What did the Polish Do on D-Day? | Poland's Contribution Normandy 1944

The 6th of June 1944 is better known as D-Day, the Normandy Landings where Allied forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Despite the majority of the attacking forces coming from these nations, in truth a whole host of smaller ones contributed to the efforts. The Second World War in Europe began with the German, and later Soviet Invasion of Poland in 1939. Despite the eventual capitulation of their country hundreds of thousands of Poles made it to France and the United Kingdom where they continued the fight in the air, on the seas, and on land, including at D-Day.
00:00-00:48 - Intro
00:48-01:15 - Invasion of Poland
01:15-02:39 - Polish Forces in Exile
02:39-04:18 - Polish Air Force in World War 2
04:18-04:45 - Polish Navy in World War 2
04:45-07:06 - Polish Army in World War 2
07:06-07:51 - Outro
Music Used:
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#ww2 #history #poland

[@Adrian-ju7cm]

My father was liberated by the first Polish division in Breda in 44. Long live Poland

[@willhovell9019]

🇲🇨🇲🇨

[@supreme3376]

Hmm super cześć i chwała Bohaterom

[@mariolacioek2451]

Hmmm ? 1944-2024? 80????

[@geokou7645]

@@mariolacioek2451what is bro trying to say

[@tomaszser470]

so kick in ass your Timmermans, who attack Poland very much since years.

[@annehersey9895]

And at the end of the war, the Poles were NOT allowed to march in the London Victory Parade-Shameful!

[@Nepetita69696]

Disgusting honestly

[@darek4488]

Do not forget that when the war ended Britain charged Poland for planes and their servicing, airfields, ammo, bombs, fuel, medical treatment, accommodation and food. The total bill for that was 107 650 000 British Pounds. Unthinkable money if you consider that in 1945 a house in Britain would cost around 1000 Pounds. It was basically a way to steal the gold Poland has managed to miraculously transfer to Canada as soon as the war started. That's why I will never have any respect for the British.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

May the Polish people remain free!

[@Jakob_Herzog]

The speed bump now has teeth

[@sowianskizonierz2693]

We aren't

[@faenethlorhalien]

I heard once refer to the land Poland has historically now and then occupied as "the worst Civilization game start location": impossible to defend because it's plains to the east and west, where two historically hostile civilizations have spawned (Germany and Russia), and blocked in the north-south axis by sea and mountains.

[@GaryArmstrongmacgh]

@@faenethlorhalien Luckily, for now, Germany is a friend.

[@jugbywellington1134]

@@GaryArmstrongmacgh Read T H Tetens' "Germany Plots with the Kremlin". You may wonder if that is true.

[@caseclosed9342]

What’s sad is there were several Polish generals who later became bartenders in Britain and died in obscurity. Mark Felton did a video about it.

[@peacefulamerican4994]

A direct result of world wide communism and Stalin.

[@robertklimczak5630]

Dlaczego tak było? Jak jesteś wysokiej klasy specjalista wojskowym masz problem.z pracą. Nie tylko generałowie mieli problem , piloci też. Jeden z pilotów który bronił nieba w. Brytanii w roku 1940 po wojnie był taksówkarzem. Tylko ludzie krorzy mieli zawód cywilny mogli pracować, ale dużo musiało wyjechać z W. Brytania..Jan Zumbach as myśliwski dostal łaskawie dwa dni na pożegnanie się i wyjazd z Angli .

[@wawa8408]

​@@robertklimczak5630 And Zumbach went to Paris, where he ran a "Cabaret", later became " military advisor" in Africa... Pozdro z Szkocji

[@TakAndrzejPolak]

@@robertklimczak5630 Ale w tej niechęci powrotu do kraju, gdzie rządzili sowieci... ciekawe jakie były losy lotników czeskich, oni byli w podobnej łódce...

[@PawelTheShrubber]

@@robertklimczak5630 Pamiętaj że po wojnie w której walczyło tylu ludzi miałeś masę takich specjalistów i pilotów na nowym rynku pracy. Inni alianccy weterani mieli lepiej bo mogli zostać w wojsku jeśli byli bardziej zasłużeni ale oczywiście Polskie wojsko na uchodźstwie już nie istniało więc Polaków to nie dotyczyło.

[@heatherjones6647]

Thank you for speaking about the very important Polish contribution. My father, Sargent 1st Canadian Army, spoke well of them.

[@Jobe-13]

Poland being able to keep it together during and after WWII is kind of shocking.

[@IQsveen]

Also before the war, honestly 🤷

[@paulallen3557]

Thank you for this endorsement of the Polish war effort. I'm an old man in Eastern Kentucky but I know of the gallantry and determination of Polish military forces, from their, perhaps, history changing fighting during the Battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Turks to their contribution in WWII.

[@epikurejczyk]

One of my uncles named Bronislaw was a soldier in 1st Armoured Division. He actually was fighting under command of gen. Maczek since September campaign of 1939. My uncle was also fighting in France in the spring of 1940. After the war he married a Belgian woman and stayed in Belgium until his death. He received the Virtuti Military, highest military decoration in Poland.

[@player-ne2dn]

Great video once again! Only thing you missed was the panther tank the Polish donated to the city of Breda, which still stands there today als a monument!

[@Artur_M.]

Thank you for spreading the knowledge about the Polish contribution! Dziękuję bardzo, dobra robota! One tiny clarification that comes to my mind is that I'm pretty sure that the three BGs on that tactical map of the battle of the Falaise pocket stand for "battle groups", not brigades.

[@crimson5664]

Always underrated. Always forggoten. Thank you for reminding the history and who were there heroes

[@alansmithee8831]

Hello Hilbert. One for your girlfriend's country. I saw my Polish colleague this week for the first time in a while. He usually mentions the Polish who fought in Italy, as I commented before, but this was interesting as it does not get mentioned as much.

[@IQsveen]

You forgot to mention the Polish contribution to the Battle of Narvik in Norwegian campaign in 1940.

[@WyzszaSzkolaJazdy]

There is more missing info. but I guess the focus was on D-day involvement.

[@brmf4346]

My Grandfather fought in 1st Armoured. I've been to Breda and General Maczek's grave. Cheers!

[@mecx7322]

Poland never capitulated in 1939. Polish government and military command shifted to Romania and then to France and finally to UK. There was never any capitulation document signed as in case of France in 1940.

[@micharudzinski7856]

glory and memory for the fallen, 200 years to the living and long live FREE POLAND

[@podunkman2709]

Five years in combat, all fronts on all continents. On the ground, in the air, on the water: ❤ 🇵🇱

[@tomaszser470]

and.... Underground, very important.

[@planet_69]

Did they do anything in the Pacific or far east?

[@martinhawley2401]

It was the polish military that stopped the mongols sweeping through Europe have a very strong military history or so took part in arnhem with the paratroops

[@leannevandekew1996]

Maybe Lithuania next. My brother's scoutmaster was a Lithuanian Airforce officer, their Airforce was destroyed in the first week, and he would fight with Lithuanian underground.

[@tomaszser470]

what about Ponary "fighting" ?

[@leannevandekew1996]

@@tomaszser470 Jpegs confuse you.

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

ORP is the Polish equivalent of HMS or USS; Okret Rzeczypospolitej Polski

[@ohajohaha]

*Polskiej

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

@@ohajohaha Well, I was close. Thanks

[@ohajohaha]

@@simple-commentator-not-rea7345 it is a very common mistake.

[@leonmarkrodziewicz279]

Thanks for posting this. My father was Polish Cavalry at the outbreak of WW2 then Armii Krajowe until arrested by the Gestapo in a general roundup in 1943 after which he was a slave labourer until his own liberation in 1945. Always nice to hear about the contribution of the Polish forces serving in the Western militaries. Niech ze y je Polska!

[@thatguyswavomeer]

On top of that the Warsaw Uprising of August 1944 has engaged approx. 25k German troops that could not have been deployed elsewhere and disabled a vital transport hub between eastern and western front, right in face of Soviets approaching from the east.

[@nacelnikprosiak1260]

And then Soviets didn't allow Allied use of their airports to send aid to Warsaw and just sat on the eastern side of Vistula while Warsaw was being burned down

[@GCMadej]

Polish Power!!

[@SlavEditor]

you have really good polish pronounciation, you sound like you speak english as first language but then started learning polish at around age 10

[@GaryArmstrongmacgh]

One of your best and most poignent Hilbert. May all of our Greatest Generation (even the Soviets and Chinese armies) from around the world be praised.

[@nacelnikprosiak1260]

It's still sad that Churchill didn't allow polish troops to take part in Victory parade after ww2

[@podunkman2709]

Parade is just... parade. Sjmbolic moment. More devastating was tha Churchil and Roosvelt were feeding russian bear and gave half of Europe to Stalin for free.

[@michaelmazowiecki9195]

Not his decision to make as he was no longer the Prime Minister as he lost power in July 1945. Stalin pressured the Labour Party government to not allow the Poles to participate in the 1946 parade.

[@sheridansherr8974]

Good video. Subbed. 💖👍👍👍

[@Ragerian]

only the polish could bring the germans and russians together as buddies

[@FreeThoughtCrime]

For a thousand years, Poland stood on the battlements of our civilization. Hail to Poland!

[@micahistory]

Interesting, never as question I had asked before

[@tylerhendrix14]

I love how we completely ignored the fact that the Soviets were literal allies with Germany. They ussd the war as an excuse to exapnd. And thus the cold war started afterwards. If only they got some sort of consequences for that.

[@leno_o17]

Who ignored that?

[@jugbywellington1134]

My wife is Polish and grew up in Commie times. Her school taught her that the Soviets invaded Poland "to save Poland from the Germans". Everybody knew it was a lie.

[@leno_o17]

@@jugbywellington1134 sadly not everyone knew that. Especially lower class, living in the area that didn't have direct experience with Red Army. Also the memories of the Germans and what they did were so strong that people didn't want to think that there might be yet another evil... Ofc the Communist regime was hated by most, it was brutal and people still remembered Soviet crimes from the interwar period. But in the second decade after the war many people were just stuck with the narration they were being taught in school. My grandfather was always saying that Katyń Massacre was done by the Soviets...most people were thinking that he was a conspiracy theorist or that he just shouldn't say things like that or he would be arrested (which is true).

[@GaryArmstrongmacgh]

That's no small number of men under arms.

[@hollander-vanveenhistory]

May i ask could you make a video about general winkelman?

[@akaEsit]

Where did you find this map? 5:37

[@metanoian965]

and Slovaks from the South, 1939

[@robertklimczak5630]

Do Słowaków nic nie mamy ,byli panstwem wasalem hitlera.

[@janjachymiak9013]

🇵🇱

[@samwill7259]

"I am a Pole" is a very good replacement for "Karma's a bitch"

[@Nepetita69696]

😐

[@Swindondruid2]

1:42 I was always taught that the Romanians were the fourth biggest Allied forces. Do you have the total number for Poland and Romania?

[@franzmaurer2287]

😂😂😂

[@Swindondruid2]

@@franzmaurer2287 The best figures I have are 200,000 Polish and 1.2M Romanians

[@tomaszser470]

@@Swindondruid2 how they said 195 000 in 1944 but in 1939 was ~ 1 mil. Plenty was overrun during September 39' by germans or soviet and spend the war in KL, prison camps: Stallags, Offlags or Gulags. There was also two Armees made by soviet from the Poles dragged earlier to Kazakstan, Sibieria..... or from overun Poland since January 1944.

[@AkiWataru]

He would be perfect for a Pole with that accent

[@hikosaemon]

Question - the German invasion of Poland started UK and France war with Germany, but why didn't Russian invasion of other half of Poland cause war with Russia? Was that seen as liberation from Germany?

[@pep-qew1977]

No, we Poles see them as equally bad, however UK and France made a deal only about III Reich so when USSR attacked they done nothing.

[@robertklimczak5630]

10/20 tysiecy czołgówrosja. Na papierze potęga. kto by chciał walczyc za cudzy kraj który uznano już na początku walk za stracony. Ha,general Maczek wyzwolil to miasto w1944 roku. . Parodia.

[@KoziPLUS]

How ungrateful the Dutch are to the poles. Their coach wouldn’t even shake are hands yet, we were responsible in liberating his country. What a disgrace.

[@tomaszser470]

dutch from gaylandia to the Poles.

[@Basedbateman97]

Last

[@solemnity.]

ALAOLSLA 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Icecubegv]

First

[@robertklimczak5630]

Czytalem komentarze naszych oficerow od generala Maczka byli zdziwieni metoda dowodzenia Montiego. Jego dowodzenie ,rozkazy daly na poczatku duze straty dywizji pancernej. Dopiero pozwolenie na prace dywizji by sama stworzyla warunki by osiagnac cel spowodowalo sukces w walce. Monty smial sie jeszcze w W Brytanii gdzie znajda polacy uzupelnienie polskich wojsk ,pytal sie czt mowimy po niemiecku Hm dyzo pod koniec 1945 mowilo po slasku, kaszubsku to byli jency niemieccy. Polacy bywali wcielani do wojska niemieckiego slask rejon kaszub,kraj warty jak to mowili niemcy byl niemueckim I polacy migli byc jako kaszubi i slazacy albo niemcami albo polakami czyli do zabicia. Teraz lub później. Dywizja Maczka miala duzo zilnierzy ktorzy zostali jencami lub dezerteramina przeszli przez armie niemiecka. Narzekano .. tylko ze nie byli czolgistami ani artylerzystami. Na zdziwienie czytajacych. Powinniscie poczytac że do konca wojny sluzylo w armii hitlera duzo cwierc Żydów a i zdarzali sie pół Żydzi. Choc ci najczesciej przezyli gdy sfalszowane mieli papiery na hm aryjskie. Ciekawosrka jest jeden z plakatow przedstawiajacy aryjskiego zolnierza w munduze i hełmie. Okazalo sie po wojnie ze ten blondynek byl zydem hahaha.

[@viro3445]

Kolego, ciekawy wpis, ale czytelność jest słaba. Błędów jest mnóstwo, a interpunkcja w wielu miejscach leży. Weź to popraw.

[@TakAndrzejPolak]

Z setkami tysięcy Żydów służącymi w Wehrmachcie, jest tak samo jak z setkami tysięcy Polaków służącymi również w Wehrmachcie.

[@jacekkubiak3551]

Thank You it was nice to remind Polish part in Europe liberation...

[@jaremaw2368]

President of Ukraine, Zelenski was invited to celebrateD-day in Normandy. In WWII Ukrainians fought for NAZIS. To this day they celebrate SS “heroes”. Go figure.

[@peacefulamerican4994]

In addition Poles served in the Red army. Perhaps 250,000 Poles.

[@Userrggjifiubno]

hell nah

[@leno_o17]

​@@Userrggjifiubno Rokkosowsky? Berling?

[@Artur_M.]

In 1943, Stalin created his puppet Polish authorities and military. By 1945, there were the 1st and 2nd Polish Army fighting on the eastern front, over 200 000 soldiers strong. Although many officers were just Red Army officers (Russians and others) dressed up in Polish uniforms. Despite this and the whole political context, the service of these troops also deserves to be remembered.

[@bobstone0]

It is true that the command was 100% Russian puppet, often native Russians, but the eastern army was also called the Polish Army and not the Red Army.

[@robertklimczak5630]

Był pobór do armi na terenach które zajmował zsrr.. zdarzało się że całe jednostki dezertowaly, gdy zorientowali się że to nie polska armia tylko armia komunistów.

[@planet_69]

Usual polish spin and telling an incomplete narrative. Just focusing on the b of b, latest research by POLISH historians put 303 squadrons kills at 58.8 of which 38.8 kills were by poles, mostly light undefended light bombers. 303 were veteran pilots with vast flying experience and some combat experience all put into 2 squadrons, whereas raf pilots during the battle were mostly new inexperienced pilots, the raf having seen vastly more combat in the war up to that point and suffered great pilot losses. Polish kills in the whole b of b were about 58 out of 1883 luftwaffe losses. 38.8 in 303, 14 in 302, and lets say 5.8 by poles mixed into other squadrons.

[@tomaszser470]

why you lie ?

[@electrochrist1046]

yes german or russian narrative is complete and true ... {sarkazm }

[@Emanon...]

Well, technically, even Germans and Italians fought with the allies at D-day. It doesn't add or diminish anything about their struggle that some Poles participated. If you really want to talk about forgotten fighters of WW2, we should focus on all the black Americans and non-Europeans that bled for the US and Great Britain respectively, only to return home and continue being treated as second class citizens.

[@historywithhilbert146]

I mean I agree those are interesting stories to but the majority of Poles who fought were unable to return home after the war because of the new Communist regime imposed upon it by the Soviet Union. Some only were able to return home at all in the 1990s.

[@wingedhussar5528]

Thats literally what happened to the Poles. When the Soviet put their puppets in place, the Polish soliders who fought in the West were treated like second class citizens and many were viewed as spies. This is why many of them never got to return home, never got a parade, never got veterans pension, and never got to see Poland free. Maczek for example was a bartender in Scotland after the war.

[@bobstone0]

But you are talking about the fate of many Poles. Poles were at war from literally the first days, from 1939. They fought on all fronts, in the Battle of Britain 1940, on D-Day, in the Netherlands and Denmark, in Italy at Monte Cassino. Not to mention the Polish partisans, the Underground State or the Polish Army in the East created by the USSR. But after the end of the war, Poland fell under the occupation of the USSR and communist dictatorship, and the Cold War began. And Poles who fought in the West and returned to communist Poland were accused of collaborating with the Nazis. Because you know what Russia is like. Fighting the Nazis alongside the English and Americans was equated with an alliance with the Third Reich, because now Western Europe became evil and a rival because the Germans were defeated. Then, many Poles who fought against the Nazis were tortured and murdered by the communist authorities.

[@pedroparamo-fw6ez]

They did nothing but to run in circles like chickens without a head.

[@TakAndrzejPolak]

Но никто не бросил их, как падаль, в братские ямы.

[@mikadorek1]

Going to visit Breda 1st Division monuments and 262 near Falaise.

[@dasboot5903]

*HOLD on a second !!!!* *There is nothing to say ..... about Polish Paratroopers at ARNHEM under general Stanislaw Sosabowski ??* 🎯

[@tomaszser470]

there is 0 (zero) about polish mine finder! Now called "metal detector"