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@oldtdjr 5 months ago Two small corrections: Poland was not overwhelmed in 6 days. The Polish Air Force was certainly but the army was still fighting for weeks afterwards. It was only the Soviet attack on the 17th, creating a Two-Front War that sealed Polands fate.
The polish had superb pilots,naval crews to include submarines,and fearless infantry battallions.Remember,it was the polish infantry who first captured Monte cassino.
@Jayson971 Men of the Polish Air Force made up the 303 during the Battle of Britain. They shot down 5% of all German aircraft shot down during the battle. So no, not just one battle. Because they weren't the only Polish squadron in the battle.
There's an old 1958 movie about Orzeł's escape with the very same title as name of the boat. The Orzeł's role was played by her sistership ORP Sęp (Vulture).
Two small corrections: Poland was not overwhelmed in 6 days. The Polish Air Force was certainly but the army was still fighting for weeks afterwards. It was only the Soviet attack on the 17th, creating a Two-Front War that sealed Polands fate. Also, one other thing. The German Army is referred to as “Das Heer”, Not the Wehrmacht, as you called. The Wehrmacht is the entire German Armed Forces , consisting of Das Heer, Der Luftwaffe and Die Kreigsmarine.
Polish air foce was not destroyed in 6 day. They fought well andshit down so many german aircrafts. Polish pilots were superb trauned..probably the best in the world in that time and had the first figthter aces in WW2.
@@zepter00 ok, the Air Force wasn’t completely destroyed but they we down to less than 20% of their September 1 available aircraft. They had about 300 combat ready aircraft on September 1. By the 7th they were down to about 60 available. Considering that the Germans were throwing roughly 3000 of their 4000 operational aircraft at Poland, their resistance was virtually at an end.
@@oldtdjr German historian Cajus Bekker, in his book “Angriffshöhe 4000” (“Attack at an altitude of 4000” - editor's note), states that the blitz campaign against Poland was not a walk, but a hard fight against a fierce and determined opponent, and that given the short period of the war, only four weeks long, the German Luftwaffe suffered heavy losses in it: 734 dead airmen and 285 destroyed aircraft. The losses of the Polish aviation amounted to: fallen and missing aviators 171 and wounded 63, destroyed aircraft 325. Of the technical staff, about 300 were killed. About 250 officers and cadets and more than 1,000 ground support personnel were taken prisoner by the Germans. It is estimated that about 25 percent of Polish aircraft were destroyed or damaged by fire from our own ground troops and by anti-aircraft artillery. For example, on September 8, our anti-aircraft artillery shelled the 121st Fighter Squadron of the “Cracow” Army aviation in the Pulawy region so accurately that it shot down as many as four P-11 aircraft. Its commander, Capt. Pilot Tadeusz Sędzielowski, was killed that day. Polish fighters lost 115 P-11 and P-7 aircraft in the September campaign, of which only 60 in air combat, and 55 during forced landings in adventurous terrain or on airstrips. The damaged planes could not be repaired in conditions of a constantly changing front and associated changes of staging areas. . It often happened that one or two Polish fighters threw themselves by surprise at several enemy aircraft - they achieved victories before the enemy realized. The best results in the campaign were achieved by Lieutenant Pilot Stanislaw Skalski, who shot down four and ½ German aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Jerome Dudval shot down four enemy aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Czeslaw Główczynski - three and ½, Lieutenant Pilot Włodzimierz Gedymin - three and ½, Major Pilot Mieczyslaw Mumler - three, Capt. Pilot Franciszek Jastrzębski - three and Lieutenant Pilot Stefan Wapniarek - three. Mention should be made of the very sacrificial and effective bombing raids on German motorized and armored columns in the areas of Klobuck - Czestochowa - Herby - Radomsko - Piotrkow of Line Squadron No. II on carasses (squadrons 21 and 22), No. VI on carasses (squadrons 64 and 65) and 55th Line Squadron also on carasses. These squadrons were part of the bomber brigade. It often happened that one or two Polish fighters threw themselves by surprise at several enemy aircraft - they achieved victories before the enemy realized. The best results in the campaign were achieved by Lieutenant Pilot Stanislaw Skalski, who shot down four and ½ German aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Jerome Dudval shot down four enemy aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Czeslaw Główczynski - three and ½, Lieutenant Pilot Włodzimierz Gedymin - three and ½, Major Pilot Mieczyslaw Mumler - three, Capt. Pilot Franciszek Jastrzębski - three and Lieutenant Pilot Stefan Wapniarek - three. Mention should be made of the very sacrificial and effective bombing raids on German motorized and armored columns in the areas of Klobuck - Czestochowa - Herby - Radomsko - Piotrkow of Line Squadron No. II on carasses (squadrons 21 and 22), No. VI on carasses (squadrons 64 and 65) and 55th Line Squadron also on carasses. These squadrons were part of the bomber brigade. Despite the losses suffered, the fighting spirit among the flying personnel was high, everyone wanted to make as many combat flights as possible and drop as many bombs on enemy targets as possible Polish aviators prevailed in the battles against the Nazi enemy with courage and fierceness, showed tremendous will to fight and unparalleled fortitude. The toughness of the Poles and their good training amazed the German command and embarrassed it to such an extent that it requested additional reinforcements from the No. 2 and No. 3 air fleets, which were based at airfields along the western border with France. As you know, nothing happened there, even though France and Britain declared war on Germany on September 3. The Luftwaffe's domination of the air was the result of its absolute superiority over Polish aviation in terms of the quantity and modernity of its aircraft equipment. Despite possessing such assets, the Luftwaffe did not recognize the retreat and regrouping of the two Polish armies - “Poznañ” and “Pomorze” - to make an offensive turn over the Bzura River. The combat operations of the Polish Air Force were halted on September 17, 1939. There were almost no operational aircraft for combat flights, and there was a shortage of propellants and ammunition. The surviving planes flew with some of the flying personnel to Romania and Hungary. The bulk of the ground personnel of air communications and anti-aircraft defense went by wheeled means to Romania, Hungary, the Baltic countries of Lithuania and Latvia, and the Soviet Union. The Polish Air Force numbered 15,600 on the outbreak of war: in combat units there were 8371 aviators, including flying personnel 1238. The rest fell to air communications and anti-aircraft defense. After the end of hostilities, about 10,000 Polish airmen made their way to Romania, about 900 to Hungary, and a few hundred each to Lithuania, Latvia and the USSR. nw you know. I think that totaly destroyed your false thesis.
Nope. The Polish Air Force was still fighting when Warsaw was under siege, and during the last resistance near the Romanian border (where lots of Polish forces escaped to). The Poles had, in fact, dispersed their combat squadrons well, days before the invasion. Most of the 'Polish Air Force destroyed on the ground in the first days' were old disused airframes and obsolete training aircraft that had been left as (and apparently worked) decoys. This myth is up there with 'Polish cavalry charged panzers.'
Some accomplishments of Poland that always get overlooked: It was Poland that got not one but two Enigma machines and had already started working to learn how to crack them, Poland invented what we now call metal detectors. They were initially referred to as Polish mine detectors. During the initial invasion by Germany the original plan called for Russia to cross the border on or about the 21st but Polish resistance was so fierce that they asked Russia to come in on the 17th and while Poland never stood a chance they did give Russia a bloody nose.
Also Polish contribution to war is the idea of reversible periscope by Polis engineer Gundlach ... both fighting sides used this .. a paradox 😂 ( each nation had such great inventors- I am far from being patriotic high point nose)
Poles even constructed Bomba - the first machine, able to decipher early versions of Enigma and shared all their findings with UK intelligence. As so, it laid base of the ULTRA intelligence system that helped allies to defeat Germans incredibly much.
Incorrect. Soviets attacked only after they secured Far East from Japan. Polish army was already pushed back before Soviets attacked. Let's be real. Poles fought well, but let's not make up the facts.
@@thebigdog2295 'The 303 by itself accounted for 5% of all enemy planes shot down.' Only if you believe exaggerated claims from the time. Actually, 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF was the top scoring Hawker Hurricane squadron of the Battle of Britain, with 44 victories positively verified. This made No. 303 the fourth highest scoring squadron overall, after No. 603 (AuxAF) Squadron RAF (57.8 verified kills), No. 609 (AuxAF) Squadron RAF (48 verified kills) and No. 41 Squadron RAF (45.33 verified kills), which all flew Supermarine Spitfires. 44 is not 5% of 1887.
As a student of military history, I have always been impressed with Polish warriors and leadership. Besides their sterling accomplishments in WW2, it is interesting to note that they are considered to be the ONLY country to have ever defeated the USSR military in land combat (1920 Russo-Polish War). Niech zyje Polska!
@@Andries394 I am talking about WARS not battles. 1939 does not negate what they did when they were invaded in 1920. And WW2 did not turn out so badly for the Poles either, BTW.
@@Andries394 accordingly to won Wehrmacht statistics : defeat of a “statistic” Polish division in September 1939 took 3x times more resources from Wehrmacht than in Western Front 1940-41. ( see resourced publications based on Bundesarchiv- boring books with tables with statistics.. fruits job of profesional historians, available are many synthesis in many books.. 1st strongest World’s Army attacked 7th largest (?) World’s Army... results - victorious side- could have been predicted)
Pozdrowienia dla Pollski. I Knew of Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain, and Polish Marines on D-Day But this I had never heard before. Brawo. Z Kanady 🤠🍁
As sectetary of Scotland North East Submariners Association I met many of the suvivors of the Polish Submarines - The Polish Submarines were based in Dundee.
@Briselance indeed, and I thought I'd play with who'd be frightened of ships called thunderbolt amd lightning, referencing how lightning flashed at bismark all night before her demise "I am a pole" Alas, no ships called Gallileo
To the point? Video is 15 minutes long. Only 1 minute is about the escape. Only 15-20 sec is about trouly insane part of the escape (ORP Orzeł) Rest is list of ships and later service. With a bunch of little errors and misinformation.
Poland was not overrun in 6 days. The Battle of Poland (so-called September Campaign) lasted for 34 days, and it started by German troops entering Western Poland on 1 September 1939, and then the Russian army invading Poland from the East on 17 September 1939. It finally ended on 5 October 1939. For comparison, the Battle of France (also Luxemburg, Netherlands and Belgium) lasted for 46 days.
We were the subject of stereotypical jokes after ww2 bc of our cavalry in ww2 (which was actually effective) and the "quick" loss even though we fought on 2 fronts we had it worse than france but withstood and fought more never declaring capitulation moving our politics and others to the uk to still fight for our country also sour germans after ww2 had made propaganda against poland to lessen its popularity
@@jugbywellington1134 I know that the Poles are the bravest of the brave. Their work on the enigma machine, their navy, their pilots, your army. And The bravery of their cavalry charging German tanks is greatly admired.
"And for all their heroism and all their sacrifice, the "Allies" would sell the Poles and their country to the Bolsheviks for 30 pieces of silver. Never have so many been betrayed by so few for so little. May God forgive us." -- Col M. Radcliff
Yes, the Brits really know how to treat an ally and honor a promise. They did nothing to help Poland at the start or at the end of WWII. They should have declared war on the Soviet Union when the Bolsheviks stabbed Poland in the back after the Nazis invaded. Then the Brits lamely sold Poland down the river to Stalin in 1945.
My parents were young during the war and told me the stories of the nazis coming through their village and taking nearly everything they had. They were catholic so at least they were able to keep their lives. I’m proud to be Polish!
From MT USA. Thank you, Poland. For keeping Panzers, far from N America. I love learning about you folks... ... Quietly - being professional heroes. Wow!
The Orzeł-class submarines were NOT minelayers. This is a common misconception, which probably stems from the fact that the design partly inspired the Dutch O 19-class, which were indeed minelaying submarines. The Orzeł carried a 4.1 inch deck gun in an enclosed turret.
In the early 1920s (IIRC my training), they had tubular sea mines that could be deployed through torpedo tubes. Around 1936 they had dual configurable (magnetic & acoustic Triggers) tubular sea mines. Now whether any of the 2 Orzel subs had any, your guess is as good as mine (no pun intended). Oh, BTW, great video.
@@julieinthenorthwest4594 The mines you describe were laid by normal submarines, not minelayers. The minelayers were specialised submarines that had mine chutes (usually arranged along the sides of the vessel), so that they could deploy a large number of mines in a short time (no need to load them individually into torpedo tubes), without it being at the expense of the torpedo loadout. There is at least one submarine minelayer still in existence today; the EML Lembit at the Estonian Maritime Museum in Tallin. A small sub, she carried only 8 torpedoes, but could deploy 24 mines from 12 chutes (six on each side).
Not mentioned are the ships that the RN transferred to the Poles in Britain. They included the Tribal class Destroyer (almost a light cruiser) ORP Piorun. She was attached to CAPT Philip Vian's squadron on escort duties and on 22 March was involved in the fight against the Bismarck. Piorun was the first of the destroyers to sight the battleship and, with HMS Maori charged into the attack. While Maori manoeuvred for a torpedo attack, Piorun exchanged fire with the Bismarck until one salvo landed almost inboard; the destroyer wisely retired. According to sources, as she closed the battleship, she signalled by light "I am Polish.". From personal experience, the Polish sailors then and now are very similar to we Australians.
Poland was NOT overpowered in 6 days. That statement is incorrect. It took Nazis 7 days just to take Westerplatte, the very spot where WW2 started, with shelling from Schleswig Holstein predrednought...
Poland surrendered on 28 September 1939, after 4 weeks of heavy resistance. The main thing that overwhelmed Poland's defence was in fact Red Army invasion on 17th September 1939 ✌️That is why both Nazis and Soviets are still hated in Poland
@johnpisciotto7115 They would have eventually been overwhelmed because they did not have the manpower equipment or ability to replace losses. German industrial capacity far exceeded that of Poland and Germany had been rearming for years.
@@williamegler8771 Not necessarily. The major role within the military operations is played by the logistics. With overstretched logistic supply lines the German victory was not guarnateed. It was the 17 September Russian invasion fro the east that actually made this victory possible.
Polska przegrała gdy przestały działać organy państwa Rząd, prezydent , Sejm, marszałek Sejmu. Państwa już nie było i od tego momentu historycy określają dzień klęski
0:32 I think you've got something wrong, the last fighting, i.e. the Battle of Kock, took place between 2- 6 October 1939, which is not 6 days but 6 weeks. 1:52 Not 4,7 inches, but 120 mm, which is 4,73 inches rounded to the nearest hundredth.
The first minutes show a German attack on the Polish Post Office in Gdansk. You can see the Germans pumping gasoline into the post office building and setting it on fire. The postal workers defended themselves for several hours. While leaving after surrendering, the first person was shot and the remaining few were set on fire alive. Among the postal workers was the family of the caretaker. The 10-year-old girl Erwina Barzychowska was also set on fire. She lived in agony for 2 months.
Polish movie from 1958 is on YT: nice technical details are in movie - views of twin ORP Sep Vulture . I love especially AA double cannons which are pushed from under deck (!) to battle stations, by hydraulics systems (!) Submarine Eagle was a technical masterpiece of Dutch shipyard art.
My favorite accomplishment of Poland is their early work toward cracking the Enigma encryption. This was huge for the war effort later after Britain further advanced their findings.
@@piotrgrzywnowicz601 Leo Szilard, Hungarian Jew, was the boss of theoritical dept in Los Alamos. Other influential Hungarians involved in the project ( nicknamed "Martians" ): Eugene Wigner ( Nobel Prize winner ), Edward Teller, John von Neumann, Miklos Kurti. Polish Jews: Stanislaw Ulam, Jozef Rotblat, Stanislaw Mrozowski. Most influential were undoubtedly Teller and Ulam, creators of hydrogen bomb.
Never forget that Poles were forbidden to take part in the victory parade. Those who fed the Russian bear and betrayed the Poles muttered later about the "Iron Curtain".
Actually, it was Polish army who fed the bear as Wojtek was on our side. But yes, abandoning us was the point starting cold war, and not the smartest move in geopolitics... again left alone, incorporated and dependent to USSR, it took us some time but somehow we managed to f*ck the Russian (Soviet) Empire up again, this time from the inside with some help from the Pope and trade unions. They never learn.
4 years ago i had the chance to visit"ORP Błyskawica", which is docked in the harbour of Gdynia. I recommend the visit,( althought most of what was exposed for view inside of the ship only had polish descriptive texts).
You mean the Germans reached outskirts of Warsaw in 6 days. The most decisive battle of the campaign, the Battle of Bzura (river) or Kock (town) was over by the 19th of September, 1939. Albeit, the Polish generals and only generals knew as of June, 1939, that they would certainly lose the war. The last battle of the campaign was the Battle of Kock that ended all major resistance at exactly 1 pm or 13:00 on the 6th of October, 1939.
@@HiddenHistoryYT The German armored raid of the 4. Panzer-Division actually reached the outskirts of Warsaw as early as September 8, but this bravado cost the Germans a lot. The attacking column hit the prepared anti-tank positions, and the Polish officer in charge of the defense of this section ordered a trap to be placed in the street that the German column was moving through. The numerous barrels of turpentine found in a nearby factory were used. The effect was devastating to the attacking Germans.
no one underestimated the Poles in any theatre of war, their airmen were amazing during the Battle of Britain, their work in sending an enigma machine to England to help de code Nazi messages and sending imformation about the V1 guided cruise missles, I could go on, but no greater fighting nation then Poland, we let them down when the Soviets took over from the Nazis, we should of tried much harder to liberate Poland, who, after all was the reason Britain declared war on Germany in the first place, luv u poles!!
You threw me a tad at 5:18 when you mentioned the destroyers sailing through the "The Straits of Denmark". My mind went to thinking of HMS Hood lost in the battle of "The Denmark Straits". A couple thousand miles away north of Iceland.
ORP Grom and ORP Blyskawica were built just down the road from where I live at J Samuel White's of Cowes on the Isle of Wight. As alluded to in the film Grom was lost during the Norwegian campaign but Blyskawica survived the war and is now a museum ship in Gdynia. There is footage taken of her there in this film. Blyskawica was under going refit at Cowes when during the night of 4th-5th May 1942 the Luftwaffe mounted their only major raid on the Isle of Wight, aiming to knock out the shipyards and industrial facilities of the area. Against Admiralty rules Captain Franski had kept his ship armed while docked and so Blyskawica made her way into the river and opened up at the German attackers. The surprise presence of a fully armed Destroyer was a contributing factor in keeping damage lower that expected as she made the bombers fly higher and thus become less accurate. For this Blyskawica is widely regarded as having saved Cowes and a memorial is held every year on the first Sunday in May to honour the Polish. Grom and Blyskawica were highly regarded for convoy work due to their high speed, both being capable of exceeding their 39 knot design speed. There were not that many escorts that could keep up with the fast liners such as Queen Mary that were used for troop transports so the Poles were a very welcome addition and undoubtedly saved many lives with this work. Another shoutout should go to ORP Piorun. Piorun would have become HMS Nerissa but was transferred to the Polish Navy before completion. It was Piorun who took part in the hunt for the Bismarck and proved pivotal in locating it when it had given the pursuers the slip. Piorun then kept Bismarck in sight and she never escaped the Allies again. During the last night the Destroyers were ordered to harass the Bismarck to keep her crew awake while the heavy ships of the Royal Navy caught up. Piorun took it all a little too personally and got to within point blank range. One of Pioruns gunners reckoned he even landed a shot from her 120mm guns on Bismarck. It was also alleged that she hit Bismarck with a torpedo having charged in while signalling the Germans "I am a Pole!" In the end the number of near misses from Bismarck, some just meters away persuaded Piorun to back down. Being nearly out of fuel she was ordered back to port to resupply but she refused and loitered around until the morning when she finally departed for Plymouth.
A lot of Polish Army got out to fight again. I have heard that half of the officers, and a third of the men got out. I talked to one of them once. He escaped by train to Italy.
Wow, epic. Bless him, my grandfather was a Scot that served in the RAF (later RAAF when he moved to Australia after the war, I'm Australian). He was a radio operator that flew covert nighttime missions, some in gliders, over occupied Europe, dropping Allied agents, materiel and other supplies to help the war effort. He flew alongside a Polish pilot; my grandad could speak no Polish and the Pole could speak no English, plus, my grandfather had a broad Scots accent so I can imagine the difficulties they must have encountered! After 6 months, his nerves were shot and he moved to a different role. The Pole, however, flew on! God bless Poland, thank you to your granddad for helping the Allies defend against Nazism and fascism.
It would be great to see similar material about Polish 1st Armored Division. the most important force and unit what cotributed the most to the victory.
ORP Orzeł (pron. "Ozheu" 😉) escape from Tallin is material for separate film. Whole action was planned in detail, preparations took few days and the crew manage to save some armament during disarming lead by Estonians. After running out from Tallin Orzeł try to hunt German vessels for few days, next managed to free 2 kidnapped Estonian guards in Swedish shore, and go through Øresund without any maps (one of crewmen sketched map of Baltic Sea helped by register of lighthouses, the only navigation book that was hidden during preparations).
Excellent foresight and preemptive move by the Polish powers to be, in preserving a part of their country's Navy prior to Hitler's decision to wage war against Poland. A stitch in time saves nine.
Overpowered in Six days? Polish counter offensive at Bzura river did not start until the 9th of September and with nearly 250k Polish troops taking part they were hardly overpowered. Outmatched by blitzkrieg, marred with communication issues and bombed by Stukas but not overpowered...
Bzura River Offensive (!) Battle in 1939 September is exceptional: The World waited for Allies' offensive till 1941 - Rhzev Battle. Majority of Polish HQ, Commanders, Soldiers, military equipment did well in Defence War 1939... Polish Army was strongest ever, but two enemies were much stronger... A note: since first 972 a.C. Cedynia Battle Poland has never provided such numerous army.. patience is needed in our geopolitical situation 😂: victory has come after 50+ years, after September 1939... Victory 1989 Strategical and tactical conceptions are important in here Heart of the Europe's flatland.. book in English: "God's playground" .. sad: to have / to must so many human beings sacrificed
"Did you know that there were three Polish submarines interned in Mariefred during World War II?" No, probably not many people know the fate of the Polish submarines. The story begins in September 1939, five submarines receive an order to patrol the sea outside the borders of Poland. But the operation goes completely wrong and three of the submarines end up in Sweden, originally with the intention of being repaired after the battles. This results in an internment in Mariefred for the rest of the war. The author has been well assisted in telling this exciting story by one of the Polish submariners, who contributed documents and photographs. Now it is almost 70 years since these events took place, but it is time that this peculiar history finally comes to light. And it's not just about Polish submariners in Mariefred, but also about what Sweden's neutrality policy meant in practical action.
Small info not Witcher but Wicher also before it was destroyed with Gryf they win duel vs 2 Leberecht Maass ships while stationary (someone decided they will be costal artillery then) they do so much damage forced them to run away. As for small river boats - they were captured by russians and used on their rivers.
First footage was of the battle of the polish post office, it lasted for 6 hours against 400+ nazis which also had artillery and tanks. The infrastructure was incredibly durable as well
The First World War was anything BUT a distant memory in 1939. It had ended just two decades earlier, and was always at the forefront of every decision maker’s mind.
Was it a Polish destroyer that disobeyed orders and kept on attacking the Bismarck. The whole time sending a signal via the signal light, “Im a Pole, I’m a Pole, I’m a Pole.”? Edit: it was ORP Piorun.
Indeed it was. Piorun was the only destroyer under Philip Vian's command which failed to carry out a torpedo attack on Bismarck, and the only one to lose contact with Bismarck during the night. Quixotic amateur dramatics were inappropriate, in the circumstances.
Polish Forces fought 36 days. Recent “discovery” 37 days: last battle was on 7th October. 3rd Regiment of Mounted Troopers - story in YT in movie with English subtitles “Ostatni boj”. Last 1939 Septembe😢soldier sgt Jozef Franczak KIA in ... 11 October 1963 ( sixty three)... see, if interested, please comparisons on Western Front Europe in 1940 Blitzkrieg
There is a few comments that need to be made about the image you show at 0:51. First of all, it show both a pre-war ships and ships that Polish Navy on Exile got from UK. ORP Garland, ORP Piorun, ORP Orkan (destroyers), ORP Dragon, ORP Conrad (cruisers) were introduced into Polish Navy between 1940 and 1943 Also, ORP Kaszub did not participate in WW2 at all - it was lost in the accident in 1925 There are multiple naming errors too. Of course, all polish characters ar missing (f.eg it is Sęp (vulture), not Sep) but there also some added or changed, like Bryslawicka - it should be Błyskawica (lightning). Aaaand... Witcher. Like... W T F. It's Wicher (gale) Why use modern map instead of interwar one? Burza translate into thunderstorm, not squall. Squall would be "Szkwał" Wicher translate (as I wrote higher) into gale. Polish word for hurricane is "huragan" Orzeł and Sęp were not a mine-laying submarine. You didn't mentioned the minesweepers in your detailed list. While not relevant to the escape (like the patrol boats or river flotilla), they were the most active ships during the September Campain. You talk a lot about destroyers, which simply went to UK before the war even begine. Than mention ORP Orzeł for barely few second, selling cheap trouly insane part of the story. And the rest of the video is about later service. You made 15 minutes long video about "insane" escape of the navy, but only 1 minute is about the escape. And somethink like 15 second is about the insane part of it. The lack of your brain is insane.
Fact. Thirty years ago I collected War Story paperbacks, the factual ones. I read a lot of them. Almost without exception the most terrifying or appalling situations or conditions were faced by our Polish allies. Despite the worst circumstances and far further to travel the Poles escaped first to France and then on to England where they flourished. By contrast the French did very little. I'm not blaming France but trying to emphasise just how amazing the Poles were/ are. I have waited thirty years to have an opportunity to thank the Poles and to tell them how highly I rate them. Now they are joined by the superb Ukrainians. What an amazing part of the world!
Escape of the destroyers was neither lucky, not brave, just well timed. Escape of the ORP Orzeł? It was lucky, it was brave as fuck and it absolutelly was insane. Shame he just mention it. The History Guy made a great episode about it.
@@wardasz It is an incredible achievement to escape from Baltic without maps. A couple of years ago emerged one of Estonian gunners from port of Talinn. He was shooting at Orzel but in such a way that she wasn't hit directly. Most of ordinary Estonians were not Nazi fans.
Poland was most certainly NOT overwhelmed by Nazi Germany in only six days. The campaign only ended on 6 October after Soviet Russia invaded Poland from the East on 17 September with their agreement on dividing the captured nation. Poland continued to fight Nazi Germany throughout the war albeit from the UK and USSR.
Well done Poland. Said at the start that Poland couldn't match the Third Reich Germany but they were also attacked by the Soviet Union mainly Russia. Long live Poland
Interesting fact: The commander of the Polish navy Józef Unrug, was German, born in aristocratic family near Berlin. In the Great War, he commanded a submarine in the Kaiser's fleet. But after the Great War he chose Polish identity. He even spoke worse Polish than German. After the fall of Poland, the Third Reich offered him a high position in the Kriegsmarine. He refused and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. In captivity, Unrug refused to communicate in German. He boldly told the Nazis that he had forgotten the German language on September 1, 1939.
I read about Czechoslovakia soldiers defending Poland in 1939 ( despite the Taking of Teski Téšin in 1938- the railway from Czechia to Southern Slovakia was probably the object of Polish Army to stop in future potential quick regrouping of German Army to entire Polish -Slovakian borders? ) Anyway Poland crossed international Law in taking part of Czechoslovak Republic .. also please mind Josef František - a Czech who chose a .. Polish 303 Squadron, despite it existed in Britain Czechoslovak 310 Squadron
@@wojciechpaka4250 you are right brother, as I am living in Malenovice, in Silesia I am aware about 1919 and 1938. I am just gonna add there's been 3 Czech fighter squadron in England, not only 310. but 312. and 313. as well as 311. Czech bomber squadron
@@bubakbubakovic9286 My Great Grand Pa was from Sádek... near Pribram 😂 4 hours of driving - Cechia is not “small country “ , another line of family grewed up in as chips in .. Ostrava.. spoke fluent Czech ( evacuation of Festung Krakau in Great War in 1915) I am mix - the best of k.u.k folks.. i was a year ago close to your village- heading to South of Europe: The nord of Malenkovice.. other side of mointain...
Thank you for great video. I just wonder you did not pay more attention to ORP Piorun: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORP_Piorun_(G65) , the brave destroyer that challenged Bismarck during night torpedo attack.
Brave, yes, but foolhardy & unnecessary. Piorun was the only destroyer under Philip Vian's command which failed to carry out a torpedo attack on Bismarck, and the only one to lose contact with Bismarck during the night. Quixotic amateur dramatics were inappropriate, in the circumstances.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 In such conditions (night & high seas), the torpedo attack was vain anyway. The torpedoes likely did not even reach Bismarck. That was one of the reasons why Polish captain decided for audacious gun fire exchange.
@@zlatanclovecic1944 Why should darkness mean that a torpedo attack was vain? Vian's orders were to maintain contact during the night, in support of HMS Sheffield. He was an aggressive commander, and an experienced one, whose knowledge of whether a torpedo attack was appropriate might even have been greater than yours. The fact is that Piorun was the only ship not to attack with torpedoes, and the only ship to lose contact. The 'audacious gun fire exchange' was foolish & quixotic, akin to tilting at windmills.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 And what have achieved the other destroyers by obeying like good soldiers? Nothing. Again, in the high seas the torpedoes likely did not even reach Bismarck. The Piorun achieved at least depletion of some Bismarck's heavy shells. This was not about Vian (without doubts he was very good commander), but about high-level commands that were issued in simple hope that such attack could score a hit that would be rather random in such conditions.
@@zlatanclovecic1944 What Vian's destroyers achieved was that they maintained contact, something which Piorun singularly failed to do. Any torpedo hit would have been a bonus. Piorun had, simply, no hope of harming Bismarck with her 4.7 inch shells. All her captain's amateurish behaviour achieved was to risk the damage or loss of his ship without hope of harming Bismarck.
There's too much credit given to the Germans for the fall of Poland. They were beaten back but were far from finished after the German invasion began. It was when the Soviets invaded, that Poland became comepletly overwhelmed and its defenses collapsed.
It’s fine that you pronounce polish words like english ones but the Hurricane ship was Wicher (pronounced kinda like Wikher) and not Witcher as the games. The small thing like Jerzy being butchered is fine cause the rz letter make a sound only 2 languages i know use and most foreigners struggle with it.
my mother's cousin married a Polish naval technician who had only 25 minutes to get to his ship bound to the safe shores of England he had 10 muinets to run to his mother's house kiss her goodbye and run back to his ship as they were getting ready to lower the gangway then he was part of the Royal Navy to fight another day - I met with him several times and we also went together to see the BELFAST cruiser at the tower of London and he was telling me what he did on ships
This video had a sloppy mistake stating Poland was conquered in 6 days. It took the invasion both of Nazi Germany and Soviet Union to overrun Poland after 6 weeks.
It should be mentioned that U.K. standing against Germany gave opportunity for Polish, Czech, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Belgian and Greeks to fight the Germans.
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I had known that some of the Polish navy's ships had made it to England but not the details shown in this video. Very informative. Well done, sir! 😁👍
@oldtdjr
5 months ago
Two small corrections: Poland was not overwhelmed in 6 days. The Polish Air Force was certainly but the army was still fighting for weeks afterwards. It was only the Soviet attack on the 17th, creating a Two-Front War that sealed Polands fate.
do correction on the screen!
The polish had superb pilots,naval crews to include submarines,and fearless infantry battallions.Remember,it was the polish infantry who first captured Monte cassino.
Know how of Polish Navy stems from WWI Kriegsmarine. Admiral Unrug was a U-boat commander in WWI.
Poland & the Polish people are a SUPERB nation & people: Long Live Poland!! 👍🙏👍🙏
One battle…..
You apparently don't know enough to make a comment.Plain and simple.
@Jayson971 Men of the Polish Air Force made up the 303 during the Battle of Britain. They shot down 5% of all German aircraft shot down during the battle. So no, not just one battle. Because they weren't the only Polish squadron in the battle.
The story of the Polish submarine Orzel is absoloutely incredible and is worthy of a film! A must see
There's an old 1958 movie about Orzeł's escape with the very same title as name of the boat. The Orzeł's role was played by her sistership ORP Sęp (Vulture).
@@Edelweiss-f8c brilliant! I'll see if i can find it thanks
Yup, a few movies were made about it with the 1958 classic being the best one to watch.
It had a screen door
There’re at least two movies.
Latest “Orzel: Last patrol”
INCREDIBLE RESPECT for the Polish Navy and the Polish people.
Yes, compare the Polish Navy with the French Navy after the fall of France
theyre the number one retreaters
@@samuelcroll344 you don't know anything about the Polish people or the Polish nation, that's obvious.
Two small corrections: Poland was not overwhelmed in 6 days. The Polish Air Force was certainly but the army was still fighting for weeks afterwards. It was only the Soviet attack on the 17th, creating a Two-Front War that sealed Polands fate.
Also, one other thing. The German Army is referred to as “Das Heer”, Not the Wehrmacht, as you called. The Wehrmacht is the entire German Armed Forces , consisting of Das Heer, Der Luftwaffe and Die Kreigsmarine.
Polish air foce was not destroyed in 6 day. They fought well andshit down so many german aircrafts. Polish pilots were superb trauned..probably the best in the world in that time and had the first figthter aces in WW2.
@@zepter00 ok, the Air Force wasn’t completely destroyed but they we down to less than 20% of their September 1 available aircraft. They had about 300 combat ready aircraft on September 1. By the 7th they were down to about 60 available. Considering that the Germans were throwing roughly 3000 of their 4000 operational aircraft at Poland, their resistance was virtually at an end.
@@oldtdjr German historian Cajus Bekker, in his book “Angriffshöhe 4000” (“Attack at an altitude of 4000” - editor's note), states that the blitz campaign against Poland was not a walk, but a hard fight against a fierce and determined opponent, and that given the short period of the war, only four weeks long, the German Luftwaffe suffered heavy losses in it: 734 dead airmen and 285 destroyed aircraft.
The losses of the Polish aviation amounted to: fallen and missing aviators 171 and wounded 63, destroyed aircraft 325. Of the technical staff, about 300 were killed. About 250 officers and cadets and more than 1,000 ground support personnel were taken prisoner by the Germans.
It is estimated that about 25 percent of Polish aircraft were destroyed or damaged by fire from our own ground troops and by anti-aircraft artillery. For example, on September 8, our anti-aircraft artillery shelled the 121st Fighter Squadron of the “Cracow” Army aviation in the Pulawy region so accurately that it shot down as many as four P-11 aircraft. Its commander, Capt. Pilot Tadeusz Sędzielowski, was killed that day.
Polish fighters lost 115 P-11 and P-7 aircraft in the September campaign, of which only 60 in air combat, and 55 during forced landings in adventurous terrain or on airstrips. The damaged planes could not be repaired in conditions of a constantly changing front and associated changes of staging areas.
.
It often happened that one or two Polish fighters threw themselves by surprise at several enemy aircraft - they achieved victories before the enemy realized. The best results in the campaign were achieved by Lieutenant Pilot Stanislaw Skalski, who shot down four and ½ German aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Jerome Dudval shot down four enemy aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Czeslaw Główczynski - three and ½, Lieutenant Pilot Włodzimierz Gedymin - three and ½, Major Pilot Mieczyslaw Mumler - three, Capt. Pilot Franciszek Jastrzębski - three and Lieutenant Pilot Stefan Wapniarek - three.
Mention should be made of the very sacrificial and effective bombing raids on German motorized and armored columns in the areas of Klobuck - Czestochowa - Herby - Radomsko - Piotrkow of Line Squadron No. II on carasses (squadrons 21 and 22), No. VI on carasses (squadrons 64 and 65) and 55th Line Squadron also on carasses. These squadrons were part of the bomber brigade.
It often happened that one or two Polish fighters threw themselves by surprise at several enemy aircraft - they achieved victories before the enemy realized. The best results in the campaign were achieved by Lieutenant Pilot Stanislaw Skalski, who shot down four and ½ German aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Jerome Dudval shot down four enemy aircraft, Lieutenant Pilot Czeslaw Główczynski - three and ½, Lieutenant Pilot Włodzimierz Gedymin - three and ½, Major Pilot Mieczyslaw Mumler - three, Capt. Pilot Franciszek Jastrzębski - three and Lieutenant Pilot Stefan Wapniarek - three.
Mention should be made of the very sacrificial and effective bombing raids on German motorized and armored columns in the areas of Klobuck - Czestochowa - Herby - Radomsko - Piotrkow of Line Squadron No. II on carasses (squadrons 21 and 22), No. VI on carasses (squadrons 64 and 65) and 55th Line Squadron also on carasses. These squadrons were part of the bomber brigade.
Despite the losses suffered, the fighting spirit among the flying personnel was high, everyone wanted to make as many combat flights as possible and drop as many bombs on enemy targets as possible
Polish aviators prevailed in the battles against the Nazi enemy with courage and fierceness, showed tremendous will to fight and unparalleled fortitude. The toughness of the Poles and their good training amazed the German command and embarrassed it to such an extent that it requested additional reinforcements from the No. 2 and No. 3 air fleets, which were based at airfields along the western border with France. As you know, nothing happened there, even though France and Britain declared war on Germany on September 3.
The Luftwaffe's domination of the air was the result of its absolute superiority over Polish aviation in terms of the quantity and modernity of its aircraft equipment. Despite possessing such assets, the Luftwaffe did not recognize the retreat and regrouping of the two Polish armies - “Poznañ” and “Pomorze” - to make an offensive turn over the Bzura River.
The combat operations of the Polish Air Force were halted on September 17, 1939. There were almost no operational aircraft for combat flights, and there was a shortage of propellants and ammunition. The surviving planes flew with some of the flying personnel to Romania and Hungary.
The bulk of the ground personnel of air communications and anti-aircraft defense went by wheeled means to Romania, Hungary, the Baltic countries of Lithuania and Latvia, and the Soviet Union.
The Polish Air Force numbered 15,600 on the outbreak of war: in combat units there were 8371 aviators, including flying personnel 1238. The rest fell to air communications and anti-aircraft defense. After the end of hostilities, about 10,000 Polish airmen made their way to Romania, about 900 to Hungary, and a few hundred each to Lithuania, Latvia and the USSR.
nw you know. I think that totaly destroyed your false thesis.
Nope. The Polish Air Force was still fighting when Warsaw was under siege, and during the last resistance near the Romanian border (where lots of Polish forces escaped to). The Poles had, in fact, dispersed their combat squadrons well, days before the invasion. Most of the 'Polish Air Force destroyed on the ground in the first days' were old disused airframes and obsolete training aircraft that had been left as (and apparently worked) decoys. This myth is up there with 'Polish cavalry charged panzers.'
Lot of mistakes in this material. Last Polish troops surrended in the middle of October. France collapsed in shorter time.
Some accomplishments of Poland that always get overlooked: It was Poland that got not one but two Enigma machines and had already started working to learn how to crack them, Poland invented what we now call metal detectors. They were initially referred to as Polish mine detectors. During the initial invasion by Germany the original plan called for Russia to cross the border on or about the 21st but Polish resistance was so fierce that they asked Russia to come in on the 17th and while Poland never stood a chance they did give Russia a bloody nose.
Also Polish contribution to war is the idea of reversible periscope by Polis engineer Gundlach ... both fighting sides used this .. a paradox 😂 ( each nation had such great inventors- I am far from being patriotic high point nose)
Polish resistance was v efficient , more than Dutch or French .
Poles even constructed Bomba - the first machine, able to decipher early versions of Enigma and shared all their findings with UK intelligence. As so, it laid base of the ULTRA intelligence system that helped allies to defeat Germans incredibly much.
Incorrect. Soviets attacked only after they secured Far East from Japan.
Polish army was already pushed back before Soviets attacked.
Let's be real.
Poles fought well, but let's not make up the facts.
During the Battle of Britain Polish fighter pilots fought with ferocity against the Luftwaffe helping to win that conflict.
That's right!
The two main Polish Squadrons became some of the highest scoring units during the Battle of Britain.
@@oldtdjr The 303 by itself accounted for 5% of all enemy planes shot down.
As did British, Commonwealth, and other foreign pilots.
@@thebigdog2295 'The 303 by itself accounted for 5% of all enemy planes shot down.' Only if you believe exaggerated claims from the time.
Actually, 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF was the top scoring Hawker Hurricane squadron of the Battle of Britain, with 44 victories positively verified. This made No. 303 the fourth highest scoring squadron overall, after No. 603 (AuxAF) Squadron RAF (57.8 verified kills), No. 609 (AuxAF) Squadron RAF (48 verified kills) and No. 41 Squadron RAF (45.33 verified kills), which all flew Supermarine Spitfires.
44 is not 5% of 1887.
British commentator here, the polish were excellent serviceman in general, their Navy was first class. Good show Poland.
As a student of military history, I have always been impressed with Polish warriors and leadership. Besides their sterling accomplishments in WW2, it is interesting to note that they are considered to be the ONLY country to have ever defeated the USSR military in land combat (1920 Russo-Polish War). Niech zyje Polska!
And they fought on both fronts, eastern and western.
Germany defeated Russia in the battle of Tannenberg. The Poes were not doing very well when invaded by Germany and Russia 19 1939.
@@Andries394 I am talking about WARS not battles. 1939 does not negate what they did when they were invaded in 1920. And WW2 did not turn out so badly for the Poles either, BTW.
@@Andries394 Poland in 1939 defended itself against German and Russian invasions for longer than France did a year later.
@@Andries394 accordingly to won Wehrmacht statistics : defeat of a “statistic” Polish division in September 1939 took 3x times more resources from Wehrmacht than in Western Front 1940-41. ( see resourced publications based on Bundesarchiv- boring books with tables with statistics.. fruits job of profesional historians, available are many synthesis in many books.. 1st strongest World’s Army attacked 7th largest (?) World’s Army... results - victorious side- could have been predicted)
Pozdrowienia dla Pollski. I Knew of Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain, and Polish Marines on D-Day But this I had never heard before. Brawo. Z Kanady 🤠🍁
As sectetary of Scotland North East Submariners Association I met many of the suvivors of the Polish Submarines - The Polish Submarines were based in Dundee.
"Thunderbolt & Lightning"..... "Very, very frightening."
Bismark? 😂
@@LordInter
I think it was a reference to a song (Bohemian Rhapsody) by Queen.
@Briselance indeed, and I thought I'd play with who'd be frightened of ships called thunderbolt amd lightning, referencing how lightning flashed at bismark all night before her demise "I am a pole"
Alas, no ships called Gallileo
So Polish Gov't was more ready than we had thought .
@@robertbarrett2494 they were sure that Russia would attack, then Germany did, them Russia did too, absolutely fucked them and any plans they had
Well done. No nonsense and to the point, with enough details to make it interesting.
To the point? Video is 15 minutes long. Only 1 minute is about the escape. Only 15-20 sec is about trouly insane part of the escape (ORP Orzeł)
Rest is list of ships and later service. With a bunch of little errors and misinformation.
Poland was not overrun in 6 days. The Battle of Poland (so-called September Campaign) lasted for 34 days, and it started by German troops entering Western Poland on 1 September 1939, and then the Russian army invading Poland from the East on 17 September 1939. It finally ended on 5 October 1939.
For comparison, the Battle of France (also Luxemburg, Netherlands and Belgium) lasted for 46 days.
compare the Polish Navy with the French Navy after the fall of France
My father fought in the Polish Navy. Like most who fought, he never discussed his service. Rest in peace Papa, and all his companions.😢
Poland underrated
Yes, but now they are receiving some of the praise they deserve.
@@nmr3352better late than never.
@@nmr3352 If you read, you would know how widely admired their armed services in WW2 are.
We were the subject of stereotypical jokes after ww2 bc of our cavalry in ww2 (which was actually effective) and the "quick" loss even though we fought on 2 fronts we had it worse than france but withstood and fought more never declaring capitulation moving our politics and others to the uk to still fight for our country also sour germans after ww2 had made propaganda against poland to lessen its popularity
@@jugbywellington1134 I know that the Poles are the bravest of the brave. Their work on the enigma machine, their navy, their pilots, your army. And The bravery of their cavalry charging German tanks is greatly admired.
"And for all their heroism and all their sacrifice, the "Allies" would sell the Poles and their country to the Bolsheviks for 30 pieces of silver. Never have so many been betrayed by so few for so little. May God forgive us." -- Col M. Radcliff
I must agree with you.
Yes, the Brits really know how to treat an ally and honor a promise. They did nothing to help Poland at the start or at the end of WWII. They should have declared war on the Soviet Union when the Bolsheviks stabbed Poland in the back after the Nazis invaded. Then the Brits lamely sold Poland down the river to Stalin in 1945.
The septics sold them out, no one else.
Britain was bankrupt at the end of the war, and powerless to take on the Soviets.
While I do agree, there really wasn't much to stop stalin claiming them since they got to Poland first 😐
Enjoyed this story - I am German/Pole Descent . Grandad left Poland 1933 to U.S.A.
Thank you HIDDEN HISTORY.I have never heard of this before,and more than likely,no one else has either.😊😊😊
yea thats why people are picking apart his incorrect facts in the video. ive never seen so many comments correcting the video's statements.
@MrCcragg27 Don't be like everyone else who jump on the band wagon just to say something in the negative.Last I looked,no one is perfect.
This is a story that needed to be told, many thanks.
My parents were young during the war and told me the stories of the nazis coming through their village and taking nearly everything they had. They were catholic so at least they were able to keep their lives. I’m proud to be Polish!
Nicely done, can you do one on Finland?
Funny you mention that! I actually literally just started editing a video on Finland’s Navy during WW2!
It was an informative and wonderful historical coverage video about polish Navy during WW2...
The story of those submarines deserves a movie!
Agreed! Appreciate you watching and have a great weekend :)
From MT USA.
Thank you, Poland.
For keeping Panzers, far from N America.
I love learning about you folks...
... Quietly - being professional heroes.
Wow!
The Orzeł-class submarines were NOT minelayers. This is a common misconception, which probably stems from the fact that the design partly inspired the Dutch O 19-class, which were indeed minelaying submarines. The Orzeł carried a 4.1 inch deck gun in an enclosed turret.
In the early 1920s (IIRC my training), they had tubular sea mines that could be deployed through torpedo tubes. Around 1936 they had dual configurable (magnetic & acoustic Triggers) tubular sea mines. Now whether any of the 2 Orzel subs had any, your guess is as good as mine (no pun intended).
Oh, BTW, great video.
@@julieinthenorthwest4594 The mines you describe were laid by normal submarines, not minelayers. The minelayers were specialised submarines that had mine chutes (usually arranged along the sides of the vessel), so that they could deploy a large number of mines in a short time (no need to load them individually into torpedo tubes), without it being at the expense of the torpedo loadout. There is at least one submarine minelayer still in existence today; the EML Lembit at the Estonian Maritime Museum in Tallin. A small sub, she carried only 8 torpedoes, but could deploy 24 mines from 12 chutes (six on each side).
Not mentioned are the ships that the RN transferred to the Poles in Britain. They included the Tribal class Destroyer (almost a light cruiser) ORP Piorun. She was attached to CAPT Philip Vian's squadron on escort duties and on 22 March was involved in the fight against the Bismarck. Piorun was the first of the destroyers to sight the battleship and, with HMS Maori charged into the attack. While Maori manoeuvred for a torpedo attack, Piorun exchanged fire with the Bismarck until one salvo landed almost inboard; the destroyer wisely retired. According to sources, as she closed the battleship, she signalled by light "I am Polish.". From personal experience, the Polish sailors then and now are very similar to we Australians.
What a bollock mate.😂😂😂
@@gretakedzierska5071 ?????
compare the Polish Navy with the French Navy after the fall of France
Don't forget it was the Poles who gave their information about Engima to Turning and the British.
Turing. And they didn't give him anything, they gave it to the British government, who used the information at GCHQ where Turing worked.
Turing went to Poland as well as representatives of British government to verify the accuracy.
Poland was NOT overpowered in 6 days. That statement is incorrect. It took Nazis 7 days just to take Westerplatte, the very spot where WW2 started, with shelling from Schleswig Holstein predrednought...
Poland surrendered on 28 September 1939, after 4 weeks of heavy resistance. The main thing that overwhelmed Poland's defence was in fact Red Army invasion on 17th September 1939 ✌️That is why both Nazis and Soviets are still hated in Poland
@@82drednotyandmoreThis! I was hoping someone would point that out. They were hit by overwhelming force on 2 fronts.
It's been said that if the Soviets had not invaded Poland in the back door they most likely would have been able to fight off the Nazis
@johnpisciotto7115 They would have eventually been overwhelmed because they did not have the manpower equipment or ability to replace losses.
German industrial capacity far exceeded that of Poland and Germany had been rearming for years.
@@williamegler8771 Not necessarily. The major role within the military operations is played by the logistics. With overstretched logistic supply lines the German victory was not guarnateed. It was the 17 September Russian invasion fro the east that actually made this victory possible.
You seem to have forgotten it was not JUST Germany Poland had to contend with but the massive Red Army!!!!
Appreciate you watching and have a great week :)
Yes .
Very nicely done video.
Poland was not overrun in 6 days
Polska przegrała gdy przestały działać organy państwa Rząd, prezydent , Sejm, marszałek Sejmu. Państwa już nie było i od tego momentu historycy określają dzień klęski
0:32 I think you've got something wrong, the last fighting, i.e. the Battle of Kock, took place between 2- 6 October 1939, which is not 6 days but 6 weeks.
1:52 Not 4,7 inches, but 120 mm, which is 4,73 inches rounded to the nearest hundredth.
Poland learned it lesson: faced with yet another foreign threat, the Polls are becoming a Regional Power-House in Europe. Good for them!
Appreciate you watching and have a great weekend :)
The first minutes show a German attack on the Polish Post Office in Gdansk. You can see the Germans pumping gasoline into the post office building and setting it on fire. The postal workers defended themselves for several hours. While leaving after surrendering, the first person was shot and the remaining few were set on fire alive. Among the postal workers was the family of the caretaker. The 10-year-old girl Erwina Barzychowska was also set on fire. She lived in agony for 2 months.
Absolutely incredible! Thanks for watching and have a great week :)
Polish movie from 1958 is on YT: nice technical details are in movie - views of twin ORP Sep Vulture . I love especially AA double cannons which are pushed from under deck (!) to battle stations, by hydraulics systems (!) Submarine Eagle was a technical masterpiece of Dutch shipyard art.
Thanks for watching and have a great week :)
Thank you: ❤10/10 (with only tiny technical errors)
My favorite accomplishment of Poland is their early work toward cracking the Enigma encryption. This was huge for the war effort later after Britain further advanced their findings.
Appreciate you watching and have a great weekend :)
It was Poland's main war success.
@@mecx7322 what about the Manhattan project? specifically, the participation of Poles and Hungarians who made it 😉
@@piotrgrzywnowicz601 Leo Szilard, Hungarian Jew, was the boss of theoritical dept in Los Alamos. Other influential Hungarians involved in the project ( nicknamed "Martians" ): Eugene Wigner ( Nobel Prize winner ), Edward Teller, John von Neumann, Miklos Kurti. Polish Jews: Stanislaw Ulam, Jozef Rotblat, Stanislaw Mrozowski. Most influential were undoubtedly Teller and Ulam, creators of hydrogen bomb.
Respect to the postage workers in the first couple of scenes of this video
Appreciate you watching and have a great weekend :)
Never forget that Poles were forbidden to take part in the victory parade. Those who fed the Russian bear and betrayed the Poles muttered later about the "Iron Curtain".
Actually, it was Polish army who fed the bear as Wojtek was on our side.
But yes, abandoning us was the point starting cold war, and not the smartest move in geopolitics... again left alone, incorporated and dependent to USSR, it took us some time but somehow we managed to f*ck the Russian (Soviet) Empire up again, this time from the inside with some help from the Pope and trade unions. They never learn.
Appreciate you watching and have a great week :)
compare the Polish Navy with the French Navy after the fall of France
Excellent video! Didn't know of this until now.
👍
I’m sure glad I didn’t have to be the roll caller in the Polish Navy!
4 years ago i had the chance to visit"ORP Błyskawica", which is docked in the harbour of Gdynia. I recommend the visit,( althought most of what was exposed for view inside of the ship only had polish descriptive texts).
I like your video but names of the ships are difficult or imposible to recognise for a pole.
You mean the Germans reached outskirts of Warsaw in 6 days. The most decisive battle of the campaign, the Battle of Bzura (river) or Kock (town) was over by the 19th of September, 1939. Albeit, the Polish generals and only generals knew as of June, 1939, that they would certainly lose the war. The last battle of the campaign was the Battle of Kock that ended all major resistance at exactly 1 pm or 13:00 on the 6th of October, 1939.
Yes that is correct! Appreciate you watching & have a great week :)
@@HiddenHistoryYT The German armored raid of the 4. Panzer-Division actually reached the outskirts of Warsaw as early as September 8, but this bravado cost the Germans a lot. The attacking column hit the prepared anti-tank positions, and the Polish officer in charge of the defense of this section ordered a trap to be placed in the street that the German column was moving through. The numerous barrels of turpentine found in a nearby factory were used. The effect was devastating to the attacking Germans.
Poland did not fall in six days but six weeks, however the Home Army fought long after 1945
no one underestimated the Poles in any theatre of war, their airmen were amazing during the Battle of Britain, their work in sending an enigma machine to England to help de code Nazi messages and sending imformation about the V1 guided cruise missles, I could go on, but no greater fighting nation then Poland, we let them down when the Soviets took over from the Nazis, we should of tried much harder to liberate Poland, who, after all was the reason Britain declared war on Germany in the first place, luv u poles!!
Thank so much sir All the best for you Best regards form Poland
Appreciate you watching and have a great week :)
Without USA nothing could be done, Roosevelt dodn't care at all.
You threw me a tad at 5:18 when you mentioned the destroyers sailing through the "The Straits of Denmark".
My mind went to thinking of HMS Hood lost in the battle of "The Denmark Straits". A couple thousand miles away north of Iceland.
He should have said Skagerrak and Kattegat
@@benwilson6145 Yes, thank you.
ORP Grom and ORP Blyskawica were built just down the road from where I live at J Samuel White's of Cowes on the Isle of Wight. As alluded to in the film Grom was lost during the Norwegian campaign but Blyskawica survived the war and is now a museum ship in Gdynia. There is footage taken of her there in this film.
Blyskawica was under going refit at Cowes when during the night of 4th-5th May 1942 the Luftwaffe mounted their only major raid on the Isle of Wight, aiming to knock out the shipyards and industrial facilities of the area. Against Admiralty rules Captain Franski had kept his ship armed while docked and so Blyskawica made her way into the river and opened up at the German attackers. The surprise presence of a fully armed Destroyer was a contributing factor in keeping damage lower that expected as she made the bombers fly higher and thus become less accurate. For this Blyskawica is widely regarded as having saved Cowes and a memorial is held every year on the first Sunday in May to honour the Polish.
Grom and Blyskawica were highly regarded for convoy work due to their high speed, both being capable of exceeding their 39 knot design speed. There were not that many escorts that could keep up with the fast liners such as Queen Mary that were used for troop transports so the Poles were a very welcome addition and undoubtedly saved many lives with this work.
Another shoutout should go to ORP Piorun. Piorun would have become HMS Nerissa but was transferred to the Polish Navy before completion. It was Piorun who took part in the hunt for the Bismarck and proved pivotal in locating it when it had given the pursuers the slip. Piorun then kept Bismarck in sight and she never escaped the Allies again. During the last night the Destroyers were ordered to harass the Bismarck to keep her crew awake while the heavy ships of the Royal Navy caught up.
Piorun took it all a little too personally and got to within point blank range. One of Pioruns gunners reckoned he even landed a shot from her 120mm guns on Bismarck. It was also alleged that she hit Bismarck with a torpedo having charged in while signalling the Germans "I am a Pole!" In the end the number of near misses from Bismarck, some just meters away persuaded Piorun to back down. Being nearly out of fuel she was ordered back to port to resupply but she refused and loitered around until the morning when she finally departed for Plymouth.
Appreciate you watching and have a great weekend :)
A lot of Polish Army got out to fight again. I have heard that half of the officers, and a third of the men got out. I talked to one of them once. He escaped by train to Italy.
Wow! Appreciate you watching and have a great week :)
One small correction: Leith, the port in Scotland to which the Polish ships steamed, is pronounced as ‘Leeth’ not ‘Lieth’.
Also it's Rosyth. Rosieff Not Rossith.
Dude needs to get some research into pronunciation.
@@shanchat indeed it is but I didn’t want to post a whole list of mispronounced names and come across as a serial moaner.
Thanks! Appreciate you watching and have a great week :)
thank you for sharing this with us) i never knew Poland had a navy during that time😁😁😁
Appreciate you watching and have a great rest of your week :)
The stand at the post office was impressive. 0:25 video slowed. Up it to 1.25. Sounds normal save some time
My grandfather served on one of those escaped ships, i think it might be the Bliskawica. I think i should send him a link of this video, he is 99.
Wow, epic. Bless him, my grandfather was a Scot that served in the RAF (later RAAF when he moved to Australia after the war, I'm Australian). He was a radio operator that flew covert nighttime missions, some in gliders, over occupied Europe, dropping Allied agents, materiel and other supplies to help the war effort. He flew alongside a Polish pilot; my grandad could speak no Polish and the Pole could speak no English, plus, my grandfather had a broad Scots accent so I can imagine the difficulties they must have encountered! After 6 months, his nerves were shot and he moved to a different role. The Pole, however, flew on! God bless Poland, thank you to your granddad for helping the Allies defend against Nazism and fascism.
Thank you to him for his service! Appreciate you watching and have a great weekend :)
It would be great to see similar material about Polish 1st Armored Division. the most important force and unit what cotributed the most to the victory.
True! Thanks for watching and have a great week :)
@@HiddenHistoryYT I will wait and I will watch it with great pleasure :-)
ORP Orzeł (pron. "Ozheu" 😉) escape from Tallin is material for separate film. Whole action was planned in detail, preparations took few days and the crew manage to save some armament during disarming lead by Estonians. After running out from Tallin Orzeł try to hunt German vessels for few days, next managed to free 2 kidnapped Estonian guards in Swedish shore, and go through Øresund without any maps (one of crewmen sketched map of Baltic Sea helped by register of lighthouses, the only navigation book that was hidden during preparations).
It is worth mentioning that 2 Estonian guards were given some cash before landing in Sweden.
Thy with an authentic map pre 1939. Nonetheless interesting covering of the Polish naval history at WW2
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Excellent foresight and preemptive move by the Polish powers to be, in preserving a part of their country's Navy prior to Hitler's decision to wage war against Poland. A stitch in time saves nine.
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Overpowered in Six days? Polish counter offensive at Bzura river did not start until the 9th of September and with nearly 250k Polish troops taking part they were hardly overpowered. Outmatched by blitzkrieg, marred with communication issues and bombed by Stukas but not overpowered...
Bzura River Offensive (!) Battle in 1939 September is exceptional: The World waited for Allies' offensive till 1941 - Rhzev Battle. Majority of Polish HQ, Commanders, Soldiers, military equipment did well in Defence War 1939... Polish Army was strongest ever, but two enemies were much stronger... A note: since first 972 a.C. Cedynia Battle Poland has never provided such numerous army.. patience is needed in our geopolitical situation 😂: victory has come after 50+ years, after September 1939... Victory 1989 Strategical and tactical conceptions are important in here Heart of the Europe's flatland.. book in English: "God's playground" .. sad: to have / to must so many human beings sacrificed
"Did you know that there were three Polish submarines interned in Mariefred during World War II?" No, probably not many people know the fate of the Polish submarines. The story begins in September 1939, five submarines receive an order to patrol the sea outside the borders of Poland. But the operation goes completely wrong and three of the submarines end up in Sweden, originally with the intention of being repaired after the battles. This results in an internment in Mariefred for the rest of the war. The author has been well assisted in telling this exciting story by one of the Polish submariners, who contributed documents and photographs. Now it is almost 70 years since these events took place, but it is time that this peculiar history finally comes to light. And it's not just about Polish submariners in Mariefred, but also about what Sweden's neutrality policy meant in practical action.
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Small info not Witcher but Wicher also before it was destroyed with Gryf they win duel vs 2 Leberecht Maass ships while stationary (someone decided they will be costal artillery then) they do so much damage forced them to run away. As for small river boats - they were captured by russians and used on their rivers.
40:00 How come no one ever mentions the USSR? They also invaded and took 12 of Poland.
Soviet Stalin Russia invaded Poland on September 17, 1939.
First footage was of the battle of the polish post office, it lasted for 6 hours against 400+ nazis which also had artillery and tanks. The infrastructure was incredibly durable as well
Incredible info! Appreciate you watching and have a great week :)
The First World War was anything BUT a distant memory in 1939. It had ended just two decades earlier, and was always at the forefront of every decision maker’s mind.
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Was it a Polish destroyer that disobeyed orders and kept on attacking the Bismarck. The whole time sending a signal via the signal light, “Im a Pole, I’m a Pole, I’m a Pole.”?
Edit: it was ORP Piorun.
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Indeed it was. Piorun was the only destroyer under Philip Vian's command which failed to carry out a torpedo attack on Bismarck, and the only one to lose contact with Bismarck during the night.
Quixotic amateur dramatics were inappropriate, in the circumstances.
Polish pilots helped to win Battle of Britain 303 Squadron
303 is, ironically, the calibre of the ammunition used in their machine guns.
@@markshrimpton3138
Indeed, and even though it's a small caliber, that isn't really made for air combat, it got the job done at the time.
It wasn't an escape but it was a re-basing. An escape was the submarine Orzeł leaving the port of Tallinn.
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For some reason I started thinking about Cetus from Centaura not even halfway through the video
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Polish Forces fought 36 days. Recent “discovery” 37 days: last battle was on 7th October. 3rd Regiment of Mounted Troopers - story in YT in movie with English subtitles “Ostatni boj”. Last 1939 Septembe😢soldier sgt Jozef Franczak KIA in ... 11 October 1963 ( sixty three)... see, if interested, please comparisons on Western Front Europe in 1940 Blitzkrieg
Perhaps you should use a period map of Poland.. Very interesting. Thanks.
The Poles had modern anti tank and anti aircraft weapons
They took out a lot of Nazi planes and tanks
Polish submarines Eagle and Vulture had not 8 but 12 torpedoes launchers: also at waist (!) of each submarine were 4x550mm
There is a few comments that need to be made about the image you show at 0:51. First of all, it show both a pre-war ships and ships that Polish Navy on Exile got from UK. ORP Garland, ORP Piorun, ORP Orkan (destroyers), ORP Dragon, ORP Conrad (cruisers) were introduced into Polish Navy between 1940 and 1943
Also, ORP Kaszub did not participate in WW2 at all - it was lost in the accident in 1925
There are multiple naming errors too. Of course, all polish characters ar missing (f.eg it is Sęp (vulture), not Sep) but there also some added or changed, like Bryslawicka - it should be Błyskawica (lightning). Aaaand... Witcher. Like... W T F. It's Wicher (gale)
Why use modern map instead of interwar one?
Burza translate into thunderstorm, not squall. Squall would be "Szkwał"
Wicher translate (as I wrote higher) into gale. Polish word for hurricane is "huragan"
Orzeł and Sęp were not a mine-laying submarine.
You didn't mentioned the minesweepers in your detailed list. While not relevant to the escape (like the patrol boats or river flotilla), they were the most active ships during the September Campain.
You talk a lot about destroyers, which simply went to UK before the war even begine. Than mention ORP Orzeł for barely few second, selling cheap trouly insane part of the story.
And the rest of the video is about later service. You made 15 minutes long video about "insane" escape of the navy, but only 1 minute is about the escape. And somethink like 15 second is about the insane part of it.
The lack of your brain is insane.
Fact.
Thirty years ago I collected War Story paperbacks, the factual ones. I read a lot of them.
Almost without exception the most terrifying or appalling situations or conditions were faced by our Polish allies.
Despite the worst circumstances and far further to travel the Poles escaped first to France and then on to England where they flourished.
By contrast the French did very little. I'm not blaming France but trying to emphasise just how amazing the Poles were/ are.
I have waited thirty years to have an opportunity to thank the Poles and to tell them how highly I rate them.
Now they are joined by the superb Ukrainians.
What an amazing part of the world!
Poland fell in 35 (not 6) days when Germany AND Russia (USSR*edit) invaded.
It is USSR not Russia
@@u47mkbg you are correct, edited.
Napisz, że napadły nas "szwaby i kacapy" to będzie zgodne z prawdą bez czepiania się słówek :)))
compare the Polish Navy with the French Navy after the fall of France
Great Video, Thanks For Sharing !
Destroyer ORP Blyskawica can be visited in centre of Gdynia. It is most probably the only surviving destroyer from WW2, still in decent condition.
HMS Cavalier.
I consider this to be an interesting video.
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Today , Poland is a member of NATO and a close friend of the USA. God Bless Poland.👍❤✝🔯
Where’s this movie 🎥
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The escape of Poland”s navy was lucky and brave. Not insane.
Escape of the destroyers was neither lucky, not brave, just well timed.
Escape of the ORP Orzeł? It was lucky, it was brave as fuck and it absolutelly was insane. Shame he just mention it. The History Guy made a great episode about it.
@@wardasz It is an incredible achievement to escape from Baltic without maps. A couple of years ago emerged one of Estonian gunners from port of Talinn. He was shooting at Orzel but in such a way that she wasn't hit directly. Most of ordinary Estonians were not Nazi fans.
Poland was most certainly NOT overwhelmed by Nazi Germany in only six days. The campaign only ended on 6 October after Soviet Russia invaded Poland from the East on 17 September with their agreement on dividing the captured nation. Poland continued to fight Nazi Germany throughout the war albeit from the UK and USSR.
0:32 What? From September 1 (armed aggression of Germany) to October 6, 1939.
It just occurred to me that this is what he must have meant. Probably misread as 1st September -6th September... ;-)
Well done Poland. Said at the start that Poland couldn't match the Third Reich Germany but they were also attacked by the Soviet Union mainly Russia. Long live Poland
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Interesting fact: The commander of the Polish navy Józef Unrug, was German, born in aristocratic family near Berlin. In the Great War, he commanded a submarine in the Kaiser's fleet. But after the Great War he chose Polish identity. He even spoke worse Polish than German. After the fall of Poland, the Third Reich offered him a high position in the Kriegsmarine. He refused and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. In captivity, Unrug refused to communicate in German. He boldly told the Nazis that he had forgotten the German language on September 1, 1939.
I am always saying, thank god that Polaks are on our side. Love you brothers 🇵🇱🇨🇿🇪🇺
I read about Czechoslovakia soldiers defending Poland in 1939 ( despite the Taking of Teski Téšin in 1938- the railway from Czechia to Southern Slovakia was probably the object of Polish Army to stop in future potential quick regrouping of German Army to entire Polish -Slovakian borders? ) Anyway Poland crossed international Law in taking part of Czechoslovak Republic
.. also please mind Josef František - a Czech who chose a .. Polish 303 Squadron, despite it existed in Britain Czechoslovak 310 Squadron
@@wojciechpaka4250 you are right brother, as I am living in Malenovice, in Silesia I am aware about 1919 and 1938. I am just gonna add there's been 3 Czech fighter squadron in England, not only 310. but 312. and 313. as well as 311. Czech bomber squadron
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@@bubakbubakovic9286 My Great Grand Pa was from Sádek... near Pribram 😂 4 hours of driving - Cechia is not “small country “ , another line of family grewed up in as chips in .. Ostrava.. spoke fluent Czech ( evacuation of Festung Krakau in Great War in 1915) I am mix - the best of k.u.k folks.. i was a year ago close to your village- heading to South of Europe: The nord of Malenkovice.. other side of mointain...
compare the Polish Navy with the French Navy after the fall of France
Thank you for great video. I just wonder you did not pay more attention to ORP Piorun: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORP_Piorun_(G65) , the brave destroyer that challenged Bismarck during night torpedo attack.
Brave, yes, but foolhardy & unnecessary. Piorun was the only destroyer under Philip Vian's command which failed to carry out a torpedo attack on Bismarck, and the only one to lose contact with Bismarck during the night.
Quixotic amateur dramatics were inappropriate, in the circumstances.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 In such conditions (night & high seas), the torpedo attack was vain anyway. The torpedoes likely did not even reach Bismarck. That was one of the reasons why Polish captain decided for audacious gun fire exchange.
@@zlatanclovecic1944 Why should darkness mean that a torpedo attack was vain? Vian's orders were to maintain contact during the night, in support of HMS Sheffield. He was an aggressive commander, and an experienced one, whose knowledge of whether a torpedo attack was appropriate might even have been greater than yours.
The fact is that Piorun was the only ship not to attack with torpedoes, and the only ship to lose contact.
The 'audacious gun fire exchange' was foolish & quixotic, akin to tilting at windmills.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 And what have achieved the other destroyers by obeying like good soldiers?
Nothing.
Again, in the high seas the torpedoes likely did not even reach Bismarck.
The Piorun achieved at least depletion of some Bismarck's heavy shells.
This was not about Vian (without doubts he was very good commander), but about high-level commands that were issued in simple hope that such attack could score a hit that would be rather random in such conditions.
@@zlatanclovecic1944 What Vian's destroyers achieved was that they maintained contact, something which Piorun singularly failed to do. Any torpedo hit would have been a bonus.
Piorun had, simply, no hope of harming Bismarck with her 4.7 inch shells. All her captain's amateurish behaviour achieved was to risk the damage or loss of his ship without hope of harming Bismarck.
There's too much credit given to the Germans for the fall of Poland. They were beaten back but were far from finished after the German invasion began. It was when the Soviets invaded, that Poland became comepletly overwhelmed and its defenses collapsed.
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@@HiddenHistoryYT You as well.
It’s fine that you pronounce polish words like english ones but the Hurricane ship was Wicher (pronounced kinda like Wikher) and not Witcher as the games. The small thing like Jerzy being butchered is fine cause the rz letter make a sound only 2 languages i know use and most foreigners struggle with it.
One Polish destroyer was sunk on the D-day.
That was light cruiser ORP Dragon (HMS Dragon)
The Subs sank due to the screen doors in the hulls!
my mother's cousin married a Polish naval technician who had only 25 minutes to get to his ship bound to the safe shores of England he had 10 muinets to run to his mother's house kiss her goodbye and run back to his ship as they were getting ready to lower the gangway then he was part of the Royal Navy to fight another day - I met with him several times and we also went together to see the BELFAST cruiser at the tower of London and he was telling me what he did on ships
Why did you not mention being attacked by the soviet union from the east
This video had a sloppy mistake stating Poland was conquered in 6 days. It took the invasion both of Nazi Germany and Soviet Union to overrun Poland after 6 weeks.
How many ships had lightbulbs?
Lol
A friend's father escaped on the training ship and fought on British destroyers through the war.
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Why are you suing a post WW2 map?
❤Will share with My Nadrowski And Zawistoki Family living in Michigan and Chicago
Pity about the incorrect pronunciation of nearly all of the British sea ports.
It should be mentioned that U.K. standing against Germany gave opportunity for Polish, Czech, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Belgian and Greeks to fight the Germans.
@@bfc3057 Actually, little chap, no-one has ever called WW2 the 'Munich Agreement' war.