Debate on Warsaw Uprising and Polish Resistance WW2 | TIK History Q&A 23

Two Questions today - 1. TinyGayPirate 04:22 asked: Could you talk a little bit about polish resistance of Armia Krajowa (Home Army) in occupied Poland and did polish resistance have any effect on german logistics at eastern front? And 2. Steve Switzer 40:43 (best to watch the full thing, but especially from 31:30) asked: Do you think Stalin deliberately held back from helping the Home army in Warsaw? The second question is a huge question which I'm not possibly going to be able to cover fully in one video, but I thought I'd give some thoughts on it today. I am sympathetic to the Polish cause, and think Stalin was evil, but that doesn't mean that the Home Army and the Government-in-Exile didn't drop the ball on this one.
Want to ask a question? Please consider supporting me on either Patreon or SubscribeStar and help make more videos like this possible. For $5 or more you can ask questions which I will answer in future Q&A videos. Thank you to my current Patrons! You're AWESOME! / tikhistory or www.subscribestar.com/tikhistory
Videos EVERY Monday at 5pm GMT (depending on season, check for British Summer Time).
Specific sources used -
Glantz, D. & House, J. “When Titan’s Clashed.” University Press of Kansas, 2015.
Richie, A. “Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler and the Crushing of a City.” Harper Collins Publishers, Kindle 2013.
Walker, J. “Poland Alone: Britain, SOE and the Collapse of the Polish Resistance, 1944.” Spellmount, Kindle.
Williamson, D. “The Polish Underground 1939-1947.” Pen & Sword Books, Kindle 2012.
“The Warsaw Uprising of 1944: The History of the Polish Resistance’s Failed Attempt to Liberate Poland’s Capital from Nazi Germany.” Charles River Editors, Kindle.
Full list of all my WW2 sources docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Here’s some other videos you may be interested in -
The REAL Reason why Hitler HAD to go to War in WW2 • The REAL Reason why Hi...
The MAIN Reason Why Germany Lost WW2 - OIL • The MAIN Reason Why Ge...
FALL BLAU 1942 - Examining the Disaster of German’s second summer offensive • FALL BLAU 1942 - Exami...
My video titled “Why I'm Passionate about HISTORY and What Got Me Into it”
• Why I'm Passionate abo...
My video titled "History Theory: What is History? No seriously, what is it?" • [Out of Date, see desc...
History isn’t as boring as some people think, and my goal is to get people talking about it. I also want to dispel the myths and distortions that ruin our perception of the past by asking a simple question - “But is this really the case?”. I have a 2:1 Degree in History and a passion for early 20th Century conflicts (mainly WW2). I’m therefore approaching this like I would an academic essay. Lots of sources, quotes, references and so on. Only the truth will do.
This video is discussing events or concepts that are academic, educational and historical in nature. This video is for informational purposes and was created so we may better understand the past and learn from the mistakes others have made.

[@waynelewan516]

My uncle from warsaw fought in the undergound from 1939 to 1944 and escaped to Italy and joined the Polish Corps. He fought germans and Russians. He died in Melbourne Australia in 2016 aged 97. What a legend Zygmunt Lewandowski

[@BloxEzio3]

Well the name atleast is more polish than Poland itself

[@dosran5786]

thats quite a name to live up too? did your family anglicize your name i notice lewan? zygmunt what an awesome name , so he saw poland freed as well he won! did he have anything to say about the soviet union collapsing? if these are too personal i understand and apologize i just love learning about people from that times perspective on history.

[@penguinsfan251]

The same last name as the great Polish soccer player! Anyway, Bog Honor Ojczyzna

[@jeddkeech259]

Mayhe Rest In Peace.

[@waynelewan516]

@@dosran5786 hello my father shortened my name from wayne lewandowski to wayne lewan since my reply i received news from poland my father zbigniew was an ak member and was caught in a street roundup in warsaw july 1944 taken to germany for forced labour to muhldorf sub camp of dachau liberated may 1945 only to become a polish guard with usa troops . he died young never speaking about warsaw mainly because of the execution of his mother in ravensbruck Thankyou for you interest Wayne Lewandowski Lewan

[@tomaszmazurek64]

The exact circumstances surrounding the decision to start the uprising are highly controversial and difficult to discuss. Some new sources have come up recently, but they are often only in Polish language (so difficult for you to read) and I don't have time or resources to verify them myself. All in all, in the beginning of July the government in exile ordered the Home Army to focus on intensified sabotage and to not start uprising without a prior agreement with the Soviets, however it later allowed for limited military action if opportunities presented themselves. Commanders in Warsaw thought such an opportunity was appearing, as the Germans in the city were in complete disarray. They did inform the Polish government in London about their plans and requested transfer of the Polish paratroopers and bombardment of German positions on July 25th. On 29th an emissary from London reached Warsaw and informed commanders they should expect neither the paratroopers, nor air support, nor any significant supply air-drops and that the uprising will not in the slightest change political dispositions of British and Americans. Nevertheless he was informed the preparations were too advanced and situation in Warsaw too tense to reverse the decision now. On 31st a decision to start the uprising next day at 5PM was made, based on a report of Soviet tanks being sighted on the outskirts of Prague (the part of Warsaw on the eastern bank of Vistula). The decision was made despite later reports about German counter attack to the east and despite earlier agreements to only start the uprising when the Red Army attacks bridgeheads in Warsaw and starts enveloping the city from the south. Supposedly an important factor was that Soviet Polish radio began broadcasting call to arms for the people of Warsaw and the Home Army commanders were afraid that a spontaneous uprising would occur, for which the communists would take all the credit. Another factor was that Warsaw was an important road and railway hub and it was assumed the Red Army would want to take it, even if just as a bridgehead and not allow the Germans the time to destroy city's infrastructure. So, all in all, Polish commanders were a bit out of touch, yes, but not completely. The problem was the decision making process was rushed and they refused to reverse their decisions once their assumptions about the situation turned out false. Was this caused by the urgency of the situation or by some failure of character is I think down to one's opinion. EDIT: Someone commented, and then I guess deleted the comment, that the reason why Polish commanders were out of touch was because besides the few weeks in 1939 they've lacked any significant experience of conducting modern military operations, as they've spent the last 5 years mostly commanding sabotage operations. I think this is a very good point. Their request for a transfer of a parachute brigade made a mere week before the uprising clearly shows they had no idea about the time frame of such operations. Their request for bombardment of German units by long range British bombers shows they were even unaware of basic capabilities of air forces of the day. The whole "we haven't coordinated the operations with forces on whom we are dependent for support, but let's go anyway" thing does sound like some early war British mistakes. The problem was due to being stuck in an "experience freezer" of conspiracy, they've made that mistake in 1944. Of course the question still stands, of why, despite being informed by the emissary from London (Jan Nowak-Jeziorański) about the fallacy of their assumptions, they did not cancel their orders. Also, why didn't the government in exile send an order to halt the uprising, knowing the assumptions made by Home Army commanders. As I said previously, this topic is controversial, but more and more I am convinced a big factor was the haste with which the decisions were made, especially in the final week of preparations.

[@nspr9721]

Excellent detailed and insightful comments

[@konstantynopolyt6770]

Underrated comment, now the decision making process of AK, while conducting such a disorganized operation that ultimately failed to meet any of its goals, and even worsened polish position overall (debated but i think its true) is much more clearer now. Thanks a lot

[@Surowykomentator]

Wow, I was waiting for a video like that but didn’t suppose you come up with one. Great analysis, great argumentation, 10/10 for me. Best regards

[@aboutthemetal8783]

I absolutely love the format of your videos, it's very important to hear someone breaking down all the extremely complicated things that led to the second world war, and the possible reason for the actions taken by all of the people who were involved in that period of history.

[@amcalabrese1]

Ultimately the Poles rose because as you point out they needed to present Stalin with a Warsaw already liberated. And it makes some sense. Yugoslavia managed to mostly keep the soviets out by liberating themselves (mostly). The problem was that unlike Yugoslavia the Soviets needed to get through Poland to get to Berlin while Yugoslavia was a sideshow by that point.

[@petetirp9776]

Really good point about the different situations facing the Yugoslavs and the Poles.

[@ForageGardener]

Also the Soviets like the Russian Empire before them overly had the desire to conquer Poland as part of their defensive strategy

[@lox000zavr]

We also must mention, that Yugoslavia actively cooperated with Soviets, due to them being ideologically close to Soviets. At the same time Polish government wasn't going neither to let communists into the government, nor to agree on Kurzone line. When the uprising started on the 1st of August, Soviets weren't informed, at 3rd of August Polish delegation officially informed Stalin and only at 9th of August asked for help. At the same day they asked for help, they again refused to create joint government with communists, or to set border at Kurzone line. Both their confidence, that they would succed even without Soviets, and their desire to grant no concessions to Stalin, left USSR totally opposed to uprising. Even British ambassador in USSR, recommended Polish delegation to atleast agree on Kursone line, because this way they could have won some support for uprising. At the end, hundreds of thousands Poles died becuase of political disagreements. This doesn't make my country look good at all, nor does it make Poland look good in this story.

[@user-qo1us9oc7g]

@@lox000zavr Poland is free now, and the USSR collapsed in its own corruption so it all played out well in the end.

[@bigty390]

Not really lol​@@user-qo1us9oc7g

[@igorbednarski8048]

The AK commanders should have got a clue after Operation Ostra Brama - it was basically a "successful" Warsaw Uprising, but in Vilnius. The guerillas liberated the city with Soviet help - and got immediately disbanded, arrested and shipped off to Siberia - and it happened mere weeks before Warsaw (July 1944). Even if AK defeated the Germans with no Soviet help, they would just get gulag'd after Stalin's armies rolled in. This is no hindsight bias, many resistance fighters themselves thought at the time that the uprising was dumb, but as patriots and good soldiers they followed orders.

[@softstone125]

>The AK commanders should have got a clue after Operation Ostra Brama - it was basically a "successful" Warsaw Uprising, but in Vilnius. Irony, that "successful" and "gullirerias" in reality was also almost week of soviet-german urban combat with armor and flametwowers.

[@jimomaha7809]

And how should the AK commanders in Warsaw know what had happend to the AK in Vilnius /Wilno? If the Soviets arrested them. Any knowledge about their fate must have been a mistery to the AK in Warsaw. I know mny escaped but were they able to get a message to Warsaw? Even if one message got through if not confirmed by an other source it could be a one of the many rumours that goes arround during a war.

[@Saeronor]

@@jimomaha7809 Ironically, Stalin knew what happened in Vilnius - and didn't like it at all. This is how he was presented with a possibility of an uprising led by a sovereign government. Soon after he redirected Soviet mobile assets to focus on Lublin, instead. It was a smaller city where he set up a puppet "committee" - and, as a result, Germans were given the opportunity to plug post-Bagration gaping holes and advance towards Warsaw slowed down considerably. Later on Soviets, bloodied by German reinforcements, were *really* unable to cross the Vistula properly. At least for a while.

[@rekerboi1125]

Well, the Home Army knew what was waiting for the when the russians would roll in. They knew they would end up in an engagement and the entire organization would be annihilated. People were preparing for this uprising for 5 years. They thought it would be better to actually do something and hope for the best rather than have everything go to waste when the russians arrive. Retaking control of the capital and holding it until the western allies arrive was the goal, basically. Advance of the western allies was the only thing that could indefinitely halt the russian advance further into the country.

[@igorbednarski8048]

@@softstone125 well, I did use the quotation marks for a reason. A Warsaw Uprising with Soviet intervention would go down exactly the same way, and this shitty version of events would be the best possible outcome...hence why the entire concept was idiotic. We have a long history of idiotic, pointless uprisings (Bar Confederation, Kosciuszko in 1794, then 1830-31, then 1863-64), and some successful ones (Greater Poland, to some extent the Silesian ones) seems like we Poles are unable to learn lessons from our own history.

[@EvilMaleficus]

Thanksssss for that Lewis, loved it, cheers from Poland.

[@skorek8819]

I did not expect that. Thank you men.

[@TheSgruby]

During Warsaw Uprising they were negotiation with commander of Second Hungarian Reserve Corps, even before Hungarian soldiers were quite reluctant in anti-partisan operations. They also supplied ammunitions, food and medications to the Polish side. They allowed escape of the wounded and for reinforcements to enter Warsaw, sometimes right under the noses of German soldiers.

[@yousuck785why]

Where is your source, please?

[@fal2218]

Where is the lamb sauce!?

[@TheSgruby]

@@yousuck785why The best source will be "Węgrzy wobec Powstania Warszawskiego" by Maria Zima

[@Batmax192]

No doubt about that. Hungary and Poland = brothers...

[@polandski687]

@@yousuck785why this is in books which include diaries and memories of Polish partisans

[@danieltsiprun8080]

Your timing is perfect just when extra history uploaded a video about the Warsaw uprising.

[@WhiteandNerdy44]

Thank you for another well sourced history video @TIK Keep up the great content we appreciate it!

[@TheImperatorKnight]

Thanks! I'm not sure if this Q&A video is particularly well sourced because I only used a few sources, but I did try to pick books coming at this from different perspectives

[@markrowland1366]

Your series brings to light what has been hidden between the lines.

[@JohnnyMaczeta]

Love Armia Krajowa pronunciation :) Glad the chanel is growing so fast ! Keep up great work, good luck.

[@ufxpnv]

Ahrmee-uh Krayovah :-)

[@mikeoz4803]

The Home Army should never have started the uprising without concrete Soviet assurances of support. The history of the Nazi's made it clear : they were NEVER going to allow this upstart uprising to succeed! Two hundred thousand civilians were butchered for no good reason!

[@markrunnalls7215]

Another great take and view on another interesting topic. Cheers TIK

[@Evenflovv]

I was using yt search to find myself some new history channel. I am so happy I ended up with TIK ;)

[@alexhack1655]

It’s just awesome that you’ve done an episode on the Warsaw Uprising. It’s such an important topic for me and for all Poles and is absolutely neglected in history and shoved off to the side, despite being one of the bloodiest battles of the war (200,000+ dead). I’m glad that you got to it and that you’re as knowledgeable as you are about it. Cheers.

[@mikeoz4803]

The Home Army should never have started the uprising without concrete Soviet assurances of support. The history of the Nazi's made it clear : they were NEVER going to allow this upstart uprising to succeed! Two hundred thousand civilians were butchered for no good reason!

[@flyingaroundcountrycountry4550]

@@mikeoz4803 now we know they shouldn't start this uprising, but look on it from there point of view: Polish enemy was German and Russian. Russian army just few days away. They assume red army will not stop. If there assumption was correct, then red army will come to Warsaw in moment when it was mostly in Polish hands. And then they can claim then red army just help them and try weaken Russian claim over Poland. It was political game where Poland lost and pay bloody price... And because London government lost they try to regain influence by blaming everyone around.

[@user-df2ij2np4s]

@@mikeoz4803 the Russians would not have helped. They didn't help when Germans invaded in '39, and they enslaved the country under the iron curtain when they arrived.

[@MySammykins]

Always loved the story of Polish resistance, it brings tears to my eyes every time. If I was Polish I'd get the Kotwica as a tattoo in a heartbeat

[@igory3789]

@@flyingaroundcountrycountry4550 Support this opinion, if Stalin is poles enemy, why to blame him for not supporting the uprising? This uprising, in fact, was the result of the idea of AK generals ( some of them) and polish government in exile to get control over Warsaw before the Red Army. Very unrealistic and overly ambitious objective, too high price paid.

[@marcusb9213]

Another thing, regarding your speculations about motivations for launch of the uprising - the Polish leadership may be criticized for its political naivity in counting on Stalin's assistance, but there was a pragmatic foundation behind the decision to launch it on 1st of August. You are incorrect in your speculations about Stalin's intentions to cross Wisla; large bridgehead was established in Pulawy area in late July. Much more importantly, another bridghead was established in Magnuszew-Warka area. This bridghead was established on the day of outbreak of the uprising and it was located ONLY 50 kilometers from Warszawa's southern suburbs. As an added cherry on the top, two of major formations present on left bank of Wisla in that area were 1st Polish Infantry Division and 1st Polish Armour Brigade, elements of 1st Polish Army! Expectation that the purpose of those units was next to strike north and attempt to liberate Poland's capitol city was not only implicitly understood by leadership of Underground in Warszawa, but also explicitly expressed by members of staff of 1st Polish Army. Unfortunately, Magnuszew-Warka bridghead presented major threat to German positions and its reduction became an urgent objective. The bridghead was struck on 9th of August by strong armour elements of Herman Göring and 19th Panzer Division. The counter-attack was ultimately unsuccessful, but it managed to stop expansion of the bridgehead. Interestingly enough, Magnuszew-Warka bridgehead was used in january of 1945 as jump-off position for assault that resulted in liberation of undefended Warszawa, which was abandomed by Germans once they were done blasting it systematically to pieces over course of autumn 1944.

[@AvengerIl]

The least the creator of this video could do is pin this comment. As it appears to be the most informed and far more relevant than at least 30Mins at the end of the video. Any books you can recommend Marcus? (I need to figure out how to tag people.........)

[@mikefay5698]

De Gaille was sent to Paris to preempt The French Communist Party who were the only resistance worth talking about. In this case Stalin too didn;t want a revolutionary France since France had the potential to remove him! Pole's didn't want the old landowners back. Nobody wants feudalism!

[@marcusb9213]

@@AvengerIl - sorry for late response. The funny thing is that two months ago I could not give a clear recommendation, but just couple of weeks ago I've finished a book which explains both political game behind the scenes that necessitated the Uprising and gives a pretty darn good explanation for why things went the way they did from military perspective. The book in question is 'The Road To Berlin' by John Erickson. As a whole it's a pretty darn tough read, but the author handles Warszawa Uprising masterfully. Owner of this channel could do himself a favour and save himself a lot of speculation by reading those 30-40 pages dedicated to the 'Polish Problem'.

[@user-df2ij2np4s]

@@marcusb9213 thank you

[@bogdanmariusz6384]

It would be perfectly fitting for Stalin to run extensive misinformation in order to trigger the uprising. Even if this involved actual military action with some loss of life. He did many things which could be seen even more preposterous than my conjecture.

[@jangelbrich7056]

Thanks for going into another very rare topic.

[@TheGixernutter]

Still working through your other work. Looking forward to this.

[@henleinkosh2613]

Thanks for another great video A couple of thoughts The Home Army was clearly backed into a corner when they decided to launch the oprising, with knowledge of (or at least strong suspicion of) how the Soviets would treat them and Poland, and also the opposition among the Western Allies to such an undertaking. Also it is entirely possible that they truly believed the Soviets would come knocking on Warsaws gates within a very short time, since there was no real communication with them (We might be able to look at maps now and say that the likelyhood of that was minimal, but that is in hindsight, and most likely leaders of an underground army probably think more in worst case scenarios than us armchair generals of the modern time). So to give a little justification to the rushed and ill-prepared nature of the uprising, I think it is possible that the Home Army believed it to be necessary to launch as quickly as possible, given the knowledge they had, and when they initially met opposition from the Western Allies they might very well have adopted an "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission" attitude towards that support, believing that once the uprising started they would get the support they needed. Not the most logical approach I would agree, but can you really expect people who are backed into a corner fighting for (in their view) the survival of their people and nation to act any other way? As to the blaming of the Soviets and Western Allies after the uprising failed. The first is in my opinion just a propaganda trick to get sympathy and support against the soviet influence in Poland after the war, while the second might be a bit more heartfelt, if my idea of "forgiveness instead of permission" holds true. Of course this is all speculation on my part, but I feel it makes sense.

[@Vlad79500]

On October 1, 1943, an instruction from the London government was sent to the AC, which contained the following provisions in the event of an unauthorized entry of Soviet troops into Poland within the borders of the Second Rzeczpospolita: “The Polish government sends a protest to the United Nations against the violation of Polish sovereignty - due to the entry of the Soviets into the territory of Poland without the consent of the Polish government - at the same time declaring that the country will not interact with the Soviets. At the same time, the government warns that in the event of the arrest of representatives of the underground movement and any repressions against Polish citizens, the underground organizations will go over to self-defense.” On October 14, 1943, General Tadeusz Bur-Komorowski, when considering the possibility of an uprising in the territory occupied by the Germans, remarked at a meeting of the leadership of the political underground subordinate to the London government: “We cannot allow an uprising at a time when Germany is still holding the Eastern Front and protecting us from that side. In this case, the weakening of Germany is just not in our interests. In addition, I see a threat in the face of Russia ... The further away the Russian army is, the better for us. From this follows the logical conclusion that we cannot provoke an uprising against Germany as long as she keeps the Russian front, and thus the Russians, away from us. In addition, we must be prepared to provide armed resistance to Russian troops advancing on the territory of Poland. Already after the war, in an interview with the Polish newspaper Wiadomosti on May 3, 1965, Bur-Komarovsky admitted: “Occupying Warsaw before the arrival of the Russians would force Russia to decide: either recognize us or destroy us by force in front of the whole world, which could provoke a protest from the West.” Do not allow the Red Army and the Polish armed forces formed on the territory of the USSR to the fortified by the Home Army districts of Warsaw until the resolution of disputed issues, and in case of attempts to disarm the Home Army, provide armed resistance, counting on the intervention of the Western powers. Jan Ciechanowski. Powstanie Warszawskie. Warsaw, 2009. On July 21, 1944, General Tadeusz Komorowski, on the basis of the instructions of the commander-in-chief of July 7, 1944, at the suggestion of General Okulicki, included Warsaw in Operation Tempest. The Supreme Commander's instruction read: “If, by a happy coincidence, at the last moment of the German withdrawal and before the approach of the red units, there will be a chance of at least temporarily capturing Vilna, Lvov, another large city or at least a certain small area, this must be done, and in this case, act as a full owner” . According to the Polish archives and materials of the German newspaper Zeit, in July 1944, near the suburbs of Warsaw, a secret meeting took place between SS Hauptsturmführer Paul Fuchs and General Bur-Komarovsky A detailed report on the course of the "conversation" was found in the Polish archives. It reproduces a record of the negotiations. Fuchs: "Greetings, pan general. I am very glad that you agreed to accept my invitation.” Bur-Komarovsky: "I, in turn, would like to thank you for the guarantees given to me." Fuchs: “Sir General, rumors have reached us that you intend to announce the beginning of an uprising in Warsaw on July 28th. Don't you think that such a decision will entail bloodshed and suffering for the civilian population? Bur-Komarovsky: “I am only a soldier and obey the orders of the leadership, just like you, by the way. My personal opinion does not matter here, I am subject to the government in London, which, no doubt, you know. Fuchs: “Sir General, London is far away, they do not take into account the situation that is developing here. You can send all the information about her to London.” Bur-Komarovsky: “This is a matter of prestige. The Poles, with the help of the Home Army, would like to liberate Warsaw and appoint a Polish administration here until the moment the Soviet troops enter. At the same time, I duly appreciate your concerns, which I personally share. However, I am ready to offer you a compromise. The Germans are withdrawing their troops outside of Warsaw within the time limits set by us. The command of the Home Army and the Government Delegation take power in Warsaw into their own hands, ensure order and tranquility in the city. I can assure you that Home Army units will not pursue German troops leaving Warsaw. Thus, everything can be dispensed with without bloodshed.” Fuchs: “Sir General, I fully understand the motives that drive you. But this is a matter of prestige, not reason ... Do you realize that after the capture of Warsaw, the Soviets will shoot you all for conspiring with the Germans, and the Polish communists will help the Soviets in this, who will undoubtedly want to seize the initiative? Bur-Komarovsky: “Undoubtedly, what you are talking about can take place. I'm only a soldier, not a politician, I was taught to obey orders without question. I know that you know the places where I hide, that every minute By raising the uprising in Warsaw, its organizers hid from the bulk of the rebels and the population their true goals, objectively directed against the Warsaw people and the Red Army (to barricade themselves and prevent the Red Army and the Polish armed forces formed on the territory of the USSR from entering the AK-fortified areas of Warsaw, up to the resolution controversial issues, and in the event of attempts to disarm the AK, to provide armed resistance, counting on the intervention of the Western powers). The bulk of the uprising was drawn into the uprising without a full understanding of what they were doing, without understanding the political goals of the uprising. attack on Warsaw "Since we have begun open fighting for Warsaw, we demand that the Soviets help us with an immediate attack from outside." *An officer in London censored the text: crossed out the word “we demand” and wrote “please”, crossed out the word “Soviets” and wrote “Russians” On August 23, the Deputy Government Delegate, who was in Warsaw, reported to London: “Under the influence of communist propaganda spreading more and more widely, the question is being asked here who is responsible for the prematurely started uprising without prior guarantees of help from the allies and Russia. After three weeks of fighting, the situation in Warsaw, due to the lack of sufficient assistance to the rebels, acquires the features of a political scandal. Public opinion accuses the government of having no weight in the international arena. Dissatisfaction with the allies is growing, bordering on hostility (...) We demand immediate effective assistance, we demand explanations for the three-week delay, which led to the fact that instead of victory we have ruins and thousands of victims. The organizers of the uprising, having fallen under the fire of criticism of the Varsovians and, being unable to answer them clearly or help them, began to look for a way to relieve themselves of responsibility. The AK press suddenly announced that the uprising had begun in response to a call from the Kosciuszko SPP radio station on July 29, which was a lie.

[@andrews9715]

Little know or discussed part of the uprising was the active support in supplies of the Hungarian army of the home army and the confrontation with the local German forces.

[@itsthisguyagain1002]

I think it is widely known in Poland that Germans initially wanted to use Hungarian division to quell the uprising. That Hungarian division was just nearby stationed near Warsaw for rest and refit. The Hungarians wanted to join AK and fight the Germans, there were even talks between AK and Hungarians how to pull it off in most effective way. Germans were quite idiotic and detached from reality. Imagine how after they destroyed Warsaw uprising they wanted gen Bor (leader of uprising) to switch sides and the partisans that fought Germans in Warsaw would put on waffen SS uniforms and just take up section of the front and fight against the Soviets. Those Germans are just complete idiots.

[@SkintSNIPER262]

@@itsthisguyagain1002 Did the Hungarians end up joining the Polish in Warsaw?

[@itsthisguyagain1002]

@@SkintSNIPER262 no. The Germans found out.

[@haroldfiedler6549]

@@itsthisguyagain1002 Your bizarre rant proves that you are the idiot in this conversation.

[@janfazlagic8738]

It was actually depicted in a blockbuster commedy "CK Dezerterzy part II" where the ofl friends from WWI meet again during WWI, one of them is a Hungarian officer and the other a Polish underground soldier, all happens in Germany occupied Poland. Hundarians also faught in Poland against the Russians, e.g. in Poznan some 1100 Hungarian troops fought aginst the Red Army in Jan/Feb 1945. The Russians burned some 40 of them alive in a hospital in the Northern part of Poznan.

[@garylaforge6573]

Love these videos, thanks Tik!

[@franzmauer6505]

Thanks for this video and greetings from Poland :)

[@keithehredt753]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us TIK. YOUR CONTENT EXCELLENT, COMMENTARY OUTSTANDING, AUDIO VOICE GREAT. PROFESSIONALLY DONE, WITH UNBIAS ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF WW2 EASTERN FRONT. WELL DONE SIR, LOVE YOUR VIDEOS SIR. CANT WAIT TIL STALINGRAD SERIES.

[@a.u.1113]

Its pronounced "Armia Kra-yo-va" I think.

[@koniux27]

Armya krayova ;)

[@michalstolarczykKRK]

Correct ;)

[@kingkonut]

cry over

[@michalstolarczykKRK]

@@kingkonut cry is ok, over not exactly ;)

[@arelcemkencebay2819]

I remember a soviet partisan name armija krojova is it the thing you say or soviet partisan ??

[@johnkilmartin5101]

As always a great video. The only context I would have added was the "miracle of the Vistula" during the Polish Soviet War. There might have been a feeling they could repeat such a victory.

[@SAarumDoK]

I love your work man !

[@colinlove5062]

Keep up the good work though seriously this channel is one of the best amateur or not history shows out there the attention to detail is extremely refreshing as is your questioning nature I applaud your work on the true economic and political nature of National Socialism truly eye opening on a subject that has become so distorted by the conventional narrative. I'll say it again I dig the show history has been a hobby of mine going back to my childhood days when my two favorite tv channels were The History right alongside Cartoon Network but even back in the day I would get ticked with the sloppy nature of some of HC's docs. Thinking back I grew up in the right place at the right time and with the right family to make it happen I'm a Detroiter who was born less than a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent opening up of the Russian Archives. The icing on the cake being my family history my paternal grandfather was a B-25 pilot who happened to be on a mission during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima allowing him to witness the mushroom cloud from above at a certain distanced removed of course. He's going on 102 now and was recently interviewed by the Library of Congress about his war experiences (made sure to get up a few times and walk in the background for posterity sake haha) this was an eyeopening experience for me because he had never truly opened up about his wartime experiences. To my shock I also learned that his brother Sol Love was the leader of the engineering team for the wings on the Vought F4U Corsair. My family became estranged partially over holding onto their Jewish roots or integrating deeper into the conservative culture of 1920s Detroit 'n were none too happy that my great grandfather remarried a Christian after my great grandmother passed (long story involving a epic bitch slap). This was the start of a rift that caused that side of my family to relocated back to Texas where we had initially immigrated through when coming from Ukraine. Despite my earlier passion the idea of being an underpaid American History teacher wasn't appealing and I branched out in a different direction but the reconciliation of my Jewish and now Christian halves of my family along with a number of factors including your channel has really fired my passion back up. I've been kicking around the idea of starting a blog or something and I find myself getting into all of this and thinking I should ask your advice on starting up a youtube channel or something. My thoughts tend to come back to my hometown at least at first the economic power of Detroit immediately following ww2 is staggering I know the US was something like 50% of the whole worlds GDP and I've found statistics that over 1/3 of the total value of lend lease contracts were produced by Detroit, 75% of US aircraft engines exct I've guessed that in '45 Detroit may have made up 1/3 or more of the whole US GDP but that's a number I'm pulling outta my ass but my light research today makes me think I could be on to something. I doubt this would be more than me carrying out an exercise in self gratification with such a niche subject but it's hard to think of where to start if I even do i suppose this is my specific question to you I know you combined your love of ww2 games with your knowledge of history and it took on a life of its own at least from what I've seen so far. Well I hope you end up reading this long winded post and as a thanks if you haven't heard of Stephen Kotkin and his 2/3rd's completed trilogy on Stalin but it completely rewrites the traditional narrative with an assist from Glantz as he might say and blows everything else I've ever read out of the water. If you haven't heard of or read Stalin Paradoxes of Power & Waiting for Hitler you NEED to. Kotkin has many great lectures for free on youtube as well. Cheers man and keep on fightin' the good fight!

[@haydencapps]

What a crazy coincidence. I was just watching a livestream discussion of history last week around the idea that the US actually never dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan because the manhattan project was not completed in time, but said that they did for strategic reasons. Instead, only conventional bombing was done on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and due to the cities in Japan mostly being built of wood, it levelled the entire city through fire rather than from nuclear blast. I think there was a lot of good evidence presented toward this possibility, making it the more probable reality. In the stream, a photo was presented from a bomber pilot that lost communication with command and didnt get the message to evacuate the area and was a few km directly above the explosion dropped from the Enola Gay. From what you say, I imagine that this must be from your grandfather. He thought at the time that the explosion came from a conventional bomb that was dropped on a fuel depot or something like that and that he took the picture to try to see what target was hit successfully. Its the only photo that exists of the explosion, very interesting. The channel this discussion was on is called The Alternative Hypothesis. Its long and meandering, but interesting ideas discussed and worth checking out.

[@mikoajmucha5111]

Dear TIK, as a history graduate at the University of Warsaw I am delighted that you have commented on this subject. I do not think that you need to excuse yourself for not being a Stalin supporter, anyone with half of a brain should understand what do you mean. I believe that you are very forgiving for the Polish leaders, in my opinion their actions are more than enough for a martial court. What surprises me is that you believe that the uprising itself, under different circumstances, might have been a good idea. For me it does not make sense. There were tons of evidence at the time that the Soviets were openly hostile, also Poland's fate has already been sealed by the big three (although it has been less known, of course). Also what would a successful uprising mean? Soviets taking the city and arresting home army members like in Vilnius? The whole thing just makes no sense. Anyway, congratulations on your knowledge of the subject, truly impressive. I do believe however there has been one evident distortion. You stated that Poland was divided politically between Home Army etc. - the western supporters and the PPR (with some eastern partisans if I understand you correctly) oriented toward Soviets. Well, this is what Stalin wanted the western politicians to believe, or pretend to believe. In actuality PPR was mostly a conglomerate of soviet agents, parachuted into Poland to pretend that there is a support for Soviets in the country. In reality, before the war and during the war communists had pretty much zero support by the citizens. Polish communist party was non-existent, its leaders had been killed by Stalin during the purge period and it never had any significant support. The PPR and its partisans (Gwardia Ludowa, Armia Ludowa) were just an artificial soviet construct. Communist partisans were in big part just criminals and the made almost no actions against the Germans. When it comes to polish partisans in the east, there is some evidence that they were even more anti-soviet than those in the west. They had more to do with Soviets first hand and trusted them even less. On a related note - after the war there was a strong anti-soviet partisan army in Poland - mostly Home Army and affiliated organisations members, with last of the partisans being killed as late as 1963. Polish communist among themselves admitted that without Soviet support they would not last a week in the first years of their puppet state. Thank you again for the video and a great channel!

[@georgecastriotas4815]

It's simple! Stalin didn't want a polish state oriented in West ( That's normal) and the British didn't want a polish state oriented in East. The British would use this polish state against the Soviets ( maybe together with germans to fight against russians). The Stalin wanted whole Poland for himself. The British had the intention that the moment russian entered in Warsaw find a polish government hostile on Soviets. You were betrayed from the beginning ( by your British friends. Them need Germans and russians fight each other, so you were worthless). Don't forget that was the polish provocation used by the Germans to invade Poland. You made a dirty game and were fucked up.

[@piotrpieta3922]

Mr. Mikołaj Mucha, you missed something very important which is the strong desire among the Polish people for revenge on Germans for what they did during war time. And yes your opinion is well spread but there is a lot more factors to take into consideration. Did you spoke with any soldier from Warsaw Uprising? You graduated UW, you should.

[@vandeheyeric]

@@georgecastriotas4815 Stop being a Soviet apologist. "Stalin didn't want a polish state oriented in West ( That's normal)" It's not that Stalin didn't want a Polish state oriented towards the West, it's more that Stalin didn't want an independent Polish state AT ALL. Even if it was neutral. Which- again- is why back in Lenin's time the Bolsheviks attacked every single polity that bordered them no matter what happened, and why Stalin took pains to torpedo things like the idea of a Neutral, Unified Germany after WWII. The only reason Austria escaped this fate is because most of it was occupied by the Western Allies and so it was able to forge a grand bargain to get all the foreign troops out of Austria at once in exchange for being Non-Alligned. (And even then it had to live in perpetual fear of a Soviet invasion for the entirety of the Cold War, fueled by memories of Soviet invasion, looting, and blockades). Tukhachevsky wasn't Stalin (as shown by how the latter beat and then executed the former), but he was correct in summing up Soviet policy. "To the West! Over the corpse of White Poland lies the road to world-wide conflagration. March on Vilno, Minsk, Warsaw! " "The British would use this polish state against the Soviets ( maybe together with germans to fight against russians)" Look at the MASSIVE FREAKING PROJECTION HERE. Yeah, the British considered using the Polish state against the Soviets, BUT ONLY after the Soviets had shed first blood by first betraying the Western Allies (by attempts to do $hit like arrest the Czechoslovak Legion- which was a French Army unit- and attack the Allied perimeter at Murmansk and Arkhanglsk). Ditto with Poland. It was natural that Poland would seek support from the West against the Soviets because the Soviets *f--king kept attacking and trying to undermine them.* And ironically it was this hyperbelligerence that impeded the chance of the Soviets cutting a deal with the Germans during the 1910's and 1920's like they ultimately would with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. "The British had the intention that the moment russian entered in Warsaw find a polish government hostile on Soviets.' This is ludicrous. The Polish Government was *Already* hostile to the Soviets, that's what you GET when you constantly attack a power. Indeed, contrary to what you claim, the British worked HARD to tamp down on Polish complaints about the Soviets and prevent them from airing their case against Stalin, as shown by things like the Polish Governments' request for a Red Cross investigation of Katyn. That's where the betrayal is. Not from British Anti-Soviet inclinations, but from British Pro-Soviet or at least "Let's not bother with this now" inclinations that basically meant the sold Poland up the river far more than they had to. "You were betrayed from the beginning ( by your British friends." Sure, but you're not right on how or why. "Them need Germans and russians fight each other, so you were worthless)." GTFO and do some research. They didn't need Germans and Russians to fight each other. Indeed, they helped broker a fractured common front against the Soviets (including the Germans) from 1918-1922, and would have preferred there to be unity (albeit on their terms ) to fight one or the other, not the two fighting each other. And indeed Britain seriously considered fighting BOTH on Poland's behalf in 1939-1940,. as shown by plans drawn up to bomb Soviet Baku and the attempts to send an expeditionary force to Finland. That they didn't is another black mark on Britain's track record, but it by no means is perfect. " Don't forget that was the polish provocation used by the Germans to invade Poland." So now you're uncritically Repeating NAZI BLOOD LIBEL? GTFO. "Polish Provocation" didn't cause the Germans to invade Poland. National Socialist German provocation did, as Operation Himmler shows. "You made a dirty game and were fucked up." Stop equivocating. Two genocidal, totalitarian ideologies and regimes made the dirty game and F--ked Poland and every other country that bordered it up. Poland's sins- whatever one may think they were- were not the result of Britain trying to get an anti-Soviet bulwark. They were the result of the Soviets being so utterly rabid and murderous that any independent Polish state (or other country that valued its independence) would naturally be anti-Soviet.

[@georgecastriotas4815]

@@vandeheyeric It was a long writing but i think you didn't understand what i was saying. You said a lot of things but nothing is a whole truth. So let see what i was saying 1. Stalin didn't want a Poland oriented in West. You said he didn't want a Poland at all!!! Strange! No sir. If he didn't want a Poland who could stop him? Who give to the Poland all East Prussia? Have you take it by war? It's normal he didn't want a Poland oriented in West. Maybe you forget that the Poland too had the same behaviour against Russia in history ( by the way Poland is the only country that has occupied twice the Moscow). If Poland have the possibility to influence the politics in any country wouldn't use that? If you had the strength to occupy foreign lands wouldn't do that? And Poland did that again when Czechoslovakia was betrayed by the same states who betrayed you. Took two regions from them, in the time of Bolshevik Revolution you take also land of Belarus, or not. As for the British they always have seen their interest, so don't be naive. Hitler offered a lot of solutions about the Danzig. The polish government didn't accept any of them. Cause in your country there were also a dictator. So history is never simple. About the katyn massacre there were the Germans who discovered that. But in unison all parties blamed the Germans not russians, cause they needed an Allie to destroy the Germany. Now in 2020 we can speak in facts. Have you been informed about operation " unthinkable"? I didn't remember all the things you wrote so. In politics there are not clean guys. All are dirt. Who have the power make all that he intends. The biggest nations have done any time all that them wanted. The winners write the history. Yes the russians killed the polish officers in katyn ( they admitted that). Yes them and the Germans divided your country. I don't believe that Germans would permit a polish state after occupied the USSR or not. After liberation of Poland from the Germans the russians put a government that was a filoruss. Gave to Poland lands of East Germany ( don't forget that were russian soldiers who died in Poland). And Poland remained in russian zone of influence ( almost occupied). I'm not russian. Not communist. I was talking as i think is normal. Stalin was the head of USSR. So he had to protect USSR. Look for his interest. As for the killings of the officers I said it is nothing to be surprised, he killed his own officers, his own people. At the end of this Poland had new borders ( I don't think that anyone in Poland had dreamed that can take Prussia with their guns and their blood). P. S. I don't believe that Stalin gave to the Poland that land for free. As he had done with Galicia who gave that to Ukraine, as with osetia who gave that to Georgia). He thought that all of that was part of his empire ).

[@vandeheyeric]

@@georgecastriotas4815 Part 1 "It was a long writing but i think you didn't understand what i was saying. " Fair enough, and you didn't strike me as someone who was acting as a full scale Stalinist. But the fact remaisn that you are giving them far too much credit. I also took pains to respond to you in detail, copying and quoting your words and posting my replies to them, to try and minimize the chance that I was misinterpreting you. "You said a lot of things but nothing is a whole truth." Then prove it. "So let see what i was saying " This should be good. "1. Stalin didn't want a Poland oriented in West. You said he didn't want a Poland at all!!!" And I was correct. The Bolsheviks NEVER wanted an independent Poland. They always wanted to rule over it. Poland could be directly annexed into the USSR- as the Eastern portions were in 1939 and again in 1944- or it could be nominally "independent" with its own flag and government so long as the Bolsheviks in Moscow ultimately had all the power. But what the Bolsheviks would never be interested in was permanently co-existing with a genuinely independent Poland that was not subservient to them. " It is self-evident that the principle of self-determination does not in any case supersede the unifying tendencies of socialist economic construction. " - Lev Trotsky, Self-Determination and the Revolution This isn't rocket surgery. "Strange!" It's not strange. " No sir. If he didn't want a Poland who could stop him?" That's the problem. Nobody could or did after 1944. Which is why Poland as an independent nation didn't exist until well into 1988-9, subsumed instead into a Soviet commandery with nominal independence. "Who give to the Poland all East Prussia?" READ A MAP!. THEY NEVER GAVE POLAND ALL OF EAST PRUSSIA. You should KNOW THIS because to this DAY Russia controls what it calls "Kalingrad Oblast", named after East Prussia's Koeningsberg and incorporating somewhere between half to a third of the former East Prussia. As for why they gave Poland East Prussia and much of the rest of Silesia and Danzig? For similar reasons to why they gave Romania Translyvania and themselves pre-WWII Eastern Poland. Because the Soviet Union wanted to massacre and ethnically cleanse "troublesome" ethnic groups and populations into something more compliant, which is why they ethnically cleansed Poles from East of the Curzon Line. They needed somewhere to resettle these Poles and wanted to punish the Germans. So they obliterated the ethnic German population of places like Danzig and Koeningsberg through forced deportations with a side of murder and moved Poles into most of the area. But absolutely nobody in this place was independent, because they were all ruled by Moscow. And up until about 1956 or so they'd be ruled DIRECTLY from Moscow, mocking even the limited and farcical "independence" the Soviets gave their client state. Again, this isn't rocket surgery. Poland wasn't independent under Soviet occupation. "It's normal he didn't want a Poland oriented in West." It's normal because Stalin- like Lenin, Trotsky, and the rest of the old Bolsheviks- were totalitarian, mass murdering psychopaths with no intrinsic respect for self-determination, and whose ultimate goal was world revolution. Which is why they ultimately helped DEEPEN Poland's interwar orientation towards the West, by attacking it- as well as essentially every other political organism they bordered between the White Sea and the Turkish border, regardless of its political ideology or foreign policy. That in no way whatsoever means they had any justification for doing what they did or seeking to control and subjugate Poland. Again, what part of " It is self-evident that the principle of self-determination does not in any case supersede the unifying tendencies of socialist economic construction. " Do you not understand? "Maybe you forget that the Poland too had the same behaviour against Russia in history" Except I'm not ignoring that fact. I am merely putting it into context. Especially since during the time Poland-Lithuania did this, it was not "oriented to the West" but its own independent, Central-Eastern European juggernaut routinely clashing with each of its neighbors. Also, it's ironic that you're trying to regurgitate the memories of 1610 to try and justify Communist aggression, terrorism, and genocide in 1919, 1939, and 1944. While conveniently ignoring the fact that not only had every single person and indeed every single *government* and *nation state* involved in 1610 perished by the time Trotsky was yammering about, you also ignore the fact that POLAND-LITHUANIA SPENT THE LAST CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE CLOSELY ALLIED WITH RUSSIA. Only to then be partitioned for its troubles. I do not deny that Russia had a legitimate national security concern against possible threats from an aggressive Poland. But the Bolsheviks weren't *into* national policy. They were an apocalyptic, international, totalitarian ideology's supporters, who headcrabbed onto the corpse of the former Russian Empire. They didn't attack Finland and Estonia in 1918 or 1940 because they were scarred by ancestral memories of the Teutonic Order's 14th century crusades or the Carolinan Swedish Empire. They didn't attack and partition Armenia in 1920 because they were worried about Caucasian Mountaineers marching on Moscow (something that had never happened in the history of ever). And they didn't backstab Lithuania- a nation that was friendly to them for most of the interwar period- because of memories of the Grand Duchy and the long 15th and 16th century wars between it and Moscow. They did all this because they were apocalyptic, utterly aggressive, mass murdering douchecanoes. "( by the way Poland is the only country that has occupied twice the Moscow)." Not true. See: Kazan, the Khanate of Crimea, the Golden Horde, or the many, MANY times each of these sacked Moscow. "If Poland have the possibility to influence the politics in any country wouldn't use that?" Firstly:. "Poland/Insert Country Here might influence the politics in a country, and might use that power. Ergo we are justified in attacking literally Everybody we border regardless of their actions or prior policy and mass murdering all of them, in order to prevent them from influencing us and preventing us from exercising our influence over the politics in every other country...wait what?' The fact is that the Bolshevik end goal was and always remained World Conquest, by bayonet or by ballot. This wasn't rocket science. They were quite overt about it. And this isn't like what Russian foreign policy was or is. Russian foreign policy could be quite aggressive in its own right (like that of Poland, Lithuania, and my own United States), but it didn't actively seek to conquer the world. Secondly: No, Poland wouldn't always use that possibility. We know because not every country with the possibility to influence politics in a country exercised that possibility all the time. Take a look at Pilsudski's Promethean Idea- a goal literally designed to interfere in the internal politics of the Russian Empire/later the USSR by basically encouraging separatism (because let's remember, the Bolsheviks attacked literally every other polity on their border in 1919 with the intent to conquer, and they didn't lose all of those battles). And it started very strong in the early 1920's when Pilsudski was alive and in power... ... only for him to then die. And the policy to utterly unravel as his successors weren't; interested in it. Because it turns out that not every politician is interested in influencing another nation's politics, and VERY few are totalitarian megalomaniacs with the desire to do so to *every other nation.* forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=192835 And thirdly; it's ironic to hear about complaints of about Polish interference in other countries' politics (which granted, were sometimes justified) when the Soviets formed the freaking Comintern. An organization whose only GOAL was to interfere and overthrow the politics of every other country on Planet Earth. I am no apologist for Poland. It was guilty of many, many crimes throughout its history, including during the Interwar period. But I don't have to be in order to recognize that the middle tier, nationalist dictatorship with some expansionist leanings is nowhere near as terrible or guilty as a global power with pretensions to ruling the world.

[@shawnstankiewicz9176]

TIK .I love your work .I think you give a cold real fact of the matter assessment

[@jonbon8598]

They didn't get a raw deal, they goaded the Germans into attacking them, thereby kicking off the war,so they got what they deserved, to be fair 👹💸💸💰🤮

[@Latwis]

I put my cap off, great TIK!

[@sandtable8091]

Bad timing, as you put it, may have played a part. Strategic necessity may have been valid excuse. Not letting the RAF land in Russian controlled areas and direct calls from the Russians to rise smacks seriously of a) let the Poles die, it'll keep the Germans busy or b) Let the Germans sort out any potential resistance problems before we take over.

[@dosran5786]

winston churchhill even said britain should of acted after hitler annexed yugoslavia he was clearly moving in on poland. they refused to act because of neville chamberlain i think?

[@pilum3705]

@@dosran5786 I think you mean Czechoslovakia

[@strigon7960]

Can you also check the Slovak national uprising in 1944 ? Battle of Dukla pass and so ? Thank you and keep doing the great job.

[@astrayadventurer4450]

Very interesting thank you.

[@fredjones554]

Excellent discussion

[@robertalaverdov8147]

The issue with invading through the Balkans had less to do with Stalin and more to do with logistics. There wasn't many well developed ports, the roads were bad to nonexistent, the railroads a mix of half a dozen gauges as the area was split among various nations decades prior. And worst of all; mountainous terrain that funneled attackers along predictable paths. The allies had enough of that in Italy. France had plenty of ports, harbors, good roads, a single railroad gauge and most important of all flat terrain. With the exception of those damn hedgerows. But we don't talk about that.

[@johnd2058]

Bingo. No delaying V-E Day (and thus V-J Day) for a year or two so PM About-to-be-out can achieve his dream of the Med becoming an English lake... for a minute. Also, just imagine being half as diffident as TIK seems on this subject in front of an additional hundred-thousand American Gold Star mothers & wives created by such ill-conceived crusading!

[@KrzysztofDanielCiba]

France has plenty of ports but not a single one was in Allies hands for months and afterwards usable.

[@xavierpages2854]

Look at the logistics from D-Day. It used mulberries, Pluto, a host of vessels and an enormous fleet of trucks. It barely sufficed once out of Normandy. And that was with the advantage of just having to cross the channel, and having a mountain of supplies piled up in the UK. From where would you set up such a rear supply base to attack in the Balkans ? North Africa ? Italy ? And even today, (having traveled a lot by car through various Balkan countries) with a road net that has been modernized, traveling in some directions isn't that easy. I shudder to think of what it would be like to do it back in the 40's with whole armies.

[@derekbaker3279]

I disagree. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin were in the process of agreeing that (a) the Red Army would have the honour of taking Berlin, and (b) that the Soviets would get to 'liberate' all of eastern Europe (including Poland & Yugoslavia). Consequently....IMHO,...contrary to Churchill's opinion, President Roosevelt, Supreme Commander Eisenhower et al. likely believed there was no point in the western Allies (a) prioritizing the campaign in Italy & prioritizing a major amphibious landing in the south of France, and (b) planning to head east from Italy to push the Germans out of Yugoslavia. Instead, it appears that Roosevelt, Eisenhower, et al. prioritized liberating western Europe, crushing the German war machine, and occupying western Europe as far east as the Elbe River before the Soviets got there.

[@josephahner3031]

@@johnd2058 that's nonsense. The logistics and terrain arguments make a lot of sense but it's sheer nationalistic simpery to whine about gold star wives and mothers. If that's your reason for not invading through the balkans then there also should have been no italian campaign or the offensives in Italy should have stopped after Italy surrendered. A campaign to invade the balkans circa 1943 actually makes more sense than a campaign to invade mainland Italy, given the Axis oil situation and the fact that you could coordinate offensives with the Soviets while providing an excellent bargaining chip for postwar negotiations with Stalin. trade Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria for Poland and maybe Czechoslovakia postwar.

[@Artur_M.]

The commanders of the Home Army were fully aware that Stalin does not want to help them. The fact that the Operation Tempest (rising up, as the Red Army was entering Polish territory and cooperating with them as its rightful hosts in hope of getting recognition) was going so abysmal thus far was precisely what made them change their initial decision to *not* include staging an uprising in Warsaw in this operation. It was an act of desperation (I'm surprised none of your sources mentioned it). Their reasoning was essentially like this: "We have to do something fast! Something BIG, like liberating the capital on our own just before Soviets approaching it! Stalin won't do then here what he did in Wilno, Lwów and other places, and if he does the World will at least react, right?!". Moreover, given the atmosphere in the city, they feared fighting erupting spontaneously anyway. Especially if the communists would start something on their own (the PPR-led People's Army was weak but present in the city, and proven to be unpredictable), the people (including many young and very eager to fight AK soldiers) would likely follow them, Germans would respond with bloody reprisals and they would lose all control over the situation. Finally, they had a poor general overview of the grand strategic and political situation. Jan Nowak Jeziorański, a courier of the Underground to London, described in his memoirs how he came back from his latest mission just before the Uprising when the decision was already made and the final preparations were in full swing. He was brought before the High Command and watched, as he answered his superiors questions, the realisation dawning on them that the Allies are probably not going to make Stalin do anything, no matter how spectacular demonstration will they stage, but at this point, it was too late.

[@Gew219]

Very good and exhaustive comment, mate!

[@Whipko]

Hi great videos! Have you thought about covering Czechoslovakia during the war time ?

[@Lawrance_of_Albania]

Ooooh boii,i have felling that this episode will be intresting

[@robertkreamer7522]

I have been to Poland many times , their tough spirit and love of freedom is very evident all over. Yes I have seen concrete walls that have been preserved because you can see the chips in the concrete where the people were lined up and shot. If you want a spiritual moment touch those holes.... then transport your mind back in time and history comes back to life

[@pawemarsza9515]

"Love of freedom". If only it was so... 90% of Poles regularly vote for socialists (natinalists or eurocentric ones) who openly tell they will take control of everything. It's the nation of slaves :(

[@charlesmaeger6162]

Great comment.

[@ForageGardener]

Can confirm am fourth generation polish-american and I am indomitable😊

[@llllib]

There is one point that would be worthwhile to include in the video, the claim that Germans planned to raze Warsaw before uprising anyway, and that's (part of) what forced the Polish to start the uprising. I'm not saying it's proven beyond doubt, not sure, but I have impression it's not baseless.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , TIK .

[@wekapeka3493]

Great logical analysis.

[@ucfj]

It was a horrible decision of the Armia Krajowa leadership. They should've been court-martialed for it. It was a massacre, ~200k civillian lives lost, rest enslaved or driven out, whole city razed with no net gain to the cause. The main thread to this story was that AK was competing with the communist militia to change the western powers' optics of the situation. They sparked the uprising themselves (too) early to preempt a commie led uprising that was also forming and signal to the western powers that the Poles have a govt in place that isn't red. The problem with that idea was the horrific lack of equipment - of around 35k soldiers only 2k were actually armed, rest just had to 'improvise'! So with this one rash political decision the leadership wasted the whole city and the AK network there. To this day that loss is too great for us in PL to evaluate the situation critically, so we sometimes indulge in apologetics on the subject and praise the uprising anyway.

[@rekerboi1125]

Even if the Uprising didnt happen the Underground would be annihilated completely once russians would take control. It was a choice between trying to make a miracle happen or sit and do nothing and get shot in the back of the head anyways without putting up a fight.

[@ucfj]

No they wouldn't. They exposed themselves on purpose to signal what i described above. I'm still surprised why they were so naive as to think they'd win a face-off with the red army. Their weakness is precisely the reason sparking the uprising and endangering the civillian population for some ill defined political goals is so criminal in my opinion. Any other general who would've lost 250k soldiers with nothing to show for it would've got a bullet, not praise. You fight in the open only if there's a good chance you can win, here winning would mean actually blocking the red army and clearing out the germans which was obviously impossible with the forces AK had in 44'. They must've known that and just hoped for some vague miracle as you say.

[@ghut487]

@@zava5025 end of July Moscow broadcast call to people of Warsaw to fight Germans. If AK had not react Stalin would have accused them for collaboration with Germans, he would say that they would have liberate Warsaw if they had partisans support behind the lines, they would have undermine trust of Poles to the legitimate government. It was desperate act, last try to save independence. It was not meant to happen so there was lack of weapon and ammo. But if politically nothing could be done to save Poland there were not much option. And you should consider that it was 1944, not 2019. people knew from eye witnesses of experienced themselves what happened in eastern Poland between 1939-1941,what happen in Katyn. what happened to once independent Lithuania, Latvia Estonia, What was happening 1944 in Vilnius and Lvov. Now you see that Poland was not incorporated into USSR, there was no "hlodomor" disaster in Poland, whole nation was not resettled to Siberia though NKVD did their share of grim repression. But would you tell that then back in July 1944?

[@lukebruce5234]

@@ghut487 Could you link the broadcast?

[@ghut487]

@@lukebruce5234 here is liknk to wikipedia, sorry but in Polish, last part is citation of the braodcast: pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiostacja_im._Tadeusza_Kościuszki

[@djemidjema]

It’s quite natural that the Polish government in exile and the AK didn’t coordinate their actions with the British and American governments ( let alone with Stalin)because they knew very well they wouldn’t receive any support. The truth is that the territorial and in some extent political future of Poland had been agreed on during the Tehran Conference in 1943 (the Polish government in London was neither informed, nor consulted), thus the uprising was the last and desperate attempt to alter the results of Tehran.

[@VT-mw2zb]

In a sense, thousands of people died for nothing.

[@zepter00]

Xuan Vinh To germans killed so many Oles in Warsaw per month.. it is better to die in fight than waiting for death. At least They were free for month or two.

[@WojtekEs]

@@zepter00 How many? Contrary to what you think, most of the victims of the the Uprising were civilians, not combatants.

[@zepter00]

Wojtek S. I know history of my country much better than you.

[@WojtekEs]

@@zepter00 I think you misunderstood my question. You said that Germans killed as many Poles in Warsaw every month, as they killed in the Uprising. What I asked was how many Poles did they kill every month before in the city.

[@KeithWilliamMacHendry]

Another successful sortie by the man TIK.

[@serikaralbayev5979]

How many books on Stalingrad do u have there back in the shelves? I counted 4 books.

[@Frozenmenss1]

Question To TIK : did the Polish Sabotages on the Trains stopped somewhat the Germans in 1941 in Operation Barbarosa and events later in the war in the east with even weaker logistics or just the Soviet Partisans after 1943 did more damage on the German logistics.

[@Taranaki66]

Some pronunciation help - Armia Krajowa is ahr-me-ah cry-oh-vah. Not sure why Tik attempted this. I am very well versed in this history. My father was in the Polish Army - Poland 1939, France 1940, got to the UK in 1942 through Vichy France and Gibraltar, back into France in 1944 with the Polish First Armored Division. If TIK ever does Normandy (post D-Day), I am looking forward to his discussion of the Falaise Pocket. Growing up, I was in the Polish scouts (harcerstwo). Some of my instructors fought in the Warsaw Uprising when they were 12 to 14 years old. Trying to cover this topic in a less than an infinite video is almost impossible. If you want to get an emotional feel for the Powstanie, watch Andrzej Wajda's film Kanal. Sosabowski and the Polish paratroopers expected to be dropped into Warsaw to join the uprising. The purpose of this brigade, as opposed to other Polish units, was to fight in Poland. But they were not and were thrown away at Arnhem. The Polish Armored Division was in Normandy, on its way to Hill 262 (Maczuga) to try to block the German Seventh Army from escaping. They sat there killing Germans for three days until the Canadians and Americans finally linked up and relieved them on August 23. This history is so sad and tragic. Hard for us in the West to really comprehend.

[@sly4462]

Us Slavs were always expendable to the West im Croatian we got killed off after WW1 and WW2 because we made bad decisions who to join Czecks , Lithuanians, Ukranians, Pol, Hung and Rom also had a shit time and so on same story! Us Croats would have lost if it had not been for Hungarians helping us in the 1990s they gave us so many weapons few months into 1991 we were able to resist very fast vs the Serbs. I think us in Eastern Europe need to rely on our selves and nobody will touch us again Russia or whoever we cant trust them! Poland and Hungary are doing a good job at this time to resist the EU, because EU is making bad decisions for Europe as a single entity and they need to be challenged!

[@kevinbrown4073]

I will never forgive the katyn massacre

[@jerzykopa5860]

re: Kanał by Wajda. I have watched it recently for the second time and have to strongly disagree with your suggestion. This film is a vicious piece of anti AK propaganda. Well made and rather riveting, but still, like most of Wajda's works, it presents Bolshevik vision of modern Polish history. Perhaps not as blatant as Lotna or Pokolenie, but rather representative of Wajda's servile willingness to sell his talents to whoever happens to be in power at the moment.

[@user-dp4ok9ox5w]

@@kevinbrown4073 But you forget 15 million dead Soviet civilians over 20k Polish Soldiers and Politicians that were executed by Germans?

[@Gew219]

@@user-dp4ok9ox5w Dude, Germans killed 1/6 of entire Polish population. 20k is less than number of people executed in the first two weeks of the war.

[@colinlove5062]

Hi Tik I got to thinking when you mentioned that the lack of fighter cover was one of the key factors that hobbled US and British efforts to resupply Warsaw along with bad weather and lack of coordination. That jogged my memory from when I was young of some 90's era interviews of USAAF pilots who were stationed in the USSR I did a quick Wiki check and indeed the Army Air Force had 3 joint bases in Soviet Ukraine with the main base at Poltava and two other smaller support bases just NE of Kiev. While the Red Air Force provided fighter support for the US bombers there were a handful of F 5 Lightnings a reconnaissance variant of the P 38 with the guns switched out with cameras. Before the P 51 arrived on the scene the P 38 was the best American long range fighter escort it would seem to me that with a little notice the F 5's could have been refitted with guns to provide some fighter cover for any US or British supply efforts in Warsaw. Just a thought but the time frame fits for something to have been workable and interestingly the US presence at Poltava was reduced by 1,000 to just 300 in September of 44 with the remainder carrying on as caretakers. Makes me wonder if there was a low key US request and Soviet rejection of providing support for a Warsaw mission from Ukraine.

[@loscasablancamorten]

Hello Tik.can you help me where i can see or have the audofile of the Hitler Stalingrad Speech 1942 November 8 in full or allmost.Regards Morten from Denmark

[@malgorzatakowalczyk8651]

Hi Thanks for info !!. In Katyn and other similar places not only officers were shoot. These include postmans, teachers, professors, police officers ;( Rest In Peace - Lest We Forget, Cheers Piotr

[@vassilizaitzev1]

I’ll need to watch this later, but I’m interested! To answer your earlier video, in my opinion if the proper methodology is used than KZbin Historians can be proper historians. The medium doesn’t matter.

[@TheImperatorKnight]

I was quite surprised by how many people said that KZbin's could be 'proper' historians. I assumed (like the ideas that you shouldn't be able to make money on KZbin unless you "sell out", or that KZbin is not a "real Job") that most people would be against the idea... I assumed wrong!

[@vassilizaitzev1]

@@TheImperatorKnight Like I said earlier, you use both secondary and primary sources to construct your arguments. Having an academic background in history isn't absolutely required, but it does help immensely with the methods and research. The history medium is changing, and videos can be used as educational tools. I mean, look at David Irving for a counterexample. Wrote traditional monographs, seemingly used primary sources, but turned out he was full of it. You'll be challenged in the future, but I'd say go for it. I like your content so far; it has gotten me to read about the Holocaust and the Eastern Front on my own now.

[@Justin_Kipper]

@@TheImperatorKnight I would say that most most people who watch your videos are intelligent people that enjoy a good take on history, whether they agree with the take or not. I'm an older strategy gamer, and I learned a lot of history from wargame designers...dudes that spent countless hours looking into old AARs, OOBs, and TOEs. None of that was "peer researched", and I find it more legitimate than propaganda that's usually published as "history". Keep it up TIK.

[@DrNickAG]

TIK, another interesting and well sourced video. I now appreciate the fact that there were other things to consider in the decision to stop outside Warsaw. It would be interesting to contrast the Warsaw uprising with the uprising and liberation of Paris which was about the same time. I don’t have the sources with me at the moment, but I think there are good descriptions of it in Bradley’s and Eisenhower’s memoirs along with works on the Western TO. My recollection of the facts are as follows. The Western Allies (‘mericans, British, French, Canadians, and Poles) had broken out of Normandy. The German’s were falling back, but the Allies were having logistics problems of their own. I don’t think the French partisans were as well armed as the Poles but the Germans were also not as dug in and may have been falling back anyway. That said, the Allies made it clear to the partisans that they are not ready to go the Paris. The partisan rose up anyway. I am a little unclear as to how the Germans initially reacted, but the French Allied units under DeGaul charged ahead. Rather than have a hole in their lines, the Allies supported them. Perhaps the circumstances are different, but I think that this decision should be contrast with the Soviet decision. The Allies made the just and humane decision. By the way, the people who have been following your videos would never confuse you with a Stalin/Soviet apologist :) Those that try to make that argument are just trolling you.

[@maciej5866]

He is saying that Poles didn't know if Red Army wants to cross to Warsaw. That is not true. Russians had propaganda polish language radiostation "Radiostacja im. Tadeusza Kościuszki". 30 july 1944 in 15.00, 20.55, 21.55 and 23.00 hour they emited 4 times messages that Red Army will cross the Vistua river and they call for help with crossing this river and they call for citizens of Warsaw to attack german troops. I am sure you can check this in english languge sources. So he's wrong saing that Red Army was out of steam. Also 31 july gen. Tadeusz "Bór" Komorowski got information from commander Antoni "Monter" Chruściel that Red Army is in suburbia of Praga (part of Warsaw).

[@j_23sztyrlicc48]

@TIK I heard some time ago, that Germans know that AK is up to uprising in Warsaw and they start crackdown so there was a little time to decide what to do (day by day Gestapo arrested more and more AK soldiers and capture secret weapon magazines). If they wait too long there will be no one to fight and nothing to fight with. So 5 years of preparations will be lost, and suprise element was partially lost already.

[@nolank19]

Thanks for the video Tik, I'm nearly 100% of Polish ancestry and I've always wondered about my relatives that were alive during this time period in Poland. Keep up the good work mate!

[@berndf.k.1662]

As a German with both grandfathers having served in WWII it is no surprise to me that your relatives stayed alive.

[@Artur_M.]

When you were describing the communist resistance in Poland around 30:00 I think you got confused a bit (I don't blame you, because it is a confusing mess). The PPR, established in January 1942 by a small bunch of Polish communists literary parachuted from the USSR, did not operate at all in the eastern areas previously occupied by Soviets because their Soviet masters already thought about them as rightfully theirs, as part of Soviet Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. There was Soviet partisan movement there, started by remanents of Red Army and Soviet state apparatus that got left behind and went in hiding after the German invasion, and recruiting from the local Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, and sometimes even Poles, who either supported the Soviet authority or viewed it as a lesser evil and looked forward for the hopefully soon Soviet victory as their best chance to not get murdered by Germans (especially understandable in case of Jews). Those parts were very ethnically mixed from the start, and many Polish people got deported (or even killed) during the Soviet occupation and the representants of the other ethnicities often didn't feel particular attachment or loyalty towards the Polish Republic. Despite that, the Home Army was active there too. In fact, some of the biggest Home Army partisan units were formed there. As you might imagine their relations with the Soviet partisans were a bit tense, sometimes breaking into open local conflicts. It got particularly ugly in the forested areas around the towns of Stołpce and Naliboki (now Stowbtsy and Nalibaki in Belarus), which unfortunately involved the famous Bielski brothers group on the Soviet side and is a whole can of worms. On the other hand, there were also instances of local cooperation.

[@user-vc2ku6hl1k]

And Armia Krajowa was parachuted from England?

[@Artur_M.]

​@@user-vc2ku6hl1k Some members indeed were, particularly the famous 'Cichociemni' trained in the Polish section of the SOE. It's not like they formed a majority of the AK leadership. The AK (and the Polish Secret State as a whole) was loyal to the Polish government in exile in London not to the British, if anything there was too little coordination and communication between them and the western Allies (as the Warsaw Uprising clearly shows). Meanwhile the leaders of the PPR and it's military branch, first known as Gwardia Ludowa (People's Guard) later Armia Ludowa (People's Army) were completely subservient to the Soviet government.

[@user-vc2ku6hl1k]

@@Artur_M. Ah, another Judeo-Bolshevism conspiracy... "Anything we don't like came from the Soviet government". Go on...

[@Artur_M.]

@@user-vc2ku6hl1k I didn't say anything about "Judeo-Bolshevism". Only one of the initial group of six Polish communists that founded the PPR, parachuted on 27/28 December 1941 at Wiązowna near Warsaw, happened to be Jewish (Paweł Finder to be exact). As far as I know, no one in the next two groups dropped in the following months were, not that I think it's really important here. Just for clarification, in my original comment, I touched upon the topic of ethnic divisions in the eastern Polish territories playing a role in the existence of the Soviet partisan movement there but that doesn't mean that I think that Jews automatically supported the Soviets (and I said that their reasoning could be understandable if they did), they were serving in the Home Army too. Getting back to the PPR (Polish Workers' Party) they named themselves that way because Georgi Dimitrov (head of the Komintern) specifically told them to avoid the term "communist", after a suggestion from Stalin himself, in order to help in their efforts to gain wider support in Poland. They even stole the name People's Guard from an already existing socialist resistance organization, created by the PPS-WRN, that joined the AK, as if all of this wasn't confusing enough already.

[@lewekonto8227]

@@user-vc2ku6hl1k say what? It is judeo-bolshevik conspiracy to dislike soviet engagement against Poland? One can't deny PPR "Grupa inicjatywna" was sent by plane from USSR.

[@tonymaxwell303]

Fantastic point of view of the Warsaw Uprising. I must admit it is part of WW2 that I am the most unfamiliar with. Very interesting

[@subbahzwei9693]

gr8 stuff is understatement

[@HouseholdDog]

I went to the Home Army museum in Krakow. Was pretty interesting.

[@mikeoz4803]

The Home Army should never have started the uprising without concrete Soviet assurances of support. The history of the Nazi's made it clear : they were NEVER going to allow this upstart uprising to succeed! Two hundred thousand civilians were butchered for no good reason!

[@HouseholdDog]

@@mikeoz4803 Easy to say in hindsight. I really haven't read much on why they started the uprising. I doubt the Poles trusted the Russians. The Russians did try to invade them in 1920. Indeed Stalin himself led some of the troops. I don't know. Have you found any information on this?

[@alexhack1655]

I would have to say that of course in hindsight the Warsaw Uprising was a mistake. The capital was flattened, and 200,000 Poles were dead, and the political situation was more or less the same. The Soviets were known to be untrustworthy allies of the Home Army by August of 1944 and to blame them seems an error somewhat. Everything aside though, it was an absolutely heroic struggle, and one that Europe and the world hadn't seen during the war. The museum in Warsaw about the Uprising is fantastic and everyone should go and see it. In conclusion, it was unfortunate Poland was dealt the hand it had in the later years of World War II, and the Uprising was an ill-fated last-ditch attempt at reversing that hand, and it unfortunately failed.

[@lislisser6036]

WWII was an mistake

[@alexhack1655]

lis lisser agreed

[@Arigator2]

It was sad but what was to be done? Kill another hundred million people with a war with the Soviets to save 24 million? It never made sense. Much better to let Communism collapse under the weight of it's own failure.

[@lislisser6036]

@@Arigator2 Poles were broth up in the culture based on chivalry code of nobility and had honour... it's hard to understand for nowadays cheap corpo cocksuckers... Warsaw uprising soldiers were sons and daughters of political, intellectual and economical elites of the nation... volunteers to Home Army...

[@hrgiyzueghe]

@Alex Hack > it was an absolutely heroic struggle, and one that Europe and the world hadn't seen during the war Uhm... The Four Days of Naples in 1943? That was even actually successful.

[@brianduncan5758]

Quality sir! You are the best on this medium. Uprising 44

[@nicktwinam1688]

THANKS

[@scotsbillhicks]

I have a soft spot for this battle because I learned about it first in Sven Hassel’s Reign of Hell. NOT the most accurate historical source by any stretch of the imagination but this is what wrenched me away from the sanitised ‘history’ I was imbibing in DC Thompson comics such as the Victor, and Warlord. Here was my first introduction to Dirlewanger and Kaminski, and a life-long fascination not with elite units but rather the dregs.

[@igorbednarski8048]

A protip for future videos featuring Polish names : "j' is pronounced like 'y' in 'you', 'w' is the same as english 'v' and the spelling is for the most part consistent with pronounciation (except for 'rz', which is the same as 'ż' and it sounds close to a voiced English 'sh'; 'ch' which is 'h' and is close enough to English h; and 'ó' which is the same as 'u' and sounds almost like English 'oo'). On the other hand, Slavic languages tend to have a lot of consonant clusters that a foreigner will never pronounce - Czech people can say entire sentences without using a single vowel ("strc prst skrz krk"), so maybe giving up is not such a bad idea after all... :p

[@kingkonut]

'...a foreigner will never pronounce' bollocks

[@ElGrandoCaymano]

This is useful for a Polish-language video but not in English one. For example, English don't say Wien, Praha, Moskva, Roma or "Paree" regardless of the domestic pronunciation used in those various languages. And sorry Hungarians, it's simply "Budapest" in English.

[@teekey1754]

Polish care very much how to pronounce foreign names properly, but Anglophones prefer to stick to their grammar rules.

[@ElGrandoCaymano]

​@@teekey1754 I can't think of any language that has the equivalent German pronunciation for München, Bayern, Deutschland.

[@teekey1754]

@@ElGrandoCaymano Languages have their own equivalents or approximations. Some individuals are able to pronounce German names perfectly. Difficulties arise with all those "umlauts" like with French vibrating "r" for the Anglophones.

[@BeelzebulKlendathu]

45:18 Southern area drive was a "separate" offensive, 1st Ukranian Front Lvov-Sandomierz operation.

[@Hashishtani]

If I'm mistaken you can correct me, but Rokossovsky describes this very well in his book, he didn't know that uprising would happen and Soviet command even if it knew it, it knew it only through their intelligence and not direct communication with Polish government in exile. When uprising happened, Rokossovsky troops had only small bridgehead which was not really suitable for massive assault across Vistula, their units was 30% of normal capacity and needed rest and regroup. Despite of that they had made an attempt to cross the river with forces of Armia Ludova (Polish Communist army), trying to coordinate the landing with Armia Krajowa at last moment. But the place of landing and time somehow had become known to German command and this end up in fruitless attempt to establish a bridgehead on other side of Vistula and large casualties.

[@marcinpiasecki5947]

Aaah Rokossowski, by Poles considered a Russian, by Russians considered a Pole. Rather tragic figure. Check out his biography, really interesting lecture. Master commander and a hero

[@Hashishtani]

@@marcinpiasecki5947 I have read his auto-biography "The Soldier's Duty", quite hard to read but very interesting reading.

[@marcinpiasecki5947]

@@Hashishtani amazing, isn't it? What touched me most was how he was tortured by some schmucks and he did not break only to have a comeback as greatest strategist/tactitian of USRR. Insane

[@Hashishtani]

@@marcinpiasecki5947 Yes, he had most of his teeth replaced by golden, because of torture. However, right after he was released from prison, he was appointed to very high military position (army commander I remember well). I was also surprised that he writes very good words about Stalin, despite the fact that when his biography was published 1970 during Khrushchev government, mentioning something good about Stalin wasn't safe. Reading his book though, requires sitting with a book in one hand and map in another hand, preferably with pencil so that you can get a clue what's going on :) He also uses professional military language , so it's bit hard to grasp the situation :)

[@ghut487]

@@marcinpiasecki5947 his biography- reliabe source as manstan's - who want to put him self in wrong light?

[@daxnet6583]

TIK, your right - quite impresive reaserch and arguments. I am convinced that for Polish goverment in exile and AK high command it was obvious that nobody will help the uprising. They just didn't see any other hope for keeping independence after the war, and for sure they didn't realize fully horible cost of their decision. That's why they were looking for sombody else to blame. Of course the overall situation of Polish people was dramatic - after 5 years of German oppression Soviets were coming, Brits were on the other side of Europe with their own problems, so there was no hope... And we (I'm Polish) have long history (and tradition) of brave, heroic, and mostly hopeless upraisings, so... it was kind of natural. Complete destruction of Polish capital was kind of huge present for Stalin and his ZPP quasi-goverment in Lublin, as well as death of thousands people, especialy of educated middle-class that we will miss after the war. Looking back from my position I KNOW it was a mistake, ....but I am sure that if I had lived in the 40s I would have been a part of it. It runs in blood :-) As to part of "Poland being betrayed by Wetern Allies", for sure it is true and obvious. But, come on! being realist what else could we expect - we live in specific part of the world, and after we have blundered our future on beggining of XVII century (by stubornly trying to convert Russian nobles to catholic) we are always beetwen hammer and anvil... Who else would like to put their fingers there? I don't blame Churchill or Roosvelt for selling Eastern Europe to Stalin - from their point of view, at that time it was the only wise decision. Keep up good work!

[@daxnet6583]

@Jonas Pell If your neighbours has taken all of your land you fight them when the time is right (like just after great war) or you don't want to piss them off and you become a footnote in history books :-)

[@gilbertthebushwacker8704]

@@daxnet6583 but Poland attacked Soviet republic first

[@daxnet6583]

@@gilbertthebushwacker8704 sorry, but your comment is false on 2 levels: "soviet republic" has as much sense as "democratic dictatorship" and last time Poland attacked Russia dates back few centuries (not counting uprisings).

[@gilbertthebushwacker8704]

@@daxnet6583 so how did Poles ended up in Kiev if they haven't attacked the Soviet Republic (RSFSR/UkSSR)??

[@daxnet6583]

@@gilbertthebushwacker8704 Do you really think that Soviets in Kiev in 1920 were a legitimate goverment? How? There was an ongoing border war between two freshly risen countries: Poland and Soviet Russia (and Ukraine, and White Armies - it was really complicated). To aswer a question why Poland wanted to incorporate Ukraine you need to know a little bit history (just look at Poland's maps from 18th century). Ukraine itself was too weak to fight off Soviets, and they finnaly fell. Poland didn;t attack Russians in Russia. I am sure some Poles dreamt about it but it didn;t happen. And mind that fact that Soviets declared existance of some "republics" didn;t mean that suddenly they were countries recognised by other countries. Soviets finnaly forced themself into Ukraine and most of former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but in 1918-1921 all eastern parts of Poland (or to be exact Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) were just one big warzone.

[@Montrala]

There is this point, mentioned very often, that Russians actually recommended that Poles uprise, to help with their advance. Since 2nd of July Soviet propaganda radio “Kościuszko” from Moscow was rallying Poles to uprise in front of Soviet advance. Davies writes about it in his Uprising ‘44 (p. 407 in Polish edition). Om 29rh of July special transmission asked Warsaw to uprise. There is article (with sources) that you can probably process trough google translate. wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/163173-powstanie-warszawskie-nie-moglo-nie-wybuchnac-sowiecka-radiostacja-kosciuszko-wzywala-z-moskwy-polacy-do-broni

[@softstone125]

Do this translation had been taken into account by those who gave order to uprising? More looks like it is justyfying for AKs mistake.

[@muffy469]

Perhaps you could do a video about the British-Norwegian alliance in the future? (And britains invasion plan for Norway xD). Kind of an unsung part of ww2, the story tends to fall through the cracks.

[@candleman2123]

The Special Forces missions were outright insane! You couldn't make up better stories!

[@mladenmatosevic4591]

You are right to the point: lack of coordination. Sending just couple of divisions across river would mean just sacrificing them, and sending whole tank army on such short notice was impossible.

[@jaroslavpalecek4513]

TIK I really admire you for work you do. I would like to say something on timing of uprirising. I was in Poland and it was said to me that there was a German order to fortificate Varsaw with a use of force help of 140 000 locals. The realize of that order would make the uprising difficult if not impossible because the people would be under German control. Yes, they should coordinate better with Allies. To the end let me to thank you for your work again. Greetings from Czech Republic.

[@mikefay5698]

Having a wonderfull time with freedom and Neo Liberal Capitalism Mr Palacek in Czecho? Do as you like vote for who you like as long as it's a Capitalist Party. With nice NATO protecting you?

[@Themonk159]

Correct. One of the reason. Also Head of Home Army (AK) affraid that poeple will fight without order. Like reaction for repression

[@spesbona4345]

thank you for trying explain history, what is almost never simple like two sides of one coin.

[@thomasvandevelde8157]

At 26:01 the word "benzene" might just mean petrol, since "Benzin" or "Benzine" is what we call Petrol here in the Low countries and Germany. It's quite confusing, since "Öl" does not mean "Oil" either, it means Diesel Fuel in many cases. That's why, on schematics of German tankers, you see "Triebs Öl bunker" and "Öl Bunker" for the difference between the diesel for engine propulsion andd than different oils, including diesel, to be transported. They had about 12 sorts of propulsion "liquids" by war's end, it insane to see the list of the oil-substitutes. Just a side-note here.

[@jeddkeech259]

👏👏👏👏 this history channel is badass

[@chuckschillingvideos]

"Poland got a raw deal in World War 2" - understatement of all world history.

[@adolphusdemadema]

Ever heard the expression 'Perfidious Albion"

[@SCHMALLZZZ]

Remember how Brittain saved Poland in World War 2? Me neither What was the point of starting a world war to defend a country but not even ever truly defend or liberate it?

[@chuckschillingvideos]

@@SCHMALLZZZ Yeah, Poland was "saved" by the same country that invaded it in the first place in 1939.

[@amcalabrese1]

No nation was more gallant yet more tragic than Poland in World War II.

[@Igor-xl4wz]

@@SCHMALLZZZ Stop being soo Schmall minded! The reason they didn't free them was because they had exhausted themselves... and probably couldn't defeat the Soviets.

[@gerttherude6366]

would you ever talk about your SG? and other guitars ? Please :)

[@Justin_Kipper]

I didn't mean to start this OT conversation, but here we are. It seems the SG SPECIAL has been moved, as if he has been practicing with it at some point since the last video. We can only speculate as to what songs were practiced. I can't see the Fender strap anymore, either. Hope I didn't shame him into removing it. All that said, TIK makes great videos, and that's why I'm here. But I'm keepin' an eye on those guitars too.

[@jt6759]

Tik, you should do an "Ask Me Anything" session, where you take superchats from people interested in World War II.

[@3ddevelopment979]

Very interesting

[@mcsmash4905]

i cant imagine screwing around in the wilds for 5 (or 6 depending on how you count) years

[@jjeherrera]

I've always thought the greatest paradox of WWII is that Britain and France declared war on Germany because it invaded Poland, only to lose it to the Soviets.

[@kevinbrown4073]

Once again Poland was betrayed by by real estate iw being located between two of the greatest mass murders of all time.

[@rascallyrabbit717]

Location location location

[@jjeherrera]

@@kevinbrown4073 Indeed! It has found it hard to survive through the ages.

[@oliverbatt3559]

It's not a paradox from a British perspective, unless you believe that Britain was concerned specifically about Polish independence. Britain's European foreign policy aim for a very long time was to prevent a single power (or collaborative powers) dominating Western Europe and, thus, having the potential to threaten the British Isles and Britain's SLOC, cutting her off from the Empire and her trade routes. Britain was otherwise uninterested in Europe. During appeasement, Poland was a line in the sand after the Czechs had been sold out in a final attempt at accommodating some of Germany's ambitions to restore / create the Großdeutsches Reich. It served as both an end in its own right (to contain German expansion - a sort of "here and no further") and a means to reassure France (which, as the only major land power other than Germany in Western Europe, was vital to Britain's European policy aim above). After the war, the situation looked unsettlingly different from the interwar period that had preceded it. Britain - which had first been turned from a creditor to a debtor nation by the First World War - was heavily indebted. France - from the late nineteenth century, Britain's ally in preserving some semblance of a balance of power in Europe - was on her backside and, for the most part, out of the picture. And, finally, the primary threat had changed and, to a degree, moved further east (from being right on France's border to being in the middle of Germany). Whilst far from ideal, the situation was acceptable from a British perspective. Of course, Churchill did order the preparation of a plan to retake East Germany and Poland from the USSR called Operation Unthinkable. After its chances were deemed fanciful, and given all of the above, it was quickly adapted to a more defensive plan to be implemented in the event of Soviet aggression.

[@megakedar]

@@oliverbatt3559 Another paradox was that Poland signed an non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany in 1934 and took advantage of the annexation of Czechoslovakia. TIK's video doesn't cover this, removing a lot of the political context for 1930s geopolitics in central Europe. Churchill called Poland a "Hyena" for its backstab of Czechoslovakia. "On 21 September 1938, Czechoslovakia capitulated. The next day, however, Hitler added new demands, insisting that the claims of Poland and Hungary also be satisfied. Romania was also invited to share in the division of Carpathian Ruthenia, but refused, because of being an ally of Czechoslovakia (see Little Entente) The incorporation of the Sudetenland into Germany that began on 1 October 1938 left the rest of Czechoslovakia weak, and it became powerless to resist subsequent occupation. Moreover a small northeastern part of the borderland region known as Zaolzie was occupied and annexed to Poland ostensibly to protect the local ethnic Polish community and as a result of previous territorial claims." Unsurprisingly, the rationale of "protecting one's nationals" was also used by Stalin to justify the Soviet intervention the very next year. I don't have sympathy for any of the political actors in this prewar period. Play with fire, get burned, yadda yadda yadda. Stalin got his turn 2 years after that.

[@TheGixernutter]

The Pollish element of your teachings. Will probably be the most important and defining element of your work. Prey continue my good man, with style and aplomb.

[@deanwilliams4365]

i would love you to do Crete. given that it was the first ULTRA informed battle, what Ultra was provided who over ruled who. the lack of comunication and the never mentiond threat of seaborn invasion and actual greman seaborn landings.

[@Colonel_Blimp]

That would be good seeing that the “World War 2” site has recently made a total balls of the subject.

[@deanwilliams4365]

@@Colonel_Blimp so true. reading from one book to make a utube income, and a discredited book to boot.

[@polandski687]

TIK I can imagine your headache after entering Polish affairs of that period. Well done in 100%. What I see missing, to make your film 110% accurate, are opinions of other Polish commanders about uprising. Many of them were against as militarily uncertain. One man general Leopold Okulicki (recommend to read his CV) foced his view and it has started. I read his sentence :"the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising will "shake the world's conscience" and force Western governments and public opinion to react to Stalinist policy of accomplished facts " This was not professional military approach. Such justifiaction was of no military sense. Poland was already sold to USSR at that time. He, Okulicki, also added that if we fail Gemans will slaughter us. What was other choise? They say Warsaw would be converted to Festung and defended to the end. LIke eg. MInsk or Charkov causing losses to civiliants and the young AK soldiers would anyway be killed by NKVD or in Siberia (tested earlier in 1944) One do not know what would be the city faith. Final results: minimal German losses , destroyed city (30% of IIWW POland damage), destroyed cultural inheritage and killed thousants of young ellite people which attended conspiracy, illegal, college and university lectures given at homes, to continue normal living after the war. It needs to be said that total destroying of Warsaw was ordered by "madman Hitler" as s a punishment after the uprising was ended.

[@Gew219]

The Polish government-in-exile was strictly against the uprising. They wanted to continue the policy of staying low that you mentioned early in the video, TIK. It was the local AK generals that started the uprising against the suggestions from London. That's why nothing was coordinated with the British, the Americans or the Soviets at first.

[@Bartolomeus002]

Exactly. At least thats what I learned at school back in the day.

[@MaxAttacks16]

Tik Tok, Tik Tok, hey TiK when is the Stalingrad video coming!? Looking forward to it!

[@mikefay5698]

Lets not talk about that shall we! TIK will say it was bad luck that the Nazi's lost!

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Operation Market Garden plan was a disaster before it started. The plan essentially involved advancing with an Armored Corps down a 2 lane road. The ground on either side of the road wasn't suitable for armored warfare.

[@orangekayak78]

Wait didn't the red army radio encourage the Polish Home Army to rise up?

[@mcfontaine]

Orange Kayak yep they did.

[@lukebruce5234]

I'd like to see the entire transcript because it's likely going to be another Polish myth.

[@mladenmatosevic4591]

In same time when was Warsaw uprising Soviets had long prepared offensive on Romania and Hungary. Romania flipped side and that combined with Partisans in Yugoslavia made German position on Balkans untenable so Bulgaria flipped too. Germany had to leave Greece. Hungary was wavering for few days too, before Germans took control. Even more critical, Germans lost Romanian oil fields, nearly all oil they controlled.

[@general-cromwell6639]

There is one issue which I probably didn't make absolutely clear, anyone trying to understand any one point in history, must take in the entirety of the subject. History does not operate in a vacuum of time, while WW2 is the focal point of the 20th century, which was a continuation of all the centuries before it. Just like the Cold war was an extension of WW2, there are no empty spots, history is that one thing that was, is and will be... Once you understand that, it puts most things into perspective. All the best. Cheers.

[@floydlooney6837]

It would be interesting to see how newspapers across Europe reported the same events.

[@nauansarbasov1138]

Hey, TIK! Thank you for covering some of the debated issues in the history of WWII! Are you going to cover the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Germany, Poland and Hungary in 1938? Look forward to your feedback!

[@TheImperatorKnight]

Yeah, I want to eventually get around to all those things, although I need to do more work on the German economy first because the financial bleeding of the German economy is what motivated them to occupy Austria, the Sudetenland etc when they did

[@billjunior94]

But Poles were saints they never did anything bad they didn't invade a country that was in disarray "Belarus Ukraine"

[@jjquinn295]

@@billjunior94 2 things can be true at once, you can do questionable things, and get screwed over within a decade.

[@wayneinteressierts2196]

An similiar example on the Western side on a smaller scale can be Chuchill´s policy in Greece. When he decided not to help Greek partisans because they where Communists and instead gave an order for British soldiers to execute these partisans when any of them was caught. Once i have heard that the Germans had very heavy artillery stationed in Warsaw, but i am not sure how accurate this information is...

[@scaleyback217]

A few years ago my wife and I holidayed in Warsaw. We visited the Jewish and the uprising museums - 2 of the best museums I've ever visited. A couple of things which were pointed out to us was that much of Warsaw never rose against the Nazis it was very localized. As you walk round one of the most fascinating cities I've visited you can see what became a symbol of the resistance - a tortoise. It started, apparently, as the handiwork of one teenager as a sign for the whole of Warsaw to just slow down as a sign of passive aggression against the occupation forces. It spread across the city and the Nazis became very jittery and concerned about the symbol. If my memory serves me right, and it sometimes does not, they never caught the young lad who started the go slow movement. It was very effective in helping to shut down the machine behind the German war machine in the city. Not sure how you factor in the Western allies could have done more - the RAF did drop supplies as did the USAAF but most of what US dropped ended up in the parts of the city which did not join in the uprising. It was my undersanding the Soviets would not allow the aircraft to land and be refuelled so resupply was limited as a result. Further the Soviets were within sight of the small part of the city being fought over but made no attempt to assist, content to allow the Germans and the Polish resistance to slaughter each other. The Soviets were the only allies who could have offered assistance, for the reasons you pointed out, not wishing to support what could have been the competition they chose not to, more than no desire to than not having the manpower to do so though. I can recommend the city as a wonderful place for a city break with some dark yet enthralling historical sites.

[@mkosmala1309]

I think the case for going through the Balkans is stronger than is sometimes presented, as you indicate at 37:00 ish. Yugoslavian partisans, Greek resistance fighters, and other local elements were making hell for the Germans, and some of the smaller Axis nations there were only Axis as a preferable alternative to the Soviets; many changed sides, and I'm sure they would have preferred to switch sides to the Western Allies rather than the Soviets. Perhaps an Allied drive north through the Balkans could have kept at least some of the region from falling to the Soviets post-war, and even if the route bogged down it would have still served much the same function as Italy (i.e., opening a second front and tying the Germans down even before Normandy). The Poles and Balkan Allied forces certainly would have charged hard to the north. It's at least worth considering.

[@zico81]

Interesting. I had never realised that there was no coordination with Moscow whatsoever. I thought Stalin truly duped them.

[@zwiazekstrzeleckioddziasyc9410]

AK commanders explained that they were afraid of two threats: 1 - Germans announced that they intend to defend Warsaw against the soviets. This scenario also means the destruction of the city. 2 - the communist resistance could provoke an uprising. Soviet radio encouraged this. It was the second dangerous scenario: the communist resistance makes an uprising, the Soviets help him, and the nation believes that the communists are the real heroes because they started the uprising. I'm not saying that the arguments of the Home Army commanders were wise. But it's worth remembering that they explained their decision this way.

[@sirrathersplendid4825]

One thing often ignored by historians, is that the Warsaw Rising went ahead despite opposition from nearly all the seasoned officers in the AK. Young hotheads, many of them in their early twenties or younger, had had enough of German occupation, and refused to wait for a more opportune moment, one when the Soviets were closer to Warsaw and the Germans weaker.

[@johnkeester3865]

Hey TIK I’ve studied WWll quite a bit and would value your opinion on the subject of the chance of Germany winning WWll if after France they just waited awhile gathering as much supplies as possible then dividing there army into two separate armies one attacking the Caucuses while the other army attacked N Africa with the goal of meeting up and linking up in the south of the Caucuses. Now they have control of Egypt and the canal and all the oil in the Middle East and the Caucuses. Now England and the Soviet Union would be oil starved putting the United States in the position of having to supply both countries including themselves of much needed oil and gas.