Napoleon's Greatest Ally: The Poles

Throughout the Napoleonic Wars France had many allies, but only one stuck with Napoleon to the bitter end.
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[@GrogTheGrumbler]

Well this certainly got more attention than I expected, thank you everyone for watching, and I hope you enjoyed.

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

The Poles have demonstrated to the French what a true ally is. Therefore, the title of the video is more than appropriate: "Napoleon's Greatest Ally: The Poles" Unfortunately, the French have completely forgotten this Polish example of Polish loyalty to the alliance in 1939. Because they shamefully betrayed Poland and did not attack massively in the west as agreed with Poland. The French and the British have enough time to take action against the Germans, because Poland lasted longer than agreed in the fight with the Germans! If the French, with British support, had launched a massive attack in the west, as agreed with Polan the Germans had lost the war because Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! The French and British would only have had to attack massively in the West as agreed and the war would have ended quickly with a victory for Poland, France and the British! But instead of massively attacking as was agreed, they betrayed Poland and holed up cowardly in the bunkers and on the island. Hitler himself said before the war that he played va banque. He used it to describe that he hoped he's lucky and that he correctly assessed the disloyalty of the Polish "allies". Because Hitler knew that he would surely lose the war if the French and British attacked massively in the west because Hitler knew that the Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! This betrayal of Poland in 1939 was not only dishonest but it was also a military stupidity of truly monumental dimensions. The opportunity to fight a brief, localized war against Germany was therefore lost in September 1939. In hindsight, also lost were the opportunities to save millions of lives and to have prevented the creation of conditions that led to the Cold War. As General Ironside the Chief of the British General Staff stated in 1945, after much of Europe was in ruins and 50 million have died, "Militarily we should have gone all out against the German the minute Germans invaded Poland. ... We did not ... And so we missed the strategical advantage of the Germans being engaged in the East. We thought completely defensively and of ourselves. One can still say also about the video that it is wrong to claim that the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Napoleonic wars. Because the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Polish-Russian War of 1792 and the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Which should also be mentioned why Napoleon planned to re-establish the Polish kingdom within the old borders of 1772. With this he wanted to weaken Russia, just as he had previously weakened Austria and Prussia with the loss of the territories of the newly formed Polish state of Duchy of Warsaw. The territory that Poland would have received would also be much larger than shown in the video. Time: 8:56. The Polish kingdom would have been reestablished in the borders before the Polish partitions in 1772. Whereby Poland would probably have gotten even larger territories as before the Polish partitions in 1772 in the east at the expense of Russia in order to further weaken RussiaIn. In any case, the defeat of the French and Poles against Russia was an even greater catastrophe for Poland than for the French themselves. Because this defeat meant that the Polish state ceased to exist again and the re-establishment of the Polish kingdom in the borders before the partition of Poland also failed. In any case, apart from the two aspects, I could not see any errors! So it is a good video! Well here is some more interesting information on this topic! The Poles hoped that by fighting on the French side against Austria, Russia and Prussia, the contries that had partitioned Poland they could free their country. Two years after the last dismemberment of Poland, a Polish army was formed, in Polish uniforms, under Polish command, decorated with French cockades and wearing on the eppaulets the inscription: "Gli uomini liberi sono fratelli." (Free men are brethren.) The Polish soldiers without the state sung their battle-song: "Poland has not perished yet, as long as we are alive" and fought in numerous battles and campaigns alongside the French. The Polish troops were in general known as the Polish Legions! So the the Polish Legions fought bravely to strengthen Poland's position in the fight to restore the Polish state. In fact, the Polish troops were obviously the best troops of the Napoleonic wars, as evidenced by various amazing victories. For example in Spain Polish troops were generally feared after various battles. But the Polish cavalry was most feared that's why the Polish cavalry was called "Los Picadores Del Infierno" or "Los Infernos Picadores Polacos"! Translated "The lancers from hell" or "Polish infernal lancers"! The English called them "Damn Polonaise". According to historian John Elting, the "Poles were acknowledged to be the finest lancers in Europe. The Spaniards feared them so much that it even happened that the insurgents refused to fight, when they realized that their opponents would be Polish cavalry. Thus, in the Battle of Ocaña, due to the mere presence of Polish cavalry, the insurgent Carabiñeros Reales regiment left the battlefield without a fight for fear of the Poles. This regiment was crushed in two battles beforeand and for this reason the remaining soldiers fled the battlefield in the next Battle of Ocaña! In the battle of Ocaña, these leftover soldiers should fight one more time against Polish cavalry. But this insurgent regiment fled without a fight from the battlefield because they didn't want to be crushed again. I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

But the Spanish insurgents feared the Polish cavalry also because of other fights like the Battle of Somosierra. A shock charge by the Polish cavalry demonstrated not only the prodigious skills of the Poles, but also the dramatic psychological effect that the Polish cavalry charge had on the enemy and how a well-led charge could break through a seemingly secure defensive position. Also the terrain wasn't as flat and the attack route wasn't as straight as shown in the movie. In fact, the terrain was described as very difficult and in addition the Poles rushed uphill the winding pass which was actually a rocky dirt track! In any case, this extremely difficult terrain, with the attack uphill over the winding pass, was also one of the factors that made the Polish cavalry charge so remarkable at the Battle of Somosierra. The enemy artillerymen felt well protected from cavalry attacks behind the 12-pound guns which could shoot grape and canister ammo and under cover of the terrain. Then they realized their fallacy too late when the Poles attacked. The Spanish insurgents prepared their positions well for the Battle. The artillery fired from covered position on the Farnco-Polish troops! Because of this easily defendable position, the 21,000 insurgents were able to hold the numerically superior 45,000 Farnco-Polish troops in check.. In the battle 16 twelve-pounders arranged in four batteries had been placed on the hill along the winding dirt track to block the Franco-Polish troops. There were still as well 10 twelve-pounders at the very top of the pass. The first battery behind a stone bridge defended the entrance to the Somosierra pass. The first battery was also protected by a small earthwork. Additionally in front of the bridge and across the road was a ditch as obstacle for cavalry. The next two batteries covered the pass at its angles and the fourth battery stood by the heights. There were still as well 10 guns mounted in improvised fortifications that straddled at the very top of the pass. So the guns covered each other! 1,000 militia in positions on both sides of the dirt track should protect the gunners. At the very top of the pass, 3,000 militiaman were stationed to protect the artillery. First, the infantry failed to conquer the pass. So the French thought that these artillery positions were actually almost impossible to capture. The Polish squadron of only 125 proved the opposite with their unbelievable charge on the fortified artillery batteries. When the Poles attacked a hail of projectiles greeted the cavalry’s approach. Some riders fell! As they wound their way up the hill, their horses laboured to increase their speed on the steep slope. Astonished the gunners hurriedly shifted their pieces to place fire on this new threat as the cavalry charged at them. Grapeshot whizzed through the air and some Polish riders fell from their horses, but the charge went forward. The Poles hacked to left and right with their sabres and in a rush overran the first battery, giving no quarter and expecting none in return. The cavalry did not halt and the Poles continued their climb up the pass. Musketry exploded into them from either side of the road from supporting enemy infantry and more horsemen fell. The second battery now came into view and the Poles roared through it at full gallop, scattering gunners and infantry before them as they plunged deeper into the enemy positions. As at last they reached the crest of the pass, the ground levelled and the Poles urged their frothing mounts into a thundering gallop that exploded into the third battery. The surprised gunners were cut down where they stood. Just reduced Polish cavalry units made it to the fourth battery but by this point, unnerved by the force of nature they had just witnessed, many of insurgents militiamen decided to flee rather than try to maintain their positions. The Polish charge had unhinged the insurgents defence. Napoleon, seeing his chance, sent his other troops for support and wiped up what was left of the now-broken insurgents defence. As all eyes fixed on the Poles, French cavalry regiments and the infantry with bayonets fixed charged forward up the pass in support. Then, from the rear, the blare of bugles resounded as the remainder of the Polish unit supported by French cavalry regiment came roaring up the road. Together with the infantry they struck the final insurgents defensive position of 10 twelve-pounders at the summit like a thunderbolt and blew through this last line of resistance to make themselves masters of the pass of Somosierra. Thanks to the amazing charge of the Polish cavalry of only 125 men the battle was won as the remnants of the insurgents army fled across the hills and melted away as an effective fighting force. After this charge the Polish cavalry had only 22 dead! 35 Poles were wounded. So one could compare this Polish cavalry charge with the very famous charge of the British light brigade in the Crimean War of 1854. But in this British cavalry charge involved 670 men so more than 4 times as many men as in the Polish charge. Also, unlike the Polish cavalry charge, the British cavalry charge failed. The charge by the British light brigade was unsuccessful because the brigade had to retreat before a Russian counterattack. So in the end they fled from the Russians and the Russians were able to hold their positions. The decisive difference, however, is that the charge of the Polish squadron was decisive for the battle and the charge of the British brigade was negligible for the battle. Also because they were British and not Poles is this charge of the light brigade well known. If it had been a charge of a Polish brigade nobody would know about this charge today just as hardly anyone knows the charge of the Polish squadron in the Battle of Somosierra. Because Hollywood decides if something is known and Hollwood movies were made about the British charge and only a communist propaganda movie was made about the Polish charge. By the way, the following incident has been handed down. It was getting dark in the night before the battle. A Polish cavalryman standing by the fire lit his pipe in the Emperor's presence. 'You might at least thank His Majesty for the priviledge' an officer scolded. "I'll thank him up there" replied the Polish trooper pointing to the Somosierra Pass. Of course, all Polish officers involved in the cavalry charge of Somosierra were exceptional, but 2 Polish officers are additionally notable. Jan Kozietulski the heroic commander of this Polish cavalry charge saved the life of Napoleon himself by charging between the Emperor and the assaulting Cossacks. After recovering from his wounds he fought in other battles for France and PolandIn Poland Kozietulski is known as The Hero of Somosierra. His uniform, pierced with a Cossack lance and stained with blood, is on display in a Warsaw museum. Also particularly noteworthy is the Polish lieutenant Andrzej Niegolewski, who miraculously survived a fierce attack by insurgent Spanish troops - he received nine wounds from bayonets and two carbine shots to the head. The Battle of Somosierra is commemorated by Poles on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. Also in the Battle of Los Yébenes in 1809 the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. At Wiki the belligerents are given as 590 Poles against 5,000 insurgent Spaniards. Of course that's nonsense when the fog cleared and the Poles realizing that there were 5,000 enemies there, they retreated. However, in 1809 in the Battle of Los Yébenes, the retreating Polish cavalry defeated two regiments of the insurgent Spanish cavalry and a carabineers regiment. That was a Polish victory because on retreat the Poles defeated this two regiments cavalry and this carabineers regiment. So as so often in history the Polish cavalry defeated a numerically clearly superior enemy. Here is a brief description of the glorious fight of the Poles. Because of the fog, first the Poles did not realize the true enemy strength of 5,000 soldiers. The Polish regiment was forming in squadrons and prepared to attack. Suddenly the fog lifted and the Poles caught sight of dense ranks of enemy soldiers. Colonel Konopka, seeing great predominance of the enemy, gave the only possible order which was to retreat. Soon the Polish lancers, led by Colonel Konopka, met two regiments of the Spanish cavalry who were probably a vanguard. Colonel Konopka cried: "Forward, boys!" and then the foremost 8th company men leveled their lances attacking furiously. The enemies had no chance! Then the Polish cavalry attacked a insurgents carabineers regiment, one of the better regiments in this Army who blocked the narrow road on the edge of a precipice with no possibility of retreat. It was a merciless fight. Polish lancers were prevailing with their lances, and carabineers, were - from the very beginning - condemned to defeat. In the terrible melee, where only few soldiers could fight back the attacking Poles, the carabineers had no chance without the possibility of retreat. Some hurled themselves in despair into a stony river while others tried to climb the rocky slopes above. It was a massacre! I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

When the situation in battle required it, Polish cavalrymen also dismounted and fought as infantry. An example of an attack by dismounted Polish cavalry is the siege of Zamość Fortress in 1809 during the Polish War against Austria. So dismounted uhlans took part in the storming of the fortress. The city of Zamość was occupied by the Austrians after the Polish doom. A factor that worked in favor of the Polish forces was the extensive help of the residents of Zamość. The governor gave information about the fortifications to the besiegers, in addition, the residents of Zamość set fire to the food warehouse, and the residents of the surrounding villages spontaneously organized a militia. Dressed in civilian clothes, they approached the walls at night and suddenly opened fire on the Austrians. With the storming of the fortress begins in the night. The attack took place in the night of May 19/20, 1809, from 2 to 4 a.m. Which surprised the Austrians, as they had been expecting the attack on the weakest, southern wall, the main impact was directed on the Lublin Gate by the Polish infantry which led the attack, followed by the uhlans, who had dismounted and stormed towards the fortress with their lances in their hands. The Austrian artillery responded with a heavy cannonade but mostly fired over the attackers. The attackers then managed to blow up a gate to the fortress and conquer the fortress. Also notable about this siege is that Joanna Żubrowa became the first woman to receive the highest Polish military award for exceptional bravery in battle. She was also the first woman in the Polish Army to be promoted to sergeant. During Poland's victorious siege of Sandomir Fortress in 1809, a squadron of the 6th Uhlans dismounted and repeated what they had done in the attack on Zamosc Fortress. On foot and armed with lances, they attacked the Austrian infantry and drove them out of the batteries. Not only the Polish cavalry was excellent but also the Polish infantry. So also in the Battle of Tudela the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. But the Polish infantry also fought brilliantly. Even if English Wikipedia does not report anything about it. In the battle, 35,000 Franco Polish troops fought against 40,000 Spanish insurgents. The commander of the Polish Vistula Lancers, Colonel Jan Konopka, received the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor for his fight in Tudela. The Polish attack on the insurgents' right wing was decisive! But the attack was decided by the Polish Vistula Legion infantry, who captured several Spanish positions and reached the bridge over the Ebro. Just as the fighting in this sector reached its climax, Colonel Konopka led his cavalry to charge. Konopka's lancers encountered batteries of Spanish artillery and captured the guns. The defeat of the Spanish insurgents was complete and led to a panic flight of this troops. French Polish casualties were light at just 700 while Spanish insurgents suffered 6,000 casualties. The infantry of Duchy of Warsaw was solid, brave, and well trained. According to French officer and participant of Napoleonic campaigns, Louis François Baron Lejeune (1775- 1848), Polish infantry maneuvered more swiftly than the French infantry. The Polish infantry was also very good in urban combat (Smolensk, Leipizig, and Saragossa). Prussian officer, Graf Henkel von Donnersmark, witnessed the street fighting in Leipzig between the Poles and Russians. He wrote, "Honour should be given to whomsoever earns it, even if it is the enemy, and in this case I must admit that the Poles repeatedly beat off the Russian assaults even though heavily outnumbered." So the Polish infantry also proved their excellent skills in the Battle of Fuengirola in 1810. It were actually several battles and a siege in which 400 Polish infantry supported by 57 French dragoons defeated a great numerical superiority of British with Spanish insurgent support troops of a total of 4500 men.. Battles like this are often referred to as Polish Thermopylae. Because the Polish Thermopylae is a term used to refer to many battles in Polish history. There's even a Wiki link titled ":Polish Thermopylae"! But contrary to the Spartans, most of these Thermopylae battles were actually won by the Poles. Whereby these siege and battles of Fuengirola are not only remarkable because of the victory against the far outnumbered enemies. But this siege and these battles are also remarkable because of the following facts.Spanish artillerymen were on the Polish side, but they fled when they saw the outnumbered enemy. Nevertheless, the Polish soldiers managed to sink 1 British gunboats with their artillery and damaged a few more although they had no trained artillerymen. Therefore, the remaining British gunboats had to move further away from the shore, which made shelling the fort considerably more difficult. Which is why the British Commander-in-Chief had the guns brought ashore by the gunboats in order to fire at the fort from there. Then during the Polish sorties from the fort, the Polish troops twice captured the British artillery and shelled the British with it. Mind you, the Poles did not have trained artillerymen. When the Poles lost the guns again, they blew up the ammunition with the guns before the withdrawal. In the sorties, the Polish troops routed an enemy with 10:1 huge numerical superiority. In addition, only 150 Polish soldiers and 11 French dragoons withstood the numerically far superior enemies in the first days of the siege and did not surrender as the enemy demanded, because only later the reinforcements came. Also the Poles didn't know if the reinforcements would come at all. However a troop of 60 Polish infantrymen from the garrison at Mijas were on their way to the fort as reinforcements. These 60 Polish soldiers met then troops of 450 Spanish insurgents and German troops sent by the British to intercept Polish reinforcements. The Polish troops victoriously dispersed the Spanish German troops in a bayonet charge and advanced to the fort. Then in a renewed sortie supported by a further reinforcement of 200 Polish infantrymen, a total of 400 Polish infantrymen and 57 French dragoons were victorious against an enemy ten times stronger in number. The battle ended with a wild and chaotic escape to the British boats that were supposed to take the troops to the British ships. In fact, the far outnumbered enemy troops fled from the charging Polish troops, so the Poles captured a large amount of guns, rifles and ammunition and the Polish troops also captured 200 enemy soldiers. British Commander-in-Chief General Blaney was also captured by the Poles. General Blaney was so embarrassed at being captured by the Poles that he claimed he was captured by a Irish and French and handed over to the French. But his saber proves the capture by the Poles. Because the saber he so confidently waved in the air during his initial attack is still on show today at the Czartoryski Museum in the Polish city of Kraków. There is a funny KZbin video about the battle titled "The Meme Battle that No One is Talking About: The Battle of Fuengirola | Animated History of Poland" kzbin.info/www/bejne/iquce4Cjoa2lj7M However, the numbers in the video are sometimes different from those in the wiki I quote, but the numbers are not significantly different. In summary, the Polish Cavalry was excellent and outstanding in the Napoleonic Wars, while the Polish Infantry was also very good. Both the Polish cavalrymen and the Polish infantry fought heroically. As evidenced by various amazing victories in battles.

[@hickhok41]

it got lots of attention because anything polish will have 100% click rate for any polish person

[@donpietruk1517]

During his writings in exile Napoleon admitted one of the major mistakes he made in the Russian invasion was not putting Poiniatowski in command of his right flank instead of his brother. His brother was an indifferent general at best while Poiniatowski was an extremely able commander.

[@paranoidandroid6095]

napoleon said a lot of things and being with iq above 20 it's interesting only as judging how exactly delusional he was or how high he thought of himself for example a rebuke to his staff that they have enough rations for 30 000 men in russia, with a one zero missed (those rations had to also be made into bread, which needed time and stops) or that in his so called last will he ordered not to throw away any of his belongings, calling himself vaguely a liberator of england from oligarchs, or how i hear these mentions that if only i had berthier at waterloo, if only I had murat, he was a professional square breaker, or if only I had davout at waterloo, multiple times

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

Yes Poiniatowski was great, but certainly not the only great Polish soldier who fought at the time. The Poles have demonstrated to the French what a true ally is. Therefore, the title of the video is more than appropriate: "Napoleon's Greatest Ally: The Poles" Unfortunately, the French have completely forgotten this Polish example of Polish loyalty to the alliance in 1939. Because they shamefully betrayed Poland and did not attack massively in the west as agreed with Poland. The French and the British have enough time to take action against the Germans, because Poland lasted longer than agreed in the fight with the Germans! If the French, with British support, had launched a massive attack in the west, as agreed with Polan the Germans had lost the war because Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! The French and British would only have had to attack massively in the West as agreed and the war would have ended quickly with a victory for Poland, France and the British! But instead of massively attacking as was agreed, they betrayed Poland and holed up cowardly in the bunkers and on the island. Hitler himself said before the war that he played va banque. He used it to describe that he hoped he's lucky and that he correctly assessed the disloyalty of the Polish "allies". Because Hitler knew that he would surely lose the war if the French and British attacked massively in the west because Hitler knew that the Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! This betrayal of Poland in 1939 was not only dishonest but it was also a military stupidity of truly monumental dimensions. The opportunity to fight a brief, localized war against Germany was therefore lost in September 1939. In hindsight, also lost were the opportunities to save millions of lives and to have prevented the creation of conditions that led to the Cold War. As General Ironside the Chief of the British General Staff stated in 1945, after much of Europe was in ruins and 50 million have died, "Militarily we should have gone all out against the German the minute Germans invaded Poland. ... We did not ... And so we missed the strategical advantage of the Germans being engaged in the East. We thought completely defensively and of ourselves. One can still say also about the video that it is wrong to claim that the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Napoleonic wars. Because the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Polish-Russian War of 1792 and the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Which should also be mentioned why Napoleon planned to re-establish the Polish kingdom within the old borders of 1772. With this he wanted to weaken Russia, just as he had previously weakened Austria and Prussia with the loss of the territories of the newly formed Polish state of Duchy of Warsaw. The territory that Poland would have received would also be much larger than shown in the video. Time: 8:56. The Polish kingdom would have been reestablished in the borders before the Polish partitions in 1772. Whereby Poland would probably have gotten even larger territories as before the Polish partitions in 1772 in the east at the expense of Russia in order to further weaken RussiaIn. In any case, the defeat of the French and Poles against Russia was an even greater catastrophe for Poland than for the French themselves. Because this defeat meant that the Polish state ceased to exist again and the re-establishment of the Polish kingdom in the borders before the partition of Poland also failed. In any case, apart from the two aspects, I could not see any errors! So it is a good video! Well here is some more interesting information on this topic! The Poles hoped that by fighting on the French side against Austria, Russia and Prussia, the contries that had partitioned Poland they could free their country. Two years after the last dismemberment of Poland, a Polish army was formed, in Polish uniforms, under Polish command, decorated with French cockades and wearing on the eppaulets the inscription: "Gli uomini liberi sono fratelli." (Free men are brethren.) The Polish soldiers without the state sung their battle-song: "Poland has not perished yet, as long as we are alive" and fought in numerous battles and campaigns alongside the French. The Polish troops were in general known as the Polish Legions! So the the Polish Legions fought bravely to strengthen Poland's position in the fight to restore the Polish state. In fact, the Polish troops were obviously the best troops of the Napoleonic wars, as evidenced by various amazing victories. For example in Spain Polish troops were generally feared after various battles. But the Polish cavalry was most feared that's why the Polish cavalry was called "Los Picadores Del Infierno" or "Los Infernos Picadores Polacos"! Translated "The lancers from hell" or "Polish infernal lancers"! The English called them "Damn Polonaise". According to historian John Elting, the "Poles were acknowledged to be the finest lancers in Europe. The Spaniards feared them so much that it even happened that the insurgents refused to fight, when they realized that their opponents would be Polish cavalry. Thus, in the Battle of Ocaña, due to the mere presence of Polish cavalry, the insurgent Carabiñeros Reales regiment left the battlefield without a fight for fear of the Poles. This regiment was crushed in two battles beforeand and for this reason the remaining soldiers fled the battlefield in the next Battle of Ocaña! In the battle of Ocaña, these leftover soldiers should fight one more time against Polish cavalry. But this insurgent regiment fled without a fight from the battlefield because they didn't want to be crushed again. I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

But the Spanish insurgents feared the Polish cavalry also because of other fights like the Battle of Somosierra. A shock charge by the Polish cavalry demonstrated not only the prodigious skills of the Poles, but also the dramatic psychological effect that the Polish cavalry charge had on the enemy and how a well-led charge could break through a seemingly secure defensive position. Also the terrain wasn't as flat and the attack route wasn't as straight as shown in the movie. In fact, the terrain was described as very difficult and in addition the Poles rushed uphill the winding pass which was actually a rocky dirt track! In any case, this extremely difficult terrain, with the attack uphill over the winding pass, was also one of the factors that made the Polish cavalry charge so remarkable at the Battle of Somosierra. The enemy artillerymen felt well protected from cavalry attacks behind the 12-pound guns which could shoot grape and canister ammo and under cover of the terrain. Then they realized their fallacy too late when the Poles attacked. The Spanish insurgents prepared their positions well for the Battle. The artillery fired from covered position on the Farnco-Polish troops! Because of this easily defendable position, the 21,000 insurgents were able to hold the numerically superior 45,000 Farnco-Polish troops in check.. In the battle 16 twelve-pounders arranged in four batteries had been placed on the hill along the winding dirt track to block the Franco-Polish troops. There were still as well 10 twelve-pounders at the very top of the pass. The first battery behind a stone bridge defended the entrance to the Somosierra pass. The first battery was also protected by a small earthwork. Additionally in front of the bridge and across the road was a ditch as obstacle for cavalry. The next two batteries covered the pass at its angles and the fourth battery stood by the heights. There were still as well 10 guns mounted in improvised fortifications that straddled at the very top of the pass. So the guns covered each other! 1,000 militia in positions on both sides of the dirt track should protect the gunners. At the very top of the pass, 3,000 militiaman were stationed to protect the artillery. First, the infantry failed to conquer the pass. So the French thought that these artillery positions were actually almost impossible to capture. The Polish squadron of only 125 proved the opposite with their unbelievable charge on the fortified artillery batteries. When the Poles attacked a hail of projectiles greeted the cavalry’s approach. Some riders fell! As they wound their way up the hill, their horses laboured to increase their speed on the steep slope. Astonished the gunners hurriedly shifted their pieces to place fire on this new threat as the cavalry charged at them. Grapeshot whizzed through the air and some Polish riders fell from their horses, but the charge went forward. The Poles hacked to left and right with their sabres and in a rush overran the first battery, giving no quarter and expecting none in return. The cavalry did not halt and the Poles continued their climb up the pass. Musketry exploded into them from either side of the road from supporting enemy infantry and more horsemen fell. The second battery now came into view and the Poles roared through it at full gallop, scattering gunners and infantry before them as they plunged deeper into the enemy positions. As at last they reached the crest of the pass, the ground levelled and the Poles urged their frothing mounts into a thundering gallop that exploded into the third battery. The surprised gunners were cut down where they stood. Just reduced Polish cavalry units made it to the fourth battery but by this point, unnerved by the force of nature they had just witnessed, many of insurgents militiamen decided to flee rather than try to maintain their positions. The Polish charge had unhinged the insurgents defence. Napoleon, seeing his chance, sent his other troops for support and wiped up what was left of the now-broken insurgents defence. As all eyes fixed on the Poles, French cavalry regiments and the infantry with bayonets fixed charged forward up the pass in support. Then, from the rear, the blare of bugles resounded as the remainder of the Polish unit supported by French cavalry regiment came roaring up the road. Together with the infantry they struck the final insurgents defensive position of 10 twelve-pounders at the summit like a thunderbolt and blew through this last line of resistance to make themselves masters of the pass of Somosierra. Thanks to the amazing charge of the Polish cavalry of only 125 men the battle was won as the remnants of the insurgents army fled across the hills and melted away as an effective fighting force. After this charge the Polish cavalry had only 22 dead! 35 Poles were wounded. So one could compare this Polish cavalry charge with the very famous charge of the British light brigade in the Crimean War of 1854. But in this British cavalry charge involved 670 men so more than 4 times as many men as in the Polish charge. Also, unlike the Polish cavalry charge, the British cavalry charge failed. The charge by the British light brigade was unsuccessful because the brigade had to retreat before a Russian counterattack. So in the end they fled from the Russians and the Russians were able to hold their positions. The decisive difference, however, is that the charge of the Polish squadron was decisive for the battle and the charge of the British brigade was negligible for the battle. Also because they were British and not Poles is this charge of the light brigade well known. If it had been a charge of a Polish brigade nobody would know about this charge today just as hardly anyone knows the charge of the Polish squadron in the Battle of Somosierra. Because Hollywood decides if something is known and Hollwood movies were made about the British charge and only a communist propaganda movie was made about the Polish charge. By the way, the following incident has been handed down. It was getting dark in the night before the battle. A Polish cavalryman standing by the fire lit his pipe in the Emperor's presence. 'You might at least thank His Majesty for the priviledge' an officer scolded. "I'll thank him up there" replied the Polish trooper pointing to the Somosierra Pass. Of course, all Polish officers involved in the cavalry charge of Somosierra were exceptional, but 2 Polish officers are additionally notable. Jan Kozietulski the heroic commander of this Polish cavalry charge saved the life of Napoleon himself by charging between the Emperor and the assaulting Cossacks. After recovering from his wounds he fought in other battles for France and PolandIn Poland Kozietulski is known as The Hero of Somosierra. His uniform, pierced with a Cossack lance and stained with blood, is on display in a Warsaw museum. Also particularly noteworthy is the Polish lieutenant Andrzej Niegolewski, who miraculously survived a fierce attack by insurgent Spanish troops - he received nine wounds from bayonets and two carbine shots to the head. The Battle of Somosierra is commemorated by Poles on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. Also in the Battle of Los Yébenes in 1809 the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. At Wiki the belligerents are given as 590 Poles against 5,000 insurgent Spaniards. Of course that's nonsense when the fog cleared and the Poles realizing that there were 5,000 enemies there, they retreated. However, in 1809 in the Battle of Los Yébenes, the retreating Polish cavalry defeated two regiments of the insurgent Spanish cavalry and a carabineers regiment. That was a Polish victory because on retreat the Poles defeated this two regiments cavalry and this carabineers regiment. So as so often in history the Polish cavalry defeated a numerically clearly superior enemy. Here is a brief description of the glorious fight of the Poles. Because of the fog, first the Poles did not realize the true enemy strength of 5,000 soldiers. The Polish regiment was forming in squadrons and prepared to attack. Suddenly the fog lifted and the Poles caught sight of dense ranks of enemy soldiers. Colonel Konopka, seeing great predominance of the enemy, gave the only possible order which was to retreat. Soon the Polish lancers, led by Colonel Konopka, met two regiments of the Spanish cavalry who were probably a vanguard. Colonel Konopka cried: "Forward, boys!" and then the foremost 8th company men leveled their lances attacking furiously. The enemies had no chance! Then the Polish cavalry attacked a insurgents carabineers regiment, one of the better regiments in this Army who blocked the narrow road on the edge of a precipice with no possibility of retreat. It was a merciless fight. Polish lancers were prevailing with their lances, and carabineers, were - from the very beginning - condemned to defeat. In the terrible melee, where only few soldiers could fight back the attacking Poles, the carabineers had no chance without the possibility of retreat. Some hurled themselves in despair into a stony river while others tried to climb the rocky slopes above. It was a massacre! I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

When the situation in battle required it, Polish cavalrymen also dismounted and fought as infantry. An example of an attack by dismounted Polish cavalry is the siege of Zamość Fortress in 1809 during the Polish War against Austria. So dismounted uhlans took part in the storming of the fortress. The city of Zamość was occupied by the Austrians after the Polish doom. A factor that worked in favor of the Polish forces was the extensive help of the residents of Zamość. The governor gave information about the fortifications to the besiegers, in addition, the residents of Zamość set fire to the food warehouse, and the residents of the surrounding villages spontaneously organized a militia. Dressed in civilian clothes, they approached the walls at night and suddenly opened fire on the Austrians. With the storming of the fortress begins in the night. The attack took place in the night of May 19/20, 1809, from 2 to 4 a.m. Which surprised the Austrians, as they had been expecting the attack on the weakest, southern wall, the main impact was directed on the Lublin Gate by the Polish infantry which led the attack, followed by the uhlans, who had dismounted and stormed towards the fortress with their lances in their hands. The Austrian artillery responded with a heavy cannonade but mostly fired over the attackers. The attackers then managed to blow up a gate to the fortress and conquer the fortress. Also notable about this siege is that Joanna Żubrowa became the first woman to receive the highest Polish military award for exceptional bravery in battle. She was also the first woman in the Polish Army to be promoted to sergeant. During Poland's victorious siege of Sandomir Fortress in 1809, a squadron of the 6th Uhlans dismounted and repeated what they had done in the attack on Zamosc Fortress. On foot and armed with lances, they attacked the Austrian infantry and drove them out of the batteries. Not only the Polish cavalry was excellent but also the Polish infantry. So also in the Battle of Tudela the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. But the Polish infantry also fought brilliantly. Even if English Wikipedia does not report anything about it. In the battle, 35,000 Franco Polish troops fought against 40,000 Spanish insurgents. The commander of the Polish Vistula Lancers, Colonel Jan Konopka, received the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor for his fight in Tudela. The Polish attack on the insurgents' right wing was decisive! But the attack was decided by the Polish Vistula Legion infantry, who captured several Spanish positions and reached the bridge over the Ebro. Just as the fighting in this sector reached its climax, Colonel Konopka led his cavalry to charge. Konopka's lancers encountered batteries of Spanish artillery and captured the guns. The defeat of the Spanish insurgents was complete and led to a panic flight of this troops. French Polish casualties were light at just 700 while Spanish insurgents suffered 6,000 casualties. The infantry of Duchy of Warsaw was solid, brave, and well trained. According to French officer and participant of Napoleonic campaigns, Louis François Baron Lejeune (1775- 1848), Polish infantry maneuvered more swiftly than the French infantry. The Polish infantry was also very good in urban combat (Smolensk, Leipizig, and Saragossa). Prussian officer, Graf Henkel von Donnersmark, witnessed the street fighting in Leipzig between the Poles and Russians. He wrote, "Honour should be given to whomsoever earns it, even if it is the enemy, and in this case I must admit that the Poles repeatedly beat off the Russian assaults even though heavily outnumbered." So the Polish infantry also proved their excellent skills in the Battle of Fuengirola in 1810. It were actually several battles and a siege in which 400 Polish infantry supported by 57 French dragoons defeated a great numerical superiority of British with Spanish insurgent support troops of a total of 4500 men.. Battles like this are often referred to as Polish Thermopylae. Because the Polish Thermopylae is a term used to refer to many battles in Polish history. There's even a Wiki link titled ":Polish Thermopylae"! But contrary to the Spartans, most of these Thermopylae battles were actually won by the Poles. Whereby these siege and battles of Fuengirola are not only remarkable because of the victory against the far outnumbered enemies. But this siege and these battles are also remarkable because of the following facts.Spanish artillerymen were on the Polish side, but they fled when they saw the outnumbered enemy. Nevertheless, the Polish soldiers managed to sink 1 British gunboats with their artillery and damaged a few more although they had no trained artillerymen. Therefore, the remaining British gunboats had to move further away from the shore, which made shelling the fort considerably more difficult. Which is why the British Commander-in-Chief had the guns brought ashore by the gunboats in order to fire at the fort from there. Then during the Polish sorties from the fort, the Polish troops twice captured the British artillery and shelled the British with it. Mind you, the Poles did not have trained artillerymen. When the Poles lost the guns again, they blew up the ammunition with the guns before the withdrawal. In the sorties, the Polish troops routed an enemy with 10:1 huge numerical superiority. In addition, only 150 Polish soldiers and 11 French dragoons withstood the numerically far superior enemies in the first days of the siege and did not surrender as the enemy demanded, because only later the reinforcements came. Also the Poles didn't know if the reinforcements would come at all. However a troop of 60 Polish infantrymen from the garrison at Mijas were on their way to the fort as reinforcements. These 60 Polish soldiers met then troops of 450 Spanish insurgents and German troops sent by the British to intercept Polish reinforcements. The Polish troops victoriously dispersed the Spanish German troops in a bayonet charge and advanced to the fort. Then in a renewed sortie supported by a further reinforcement of 200 Polish infantrymen, a total of 400 Polish infantrymen and 57 French dragoons were victorious against an enemy ten times stronger in number. The battle ended with a wild and chaotic escape to the British boats that were supposed to take the troops to the British ships. In fact, the far outnumbered enemy troops fled from the charging Polish troops, so the Poles captured a large amount of guns, rifles and ammunition and the Polish troops also captured 200 enemy soldiers. British Commander-in-Chief General Blaney was also captured by the Poles. General Blaney was so embarrassed at being captured by the Poles that he claimed he was captured by a Irish and French and handed over to the French. But his saber proves the capture by the Poles. Because the saber he so confidently waved in the air during his initial attack is still on show today at the Czartoryski Museum in the Polish city of Kraków. There is a funny KZbin video about the battle titled "The Meme Battle that No One is Talking About: The Battle of Fuengirola | Animated History of Poland" kzbin.info/www/bejne/iquce4Cjoa2lj7M However, the numbers in the video are sometimes different from those in the wiki I quote, but the numbers are not significantly different. In summary, the Polish Cavalry was excellent and outstanding in the Napoleonic Wars, while the Polish Infantry was also very good. Both the Polish cavalrymen and the Polish infantry fought heroically. As evidenced by various amazing victories in battles.

[@mikeborgmann]

​@@GreatPolishWingedHussarsthat wasn't a comment chief! It was a small book!

[@pianoman1857]

when Napoleon is even mentioned in your national anthem, it means something

[@Torgo1969]

Seems like Poland and Napoleon were always being ganged up upon.

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

The Poles have demonstrated to the French what a true ally is. Therefore, the title of the video is more than appropriate: "Napoleon's Greatest Ally: The Poles" Unfortunately, the French have completely forgotten this Polish example of Polish loyalty to the alliance in 1939. Because they shamefully betrayed Poland and did not attack massively in the west as agreed with Poland. The French and the British have enough time to take action against the Germans, because Poland lasted longer than agreed in the fight with the Germans! If the French, with British support, had launched a massive attack in the west, as agreed with Polan the Germans had lost the war because Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! The French and British would only have had to attack massively in the West as agreed and the war would have ended quickly with a victory for Poland, France and the British! But instead of massively attacking as was agreed, they betrayed Poland and holed up cowardly in the bunkers and on the island. Hitler himself said before the war that he played va banque. He used it to describe that he hoped he's lucky and that he correctly assessed the disloyalty of the Polish "allies". Because Hitler knew that he would surely lose the war if the French and British attacked massively in the west because Hitler knew that the Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! This betrayal of Poland in 1939 was not only dishonest but it was also a military stupidity of truly monumental dimensions. The opportunity to fight a brief, localized war against Germany was therefore lost in September 1939. In hindsight, also lost were the opportunities to save millions of lives and to have prevented the creation of conditions that led to the Cold War. As General Ironside the Chief of the British General Staff stated in 1945, after much of Europe was in ruins and 50 million have died, "Militarily we should have gone all out against the German the minute Germans invaded Poland. ... We did not ... And so we missed the strategical advantage of the Germans being engaged in the East. We thought completely defensively and of ourselves. One can still say also about the video that it is wrong to claim that the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Napoleonic wars. Because the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Polish-Russian War of 1792 and the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Which should also be mentioned why Napoleon planned to re-establish the Polish kingdom within the old borders of 1772. With this he wanted to weaken Russia, just as he had previously weakened Austria and Prussia with the loss of the territories of the newly formed Polish state of Duchy of Warsaw. The territory that Poland would have received would also be much larger than shown in the video. Time: 8:56. The Polish kingdom would have been reestablished in the borders before the Polish partitions in 1772. Whereby Poland would probably have gotten even larger territories as before the Polish partitions in 1772 in the east at the expense of Russia in order to further weaken RussiaIn. In any case, the defeat of the French and Poles against Russia was an even greater catastrophe for Poland than for the French themselves. Because this defeat meant that the Polish state ceased to exist again and the re-establishment of the Polish kingdom in the borders before the partition of Poland also failed. In any case, apart from the two aspects, I could not see any errors! So it is a good video! Well here is some more interesting information on this topic! The Poles hoped that by fighting on the French side against Austria, Russia and Prussia, the contries that had partitioned Poland they could free their country. Two years after the last dismemberment of Poland, a Polish army was formed, in Polish uniforms, under Polish command, decorated with French cockades and wearing on the eppaulets the inscription: "Gli uomini liberi sono fratelli." (Free men are brethren.) The Polish soldiers without the state sung their battle-song: "Poland has not perished yet, as long as we are alive" and fought in numerous battles and campaigns alongside the French. The Polish troops were in general known as the Polish Legions! So the the Polish Legions fought bravely to strengthen Poland's position in the fight to restore the Polish state. In fact, the Polish troops were obviously the best troops of the Napoleonic wars, as evidenced by various amazing victories. For example in Spain Polish troops were generally feared after various battles. But the Polish cavalry was most feared that's why the Polish cavalry was called "Los Picadores Del Infierno" or "Los Infernos Picadores Polacos"! Translated "The lancers from hell" or "Polish infernal lancers"! The English called them "Damn Polonaise". According to historian John Elting, the "Poles were acknowledged to be the finest lancers in Europe. The Spaniards feared them so much that it even happened that the insurgents refused to fight, when they realized that their opponents would be Polish cavalry. Thus, in the Battle of Ocaña, due to the mere presence of Polish cavalry, the insurgent Carabiñeros Reales regiment left the battlefield without a fight for fear of the Poles. This regiment was crushed in two battles beforeand and for this reason the remaining soldiers fled the battlefield in the next Battle of Ocaña! In the battle of Ocaña, these leftover soldiers should fight one more time against Polish cavalry. But this insurgent regiment fled without a fight from the battlefield because they didn't want to be crushed again. I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

But the Spanish insurgents feared the Polish cavalry also because of other fights like the Battle of Somosierra. A shock charge by the Polish cavalry demonstrated not only the prodigious skills of the Poles, but also the dramatic psychological effect that the Polish cavalry charge had on the enemy and how a well-led charge could break through a seemingly secure defensive position. Also the terrain wasn't as flat and the attack route wasn't as straight as shown in the movie. In fact, the terrain was described as very difficult and in addition the Poles rushed uphill the winding pass which was actually a rocky dirt track! In any case, this extremely difficult terrain, with the attack uphill over the winding pass, was also one of the factors that made the Polish cavalry charge so remarkable at the Battle of Somosierra. The enemy artillerymen felt well protected from cavalry attacks behind the 12-pound guns which could shoot grape and canister ammo and under cover of the terrain. Then they realized their fallacy too late when the Poles attacked. The Spanish insurgents prepared their positions well for the Battle. The artillery fired from covered position on the Farnco-Polish troops! Because of this easily defendable position, the 21,000 insurgents were able to hold the numerically superior 45,000 Farnco-Polish troops in check.. In the battle 16 twelve-pounders arranged in four batteries had been placed on the hill along the winding dirt track to block the Franco-Polish troops. There were still as well 10 twelve-pounders at the very top of the pass. The first battery behind a stone bridge defended the entrance to the Somosierra pass. The first battery was also protected by a small earthwork. Additionally in front of the bridge and across the road was a ditch as obstacle for cavalry. The next two batteries covered the pass at its angles and the fourth battery stood by the heights. There were still as well 10 guns mounted in improvised fortifications that straddled at the very top of the pass. So the guns covered each other! 1,000 militia in positions on both sides of the dirt track should protect the gunners. At the very top of the pass, 3,000 militiaman were stationed to protect the artillery. First, the infantry failed to conquer the pass. So the French thought that these artillery positions were actually almost impossible to capture. The Polish squadron of only 125 proved the opposite with their unbelievable charge on the fortified artillery batteries. When the Poles attacked a hail of projectiles greeted the cavalry’s approach. Some riders fell! As they wound their way up the hill, their horses laboured to increase their speed on the steep slope. Astonished the gunners hurriedly shifted their pieces to place fire on this new threat as the cavalry charged at them. Grapeshot whizzed through the air and some Polish riders fell from their horses, but the charge went forward. The Poles hacked to left and right with their sabres and in a rush overran the first battery, giving no quarter and expecting none in return. The cavalry did not halt and the Poles continued their climb up the pass. Musketry exploded into them from either side of the road from supporting enemy infantry and more horsemen fell. The second battery now came into view and the Poles roared through it at full gallop, scattering gunners and infantry before them as they plunged deeper into the enemy positions. As at last they reached the crest of the pass, the ground levelled and the Poles urged their frothing mounts into a thundering gallop that exploded into the third battery. The surprised gunners were cut down where they stood. Just reduced Polish cavalry units made it to the fourth battery but by this point, unnerved by the force of nature they had just witnessed, many of insurgents militiamen decided to flee rather than try to maintain their positions. The Polish charge had unhinged the insurgents defence. Napoleon, seeing his chance, sent his other troops for support and wiped up what was left of the now-broken insurgents defence. As all eyes fixed on the Poles, French cavalry regiments and the infantry with bayonets fixed charged forward up the pass in support. Then, from the rear, the blare of bugles resounded as the remainder of the Polish unit supported by French cavalry regiment came roaring up the road. Together with the infantry they struck the final insurgents defensive position of 10 twelve-pounders at the summit like a thunderbolt and blew through this last line of resistance to make themselves masters of the pass of Somosierra. Thanks to the amazing charge of the Polish cavalry of only 125 men the battle was won as the remnants of the insurgents army fled across the hills and melted away as an effective fighting force. After this charge the Polish cavalry had only 22 dead! 35 Poles were wounded. So one could compare this Polish cavalry charge with the very famous charge of the British light brigade in the Crimean War of 1854. But in this British cavalry charge involved 670 men so more than 4 times as many men as in the Polish charge. Also, unlike the Polish cavalry charge, the British cavalry charge failed. The charge by the British light brigade was unsuccessful because the brigade had to retreat before a Russian counterattack. So in the end they fled from the Russians and the Russians were able to hold their positions. The decisive difference, however, is that the charge of the Polish squadron was decisive for the battle and the charge of the British brigade was negligible for the battle. Also because they were British and not Poles is this charge of the light brigade well known. If it had been a charge of a Polish brigade nobody would know about this charge today just as hardly anyone knows the charge of the Polish squadron in the Battle of Somosierra. Because Hollywood decides if something is known and Hollwood movies were made about the British charge and only a communist propaganda movie was made about the Polish charge. By the way, the following incident has been handed down. It was getting dark in the night before the battle. A Polish cavalryman standing by the fire lit his pipe in the Emperor's presence. 'You might at least thank His Majesty for the priviledge' an officer scolded. "I'll thank him up there" replied the Polish trooper pointing to the Somosierra Pass. Of course, all Polish officers involved in the cavalry charge of Somosierra were exceptional, but 2 Polish officers are additionally notable. Jan Kozietulski the heroic commander of this Polish cavalry charge saved the life of Napoleon himself by charging between the Emperor and the assaulting Cossacks. After recovering from his wounds he fought in other battles for France and PolandIn Poland Kozietulski is known as The Hero of Somosierra. His uniform, pierced with a Cossack lance and stained with blood, is on display in a Warsaw museum. Also particularly noteworthy is the Polish lieutenant Andrzej Niegolewski, who miraculously survived a fierce attack by insurgent Spanish troops - he received nine wounds from bayonets and two carbine shots to the head. The Battle of Somosierra is commemorated by Poles on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. Also in the Battle of Los Yébenes in 1809 the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. At Wiki the belligerents are given as 590 Poles against 5,000 insurgent Spaniards. Of course that's nonsense when the fog cleared and the Poles realizing that there were 5,000 enemies there, they retreated. However, in 1809 in the Battle of Los Yébenes, the retreating Polish cavalry defeated two regiments of the insurgent Spanish cavalry and a carabineers regiment. That was a Polish victory because on retreat the Poles defeated this two regiments cavalry and this carabineers regiment. So as so often in history the Polish cavalry defeated a numerically clearly superior enemy. Here is a brief description of the glorious fight of the Poles. Because of the fog, first the Poles did not realize the true enemy strength of 5,000 soldiers. The Polish regiment was forming in squadrons and prepared to attack. Suddenly the fog lifted and the Poles caught sight of dense ranks of enemy soldiers. Colonel Konopka, seeing great predominance of the enemy, gave the only possible order which was to retreat. Soon the Polish lancers, led by Colonel Konopka, met two regiments of the Spanish cavalry who were probably a vanguard. Colonel Konopka cried: "Forward, boys!" and then the foremost 8th company men leveled their lances attacking furiously. The enemies had no chance! Then the Polish cavalry attacked a insurgents carabineers regiment, one of the better regiments in this Army who blocked the narrow road on the edge of a precipice with no possibility of retreat. It was a merciless fight. Polish lancers were prevailing with their lances, and carabineers, were - from the very beginning - condemned to defeat. In the terrible melee, where only few soldiers could fight back the attacking Poles, the carabineers had no chance without the possibility of retreat. Some hurled themselves in despair into a stony river while others tried to climb the rocky slopes above. It was a massacre! I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

When the situation in battle required it, Polish cavalrymen also dismounted and fought as infantry. An example of an attack by dismounted Polish cavalry is the siege of Zamość Fortress in 1809 during the Polish War against Austria. So dismounted uhlans took part in the storming of the fortress. The city of Zamość was occupied by the Austrians after the Polish doom. A factor that worked in favor of the Polish forces was the extensive help of the residents of Zamość. The governor gave information about the fortifications to the besiegers, in addition, the residents of Zamość set fire to the food warehouse, and the residents of the surrounding villages spontaneously organized a militia. Dressed in civilian clothes, they approached the walls at night and suddenly opened fire on the Austrians. With the storming of the fortress begins in the night. The attack took place in the night of May 19/20, 1809, from 2 to 4 a.m. Which surprised the Austrians, as they had been expecting the attack on the weakest, southern wall, the main impact was directed on the Lublin Gate by the Polish infantry which led the attack, followed by the uhlans, who had dismounted and stormed towards the fortress with their lances in their hands. The Austrian artillery responded with a heavy cannonade but mostly fired over the attackers. The attackers then managed to blow up a gate to the fortress and conquer the fortress. Also notable about this siege is that Joanna Żubrowa became the first woman to receive the highest Polish military award for exceptional bravery in battle. She was also the first woman in the Polish Army to be promoted to sergeant. During Poland's victorious siege of Sandomir Fortress in 1809, a squadron of the 6th Uhlans dismounted and repeated what they had done in the attack on Zamość Fortress. On foot and armed with lances, they attacked the Austrian infantry and drove them out of the batteries. Not only the Polish cavalry was excellent but also the Polish infantry. So also in the Battle of Tudela the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. But the Polish infantry also fought brilliantly. Even if English Wikipedia does not report anything about it. In the battle, 35,000 Franco Polish troops fought against 40,000 Spanish insurgents. The commander of the Polish Vistula Lancers, Colonel Jan Konopka, received the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor for his fight in Tudela. The Polish attack on the insurgents' right wing was decisive! But the attack was decided by the Polish Vistula Legion infantry, who captured several Spanish positions and reached the bridge over the Ebro. Just as the fighting in this sector reached its climax, Colonel Konopka led his cavalry to charge. Konopka's lancers encountered batteries of Spanish artillery and captured the guns. The defeat of the Spanish insurgents was complete and led to a panic flight of this troops. French Polish casualties were light at just 700 while Spanish insurgents suffered 6,000 casualties. The infantry of Duchy of Warsaw was solid, brave, and well trained. According to French officer and participant of Napoleonic campaigns, Louis François Baron Lejeune (1775- 1848), Polish infantry maneuvered more swiftly than the French infantry. The Polish infantry was also very good in urban combat (Smolensk, Leipizig, and Saragossa). Prussian officer, Graf Henkel von Donnersmark, witnessed the street fighting in Leipzig between the Poles and Russians. He wrote, "Honour should be given to whomsoever earns it, even if it is the enemy, and in this case I must admit that the Poles repeatedly beat off the Russian assaults even though heavily outnumbered." So the Polish infantry also proved their excellent skills in the Battle of Fuengirola in 1810. It were actually several battles and a siege in which 400 Polish infantry supported by 57 French dragoons defeated a great numerical superiority of British with Spanish insurgent support troops of a total of 4500 men.. Battles like this are often referred to as Polish Thermopylae. Because the Polish Thermopylae is a term used to refer to many battles in Polish history. There's even a Wiki link titled ":Polish Thermopylae"! But contrary to the Spartans, most of these Thermopylae battles were actually won by the Poles. Whereby these siege and battles of Fuengirola are not only remarkable because of the victory against the far outnumbered enemies. But this siege and these battles are also remarkable because of the following facts.Spanish artillerymen were on the Polish side, but they fled when they saw the outnumbered enemy. Nevertheless, the Polish soldiers managed to sink 1 British gunboats with their artillery and damaged a few more although they had no trained artillerymen. Therefore, the remaining British gunboats had to move further away from the shore, which made shelling the fort considerably more difficult. Which is why the British Commander-in-Chief had the guns brought ashore by the gunboats in order to fire at the fort from there. Then during the Polish sorties from the fort, the Polish troops twice captured the British artillery and shelled the British with it. Mind you, the Poles did not have trained artillerymen. When the Poles lost the guns again, they blew up the ammunition with the guns before the withdrawal. In the sorties, the Polish troops routed an enemy with 10:1 huge numerical superiority. In addition, only 150 Polish soldiers and 11 French dragoons withstood the numerically far superior enemies in the first days of the siege and did not surrender as the enemy demanded, because only later the reinforcements came. Also the Poles didn't know if the reinforcements would come at all. However a troop of 60 Polish infantrymen from the garrison at Mijas were on their way to the fort as reinforcements. These 60 Polish soldiers met then troops of 450 Spanish insurgents and German troops sent by the British to intercept Polish reinforcements. The Polish troops victoriously dispersed the Spanish German troops in a bayonet charge and advanced to the fort. Then in a renewed sortie supported by a further reinforcement of 200 Polish infantrymen, a total of 400 Polish infantrymen and 57 French dragoons were victorious against an enemy ten times stronger in number. The battle ended with a wild and chaotic escape to the British boats that were supposed to take the troops to the British ships. In fact, the far outnumbered enemy troops fled from the charging Polish troops, so the Poles captured a large amount of guns, rifles and ammunition and the Polish troops also captured 200 enemy soldiers. British Commander-in-Chief General Blaney was also captured by the Poles. General Blaney was so embarrassed at being captured by the Poles that he claimed he was captured by a Irish and French and handed over to the French. But his saber proves the capture by the Poles. Because the saber he so confidently waved in the air during his initial attack is still on show today at the Czartoryski Museum in the Polish city of Kraków. There is a funny KZbin video about the battle titled "The Meme Battle that No One is Talking About: The Battle of Fuengirola | Animated History of Poland" kzbin.info/www/bejne/iquce4Cjoa2lj7M However, the numbers in the video are sometimes different from those in the wiki I quote, but the numbers are not significantly different. In summary, the Polish Cavalry was excellent and outstanding in the Napoleonic Wars, while the Polish Infantry was also very good. Both the Polish cavalrymen and the Polish infantry fought heroically. As evidenced by various amazing victories in battles.

[@molly2364]

@@GreatPolishWingedHussars Wow i live in Zamość and i didnt know that

[@booster-b3568]

When Napoleon was asked who the bravest soldiers were, he answered: ''The Russians and Poles. And we must be thankful the poles stand as a buffer zone between the two.''

[@paranoidandroid6095]

and also the croatians, and the turks(or maybe mameluks) and maybe someone else too like hungarians

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

However the Poles have demonstrated to the French what a true ally is. Therefore, the title of the video is more than appropriate: "Napoleon's Greatest Ally: The Poles" Unfortunately, the French have completely forgotten this Polish example of Polish loyalty to the alliance in 1939. Because they shamefully betrayed Poland and did not attack massively in the west as agreed with Poland. The French and the British have enough time to take action against the Germans, because Poland lasted longer than agreed in the fight with the Germans! If the French, with British support, had launched a massive attack in the west, as agreed with Polan the Germans had lost the war because Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! The French and British would only have had to attack massively in the West as agreed and the war would have ended quickly with a victory for Poland, France and the British! But instead of massively attacking as was agreed, they betrayed Poland and holed up cowardly in the bunkers and on the island. Hitler himself said before the war that he played va banque. He used it to describe that he hoped he's lucky and that he correctly assessed the disloyalty of the Polish "allies". Because Hitler knew that he would surely lose the war if the French and British attacked massively in the west because Hitler knew that the Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! This betrayal of Poland in 1939 was not only dishonest but it was also a military stupidity of truly monumental dimensions. The opportunity to fight a brief, localized war against Germany was therefore lost in September 1939. In hindsight, also lost were the opportunities to save millions of lives and to have prevented the creation of conditions that led to the Cold War. As General Ironside the Chief of the British General Staff stated in 1945, after much of Europe was in ruins and 50 million have died, "Militarily we should have gone all out against the German the minute Germans invaded Poland. ... We did not ... And so we missed the strategical advantage of the Germans being engaged in the East. We thought completely defensively and of ourselves. One can still say also about the video that it is wrong to claim that the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Napoleonic wars. Because the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Polish-Russian War of 1792 and the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Which should also be mentioned why Napoleon planned to re-establish the Polish kingdom within the old borders of 1772. With this he wanted to weaken Russia, just as he had previously weakened Austria and Prussia with the loss of the territories of the newly formed Polish state of Duchy of Warsaw. The territory that Poland would have received would also be much larger than shown in the video. Time: 8:56. The Polish kingdom would have been reestablished in the borders before the Polish partitions in 1772. Whereby Poland would probably have gotten even larger territories as before the Polish partitions in 1772 in the east at the expense of Russia in order to further weaken RussiaIn. In any case, the defeat of the French and Poles against Russia was an even greater catastrophe for Poland than for the French themselves. Because this defeat meant that the Polish state ceased to exist again and the re-establishment of the Polish kingdom in the borders before the partition of Poland also failed. In any case, apart from the two aspects, I could not see any errors! So it is a good video! Well here is some more interesting information on this topic! The Poles hoped that by fighting on the French side against Austria, Russia and Prussia, the contries that had partitioned Poland they could free their country. Two years after the last dismemberment of Poland, a Polish army was formed, in Polish uniforms, under Polish command, decorated with French cockades and wearing on the eppaulets the inscription: "Gli uomini liberi sono fratelli." (Free men are brethren.) The Polish soldiers without the state sung their battle-song: "Poland has not perished yet, as long as we are alive" and fought in numerous battles and campaigns alongside the French. The Polish troops were in general known as the Polish Legions! So the the Polish Legions fought bravely to strengthen Poland's position in the fight to restore the Polish state. In fact, the Polish troops were obviously the best troops of the Napoleonic wars, as evidenced by various amazing victories. For example in Spain Polish troops were generally feared after various battles. But the Polish cavalry was most feared that's why the Polish cavalry was called "Los Picadores Del Infierno" or "Los Infernos Picadores Polacos"! Translated "The lancers from hell" or "Polish infernal lancers"! The English called them "Damn Polonaise". According to historian John Elting, the "Poles were acknowledged to be the finest lancers in Europe. The Spaniards feared them so much that it even happened that the insurgents refused to fight, when they realized that their opponents would be Polish cavalry. Thus, in the Battle of Ocaña, due to the mere presence of Polish cavalry, the insurgent Carabiñeros Reales regiment left the battlefield without a fight for fear of the Poles. This regiment was crushed in two battles beforeand and for this reason the remaining soldiers fled the battlefield in the next Battle of Ocaña! In the battle of Ocaña, these leftover soldiers should fight one more time against Polish cavalry. But this insurgent regiment fled without a fight from the battlefield because they didn't want to be crushed again. I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

But the Spanish insurgents feared the Polish cavalry also because of other fights like the Battle of Somosierra. A shock charge by the Polish cavalry demonstrated not only the prodigious skills of the Poles, but also the dramatic psychological effect that the Polish cavalry charge had on the enemy and how a well-led charge could break through a seemingly secure defensive position. Also the terrain wasn't as flat and the attack route wasn't as straight as shown in the movie. In fact, the terrain was described as very difficult and in addition the Poles rushed uphill the winding pass which was actually a rocky dirt track! In any case, this extremely difficult terrain, with the attack uphill over the winding pass, was also one of the factors that made the Polish cavalry charge so remarkable at the Battle of Somosierra. The enemy artillerymen felt well protected from cavalry attacks behind the 12-pound guns which could shoot grape and canister ammo and under cover of the terrain. Then they realized their fallacy too late when the Poles attacked. The Spanish insurgents prepared their positions well for the Battle. The artillery fired from covered position on the Farnco-Polish troops! Because of this easily defendable position, the 21,000 insurgents were able to hold the numerically superior 45,000 Farnco-Polish troops in check.. In the battle 16 twelve-pounders arranged in four batteries had been placed on the hill along the winding dirt track to block the Franco-Polish troops. There were still as well 10 twelve-pounders at the very top of the pass. The first battery behind a stone bridge defended the entrance to the Somosierra pass. The first battery was also protected by a small earthwork. Additionally in front of the bridge and across the road was a ditch as obstacle for cavalry. The next two batteries covered the pass at its angles and the fourth battery stood by the heights. There were still as well 10 guns mounted in improvised fortifications that straddled at the very top of the pass. So the guns covered each other! 1,000 militia in positions on both sides of the dirt track should protect the gunners. At the very top of the pass, 3,000 militiaman were stationed to protect the artillery. First, the infantry failed to conquer the pass. So the French thought that these artillery positions were actually almost impossible to capture. The Polish squadron of only 125 proved the opposite with their unbelievable charge on the fortified artillery batteries. When the Poles attacked a hail of projectiles greeted the cavalry’s approach. Some riders fell! As they wound their way up the hill, their horses laboured to increase their speed on the steep slope. Astonished the gunners hurriedly shifted their pieces to place fire on this new threat as the cavalry charged at them. Grapeshot whizzed through the air and some Polish riders fell from their horses, but the charge went forward. The Poles hacked to left and right with their sabres and in a rush overran the first battery, giving no quarter and expecting none in return. The cavalry did not halt and the Poles continued their climb up the pass. Musketry exploded into them from either side of the road from supporting enemy infantry and more horsemen fell. The second battery now came into view and the Poles roared through it at full gallop, scattering gunners and infantry before them as they plunged deeper into the enemy positions. As at last they reached the crest of the pass, the ground levelled and the Poles urged their frothing mounts into a thundering gallop that exploded into the third battery. The surprised gunners were cut down where they stood. Just reduced Polish cavalry units made it to the fourth battery but by this point, unnerved by the force of nature they had just witnessed, many of insurgents militiamen decided to flee rather than try to maintain their positions. The Polish charge had unhinged the insurgents defence. Napoleon, seeing his chance, sent his other troops for support and wiped up what was left of the now-broken insurgents defence. As all eyes fixed on the Poles, French cavalry regiments and the infantry with bayonets fixed charged forward up the pass in support. Then, from the rear, the blare of bugles resounded as the remainder of the Polish unit supported by French cavalry regiment came roaring up the road. Together with the infantry they struck the final insurgents defensive position of 10 twelve-pounders at the summit like a thunderbolt and blew through this last line of resistance to make themselves masters of the pass of Somosierra. Thanks to the amazing charge of the Polish cavalry of only 125 men the battle was won as the remnants of the insurgents army fled across the hills and melted away as an effective fighting force. After this charge the Polish cavalry had only 22 dead! 35 Poles were wounded. So one could compare this Polish cavalry charge with the very famous charge of the British light brigade in the Crimean War of 1854. But in this British cavalry charge involved 670 men so more than 4 times as many men as in the Polish charge. Also, unlike the Polish cavalry charge, the British cavalry charge failed. The charge by the British light brigade was unsuccessful because the brigade had to retreat before a Russian counterattack. So in the end they fled from the Russians and the Russians were able to hold their positions. The decisive difference, however, is that the charge of the Polish squadron was decisive for the battle and the charge of the British brigade was negligible for the battle. Also because they were British and not Poles is this charge of the light brigade well known. If it had been a charge of a Polish brigade nobody would know about this charge today just as hardly anyone knows the charge of the Polish squadron in the Battle of Somosierra. Because Hollywood decides if something is known and Hollwood movies were made about the British charge and only a communist propaganda movie was made about the Polish charge. By the way, the following incident has been handed down. It was getting dark in the night before the battle. A Polish cavalryman standing by the fire lit his pipe in the Emperor's presence. 'You might at least thank His Majesty for the priviledge' an officer scolded. "I'll thank him up there" replied the Polish trooper pointing to the Somosierra Pass. Of course, all Polish officers involved in the cavalry charge of Somosierra were exceptional, but 2 Polish officers are additionally notable. Jan Kozietulski the heroic commander of this Polish cavalry charge saved the life of Napoleon himself by charging between the Emperor and the assaulting Cossacks. After recovering from his wounds he fought in other battles for France and PolandIn Poland Kozietulski is known as The Hero of Somosierra. His uniform, pierced with a Cossack lance and stained with blood, is on display in a Warsaw museum. Also particularly noteworthy is the Polish lieutenant Andrzej Niegolewski, who miraculously survived a fierce attack by insurgent Spanish troops - he received nine wounds from bayonets and two carbine shots to the head. The Battle of Somosierra is commemorated by Poles on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. Also in the Battle of Los Yébenes in 1809 the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. At Wiki the belligerents are given as 590 Poles against 5,000 insurgent Spaniards. Of course that's nonsense when the fog cleared and the Poles realizing that there were 5,000 enemies there, they retreated. However, in 1809 in the Battle of Los Yébenes, the retreating Polish cavalry defeated two regiments of the insurgent Spanish cavalry and a carabineers regiment. That was a Polish victory because on retreat the Poles defeated this two regiments cavalry and this carabineers regiment. So as so often in history the Polish cavalry defeated a numerically clearly superior enemy. Here is a brief description of the glorious fight of the Poles. Because of the fog, first the Poles did not realize the true enemy strength of 5,000 soldiers. The Polish regiment was forming in squadrons and prepared to attack. Suddenly the fog lifted and the Poles caught sight of dense ranks of enemy soldiers. Colonel Konopka, seeing great predominance of the enemy, gave the only possible order which was to retreat. Soon the Polish lancers, led by Colonel Konopka, met two regiments of the Spanish cavalry who were probably a vanguard. Colonel Konopka cried: "Forward, boys!" and then the foremost 8th company men leveled their lances attacking furiously. The enemies had no chance! Then the Polish cavalry attacked a insurgents carabineers regiment, one of the better regiments in this Army who blocked the narrow road on the edge of a precipice with no possibility of retreat. It was a merciless fight. Polish lancers were prevailing with their lances, and carabineers, were - from the very beginning - condemned to defeat. In the terrible melee, where only few soldiers could fight back the attacking Poles, the carabineers had no chance without the possibility of retreat. Some hurled themselves in despair into a stony river while others tried to climb the rocky slopes above. It was a massacre! I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

When the situation in battle required it, Polish cavalrymen also dismounted and fought as infantry. An example of an attack by dismounted Polish cavalry is the siege of Zamość Fortress in 1809 during the Polish War against Austria. So dismounted uhlans took part in the storming of the fortress. The city of Zamość was occupied by the Austrians after the Polish doom. A factor that worked in favor of the Polish forces was the extensive help of the residents of Zamość. The governor gave information about the fortifications to the besiegers, in addition, the residents of Zamość set fire to the food warehouse, and the residents of the surrounding villages spontaneously organized a militia. Dressed in civilian clothes, they approached the walls at night and suddenly opened fire on the Austrians. With the storming of the fortress begins in the night. The attack took place in the night of May 19/20, 1809, from 2 to 4 a.m. Which surprised the Austrians, as they had been expecting the attack on the weakest, southern wall, the main impact was directed on the Lublin Gate by the Polish infantry which led the attack, followed by the uhlans, who had dismounted and stormed towards the fortress with their lances in their hands. The Austrian artillery responded with a heavy cannonade but mostly fired over the attackers. The attackers then managed to blow up a gate to the fortress and conquer the fortress. Also notable about this siege is that Joanna Żubrowa became the first woman to receive the highest Polish military award for exceptional bravery in battle. She was also the first woman in the Polish Army to be promoted to sergeant. During Poland's victorious siege of Sandomir Fortress in 1809, a squadron of the 6th Uhlans dismounted and repeated what they had done in the attack on Zamosc Fortress. On foot and armed with lances, they attacked the Austrian infantry and drove them out of the batteries. Not only the Polish cavalry was excellent but also the Polish infantry. So also in the Battle of Tudela the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. But the Polish infantry also fought brilliantly. Even if English Wikipedia does not report anything about it. In the battle, 35,000 Franco Polish troops fought against 40,000 Spanish insurgents. The commander of the Polish Vistula Lancers, Colonel Jan Konopka, received the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor for his fight in Tudela. The Polish attack on the insurgents' right wing was decisive! But the attack was decided by the Polish Vistula Legion infantry, who captured several Spanish positions and reached the bridge over the Ebro. Just as the fighting in this sector reached its climax, Colonel Konopka led his cavalry to charge. Konopka's lancers encountered batteries of Spanish artillery and captured the guns. The defeat of the Spanish insurgents was complete and led to a panic flight of this troops. French Polish casualties were light at just 700 while Spanish insurgents suffered 6,000 casualties. The infantry of Duchy of Warsaw was solid, brave, and well trained. According to French officer and participant of Napoleonic campaigns, Louis François Baron Lejeune (1775- 1848), Polish infantry maneuvered more swiftly than the French infantry. The Polish infantry was also very good in urban combat (Smolensk, Leipizig, and Saragossa). Prussian officer, Graf Henkel von Donnersmark, witnessed the street fighting in Leipzig between the Poles and Russians. He wrote, "Honour should be given to whomsoever earns it, even if it is the enemy, and in this case I must admit that the Poles repeatedly beat off the Russian assaults even though heavily outnumbered." So the Polish infantry also proved their excellent skills in the Battle of Fuengirola in 1810. It were actually several battles and a siege in which 400 Polish infantry supported by 57 French dragoons defeated a great numerical superiority of British with Spanish insurgent support troops of a total of 4500 men.. Battles like this are often referred to as Polish Thermopylae. Because the Polish Thermopylae is a term used to refer to many battles in Polish history. There's even a Wiki link titled ":Polish Thermopylae"! But contrary to the Spartans, most of these Thermopylae battles were actually won by the Poles. Whereby these siege and battles of Fuengirola are not only remarkable because of the victory against the far outnumbered enemies. But this siege and these battles are also remarkable because of the following facts.Spanish artillerymen were on the Polish side, but they fled when they saw the outnumbered enemy. Nevertheless, the Polish soldiers managed to sink 1 British gunboats with their artillery and damaged a few more although they had no trained artillerymen. Therefore, the remaining British gunboats had to move further away from the shore, which made shelling the fort considerably more difficult. Which is why the British Commander-in-Chief had the guns brought ashore by the gunboats in order to fire at the fort from there. Then during the Polish sorties from the fort, the Polish troops twice captured the British artillery and shelled the British with it. Mind you, the Poles did not have trained artillerymen. When the Poles lost the guns again, they blew up the ammunition with the guns before the withdrawal. In the sorties, the Polish troops routed an enemy with 10:1 huge numerical superiority. In addition, only 150 Polish soldiers and 11 French dragoons withstood the numerically far superior enemies in the first days of the siege and did not surrender as the enemy demanded, because only later the reinforcements came. Also the Poles didn't know if the reinforcements would come at all. However a troop of 60 Polish infantrymen from the garrison at Mijas were on their way to the fort as reinforcements. These 60 Polish soldiers met then troops of 450 Spanish insurgents and German troops sent by the British to intercept Polish reinforcements. The Polish troops victoriously dispersed the Spanish German troops in a bayonet charge and advanced to the fort. Then in a renewed sortie supported by a further reinforcement of 200 Polish infantrymen, a total of 400 Polish infantrymen and 57 French dragoons were victorious against an enemy ten times stronger in number. The battle ended with a wild and chaotic escape to the British boats that were supposed to take the troops to the British ships. In fact, the far outnumbered enemy troops fled from the charging Polish troops, so the Poles captured a large amount of guns, rifles and ammunition and the Polish troops also captured 200 enemy soldiers. British Commander-in-Chief General Blaney was also captured by the Poles. General Blaney was so embarrassed at being captured by the Poles that he claimed he was captured by a Irish and French and handed over to the French. But his saber proves the capture by the Poles. Because the saber he so confidently waved in the air during his initial attack is still on show today at the Czartoryski Museum in the Polish city of Kraków. There is a funny KZbin video about the battle titled "The Meme Battle that No One is Talking About: The Battle of Fuengirola | Animated History of Poland" kzbin.info/www/bejne/iquce4Cjoa2lj7M However, the numbers in the video are sometimes different from those in the wiki I quote, but the numbers are not significantly different. In summary, the Polish Cavalry was excellent and outstanding in the Napoleonic Wars, while the Polish Infantry was also very good. Both the Polish cavalrymen and the Polish infantry fought heroically. As evidenced by various amazing victories in battles.

[@martinavrdoljak6030]

There is nothing worse than stay against an army of Neanderthals (croats). We don't ask and don't give mercy. And our blood smell like iron, and iron is main ingredient in armour. You guys are all lucky Croatia is so beautiful that no Croat want others shit. This is all known facts described by the most complete intellectuals of the world. This is why we are nr 1 in football and other good stuff.

[@DamianCeremuga]

Some historians argue that it was drunk Poles that set Moscow on fire

[@division3139]

About that Haitii thing, the legion was sent there to supress the rebellion but many of our soldiers seeing haitians as people in the same position as we were, that means being occupied and fighting for the freedom of country you come from. Many of our soldiers defected to the side of haitians and helped them to fight off the french, in honor of that Poles were granted citizenship and allowed to stay and form families, to this day you can find many polish names in the country or even blue eyed haitians.

[@julio5prado]

Amazing people the poles, a nation of great heroes

[@py8554]

Many Poles still held favourable views about France after the fall of Napoleon. Many went to exile in France after the 1830 uprising in Poland.

[@mr.grenade9497]

I don't know if this is a confirmed fact or not but I heard the french expression 'drunk like a pole' came from Napoleonic times, when while invading Russia the Poles and the French got drunk on Polish alcohol, and when the Russians attacked it was only the Poles that could fight them back. Gotta love my country

[@KrysFG]

proud of Polish history, no matter how hopeless the situation was there was always an unyielding thirst for freedom and revenge, every struggle in our history has led to the modern free Poland we have today :)

[@launchtexasintothesunforev9551]

Poland can!

[@butbutmybutt]

Savage country. Always tries to destroy Russia. They even burned down Moscow.

[@butbutmybutt]

Freedom? Didn't u watched the video? U tried to put down the revolution in Haiti.

[@KrysFG]

@@butbutmybutt the poles switched sides in Haiti when they realised they are fighting a slave rebellion, they helped in the liberation and got special status and rights after the war, the Poles were the only white people spared and they also settled there, today there is a phenomenon of black people with blue eyes as a result of polish heritage in Haiti, although abbreviated this is a true story :)

[@lucasbrant9856]

Poland is the country version of Guts

[@TB-bb6kb]

We poles are always proud ‘ loyal’ patriotic and hopeful even in face to face with death Memory of those who perished in fight for freedom is always fundamental to our future The only weakness we have is our memory - We remember everything !!!

[@jozefkozon4520]

Warhammer dwarves ring here true.

[@lucasbrant9856]

Poland is my favorite nation, the history of poland is as badass as it gets.

[@JoseSantiagoSaenzVilla]

As a spanish/mexican Poland is my favourite nation, like spain they were the defenders of europe poles are the most patriotic i know and like mexico theve endured large hostile nations. But unlike mexico and spain they didnt forcot the past and they have always come on top of the situation they are admirable.

[@elah1023]

Fun fact about Haiti`s fights: when Poles realized what kind of war are they waging on that island some of them refused to fight and some even joined rebelled slaves. There are still some Haitians with blue eyes.

[@maciejwietrzyk2363]

everything would be ok but Haiti lost a football match against Poland 0:7 and the good relations ended

[@Markok1911]

We are the only white nation in the world with official N word pass thanks to that.

[@grzegorzbrzeczyszykiewic3338]

@@maciejwietrzyk2363 lol that’s country relations for you. Poles helped liberate the Haitians, then 200 years later the Haitians lose any gratefulness because they lost a football game to them .

[@maciejwietrzyk2363]

@@grzegorzbrzeczyszykiewic3338 Man, there was regim which made faireye people's life horibble after mentioned football match.

[@hussar843]

Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski, who was half-black, was one of the Polish generals but died soon after reaching Saint-Domingue. Polish soldiers are credited with contributing to the establishment of the world's first free black republic and the first independent Caribbean state.

[@robplazzman6049]

The British formed lancer regiments after Waterloo, most famously at the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean war in the mid 1800s. As a sign of respect to the Poles the lancer regiment wore the square topped Chapka as part of their uniform.

[@piotrgrzywnowicz601]

thank you for the kind words. In Poland we call this headwear Rogatywka, but in those times it was commonly called czapka 😊

[@brucewayne3602]

Polish Lancers of Napoleon must have been absolutely devastating !!!

[@robplazzman6049]

@@piotrgrzywnowicz601 Piotr. During WW2 my Father made it to the British forces and ended the war in a Carpathian Lancer Regiment which fought under the British 8th Army. In 1947 he was granted refugee status in the UK with 120.000 other Poles. He hated communism and never returned or saw his family again.

[@piotrgrzywnowicz601]

@@robplazzman6049 zatem z pochodzenia Polak 😊

[@robplazzman6049]

@@piotrgrzywnowicz601 👍🏻

[@dremm24]

Underrated country, thanks for telling us their story during the Napoleonic wars.

[@n3ct0d2]

It is a little known fact that Polish officers proposed and tried to convince Napoleon that the Russian campaign should take place in the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania and on Ruthenian lands (Ukraine) occupying such places as Kyiv, Vilnius, Minsk and Smolensk. But Napoleon rejected this assumption because he was convinced that by capturing Moscow he would end the war faster and bring Russia under French influence. Not to mention that Napoleon had a very big ego at this point in history so he decided that he would not listen to Polish officers because he believed that he was the greatest commander and he would not be ordered by some Polish officers :)

[@paranoidandroid6095]

The most important note in the comments, though marching around austria or through the ottoman lands would be difficult plus it still wouldn't make the russians cede anything

[@n3ct0d2]

@@paranoidandroid6095 Probably, but we never know, it is possible that if Napoleon's war with Russia had played out in this way, by occupying these territories, Russia might have been inclined to peace talks and more favorable terms than what actually happened.

[@crisperdeanda9227]

Technically, he is the greatest commander in human history

[@Torgo1969]

@@crisperdeanda9227 A vid listing the 100 greatest generals in history and the total number of battles won is available on youtube. And it's not even close, Napoleon blows them all away, and Wellington is a distant second.

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

Interesting but that's also interesting...The Poles have demonstrated to the French what a true ally is. Therefore, the title of the video is more than appropriate: "Napoleon's Greatest Ally: The Poles" Unfortunately, the French have completely forgotten this Polish example of Polish loyalty to the alliance in 1939. Because they shamefully betrayed Poland and did not attack massively in the west as agreed with Poland. The French and the British have enough time to take action against the Germans, because Poland lasted longer than agreed in the fight with the Germans! If the French, with British support, had launched a massive attack in the west, as agreed with Polan the Germans had lost the war because Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! The French and British would only have had to attack massively in the West as agreed and the war would have ended quickly with a victory for Poland, France and the British! But instead of massively attacking as was agreed, they betrayed Poland and holed up cowardly in the bunkers and on the island. Hitler himself said before the war that he played va banque. He used it to describe that he hoped he's lucky and that he correctly assessed the disloyalty of the Polish "allies". Because Hitler knew that he would surely lose the war if the French and British attacked massively in the west because Hitler knew that the Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! This betrayal of Poland in 1939 was not only dishonest but it was also a military stupidity of truly monumental dimensions. The opportunity to fight a brief, localized war against Germany was therefore lost in September 1939. In hindsight, also lost were the opportunities to save millions of lives and to have prevented the creation of conditions that led to the Cold War. As General Ironside the Chief of the British General Staff stated in 1945, after much of Europe was in ruins and 50 million have died, "Militarily we should have gone all out against the German the minute Germans invaded Poland. ... We did not ... And so we missed the strategical advantage of the Germans being engaged in the East. We thought completely defensively and of ourselves. One can still say also about the video that it is wrong to claim that the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Napoleonic wars. Because the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Polish-Russian War of 1792 and the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Which should also be mentioned why Napoleon planned to re-establish the Polish kingdom within the old borders of 1772. With this he wanted to weaken Russia, just as he had previously weakened Austria and Prussia with the loss of the territories of the newly formed Polish state of Duchy of Warsaw. The territory that Poland would have received would also be much larger than shown in the video. Time: 8:56. The Polish kingdom would have been reestablished in the borders before the Polish partitions in 1772. Whereby Poland would probably have gotten even larger territories as before the Polish partitions in 1772 in the east at the expense of Russia in order to further weaken RussiaIn. In any case, the defeat of the French and Poles against Russia was an even greater catastrophe for Poland than for the French themselves. Because this defeat meant that the Polish state ceased to exist again and the re-establishment of the Polish kingdom in the borders before the partition of Poland also failed. In any case, apart from the two aspects, I could not see any errors! So it is a good video! Well here is some more interesting information on this topic! The Poles hoped that by fighting on the French side against Austria, Russia and Prussia, the contries that had partitioned Poland they could free their country. Two years after the last dismemberment of Poland, a Polish army was formed, in Polish uniforms, under Polish command, decorated with French cockades and wearing on the eppaulets the inscription: "Gli uomini liberi sono fratelli." (Free men are brethren.) The Polish soldiers without the state sung their battle-song: "Poland has not perished yet, as long as we are alive" and fought in numerous battles and campaigns alongside the French. The Polish troops were in general known as the Polish Legions! So the the Polish Legions fought bravely to strengthen Poland's position in the fight to restore the Polish state. In fact, the Polish troops were obviously the best troops of the Napoleonic wars, as evidenced by various amazing victories. For example in Spain Polish troops were generally feared after various battles. But the Polish cavalry was most feared that's why the Polish cavalry was called "Los Picadores Del Infierno" or "Los Infernos Picadores Polacos"! Translated "The lancers from hell" or "Polish infernal lancers"! The English called them "Damn Polonaise". According to historian John Elting, the "Poles were acknowledged to be the finest lancers in Europe. The Spaniards feared them so much that it even happened that the insurgents refused to fight, when they realized that their opponents would be Polish cavalry. Thus, in the Battle of Ocaña, due to the mere presence of Polish cavalry, the insurgent Carabiñeros Reales regiment left the battlefield without a fight for fear of the Poles. This regiment was crushed in two battles beforeand and for this reason the remaining soldiers fled the battlefield in the next Battle of Ocaña! In the battle of Ocaña, these leftover soldiers should fight one more time against Polish cavalry. But this insurgent regiment fled without a fight from the battlefield because they didn't want to be crushed again. I'll continue my comment below!

[@Artur_M.]

I'm glad to see this topic getting attention, and you did a great job summarizing it! Some of the pictures used in the video actually depict the November Uprising (1830-1831), but I think it's OK. It's thematically close, the uniforms were similar, and many Napoleonic veterans also fought in that war. Many Poles did have problems with Napoleon and distrusted him, especially after the whole Haiti thing. Notably, Tadeusz Kościuszko refused a proposal to work for Napoleon, but even he did not condemn or even attempt to dissuade the others, who did decide to serve him (including Kościuszko's former subordinates, as well as friends and relatives) and wished them success. Anyway, you just got a new subscriber. Cheers!

[@robertbridge9612]

For the very high quality of the Polish fighting forces you need look no further than the history of the Winged Hussars, one of the best cavalry formations in History, who remained undefeated for 125 years and often won against enemies many time their own number. It is true to say that under Jan III Sobieski they saved Europe from the Ottomans at the siege of Vienna. Remember also that it was 3 Polish mathematicians who first cracked the German enigma code in 1932.

[@warrencurtis7442]

American cavalry settled the American West under the Polish flag.

[@mareksicinski3726]

yes you do because that is just one episode in history and one, crucial, formation in that period's PLC military

[@patrikrendulic3223]

He also liked Croats

[@philRminiatures]

Nicely done, with well choosen illustrations...a great tribute, greetings from France!

[@joeyj6808]

We Poles will go a long way to get an independent homeland. Of course once we get it, we find out it's a lot harder being one than we imagined.

[@davidcollins2648]

Very concise with excellent pictorial sources. Well done and long overdue praise for Napoleon's most steadfast ally.

[@ethanthekirbyfan1013]

theres something about polish people throughout history, either Rage or Determination, they always had that one self-determination to remake poland, either In here, or in the Warsaw Uprising.

[@zakolascage5808]

I thought about it for a long time as well - I think it’s rage and hate mixed together. Everyone around wanted us gone and destroyed and we wanted to prove that this task is simply impossible. When we were gone for 130 years, the idea that someday we will get our payback is what kept my people going. Thank You for this comment Ethan.

[@ethanthekirbyfan1013]

@@zakolascage5808 no problem!

[@professor5594]

Thank you for Making this video.

[@brendansmith5529]

Excellent video! Commenting to boost the algorithm

[@saint_ruth1691]

Great video. I'm going to watch it again just for those wonderful paintings.

[@warrencurtis7442]

American cavalry settled American West under the Polish flag.

[@piotrgrzywnowicz601]

At that time, honors were paid to the Polish cavalry in this way.

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

The Poles have demonstrated to the French what a true ally is. Therefore, the title of the video is more than appropriate: "Napoleon's Greatest Ally: The Poles" Unfortunately, the French have completely forgotten this Polish example of Polish loyalty to the alliance in 1939. Because they shamefully betrayed Poland and did not attack massively in the west as agreed with Poland. The French and the British have enough time to take action against the Germans, because Poland lasted longer than agreed in the fight with the Germans! If the French, with British support, had launched a massive attack in the west, as agreed with Polan the Germans had lost the war because Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! The French and British would only have had to attack massively in the West as agreed and the war would have ended quickly with a victory for Poland, France and the British! But instead of massively attacking as was agreed, they betrayed Poland and holed up cowardly in the bunkers and on the island. Hitler himself said before the war that he played va banque. He used it to describe that he hoped he's lucky and that he correctly assessed the disloyalty of the Polish "allies". Because Hitler knew that he would surely lose the war if the French and British attacked massively in the west because Hitler knew that the Germans were not prepared for a two-fronts war! This betrayal of Poland in 1939 was not only dishonest but it was also a military stupidity of truly monumental dimensions. The opportunity to fight a brief, localized war against Germany was therefore lost in September 1939. In hindsight, also lost were the opportunities to save millions of lives and to have prevented the creation of conditions that led to the Cold War. As General Ironside the Chief of the British General Staff stated in 1945, after much of Europe was in ruins and 50 million have died, "Militarily we should have gone all out against the German the minute Germans invaded Poland. ... We did not ... And so we missed the strategical advantage of the Germans being engaged in the East. We thought completely defensively and of ourselves. One can still say also about the video that it is wrong to claim that the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Napoleonic wars. Because the Polish officers were mainly veterans of the Polish-Russian War of 1792 and the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Which should also be mentioned why Napoleon planned to re-establish the Polish kingdom within the old borders of 1772. With this he wanted to weaken Russia, just as he had previously weakened Austria and Prussia with the loss of the territories of the newly formed Polish state of Duchy of Warsaw. The territory that Poland would have received would also be much larger than shown in the video. Time: 8:56. The Polish kingdom would have been reestablished in the borders before the Polish partitions in 1772. Whereby Poland would probably have gotten even larger territories as before the Polish partitions in 1772 in the east at the expense of Russia in order to further weaken RussiaIn. In any case, the defeat of the French and Poles against Russia was an even greater catastrophe for Poland than for the French themselves. Because this defeat meant that the Polish state ceased to exist again and the re-establishment of the Polish kingdom in the borders before the partition of Poland also failed. In any case, apart from the two aspects, I could not see any errors! So it is a good video! Well here is some more interesting information on this topic! The Poles hoped that by fighting on the French side against Austria, Russia and Prussia, the contries that had partitioned Poland they could free their country. Two years after the last dismemberment of Poland, a Polish army was formed, in Polish uniforms, under Polish command, decorated with French cockades and wearing on the eppaulets the inscription: "Gli uomini liberi sono fratelli." (Free men are brethren.) The Polish soldiers without the state sung their battle-song: "Poland has not perished yet, as long as we are alive" and fought in numerous battles and campaigns alongside the French. The Polish troops were in general known as the Polish Legions! So the the Polish Legions fought bravely to strengthen Poland's position in the fight to restore the Polish state. In fact, the Polish troops were obviously the best troops of the Napoleonic wars, as evidenced by various amazing victories. For example in Spain Polish troops were generally feared after various battles. But the Polish cavalry was most feared that's why the Polish cavalry was called "Los Picadores Del Infierno" or "Los Infernos Picadores Polacos"! Translated "The lancers from hell" or "Polish infernal lancers"! The English called them "Damn Polonaise". According to historian John Elting, the "Poles were acknowledged to be the finest lancers in Europe. The Spaniards feared them so much that it even happened that the insurgents refused to fight, when they realized that their opponents would be Polish cavalry. Thus, in the Battle of Ocaña, due to the mere presence of Polish cavalry, the insurgent Carabiñeros Reales regiment left the battlefield without a fight for fear of the Poles. This regiment was crushed in two battles beforeand and for this reason the remaining soldiers fled the battlefield in the next Battle of Ocaña! In the battle of Ocaña, these leftover soldiers should fight one more time against Polish cavalry. But this insurgent regiment fled without a fight from the battlefield because they didn't want to be crushed again. I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

But the Spanish insurgents feared the Polish cavalry also because of other fights like the Battle of Somosierra. A shock charge by the Polish cavalry demonstrated not only the prodigious skills of the Poles, but also the dramatic psychological effect that the Polish cavalry charge had on the enemy and how a well-led charge could break through a seemingly secure defensive position. Also the terrain wasn't as flat and the attack route wasn't as straight as shown in the movie. In fact, the terrain was described as very difficult and in addition the Poles rushed uphill the winding pass which was actually a rocky dirt track! In any case, this extremely difficult terrain, with the attack uphill over the winding pass, was also one of the factors that made the Polish cavalry charge so remarkable at the Battle of Somosierra. The enemy artillerymen felt well protected from cavalry attacks behind the 12-pound guns which could shoot grape and canister ammo and under cover of the terrain. Then they realized their fallacy too late when the Poles attacked. The Spanish insurgents prepared their positions well for the Battle. The artillery fired from covered position on the Farnco-Polish troops! Because of this easily defendable position, the 21,000 insurgents were able to hold the numerically superior 45,000 Farnco-Polish troops in check.. In the battle 16 twelve-pounders arranged in four batteries had been placed on the hill along the winding dirt track to block the Franco-Polish troops. There were still as well 10 twelve-pounders at the very top of the pass. The first battery behind a stone bridge defended the entrance to the Somosierra pass. The first battery was also protected by a small earthwork. Additionally in front of the bridge and across the road was a ditch as obstacle for cavalry. The next two batteries covered the pass at its angles and the fourth battery stood by the heights. There were still as well 10 guns mounted in improvised fortifications that straddled at the very top of the pass. So the guns covered each other! 1,000 militia in positions on both sides of the dirt track should protect the gunners. At the very top of the pass, 3,000 militiaman were stationed to protect the artillery. First, the infantry failed to conquer the pass. So the French thought that these artillery positions were actually almost impossible to capture. The Polish squadron of only 125 proved the opposite with their unbelievable charge on the fortified artillery batteries. When the Poles attacked a hail of projectiles greeted the cavalry’s approach. Some riders fell! As they wound their way up the hill, their horses laboured to increase their speed on the steep slope. Astonished the gunners hurriedly shifted their pieces to place fire on this new threat as the cavalry charged at them. Grapeshot whizzed through the air and some Polish riders fell from their horses, but the charge went forward. The Poles hacked to left and right with their sabres and in a rush overran the first battery, giving no quarter and expecting none in return. The cavalry did not halt and the Poles continued their climb up the pass. Musketry exploded into them from either side of the road from supporting enemy infantry and more horsemen fell. The second battery now came into view and the Poles roared through it at full gallop, scattering gunners and infantry before them as they plunged deeper into the enemy positions. As at last they reached the crest of the pass, the ground levelled and the Poles urged their frothing mounts into a thundering gallop that exploded into the third battery. The surprised gunners were cut down where they stood. Just reduced Polish cavalry units made it to the fourth battery but by this point, unnerved by the force of nature they had just witnessed, many of insurgents militiamen decided to flee rather than try to maintain their positions. The Polish charge had unhinged the insurgents defence. Napoleon, seeing his chance, sent his other troops for support and wiped up what was left of the now-broken insurgents defence. As all eyes fixed on the Poles, French cavalry regiments and the infantry with bayonets fixed charged forward up the pass in support. Then, from the rear, the blare of bugles resounded as the remainder of the Polish unit supported by French cavalry regiment came roaring up the road. Together with the infantry they struck the final insurgents defensive position of 10 twelve-pounders at the summit like a thunderbolt and blew through this last line of resistance to make themselves masters of the pass of Somosierra. Thanks to the amazing charge of the Polish cavalry of only 125 men the battle was won as the remnants of the insurgents army fled across the hills and melted away as an effective fighting force. After this charge the Polish cavalry had only 22 dead! 35 Poles were wounded. So one could compare this Polish cavalry charge with the very famous charge of the British light brigade in the Crimean War of 1854. But in this British cavalry charge involved 670 men so more than 4 times as many men as in the Polish charge. Also, unlike the Polish cavalry charge, the British cavalry charge failed. The charge by the British light brigade was unsuccessful because the brigade had to retreat before a Russian counterattack. So in the end they fled from the Russians and the Russians were able to hold their positions. The decisive difference, however, is that the charge of the Polish squadron was decisive for the battle and the charge of the British brigade was negligible for the battle. Also because they were British and not Poles is this charge of the light brigade well known. If it had been a charge of a Polish brigade nobody would know about this charge today just as hardly anyone knows the charge of the Polish squadron in the Battle of Somosierra. Because Hollywood decides if something is known and Hollwood movies were made about the British charge and only a communist propaganda movie was made about the Polish charge. By the way, the following incident has been handed down. It was getting dark in the night before the battle. A Polish cavalryman standing by the fire lit his pipe in the Emperor's presence. 'You might at least thank His Majesty for the priviledge' an officer scolded. "I'll thank him up there" replied the Polish trooper pointing to the Somosierra Pass. Of course, all Polish officers involved in the cavalry charge of Somosierra were exceptional, but 2 Polish officers are additionally notable. Jan Kozietulski the heroic commander of this Polish cavalry charge saved the life of Napoleon himself by charging between the Emperor and the assaulting Cossacks. After recovering from his wounds he fought in other battles for France and PolandIn Poland Kozietulski is known as The Hero of Somosierra. His uniform, pierced with a Cossack lance and stained with blood, is on display in a Warsaw museum. Also particularly noteworthy is the Polish lieutenant Andrzej Niegolewski, who miraculously survived a fierce attack by insurgent Spanish troops - he received nine wounds from bayonets and two carbine shots to the head. The Battle of Somosierra is commemorated by Poles on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. Also in the Battle of Los Yébenes in 1809 the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. At Wiki the belligerents are given as 590 Poles against 5,000 insurgent Spaniards. Of course that's nonsense when the fog cleared and the Poles realizing that there were 5,000 enemies there, they retreated. However, in 1809 in the Battle of Los Yébenes, the retreating Polish cavalry defeated two regiments of the insurgent Spanish cavalry and a carabineers regiment. That was a Polish victory because on retreat the Poles defeated this two regiments cavalry and this carabineers regiment. So as so often in history the Polish cavalry defeated a numerically clearly superior enemy. Here is a brief description of the glorious fight of the Poles. Because of the fog, first the Poles did not realize the true enemy strength of 5,000 soldiers. The Polish regiment was forming in squadrons and prepared to attack. Suddenly the fog lifted and the Poles caught sight of dense ranks of enemy soldiers. Colonel Konopka, seeing great predominance of the enemy, gave the only possible order which was to retreat. Soon the Polish lancers, led by Colonel Konopka, met two regiments of the Spanish cavalry who were probably a vanguard. Colonel Konopka cried: "Forward, boys!" and then the foremost 8th company men leveled their lances attacking furiously. The enemies had no chance! Then the Polish cavalry attacked a insurgents carabineers regiment, one of the better regiments in this Army who blocked the narrow road on the edge of a precipice with no possibility of retreat. It was a merciless fight. Polish lancers were prevailing with their lances, and carabineers, were - from the very beginning - condemned to defeat. In the terrible melee, where only few soldiers could fight back the attacking Poles, the carabineers had no chance without the possibility of retreat. Some hurled themselves in despair into a stony river while others tried to climb the rocky slopes above. It was a massacre! I'll continue my comment below!

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

When the situation in battle required it, Polish cavalrymen also dismounted and fought as infantry. An example of an attack by dismounted Polish cavalry is the siege of Zamość Fortress in 1809 during the Polish War against Austria. So dismounted uhlans took part in the storming of the fortress. The city of Zamość was occupied by the Austrians after the Polish doom. A factor that worked in favor of the Polish forces was the extensive help of the residents of Zamość. The governor gave information about the fortifications to the besiegers, in addition, the residents of Zamość set fire to the food warehouse, and the residents of the surrounding villages spontaneously organized a militia. Dressed in civilian clothes, they approached the walls at night and suddenly opened fire on the Austrians. With the storming of the fortress begins in the night. The attack took place in the night of May 19/20, 1809, from 2 to 4 a.m. Which surprised the Austrians, as they had been expecting the attack on the weakest, southern wall, the main impact was directed on the Lublin Gate by the Polish infantry which led the attack, followed by the uhlans, who had dismounted and stormed towards the fortress with their lances in their hands. The Austrian artillery responded with a heavy cannonade but mostly fired over the attackers. The attackers then managed to blow up a gate to the fortress and conquer the fortress. Also notable about this siege is that Joanna Żubrowa became the first woman to receive the highest Polish military award for exceptional bravery in battle. She was also the first woman in the Polish Army to be promoted to sergeant. During Poland's victorious siege of Sandomir Fortress in 1809, a squadron of the 6th Uhlans dismounted and repeated what they had done in the attack on Zamosc Fortress. On foot and armed with lances, they attacked the Austrian infantry and drove them out of the batteries. Not only the Polish cavalry was excellent but also the Polish infantry. So also in the Battle of Tudela the Polish cavalry fought brilliantly. But the Polish infantry also fought brilliantly. Even if English Wikipedia does not report anything about it. In the battle, 35,000 Franco Polish troops fought against 40,000 Spanish insurgents. The commander of the Polish Vistula Lancers, Colonel Jan Konopka, received the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor for his fight in Tudela. The Polish attack on the insurgents' right wing was decisive! But the attack was decided by the Polish Vistula Legion infantry, who captured several Spanish positions and reached the bridge over the Ebro. Just as the fighting in this sector reached its climax, Colonel Konopka led his cavalry to charge. Konopka's lancers encountered batteries of Spanish artillery and captured the guns. The defeat of the Spanish insurgents was complete and led to a panic flight of this troops. French Polish casualties were light at just 700 while Spanish insurgents suffered 6,000 casualties. The infantry of Duchy of Warsaw was solid, brave, and well trained. According to French officer and participant of Napoleonic campaigns, Louis François Baron Lejeune (1775- 1848), Polish infantry maneuvered more swiftly than the French infantry. The Polish infantry was also very good in urban combat (Smolensk, Leipizig, and Saragossa). Prussian officer, Graf Henkel von Donnersmark, witnessed the street fighting in Leipzig between the Poles and Russians. He wrote, "Honour should be given to whomsoever earns it, even if it is the enemy, and in this case I must admit that the Poles repeatedly beat off the Russian assaults even though heavily outnumbered." So the Polish infantry also proved their excellent skills in the Battle of Fuengirola in 1810. It were actually several battles and a siege in which 400 Polish infantry supported by 57 French dragoons defeated a great numerical superiority of British with Spanish insurgent support troops of a total of 4500 men.. Battles like this are often referred to as Polish Thermopylae. Because the Polish Thermopylae is a term used to refer to many battles in Polish history. There's even a Wiki link titled ":Polish Thermopylae"! But contrary to the Spartans, most of these Thermopylae battles were actually won by the Poles. Whereby these siege and battles of Fuengirola are not only remarkable because of the victory against the far outnumbered enemies. But this siege and these battles are also remarkable because of the following facts.Spanish artillerymen were on the Polish side, but they fled when they saw the outnumbered enemy. Nevertheless, the Polish soldiers managed to sink 1 British gunboats with their artillery and damaged a few more although they had no trained artillerymen. Therefore, the remaining British gunboats had to move further away from the shore, which made shelling the fort considerably more difficult. Which is why the British Commander-in-Chief had the guns brought ashore by the gunboats in order to fire at the fort from there. Then during the Polish sorties from the fort, the Polish troops twice captured the British artillery and shelled the British with it. Mind you, the Poles did not have trained artillerymen. When the Poles lost the guns again, they blew up the ammunition with the guns before the withdrawal. In the sorties, the Polish troops routed an enemy with 10:1 huge numerical superiority. In addition, only 150 Polish soldiers and 11 French dragoons withstood the numerically far superior enemies in the first days of the siege and did not surrender as the enemy demanded, because only later the reinforcements came. Also the Poles didn't know if the reinforcements would come at all. However a troop of 60 Polish infantrymen from the garrison at Mijas were on their way to the fort as reinforcements. These 60 Polish soldiers met then troops of 450 Spanish insurgents and German troops sent by the British to intercept Polish reinforcements. The Polish troops victoriously dispersed the Spanish German troops in a bayonet charge and advanced to the fort. Then in a renewed sortie supported by a further reinforcement of 200 Polish infantrymen, a total of 400 Polish infantrymen and 57 French dragoons were victorious against an enemy ten times stronger in number. The battle ended with a wild and chaotic escape to the British boats that were supposed to take the troops to the British ships. In fact, the far outnumbered enemy troops fled from the charging Polish troops, so the Poles captured a large amount of guns, rifles and ammunition and the Polish troops also captured 200 enemy soldiers. British Commander-in-Chief General Blaney was also captured by the Poles. General Blaney was so embarrassed at being captured by the Poles that he claimed he was captured by a Irish and French and handed over to the French. But his saber proves the capture by the Poles. Because the saber he so confidently waved in the air during his initial attack is still on show today at the Czartoryski Museum in the Polish city of Kraków. There is a funny KZbin video about the battle titled "The Meme Battle that No One is Talking About: The Battle of Fuengirola | Animated History of Poland" kzbin.info/www/bejne/iquce4Cjoa2lj7M However, the numbers in the video are sometimes different from those in the wiki I quote, but the numbers are not significantly different. In summary, the Polish Cavalry was excellent and outstanding in the Napoleonic Wars, while the Polish Infantry was also very good. Both the Polish cavalrymen and the Polish infantry fought heroically. As evidenced by various amazing victories in battles.

[@lechad8686]

The French did try a small offensive in 1939 to help the Poles. Saarland offensive. Not much more could've been done since the French Army needed more time to preparate for such large invasion. You're being irrationally resentful towards France.

[@GreatPolishWingedHussars]

@@lechad8686 Absurd and mendacious claim that contradicts historical facts to whitewash the traitors. Like the declaration of war the Saarland offensive was only a fake to save face. The British and French declaration of war 1939 against Germany served only for saving face. The British and the French did not intend to keep to the state treaty commitment and to attack massively in the west. They wanted to sacrifice Poland for peace with the Germans! They preferred to betray Poland instead of fighting. This was the continuation of British and French appeasement stupid politics of the 30s! The inaction of the French and British was the message to Germany: Be satisfied with Poland. Do not attack us behind the Maginot Line and in the British Isles. We do not attack Germany either! The historical fact is that the French and British had no intention of launching a massive attack in the west, as was agreed with Poland. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain put it in these blunt words: for these “faraway countries” (he meant Poland and Czechoslovakia) it is not worth risking the peace of the citizens of Western Europe. On 4 September, during a Franco-British meeting in France, it was decided that no major land or air operations against Germany would take place. In his post-war diaries, General Edmund Ironside, the chief of the British General Staff, commented on French promises: "The French had lied to the Poles in saying they are going to attack. There is no idea of it". The French initiated full mobilisation and began the limited Saar Offensive on 7 September but halted short of the German defensive lines and then withdrew to their own defences around 13 September. Poland was not notified of this decision. French military leader Maurice Gamelin also lied when he claimed to Polish marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły that half of his divisions were in contact with the enemy, and that French advances had forced the Wehrmacht to withdraw at least six divisions from Poland. Becuase at the same time, French divisions were ordered to retreat to their barracks along the Maginot Line. There was a British generals who actually regretted the betrayal after the war. General Ironside British Chief of the General Staff during the first year of the Second World War commented "in 1945, after much of Europe was in ruins, “Militarily we should have gone all out against the German the minute he invaded Poland. … We did not … And so we missed the strategical advantage of the Germans being engaged in the East. We thought completely defensively and of ourselves.” By the way, the mobilization was started in France on 26 August 1939 and full mobilization was declared six days after the German raid on Poland! So the French could have attacked the Germans massively within 15 days with British support in the west, as was agreed with Poland. But the British and French had no intention of launching a massive attack in the west. If you act against the agreement of the alliance and do not attack the enemy is that a betrayal. So stop whitewashing the traitors of 1939.

[@crisperdeanda9227]

​@@GreatPolishWingedHussars ok, we get it. You know everything about the polish military during the war. Almost condescending

[@armandjeanrichelieu1624]

Thank you for the popularization of this greatly important facts - not only to my nation - but entire history:) However what is so sad in nowadays world [in which I do not demand or request ppl to know history details especially in case of such Poland. Nonetheless it's simply sad due to the fact that it passes to more general and fundamental lack of knowledge..] Personally I have met people that were deadly convinced about non-importance of my country affairs and - what to say - influence around the ages even in the time which is your video theme - those Napoleonic. Thank you once more and keep up the great work! I have to watch and look over your other vids:D

[@winteryturtle]

Love videos like this, keep improving since this is great stuff.

[@VersusARCH]

Poland => Pole Holland => Hole?

[@damian4926]

Very underrated topic, thanks for making a video about it.

[@froggytimmy8643]

great video

[@elliot4013]

We love our emperor Bonaparte here in Poland

[@SDluka]

Our? He was french, not a polish one.

[@kleinenfuchse5365]

@@SDluka big brain time 🥴

[@ChmielTHE]

@@SDluka He gave us example of how to win

[@wojciechmaciejewski4876]

@@SDluka He was born on corsica in italian family

[@2serveand2protect]

WORTH TO NOTE - that while the vast majority of Poles - especially those whom would be considered the "Third Estate" in France (people from the "lower classes") PLUS the the big ranks of the Polish "small nobility" (what you'd call "GENTRY" in the U.K.) - EAGERLY EMBRACED French Revolutionary Ideals as well the chance for Independence and Restoration of the Polish/Lithuanian State, the "Aristocracy" was bitterly (and STUPIDLY divided). Plenty of Polish Aristocrats fought FOR the Austrians and Russians and AGAINST their fellow Poles. While Prince Joseph Poniatowski ("Prince Pepi") was one of the most skilled of Napoleon's "Marshalls" - at the same time others - like General Krasinski (father of a famous Polish poet) used to switch sides all the time. Another example is Adam Czartoryski, from a very powerful, old and RICH Polish aristocratic family, who was Alexander the Ist's long-time friend and held the position of Russian "Minister for Foreign Affairs" for many years. As far as I recall he also had an "affair" with his wife (apparently an "affair" that even "brought fruits") lol! :D For the Aristocrats it wasn't a "fight for National Independence" - it was just a GAME! - or rather - a form of "FASHION". By the late 18th century they were so completely detached from the Polish identity, that they didn't even speak Polish or Ruthenian, considering both of those languages as "language of the peasants" - "too low" for their "high&mighty" status. As far as I'm concerned it was a DISGRACE.

[@KevinJonasx11]

nice video

[@chrisd7287]

Good video. Keep it up. Subbed.

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

Poland lost worse than France itself after Waterloo in 1815!

[@elah1023]

We are in buffer zone. France is not. That`s why we always fight for our very existence.

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

@@elah1023 I know, man. You guys got a bunch of bad breaks. That's why so many of you moved to Chicago...

[@elah1023]

@@TheLoyalOfficer Tell me more. Got family there. ;)

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

@@elah1023 LOL - see?

[@elah1023]

@@TheLoyalOfficer But in this case it was not about war, revolution or anything like that: "simple" economical emigration during early 80`s (fatal time in Poland).

[@HistoriaenCeluloide]

If he had proclaimed the Kingdom of Poland with himself as king when he declared war to Russia, I think the poles would had accepted him🧐

[@ikklapje789]

good video

[@GNRA1GreatNorthern1470]

Its also worth mentioning that Poniatowski was actually against Napoleon's plan of marching directly on Moscow, prior to the invasion he suggested to him that they should march through Ukraine instead, providing warmer climates, support from ex-polish gentry, potential intervention from the Ottomans and potential support from ukranian cossacks, however napoleon dismissed these proposals

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

They're a lot like todays Kurds, nobody really wanted a Polish state like nobody wants a Kurdish state except the Poles and Napoleon offered them Congress Poland, just a rump state. Once Napoleon defeated Prussia in 1806 -1808 they offered him more than Poland could in terms of military support so Poland wasn't that important anymore. France did what all countries do, fought for their own interests and created or eliminated countries as the political winds changed. Stalin did the same thing after WW2 by pushing the German border over 400 miles to the west after ethnically cleaning eastern and central Europe of Germans and recreating Poland from land 400 miles to west and dumping Poles from territories east of Brest-Litovsk into that void.

[@warrencurtis7442]

Kissenger said the same about US; it has interests, not friends.

[@filipnalewaja5609]

Poles resettled it former lands and german colonizers runed from soviet army.

[@franktuminski8460]

Unfortunately, at present times President of France Macron does not appreciate Poles.

[@yj9032]

We prefer rods

[@xyz3524]

@@yj9032 that's gay

[@Kamfrenchie]

Macron likes only himself and his sycophant, sadly the major parties are all bad in france

[@TB-bb6kb]

That leftist “AS -“ does not appreciate Americans neither - they liberated France which collaborated with Hitler

[@Kamfrenchie]

@@TB-bb6kb You're confusing a lot of things. Macron does nothing to stop the vassalisation of FFrance, despite his moves for one. And second, saying that France collaborated with hitler makes it sounds like France joined the axis of its own free will, which it didn't. And the USA were very happy to deal with vichy collaborators rather than Free france for a while

[@ukaszwierzbicki1508]

Disaster, disaster for you all what you are forcing us to become. There is no room for forgiveness this time i did not come as a lamb led to the slaughter. This time i come with a sword in one hand and a dagger in my teeth.

[@robertpolityka8464]

One thing I wondered about, was why Napoleon didn't declare himself or a relative as Grand Duke of Warsaw. Was it a case of "not wanting to offend" the Austrians, Prussian, and/or Russians with another title? A Polish title might be used as a catalyst to unite Austria, Prussia and Russia? Did he use Polish Nationalism just as an excuse for just weakening the rival powers of the time, or to make his lover happy? Did Napoleon feel that, he would stretched his power in Europe "too far".. Maybe he believed that if a Bonaparte was NOT on the throne, he wouldn't feel honor bound to support Poland in a future conflict? Poland doesn't share any borders with other Napoleonic territories.

[@jurgschupbach3059]

did not pay off huhu ......for almost 200years afterwards

[@grumsha]

the english footman regminents hate polish lancers cuz they suffer a lot of casulties by them and can't much do against them.

[@lesdodoclips3915]

Completely un true. Britain and Poland fought exactly 3 battles against each other. Poland won 1, British won 1, the other was a draw.

[@jozefkozon4520]

@@lesdodoclips3915 Name them plese.

[@cpj93070]

Thats a Complete flat out lie

[@jozefkozon4520]

@@cpj93070 Which part?

[@grumsha]

Battle of Albuera After the battle, British soldiers refused to help the badly wounded lancers who had been taken prisoner. They were left to fend for themselves, slowly dying on the battlefield. The British explained this act of revenge by the fact that they were dealing with barbarians and treated them as such, because the lancers did not spare many surrendering Britons during the annihilation of Coleborne's brigade

[@mareksicinski3726]

11:26 well the nation, it existed, for them it was about 'liberation of all peoples of Europe' as a condition, for many it was truly an idealistic and universalistic thing, for many it was also genuinely about throwing off the oppression of monarchical european states and the old order under which the partitions were enforced (not all, but for example General Zajączek) The polish legions in italy in particular - they had 'gli uomini liberi sono fratelli' on their epaulettes They genuinely often opposed the influence of Russia and their rule, having no loyalty to 'business as usual' and willing to believe in some sense of 'liberation' of europe by napoleon

[@catalyst772]

Imagine getting partitioned and occupied by foreigners for such a long period. And then the French come, lead by a genius and a Revolutionary, introducing not only liberal ideas but also giving you a chance to freedom.

[@2serveand2protect]

Lot of good fighting for Napoleon did to us. Instead of fighting against the Prussians, Austrians and Russians and instead of fighting FOR Revolutionary ideals - "Freedom, Brotherhood, Equality", Polish soldiers found themselves fighting against Italian peasants, Spanish peasants, against the Pope (which PISSED OFF many Poles, being the vast majority of them Catholic) or Black slaves on Haiti! "Fun"-fact? - on Haiti they quickly switched sides and started fighting WITH the slaves AGAINST THE FRENCH. There is still a town on Haiti - Cazale - with its inhabitants having relatively "pale" skin, compared to the rest of the Island, and blue eyes, often wearing the "Krakowianka" (the Polish traditional rectangular cap), and many other traditional Polish customs (like - f.e: if an important foreigner comes to visit town, then townsfolk greet him at the gates with bread and salt - a very old Polish tradition). They didn't understand why were they fighting the Spanish, who only wanted to be free from the "clutches" of Napoleon or the Neapolitans - all that just for Murat and Napoleon's sister to have a throne in Southern Italy (granted the "Kingdom Of Two Sicilies" was held by the Spanish line of the "Bourbon" family, but they were practically a puppet-state of the Austrian Habsburgs. We fought OUR enemies EAGERLY ...the rest?? ...was a massive disappointment! PS. Nevertheless! - the "image" of Napoleon - the "Emperor that would make a new and better World" has always been "edged" into the Polish "National narrative". If you want to know how deep that sentiment runs (...in fact to this day!...) - just read yourselves the book "LALKA" (tr. "THE DOLL") by Boleslaw Prus or check out the lyrics of both the Polish National Anthem as well as the Polish "WARSZAWIANKA" (i.e: the "Song Of Warsaw") from 1831 ( - not the COMMUNIST one, which is just a joke, but the ORIGINAL SONG FROM THE 1831 Uprising). PS2 > ...and Thank You for the material! Best Regards! Dziekujemy!

[@mareksicinski3726]

8:22 as well as opposing the influence of Russia in Europe too, and opposing the idea of the Russian state's policy and for some, supporting radical/'jacobin' reform It is not an emotional 'grudge' just a political project in living memory

[@pinu9233]

Personally I would say "the Polish"

[@Torgo1969]

I understand that NB was a strong proponent of Meritocracy, and for that I want to learn more about him and do him that honor. I am of Polish descent but the Polish aristocracy can eat shit. The Meritocracy here in the US is the key to so many people getting the rewards that we deserve.

[@mareksicinski3726]

2:38 the haitian revolution and lsave revolt

[@mareksicinski3726]

1:35 wrong unit in this case for this photo

[@rudrajoshi8963]

where do you find all this information from? please pin the sources in descriptions if possible

[@marcoaurelio-ql8os]

you can find a whole dossie on google with various quotes from marchalls and french captains

[@WestfaliaStuff]

Napoleon was promoting Polish nationalism for the same reason Nato did 150 years after him. Containment of Russia.

[@Investing_WithDrake_Culver]

I like Polish people

[@mareksicinski3726]

0:32 three states not 'nations' Nation doesn't mena ;country;

[@mareksicinski3726]

6:37 putatively not technically

[@Giorgos-ee5kn]

Nice video mate You channel continent also is very interesting. Keep it up :)

[@alexbort3082]

The polish cavalry always charged without hesitation. Even tanks.

[@Artur_M.]

That is a myth. Please check out one of the latest episodes of the History Rage (podcast dedicated to letting historians rant about misconceptions), the one with Roger Moorhouse. It's precisely about that "cavalry vs. tanks" nonsense.

[@alexbort3082]

@@Artur_M. Nah, it's true but history is written by winners and the Soviets covered up that polish screw up.

[@Artur_M.]

@Alex Bort What? That's one of the dumbest, most ridiculous things I've read this year. Soviets had absolutely no interest in protecting the image of Poland, certainly not the pre-war Polish Republic, its government, and the army. The dominance of the Soviet Union over Poland for decades after WW2 is one of the main reasons for the ignorance and falsehoods about Poland being so widely spread.

[@alexbort3082]

@@Artur_M. Poland was one of the closest Soviet's allies. Poland invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 along the Soviets. just like Poland invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938 along nazi Germany.

[@Artur_M.]

@@alexbort3082 Yeah, if by "ally" you mean a de facto vassal state, ruled by a puppet regime installed by the Soviets. As for 1938, I could be wasting my time writing an entire article to explain the Polish-Czechoslovak dispute over the tiny but important (for various reasons) region of Cieszyn/Těšín dating back to 1919 (without really trying to justify the actions of the Polish government). Still, it has nothing to do with the question "Did Polish cavalry charged directly against German tanks in September 1939?" and the answer is: NO, it did not. I recommended you go listen to a talk with Roger Moorhouse, author of _The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941_ and _First to Fight: The Polish War 1939_ (2019 in the UK, 2020 in the US, as Poland 1939), a modern acclaimed British historian, if anything being criticised for being too anti-Soviet (which I disagree with), but your response was to dismiss it as Soviet propaganda?! Of all things... The myth of Poles charging tanks originated from an article by an Italian war correspondent (who misunderstood what happened in one particular skirmish at Krojanty) and was spreaded by both nazi-German and Soviet propaganda. In fact, it was still being promoted in communist Poland, as exemplified by the 1959 Polish war film _Lotna_ by the acclaimed director Andrzej Wajda, which was still peddling that inaccurate bullshit.

[@piotr.leniec-lincow5209]

Nation existed . Country did not .

[@piotr.leniec-lincow5209]

@Piotr Stolarski przypomnę ,że w hymnie jest mowa o tym jak Napoleon pokaże nam jak byc Polakami . To co ? Nie byliśmy jeszcze nimi ? A no nie w napoleońskim , szowinistycznym znaczeniu .

[@piotr.leniec-lincow5209]

@Piotr Stolarski nie twierdzę ,że nie mają . Należy jednak pamiętać ,że są też powody . Nowoczesny nacjonalizm to jednak dzieło Napoleona i ma to niewiele wspólnego z przepadaniem za nim lub nie . Wystarczy zajrzeć tylko trochę głębiej do polskiej historii . Niechęć chłopstwa do powstań wynikała bezpośrednio z ich odrębnego ( przed szowinistycznego ) spojrzenia na kwestie narodową . Pojęcie narodu takiego jaki znamy rozpowszechnił Napoleon w celu rekrutacji Francuzów na swoje bitewne pola .

[@piotr.leniec-lincow5209]

@UCw8XybBRgOSA5vv14OgrVtQ dobrze , tyle że historia jest nauką i własne przekonania idą na bok . Szowinizm to fakt właśnie w historii Europy , ojcem jego Napoleon i odegrał on ogromną rolę w kształtowaniu dzisiejszych ( europejskich ) tożsamości narodowych . Chłopów możemy odsunąć na bok ale są akurat przykładem grupy społecznej , która przez dłuższy okres ( analfabetyzm ) była odcięta od szowinistycznych przekazów i posiadała tak zwany krótki promień identyfikacji .

[@grantpenton1850]

Why didn't Napoleon compel Austria to cede both their Polish partitions?

[@GrogTheGrumbler]

Russia did not want to see the Duchy expand at all, but the performance of the Poles during 1809 led to them gaining most of the land they did take. Napoleon did not give them more so as to not anger Russia more than necessary.

[@Motofanable]

@@GrogTheGrumbler yeah, big mistake. Lowkey reestablishment of PL commonwealth would have saved him a lot troubles with Russia.

[@Rubikac4072]

BEFORE POLAND WORKED FOR NAPOLEON,NOW FOR USA ,4 th spreding of POLAND WILL COME SOON

[@voytech3892]

Make sure you and you're kids come first batch

[@ThinkingOutLoud1.1]

Great video. Subbed. U will have 10 million subs in 10 years. Very informative & interesting. Found this on home page.

[@karolk4271]

no good widio 1831 OLSZYNKA GROChOWSkA ;)

[@DyzelisLTU]

3:37 Those are not Polish troops, those are Lithuanian troops lead by Emilija Pliaterytė, a Lithuania female army captain who partook in the 1830-1831 uprisings in the Russian Empire for independece of Lithuania.

[@1992rmaw]

Hi, do you have a single document where she signed in that wild vernacular?Her family was from Inflanty( present-day Latvia) and all their life spoke German and Polish So out of respect the very least you can do is not to change her name -Emilia Plater, to make it sound like some backwater patois

[@goscodfilmow]

Yet Plater came from a Polonised Westphalian family, spoke Polish, thought herself as a Pole, and took part in a Polish uprising started in Warsaw. Yet you claim her in your revisionist lithuanian lies.

[@DyzelisLTU]

@@goscodfilmow Of course, you Poles always like to claim that Polonised Lithuanians are Polish. You always say that Emilija Pliaterytė is Polish, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was Polish and many more unamed national heroes. They were Lithuanians by blood, but they spoke Polish. They refered to their homeland as Lithuania in many of their diaries. I wouldn't be surprised if you said that Vilnius is a rightful part of Poland.

[@oldlonewolf9649]

@@DyzelisLTU look, will You stop? When I hear any Lithuanian they always anti Polish. But why? Dont You have real enemies to look at? We have created special entity toegether, and our disputies never where that big. So, what is the reason? I have never ever heared that Vilnius is Polish city until I meet with first Lithuanian and he immediately started this shit. I was shocked becouse this would never crossed my mind and I have approched him as a friend and ally. He was hostile.

[@Artur_M.]

@@DyzelisLTU I can at least assure you that we are not trying to "steal" Čiurlionis from you because I don't think that many Poles have heard about him. And it's honestly a shame because he seems like a fascinating artist and a fascinating person overall, worthy of being remembered. I just learned about him thanks to your comment, which I guess is one good thing that came out of this discussion. His wife Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė (who apparently was teaching him Lithuanian, as his first language was Polish) was also an interesting woman in her own right. I'm surprised that I haven't heard about either of them before (maybe I did but forgot), which may serve as an argument that we Poles really should pay more attention to Lithuanian culture and your perspective of our entwined history. That being said, insistence on retroactive Lithuanization of names of people, who you admit didn't speak Lithuanian as their first language, is weird. I'm pretty sure that Emilia Plater didn't call herself Emilija Pliaterytė, Antonina Tomaszewska (another badass young Polish-Lithuanian noblewoman, who took part in the November Uprising) didn't call herself Antanina Tamašauskaitė, and so one. I guess that to some extent this is dictated by Lithuanian grammar (declination system) and naming conventions, but we also technically could call Emilia Plater _Platerówna_ yet hardly anyone does that. Also, as others already pointed out, Plater is not exactly a typical Polish surname either, it's clearly of German origin, but we don't feel some need to artificially make it appear more Polish. BTW, Polish schoolchildren traditionally have to read a romantic poem about the death of Emilia Plater, which explicitly calls her _Litwinka_ meaning "a Lithuanian (woman)". It was written by a guy from modern Belarus, who studied in Vilnius, called himself Lithuanian *and* Polish, wrote in Polish, is considered one of the greatest Polish poets ever and played a great role in the shaping of the modern Polish national identity. According to most versions of Wikipedia, his name was Adam Mickiewicz but according to the Lithuanian one, it actually was Adomas Mickevičius. No offence but it does look a bit silly. On the other hand, I think that we Poles should be more aware that in "our" national uprisings of 1830-1831 and 1863-1864 there were also involved people whose first languages were Lithuanian, Latvian, Belarusian, Yiddish, or Ukrainian. Especially among the rank-and-file soldiers from the "lower classes", who tend to get overlooked. Finally, I think that we can look at people like Emilia Plater or Tadeusz Kościuszko as shared heroes fighting against Russian imperialism. And it should be something uniting us, especially now. Edit: I forgot to finish my thought about Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė in mid-sentence. It's fixed.

[@butbutmybutt]

Even united with Napoleon the poles couldn't defeat Russia

[@janmus1749]

We did it in 1920 😉

[@Toporzel-]

Took entirety of every European Empire around us just to defeat Poland, and that still took decades.