The capitulation of Warsaw from a Nazi newsreel.
Those Polish AK soldiers, though defeated, look so dignified.
Hi Pawian. There is no doubt in my mind that had HMG not given a very strong and clear message to the Germans that if they massacred the AK prisoners, similar would befall the German prisoners in British custody, these AK prisoners would be dead. If you had any relatives who fought in the Rising, they have probably told you gut churning stories of what was done to AK and civilian prisoners once caught.
In contrast, the AK (with rare exception) observed the proper procedure for taking and holding German prisoners, though I am aware of one instance where arbitrary vengeance was meted out to a German flamethrower team who burned a civilain family alive in their basement.
The anecdoes of WW2 are littered with Polish forebearance toward a fallen enemy. I think it was Skalski who in the first days of the war, shot down a German pilot, then actually landed to check if he was alright.
You don`t really think that insurgents, with Molotov cocktails and a few carbines, killed 9000 Germans equipped with tanks, planes and rocket launchers, let alone unlimited guns and ammo?
It's actually quite correct. The Germans suffered such a high proportion of kiled to wounded by virtue of the AK's limited ammunition - simply, the AK had to make every shot count, and had a high proportion of marksmen in their ranks.
In fact, the AK's success and guerilla nous was such that some German counter partisan units from the East were brought in to learn how to fight in an urban environment from the AK.
Home
Where the Fields are Green
The Woods are Clean
My Soul - Serene
I love this simple poem from Michener - thanks for positng it mate! Did you like "Poland"?