A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II

In this book the authors debunk a number of strongly held myths concerning Poland and her role in WWII. The story is told through the actions of several Polish airmen who served with the RAF in the Battle of Briton but the actions of other Poles both military and non-military aren't neglected. If you read this I am convinced your opinion of Poland and the Polish role in WWII will be profoundly altered. They say history is written by the victors and in this case Russia triumphed once again over Poland. Poland has been portrayed as at best a pitiful backward victim and at worst a mere footnote in this war. Some of the key facts the authors bring to light:* Polish airmen in the Battle of Briton were the true "air aces" at times accounting for 30-40% of the downed German planes. Queen Elizabeth II "If Poland had not stood with us in those days...the candle of freedom would have been snuffed out".* The Polish military men who left Poland (and there were 100,000 of them) after the Nazi defeat in 1939 traveled thousands of miles to get to the Allied lines. Typical travel stories had these men going through Rumania, down to the Mediterranean and then into North Africa before arriving in England or Free France.* The Poles never stopped fighting the Nazis. The Polish resistance forces were deemed the most effective by Allied HQ. No other country in Europe suffered, proportionally more damage and casualties in the war. Poland lost 20% of its population v. 11% for Russia, 7% for Germany and less than 1% for US and Britain.* When people refer to the cities of Europe devastated in the war - London, Dresden, Coventry, and Hamburg, no one ever mentions Warsaw which was leveled when the Poles revolted against the Nazis in 1944-45. An uprising totally unsupported by any Allied help.* Polish spies obtained the Germans' Enigma coding machine and Polish cryptographers helped break the ciphers. This wasn't revealed until the 1970s.* The Free Polish Army under Allied command was the 4th largest armed force (US, Britain, Russia) on the Allied side. Larger than the Free French Army! They played prominent roles in several Allied campaignsI could go on with this list but don't want this review to be too long. This book despite the facts crammed into it reads very well. Individual acts of bravery and valor are juxtaposed with events at the national level. The time period where the Polish airmen were "the Glamour Boys" of England is a great period piece. The first two thirds of the book are inspiring and a fun read as new revelations about Polish military feats are presented. The last third of the book where Poland is excluded and betrayed by the Allies in the post war decisions made at Teheran and Yalta was a harder read for me. The Allies (Britian, US and Russia) insisted that France have an equal share in the post war decisions but excluded the Poles despite their many contributions to the Allied victory. The irony!! Poland who fought to the end sold out and France who barely fielded an army rewarded, ugh. The last comment I'd make is the strong character, loyalty and love of country of the Poles is an integral and moving part of this story.

I had never heard this story and had no idea of the pivotal role the Poles played in WWII. Real unsung heros. And Britain and the US got bullied by the Soviets and left them hanging. Definitely worth a read for history buffs.

Hitler did not loose the war because he failed to beat the Brits at the Battle of Britain. But even if he had won, he would still have to succeed in invading England to be able to claim final victory. In that sense the famous battle was indecisive either way. But it was indeed, even if somewhat symbolically, a turning point in the war for the British inflicted on Germans the first significant defeat and Hitler did not achieve his major goal. When he later attacked the Soviet Union he had than to fight the war on two fronts.Contrary to some mumbling-bumbling reminiscent of a lonely lunatic psychotically full of hatred against anything Polish, the Polish pilots in RAF did make a difference. No need to further debate this issue, it's been well researched and proven beyond any doubt and only completely blind and deaf boor can claim otherwise (incidentally, Polish pilots constituted close to 10% of the total RAF pilots number, certainly considerably more than a dozen).The book is a popular history account of one relatively little known event (not the battle itself but the role of Polish pilots in it, of course). True, the authors seemingly became infatuated with the heroes of the story. It might be possibly explained by the surprise at the discovery of how significant their role was and how passionate they were in their endeavor and how little the general public has known about it. But this only makes for a better reading. History books are often dull, like accounting books, and if someone writes with great emotional involvement that tends to attract a reader into the story still more.One of the points, in fact a major one underscored even by the title of the book, the authors make is that of the betrayal by the Allies of the Polish cause. This brings the question of honor vs. cynicism in politics. The sad truth is that the main determinant in making political (and not only political) decisions is self-interest. For Churchill the single most important issue was - to defeat Hitler. For that purpose, as be bluntly put it himself, he was willing to sign the pact even with Devil himself. This Devil turned out to be none other than Stalin. The consequences were obvious - whatever conditions Stalin put, his demands had to be satisfied. And Stalin wanted Poland under his control. That's precisely why all talk of the Katyn massacre had to be subdued at the time and official Soviet version be adopted; that's why none of Polish troops were allowed to participate in Victory Parade and why in the end Poland found itself on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Was that right? No! But that's life: nothing personal, just business. Self-interest and even cynicism usually prevails over truth and honor.But historical truth still deserves to be heard, even if way after the fact. And this book serves the purpose of doing justice to historical truth very well.

A traversty - shame on us and the Yanks - the abandoned heroes - Battle of Britain heroes and beyond - 303 squadron - read the book and weep! They were part of 'the few'

One of the best books I have ever read in relation to what really happened during the bombing of Britain and what a major part Polish pilots played in winning this battle. Also how Britain (Churchill) and the US (Roosevelt) betrayed Poland after promising them many times that they would never do it by selling them out as collateral damage to Stalin and the communist regime to keep Stalin happy. As a first generation Canadian of Polish descent this book made me proud and many times brought tears to my eyes at the heroism of the Polish air men and the Polish underground army and resistance which my father was part of. Shame on the US and Britain for their betrayal. But, as proven many times throughout history the Polish people rose up again and threw off the shackles of communism and in turn instigated the fall of communism in eastern Europe. Long live Poland!!

Die traurige Geschichte der polnischen Militärpiloten, die nach der Besetzung ihres Landes durch Deutschland und die Sowjetunion auf zum Teil abenteuerlichen Wegen zu den Verbündeten Alliierten gefunden haben und dort in speziellen Verbänden zunächst von Frankreich und dann von England aus mit schier unerschöpflichem Engagement weiter gekämpft haben. Ihr herausragender Einsatz bei der Luftschlacht um England war möglicherweise entscheidend für die Verteidigung der Lufthoheit über den britischen Inseln. Erste Probleme gab es natürlich, als der andere Kriegsgegner Polens - die Sowjetunion - plötzlich ein Verbündeter Großbritanniens wurde. Diese Spannungen wurden durchweg von britischer Seite auf Kosten der polnischen Interessen gelöst, da Russland natürlich der bedeutendere Verbündete im Kampf gegen Nazideutschland war. Nach Kriegsende wurden die polnischen Verbände recht leise aufgelöst und trotz ihrer wesentlichen Beiträge zu keiner Siegesfeier eingeladen. Manche Mitglieder blieben in Großbritannien (hauptsächlich Schottland), andere wanderten in die USA oder nach Australien aus; ein paar Verzweifelte konnten es sich nicht verkneifen in ihre „befreite“ Heimat zurückzukehren. Sie wurden umgehend verhaftet und in sibirische Straflager geschickt.Wenn man bedenkt, dass Deutschland wegen des Überfalls auf Polen der Krieg erklärt wurde (und der Sowjetunion nicht), so sind diese Geschichten in ihrer Bitterkeit für Polen wohl kaum zu überbieten.Erstaunlich auch, dass trotz Kaltem Krieg diese Aspekte des Zweiten Weltkriegs auch im Westen praktisch unbekannt sind und erst jetzt so nach und nach in den Fokus rücken.

Nothing to dislike. A wonderful book about Poland’s history. Loved this book. Learned a lot of surprising things.

A much needed book telling the story of a famous fighter Squadron, the fighting spirit of the Poles who defended Britain in 1940 and the politics of how these men were ababdoned after the Yalta conference between Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt once the war was finished. Many men stand out;Urbanowicz wgi shot down over 15 aircraft in the Battle of Britain and went on to lead the Poles, Jan Zumbach a colourful hero much loved and a man later immortalised in many model kits with his Donald Duck motif on his 303 Sqn Spitfire after 1940.The Hurricane pilots flew with a grim determination to sace Britain but also remembering how their own country and loved ones had suffered under Nazi occupation. These men fought a different kind of war, more deadly and for keeps, as one ground crew member desribed it after seeing them in action.We could have lost the war due to a shortage of pilots in the Battle of Britain, luckily we had highly experienced pilots like these who came to swell the ranks and created the Narrow Margin that we needed in order to survive.These men will long be talked about as possibly the top scoring squadron of the Battle of Britain together with one of its top scorers in Frantisek (A Czech) this book will tell the reason why they are still remembered with pride and with awe at their exploits and devotion even today.The book is also titled elsewhere as For Your Freedom-And Ours.A really superb book, it moved me and also made me realise how badly the Poles who helped save Britain were so shamefully treated post war by an ungrateful Government who also did not allow any Polish servicemen or women to march in the 1945 Victory March past in case it offended Stalin, our new Ally.The book will also flesh out many combats and pilots hidden in the wartime published 303 Squadron book by Arkady Felder, although this has been republished now, I understand.This particular book will make you glad we had the Poles and also appreciate just why these men were special and dear to the British publics heart in wartime Britain.I was lucky to learn to fly alongside a Polish wartime Spitfire pilot and understood what he went through post war and in wartime because of this book.Superb!Paul Davies BoBHSc