"How Poland Saved the World from Russia" Topic

"In the summer of 1920, Russia seemed poised to take over Europe.

Newly victorious in the Russian Civil War, but convinced that the capitalists were bent on strangling the cradle of Communism, the Bolsheviks looked for salvation. Their gaze fell on Germany, exhausted and embittered by defeat in the First World War, and now engulfed in civil strife between Communist revolutionaries and protofascist freikorps paramilitaries. If only the Red Army's bayonets could install a Bolshevik regime in Berlin, then the two most powerful states in Central and Eastern Europe would be united in a Communist monolith. And from there, perhaps Communism would spread to Italy, France, Hungary and beyond. Could Marx's prediction of world revolution finally be at hand?…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

It is a very interesting conflict to wargame.

link

link

It is a very interesting conflict, and one I would like to game. Particularly since I had relatives who were involved.

That being said, I grew up on the "Miracle of the Vistula"
story, which is recounted in the article Tango presents from "The National Interest". But note that even Davies' VERY pro-Polish "Red Star, White Eagle" indicates that the infant Polish government was dissatisfied with its new borders, and
wanted to recreate the old Commonwealth by seizing Ukraine while Russia was in chaos. It was not a "preemptive strike " against Bolshevism. It was pure nationalism on the Poles part, and helped the Bolsheviks by allowing them to also tap into nationalism. Would a Red victory over Poland have been a catastrophe? Absolutely. But the war was started by Poland for over-romantic nationalist reasons, not because Poland was looking to "stop the commies" in advance.
As always, take any source with a big grain of salt. "The National Interest" leans right, and is an old Cold Warrior
from way back.

Bob, are you using 15s in that game?

79thPA,

The figures were 15mm figures from a variety of manufacturers.

Like the wargame!.

Amicalement
Armand

The question of Poland's borders was definitely in flux in 1918. Many Poles believed that Poland should include all of the territories once ruled by the PLC in 17th and 18th centuries. Anything less would be selling out the hopes and dreams the 19th century romantics that fought for a free Poland.

An long held concept. ZEven when I was in college, I had to write a paper defending or attacking the position. It was part of a class on historical scholarship.