines of Silesia all the way to the newly built port.
In the 30s, another project was succesfully achieved - the COP, or the Central Industrial Region. Silesia was a region just next to Germany, so once the war would brake out, Poles would immidetely loose their main industrial region (and so they did, back in 1939). So the plan was to create another one to the east. And so they did. One of the newly built cities there was named accordingly - Stalowa Wola, meaning "the Steel Will".
So in short, pre war Poland was not a giant, it wasn't really comparable to the likes of France or Britain. Politically, the government obviously aspired to be a Great Power, threatening all their neighbours, alienating them in the process. Even colonial attempts were made. But economically, they couldn't even be compared to Germany. Yes, that Germany, that was falling apart, with huuge inflation and all the sactions... Even that Germany was way richer than Poland.
Yet, Poland was very vigorous. The generation who grew up in independent Poland, unlike their parents, who had lived under foreign occupation, were very possitive, ambitious. The nation was literally full of hope. They dreamt of making their country great. And if not for war, maybe they would have succeeded. Sadly, most of those young men and women died, either on various fronts, or in their homeland, be it shot in the middle of a day on a street or with weapons in their hands, fighting the enemy in the streets, in the forests and in the villages.
That youth was bled out, in the end. By the time the People's Republic was estabilished, only handful of those teenegers remained. The heart of the nation was dead. Just like with the British or French generation that bled out on the Fields of Flanders and France, so did that generation of young Poles, 20 years later. They are now known as a "Lost Generation", just as they were.
@@Vitalis94 Note that whole Poland from 1914 till 1921 was a battlefield. In 1921 there was no industry exept few coal mines.
@@PR_nick That's literally what I've said.
Vitalis Well,France did not a giant economically in WW2.İf they are a giant,Germany was a giant Anyway.They had half of Germany’s GDP.Germany had largest GDP in Euorpe if we not add Britain to his Empire.Germany had far greater population than both Britain or France 40 million’s compare 80 in 1940.Why every people believing France was too powerful in WW2,they had larger tank and artillery force than Germany but still behind the other features than Germany.
I salute to Poland. I’m from Finland and I think we have much in common with Polish. Both of our nations were attacked by a foreign power and our armies fought bravely against a greatly superior army and actually managed to make a stand. I have always admired finnish army for the miracles of winter and continuation wars but I have to say Polish army is much tougher for while standing alone against both Germany and USSR while Finland actually got help from Germany. Also, you made a huge contribution to the second world war in the ranks of allied forces. Be proud and as we say in Finland, ”Keep the flag high”
- Cpl Aho, Finnish defense forces, Armoured brigade
I actually did some research on Polish land forces and it’s really cool that you have a lot of equipment that Finnish army has also. For example Leopard 2A4 is the main battle tank of the Finnish army and your KTO Rosomak armored vehicle is based on finnish Patria AMV armored vehicle. We clearly have the same taste ;)
@@venniaho6025 So it seems. It's also interesting how we share a relatively similar history of fighting against the Red Army (Polish-Soviet War and the Winter War). As a fun fact I can add that there were also Polish volunteers fighting in the Winter War on the Finnish side. Unfortunately, there were only six of them as Sweden wasn't allowing Polish soldiers (even those who were already in Sweden) to cross to Finland. There were around 100 pilots in Stockholm that were ready and eager to join although there probably wouldn't be enough equipment for them anyway. There was also an idea to sent to help Polish soldiers interned in Lithuania and Latvia but those countries didn't agree to this.
The Polish government in exile wanted to start cooperation with Finland and sent more support or even organize an expedition, unfortunately, other Allies were opposing this idea. In the end, the Finnish government didn't acknowledge the Polish one in exile which meant no possible cooperation.
Baptized in fire
Forty to one
Spirit of Spartans
Death and glory
Soldiers of Poland
Second to none
Wrath of the Wehrmacht brought to a halt
~Sabaton, 40:1
The 8th of September it starts
The rage of the Reich
A barrage of mortars and guns
Stand past, the bunkers will hold
The captain has pledged his life
I'll face my fate here!
The sound of artillery strike
So fierce
The thunder of guns
"In the skies above the isle
Aces in exile prevail...."
"From near and far, they arrived, joined the force, ready to serve the allied command, sent into training, though they already earned their wings, they were ready to fly, they were fit for the fight"
"Once in the air, the battle began. They had proven their worth, now they fight for revenge.
Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land. Let their story be heard, tell of 303rd. Fighter pilots from Poland in the Battle of Britain, guarding the skies of the isle."
@@hawtdawg8049 "Even at night, shadows cover the ground, fighting goes on from dusk till dawn, with the claw of the Reich with the claw of the eagle, they were ready to fly, they were ready to die!"
@@rekerboi1125 "Up in the air, the battle goes on. They had proven their worth, now they have their revenge.
Fighter pilots in exile fly over a foreign land. Tell their story again, tell of 310. Men from Czechoslovakia in the Battle of Britain, guarding the skies of the isle."
@@hawtdawg8049 "Over the battlefield, brave men long way from home, few are the chosen ones, sent to the sky to die.
Over the battlefield, brave men long way from home, few are the chosen ones, sent to the sky to die!"
Baptized in fire
Forty to one
Spirit of Spartans
Death and glory!
Soldiers of Poland
Second to none
Wrath of the Wehrmacht brought to a halt
So silent before the storm
Awaiting command
A few has been chosen to stand
As one outnumbered by far
respect to poles from S.Korea! Long live freedom and peace
Thank you and you too.
poles don't come from south korea...
@Ali Ace And all other neighbors between 1919-1939.
@@Zender22 no he means during the korean war poland sent troops to assist south korea agienst the north koreans along with many MANY other UN and nato forces.
@@Demicleas Oh! I didn't know that
That's really interesting
Poland dies while the world watches........what were they thinking?!
We never died tho. "Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, kiedy my żyjemy" - "Poland is not yet lost, so long as we still live". They would have to kill each and every one of us
@@NomadziorBG As an American of majorly-Polish descent...
I can safely say "damn straight."
We hadn't better not mobilized the troops on August 30, 1939 and gave Germany the corridor to east Prussia.
Jeszcze Polska Nie Zginęła
Yes. The Poles continued fighting. Their military-in-exile was one of the most import ones in the war, while their resistance movement was one of the 4 major resistance movements of the war (alongside the French resistance and both the Soviet and Yugoslav partisans).
So the French were so unused to winning the just kinda stoped?....
Sounds legit.
more like after ''winning'' ww1 they didn't won't to 'win'
They weren't mobilised and prepared and their strategy was mostly based on defensive and counterattack.
The last I've heard of it, the French were actually preparing a second probably much larger offensive. But it got called off, considering the timing quite possibly because by then Poland was obviously not going to hold up long enough.
Thus meaning the German army would be able to redeploy many forces soon enough and you'd have to choose between fighting in the open fields in Germany, or have them come at you at your prepared positions in the Maginot Line, as well as the expected lines in Belgium, hopefully with Belgium help (Though those decided to not do so in the end, trying to desperately cling to neutrality)
Well the flaw in that defensive setup became obvious the next year, but on paper it sounds ok. Force the enemy to a killing field of your own choosing (Belgium), because they probably wouldn't care to try the Maginot Line.
@@rarr2130
Yeah they were too busy executing operation "hide behind Belgium"
@@Quickshot0 French could atleast raid important targets or destroy bridges, railways... With such space to spare behind them they could lay minefields, let germans pay for trying to retake lost ground and retreat before fight would become costly for french. But that is too much to expect from them, since they were already too slow and late.
There is one mistake at 2:20, the arrow suggest an offense from Hungary. There were no troops crossing the Hungarian-Polish border in order to invade Poland. Hungary's prime minester decided not to give access to the Germans.
sad man poor Poland respect from Bulgaria
USSR : We lost so many soldiers in WW2! We are the heroes!
Me : Yeah and when the war started you sided with Hitler and went against a country a third of your size, that was already fighting like hell against him.
Not to mention generous Soviet support for Germans in material , training and proving grounds and assitance in breaking the Versalis Treaty ;)
how is the soviet union not considered a part of the axis?
@@elemperadordemexico because Britain and the us really didn't like loosing the war, hence they came up with the plan to forget about what russia did pre 1941
80% of the Nazi were defeated in Russia. I know you have low IQ, but this is fact. Russia won the war.
@TheVergile sounds legit
No mention of Wizna?
And much respect to the Poles.
Despite undeniable epicness and heroism, Wizna is really just a small episode of the defense of Poland. This series was just a short broad overview of the campaign, with the selective close-up snapshots clearly focusing on the armored units (because of the WoT being the sponsor, I guess).
baptize in fire 40 to 1, wrath of the Wehrmacht brought to a holt
@@elemperadordemexico "Brought to a halt", you mean?
yes
NO
NO
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Us Poles can be stubborn at times, but we never give up. I'm not a pure Pole, but I have enough to be stubborn.
The video is literally about you giving up
K
@@sitdownlad7918 We must have watched a different video.
@@sitdownlad7918 if you weren't dumb & actually listened to the video you'd understand that Poland did not surrender or give up, they were defeated, overwhelmed by the superior quantity/quality of its invaders, they didnt go down without a fight & the Polish resistance was fierce, also not to mention they contributed to helping the Brits break the enigma code
@@sitdownlad7918 The video was literally about Poland never giving up. Uprising, fighting in France, in the air above Britain, in US tanks, the Poles didn't give up even when the entire country was overrun. They never surrendered. They were wiped off the map and still fought
This made me so sad. to know in this detail how they fought so bravely for their homeland alone. 💔
Poor Poland. Constantly attacked and partitioned by her neighbors. Forgotten by her allies, but yet she still stands to defend Europe against invasion from barbarians. From the Ottomans to the Soviets, Poland stands with her people and her Church to defend herself and her neighbors.
Poland that's not have to worry about being invaded or attacked again it's a member of NATO which is means is under our protection and we Canadians will protect Poland!!!😀😀😀😀😀
you forget about the Mongols
@@waltking9141 Yeah Nato...How's Ukraine doing?
Why would Poland defend "her neighbors" when those neighbours are the ones attacking them?
Damm, imagine being a polish soldier and seeing the soviets you just thought were coming to help you start shooting at you. The mental fatigue that must have on one is incredible.
Polish 303 Squadron, Aces in Exile.
and who could forget Wojtek and his Artillery battalion
Not many knew about this Polish defence. We're always under impression that Germans are so fast and aggressive while Polish didn't do anything for their countries. They just waited for British and French troops. Even after world war 2, Poland became part of Iron Curtain. So no acknowledgement for these defenders. An area so large, with unique culture and at important location for Europe has always remained a mystery for 3rd world countries.
In my city, There was a Polish camp. One of the only 2 in India. Granted permission by Local king(Raja). Polish children lived here while war raged in Europe. That generation visited the campsite many times with Polish delegation.
Thank you Polish warriors...
Poland: we need help
France: Don't worry we have troops crossing into the rhein land.... ok they called it a day and are coming back
Thank you so much for this particular series. Throughout my childhood, the invasion of Poland was only ever talked about in terms of how quick it was, but never with any attention to the Polish people themselves, or their efforts to combat the invasion.
Thank you for putting a human face on the people of Poland in this war.
This series means so much to me because my great grandpa fought in WW2 as a polish general. He was one of the few generals who survived the war. Thanks for making this series.
I learned a lot.
Thank you.
and to think that there are History teachers teaching kids that Poland is to blame for being invaded
Wait what? Who the fuck is teaching that and whats their explanation
@transylvanian You are not the sharpest tool in the box are you commrade?
@transylvanian So what you are saying we should not have defended ourselves against crazy looters and murderers that commies were - we should surrender, have all Poles of higher IQ muredered or exiled, have all our property stolen ("nationalized"), have concentration camps (gulags) built 20 years earlier than Germans built them, have millions dead of starvation and milions sent to Siberia... that would be better for us? Is that really what you are saying?
@transylvanian What did USSR wih Ukrainians? They starved them to death... few milons...
@transylvanian There is absolutely no way one could excuse Red Army and USSR
Just ask the survivors about their "liberations"
00:23 Ah yes, i do remember that time in 1939, when Denmark poofed out of existence.
To be Fair....in the end they surrendered without a fight, however didn´t suffer nearly as any other country involved
Stop making things about yourself Denmark this is Polish time to Shine you have a whole series about Vikings.
@@AlexS-oj8qf He's just joking that the map graphic doesn't have Denmark in it.
@@ithadtobeaname7327 Denmark was one of those countries that Germany took peacefully, where the Nazis were practically welcomed. These types of "conquests" also prolonged British and French hesitation because it was easy for Hitler to just tell them "They WANTED German rule! I'm just giving them what they want! No one is dying, no war will happen! Calm down!"
what is this Denmark you speak of, or do you mean Holstein-Schleswig
Polish tanker coming ashore in Normandy:
- So....where did we left off?
I visited Poland; going to Krakow and I was awed at the courage, bravery and tenacity of the country during WWII. Truly a nation that does not get sufficiently recognised. Love that you’ve done a series on them.
Do the napoleonic wars
harry armstrong become a Patreon backer and vote for it
harry armstrong Ooooh that sounds pretty cool
Patreon boy
I think for that they should start with the French Revolutionary Wars, as without them the Napoleonic Wars have no context. As for another story (that they said they would get to at some point), what about the English Civil War Era and Praise-God Barebone? (Highly influential Preacher, Leather-Seller, and Politician, and father of the also Highly Influental doctor/economist/financial speculator Nicholas Barbon) Or for an underdog, perhaps the Jacobite Risings? :)
They don’t necessarily need the French rev. Wars for context - those only happened because of the seven years war and in the opposite direction they napoleon I Wars would contribute to the First World War eventually. Lots of ground to cover though anyway with what was basically a WW.
And at the end the west sold Polish leaders and freedom to the USSR. And now in the present day their grandchildren aren't even allowed to be UK plumbers. Western Europe still owns a great debt to Poland that we're far from paying off.
The price to free Poland from the red army was too high
@@pand9293 That's easy to say after tens of thousands Polish soldiers and pilots died for yours.
@@rutger5000we are talking about ww3 so please spare us romantic statements
@@pand9293 Us was the only one with nukes at the time. Profit no cold war order after that. Remember that USRR sponsored and suported comunist revolutions all around the world. All those civilians deaths was avoidable if only soliders did one more pusch. Patton was for it.
@@marcinmalczewski8610 And we would've had Eastern Europe turned into a wasteland, both nuclear and otherwise, with possibly up to 100 Million more deaths.
Yeah, SO preferable...
The Mistake your making here is that the Soviets would've just instantly caved. Which they very likely wouldn't have.
The French advanced 8km into Germany, 8km...
Well, yeah. Anything more would have required the logistics of carrying food, ammo and oil further inside Germany, which they didn't have yet. They had to be close enough that they could get supplies without extensive use of trucks and other things like that they didn't have available at the time.
they advanced more then in ww1
@@Auriel_Direnni yeah - also any more and they would risk actually getting shot at
In the episode of hunting the Bismarck, as a ship is firing, with a flashlight, they say I AM A POLE
I love that.
You perhaps forgot to mention that when the Russians were on the other side of the river the were also shooting civilians trying to escape Warsaw. And maybe the fact that children as young as 10 were fighting during the siege. I'm not surprised tho a lot of facts about Polish history are often misinterpreted or hidden. Like the Turkish invasion on Europe and Leopold's small/lack of input in the actual victory. I love your videos though especially the series about Katherine the Great 😊
you are talking about Warsaw Uprising in 1944
It's unfortunate that Poland became oppressed till 1990. Just think 1939-1990. And they just gained freedom a few short years prior. Tragic. the West failed Poland.
Churchill believed Poland was worth giving up for an alliance with the soviets
Poland seems like such an awesome country we never hear about
The only times you hear about Poland is the Independence March when all media outlets call them Nazis.
Come visit us! We have a deep history with a lot of culture to share. Most of us are very welcoming
To those who want to know more on this style of stuff and the insides of Poland after it was conquered, Check out the book, The Uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, Sure it was made in 1968, But it was created by a US army vet from WW2, I heavily recommend checking it out, It holds such an amazing amount of information and so much detail.
Polish Jews uprised becose uprisings are part of our Polish history. They were Jews but with Polish hearts. They knew polish history and they knew what to do. Poland Uprised in 1793 Kosciuszko uprising, 1804 Wielkopolskie uprising, 1830 November uprising,1846 Krakow uprising, 1864 January uprising, 1918 Wielkopolskie uprising, 1919 Sejny uprising and THREE Silesia uprisings, 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising, 1944 Warsaw Uprising, 1944 Wilnus uprising after WWII of course important to mention is "Solidarity" after which whole iron curtain fall. It is not easy to occpy the Poland.
OMG, poor Pol's , being half Polish, this breaks my heart
I never knew any of the specifics with the Defense of Poland. Thanks for this Extra History!
Anybody else here following the World War 2 week by week from the The Great War crowd?
me
Me.
The War will be over by Christmas! But what year?
Sure!
Yup
8:46 the face you make looking at your homie across the classroom when the teacher says “find a partner”
Unfortunately 2nd RP was too young to fight off the attack of two superpowers, 20 years was not enough...
Nevertheless, we fought for 5 weeks...
Those Armor divisions are really brave, doing everything they can to help their comrades to escape.
You mean - companies, battalions at most ;)
@@piotrd.4850 yes, i should have wrote battalions, sorry
I know about polish soldiers in the middle east , there is a graveyard of ww2 polish soldiers in Beirut
Polish soldiers were fighting everywhere. After they lost their country they fought in North Africa (Tobruk), England (303 Squadron), Norway (battle of Narvik), Italy (Monte Cassino) and conquered Berlin alongside with Russians... They also liberated parts of Belgium and the Netherlands and had the greatest resistance movement in Europe and one of the largest in the world (Polish Underground State). Such a brave people and so underrated country. Forgotten and failed by the West
@@radosawoles1342 True.
Thank you for making this miniseries! Taking the popular format into consideration, it was a really nice little introduction to the topic for the wider audience. The only nitpick I have is that when talking about the battle of the Bzura you should've shown it being fought more to the west of Warsaw.
Videos like this are really important because as a nation we never really got over the WW2. There's much bitterness bout it, its consequences and the perceived lack of knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of our experience by the world. It's only getting worse in recent years and it negatively affects our internal politics and international relations. Hopefully, this will be a tiny contribution to changing things for the better.
I know you usually don't make the "lies" video for the sponsored series, but I would really like to see one this time. Not so much to hear about mistakes, but about your thoughts, the writing process and so one. For example, the reasoning behind using the name Danzig instead of Gdańsk (which I fully understand in this context, but unfortunately there will be some of my countrymen offended by it).
100 year's of Polish independence!
Hiukas I wouldn’t call Poland independent during the Cold War
@@blastedbiggs3390 call you not shit talk our national holiday thanks
Hiukas Regaining of independence :)
They were only really free again in 1991
You guys don't understand the holiday, its not about being occupied, its about Poland still being a country in general, so please learn the true meaning of this before talking about it
Thank you for this. The invasion of Poland is too often glossed over, seen only as a triggering event for World War II.
Im actually a big fan of the 303 squadron.
"Poland has fallen. But it is not defeated."
You're darn skippy it ain't.
"And after that 17% of Polish population were killed, capital destroyed, industry stolen, teritory of Poland cut, Polish independence sold in Teheran, and Yalta, by Polish "allies"- of course first they gave Poland a bill, for borrowing equipment for soldiers fighting in western Europe - and occupants get rid of reponsibility, not paying a coin for that"
That should be ending.
Many people, including me decided to leave Poland, to run at least a bit better life.
Long time, before Poland will recovery.
It's sad that many of the soldiers that survived the war had the choice of either returning home and being tried as a traitor to the party, or stay in the west, being refused pay or retirement money from the governments they aided during the war. Though there's one issue with the last part of this comment- germans did nothing to get out of paying reparations. It was the polish communist government that refused to accept western aid because big brother viewed it as inviting foreign influence. So that one's on us. Or the pzpr to be precise.
You forget the loss of our heritage in the hand of Nazi and Soviet. The loss of Polish writing, Polish art, Polish knowledge, Polish riches. Everything's gone. Then abandoned behind the Iron Curtains by our Allies. And now they have the gut to tell Poland what to do and threatened Poland in EU. Look at our Allies befriending Germany like the whole World War II never happened. I just wished that Hitler burn down Paris the way he burned down Warzawa.
Polish rebelss (taken by the NKWD using gestapo prisons and similiar methods) belived that help wil came. Polish resistance fight comunist unjust (stealing and redestribution of welth, capturing rebelius element )
North Corea, Soviet union, China communism was aways built in similiar maner -lots of vicims: soliders, police oficers, entrepreneurers, teachers, old goverment workers... those that didnt agree on that. Independent, stuborn, country oriented politicans was repleced by the konformists, sellouts that doo what Soviets want. Often ex prisoner led investigation (tortures) aginst ex policeman (this kind of pepole cooperates with NKWD).
Where still finding unmarked graves corpses of NKWD prisoners after hard investigation (broken bones), pregnat prisoners. There are stil writings in the prison cells: prisoner names, dates. In one of such cells there is "good help us".
@@dillonblair6491 We? What We?
@@dillonblair6491 Yyyyyeeeeeaaaaa.
Especially, when Russia did not suffered any loses
Fun fact: just found out that my village in Belgium was liberated by the polish, mad respect!
If your strategy relied on the French having courage and coming to help you, you were doomed from the start.
Does anyone else really want to see a movie about the Polish defense now? I'm a bit of a sucker for tragic or bittersweet endings, and the Polish deserve a lot more recognition than they get for their heroism in WWII. A defiant stand in the face of insurmountable odds, refusing to back down until the last bullet is spent, knowing that they can never win, but making the enemy pay dearly for their victory.
It is a wonderful idea.
I learned more new information about ww2 and my grandmothers home country in this video than I have in nearly any other piece of media in a long time. wonderful job EC!