Poland’s bewildering maneuvers in the history of World War II.

Poland is unlucky; on the left is Germany, and on the right is Russia.Throughout history, it has been destroyed several times and restored several times.

But,it only has itself to blame.The overall feeling is like Europe’s version of the South Korea.

What’s that meanning?The Koreans may have a high opinion of themselves, but when it comes to tallying up the results of battles, they are often not counted as Koreans.The reason is simple: when Koreans join forces with others in combat, they are often not treated as human beings by their partners.Poland basically plays the same role！

The most interesting assessment of Poland is that it’s a country that everyone around wants to invade, while at the same time being a country that everyone around wants to invade.

In history, Poland has been partitioned multiple times by Russia, Germany, yet it has also regained independence multiple times, each time without taking it seriously, and with reckless maneuvering。The national anthem is called “Mazurek Dąbrowskiego”（Poland Is Not Yet Lost）。You can sense the temperament of “persecution delusion” that arises from being repeatedly annihilated。

In history, Poland was once formidable, punching the Teutonic Knights, kicking the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and grinding the Turks underfoot at the siege of Vienna. However, it has also been destroyed several times. But due to space constraints, we will only talk about the trouble it faced after World War I.

Before World War I, there was no Poland as it had been annexed by Russia. However, with the outbreak of World War I, Germany was heavily engaged in the Eastern Front against Russia and sought to quickly resolve the conflict to focus on the Western Front against Britain and France. Germany devised a plan to transport Lenin, who was hiding in Switzerland, back to Russia. Upon his return, Lenin orchestrated the October Revolution, leading to the Bolsheviks seizing power. In order to deal with internal opposition, Lenin swiftly signed a peace treaty with Germany, conceding significant territories. It was through this treaty that Poland regained its independence.

After gaining independence, Poland acted boldly, intervening militarily in Soviet territory and invading East Prussia. They occupied the area around Danzig in Germany. At one point, they even defeated the Soviet Red Army near Warsaw, mistreating and killing tens of thousands of Red Army prisoners. Their arrogance knew no bounds.

It was supported by Britain and France for its independence, and it should have aligned itself with them. However, Poland refused and insisted on maintaining its independence.

While independence is not an issue, Poland often employed questionable tactics. For example, initially, it allied with France and Czechoslovakia to contain Germany.

At that time, Germany feared France, and in 1940 when Germany attacked France, only Hitler believed they could defeat France. The generals lacked confidence. It was the unexpectedly smooth progress of the Battle of France that drove Hitler to madness.

Indeed, returning to the period before World War II, France was the strongest continental power, and Czechoslovakia also possessed a formidable army. With the addition of Poland, there was still potential to contain Germany.

It’s surprising that Poland, in an attempt to appease Hitler, withdrew from the alliance. What’s more, when Hitler launched a full-scale attack on Czechoslovakia, the Czechs, not ones to back down, immediately prepared to mobilize their entire army to confront him. Additionally, at this time, the Soviet Union was inquiring with Poland about the possibility of sending troops to Czechoslovakia (which would require passing through Poland). However, Poland not only refused but also did something utterly incomprehensible: it stabbed Czechoslovakia in the back (literally, as Poland was situated behind Czechoslovakia), deploying a hundred thousand troops to join Hitler in partitioning Czechoslovakia.

After the partition of Czechoslovakia, Poland became Germany’s ally, and Hitler had only one demand for Poland: could they return the territory of Danzig, which had been part of Germany before World War I?

Unexpectedly, Poland refused. Not only did they refuse, but Poland, having seized a portion of Czechoslovakia’s territory, suddenly realized that they now shared a border with Germany, which they found extremely dangerous. They sought to rejoin the alliance with Britain and France, which greatly irritated Hitler.

“WTF, can you please play your cards normally?”

Hitler’s ultimate dream was still to defeat England and France, but with Poland, a pesky little brother to England and France, causing him trouble in the background, he couldn’t sleep peacefully. So, he decided to take care of this idiot first before focusing on England and France. That’s why Germany invaded Poland in September 1939.

When Germany’s 1.5 million troops invaded Poland, facing the relentless tide of steel and iron, Poland was essentially unable to resist. At this time, the Soviet Union also mobilized more than a million troops and joined in. The reason is quite understandable: if the Soviet Union didn’t intervene, and the German army completely swallowed up Poland, they would be only a couple of hundred kilometers away from Kiev. Who could remain calm in such a scenario? It would have been strange if the Soviet Union, the rogue that it was, didn’t make a move.

The idoit Poland ended up in this manner. After the defeat, Poland’s exiled government fled to England, leaving behind military officers and intellectuals who were captured by the Soviet Union. Perhaps seeking vengeance for the “Battle of Warsaw,” the Soviets executed these prisoners en masse in the Katyn Forest. However, from the country’s demise in 1939 until 1944, Polish resistance organizations never ceased their resistance.

Unfortunately, they were later betrayed by their own government.

By 1944, the German forces were in steady retreat, withdrawing from the Soviet Union, while the Red Army was closing in on the outskirts of Warsaw. At this juncture, the exiled Polish government in England, spurred on by the British, entertained a bold yet unrealistic idea: they hoped that their country’s guerrilla forces could liberate Warsaw before the Soviets entered the city.

And they timed it perfectly, just after the Soviets had finished the Battle of Bagration and were exhausted, they suddenly acted. Over fifty thousand Polish Home Army fighters, along with countless Warsaw civilians (they say even children were given rifles), launched an attack against over twenty thousand German troops. The result was horrifying; as expected, the Soviets stood by and watched, while the Germans creatively used this cannon below for urban warfare:

One cannon shot and everything within hundreds of meters was razed to the ground. The Germans nearly leveled the entire city of Warsaw. The Polish resistance fought extremely bravely, killing tens of thousands of German soldiers over the course of more than two months, but suffering losses of over twenty thousand soldiers and two hundred thousand civilians.

Overall, they were betrayed by both Britain and the Soviet Union; Britain made empty promises and never flew a plane over Warsaw to aid Poland, while the Soviet Union stood by and watched.

Speaking of the Polish government-in-exile.Next, it was necessary to negotiate the post-war order.

Shortly after the Warsaw Uprising failed, Germany was defeated.Next, it was necessary to negotiate the post-war order.Churchill and Stalin sat together, smoking and drinking, discussing and dividing Europe on a piece of paper.The British sold out their ally Poland at a good price, promising that Poland would henceforth become a socialist country. Poland established a regime under Soviet control and subsequently joined the happy and warm socialist family.Churchill did this in exchange for Greece returning to Britain.

However, the Polish government-in-exile in London found itself in an awkward position, as their country was now under Soviet control and inaccessible to them.

These two individuals, in fact, were completely of the same kind, siding with Hitler externally.

The government-in-exile had a military unit that escaped Poland when the Soviets and Germans invaded. They fled to Britain and this unit included elite pilots who achieved remarkable success in the Battle of Britain. Unable to return to their homeland, they continued to serve alongside the British forces, and some of them participated in the Korean War. It is said that one of these pilots may have been responsible for bombing Chinese Chairman Mao’s son during the conflict.

The government-in-exile spent 45 years in exile, waiting until the collapse of the Bolshevik government in Poland before returning to their homeland. They handed over the national flag and insignia to the new government, thus fulfilling their mission.