Battle of Warsaw
Posted on 08/05/2005 10:39:05 AM PDT by lizol
Polish code breakers won the Polish Russian war
It wasn’t a miracle, it was Polish intelligence. The victory of the Polish army over Soviet invaders in the summer of 1920 in one of the most important battles of the 20th century. Newly discovered evidence suggests that what came to be known as the miracle on the Vistula river, was no miracle at all. It was all down to Polish military intelligence. The miracle means a miraculous reversal of fortunes – the Russians had been winning the war until they suffered a crushing defeat at the gates of Warsaw. Apparently Poland knew all steps to be taken by the enemy thanks to Polish cryptologists breaking all Red Army’s ciphers.
Polish intelligence documents just discovered by historian, Grzegorz Nowik at the Central Military Archives in Warsaw show unquestionably that when the whole world heard that Soviets claimed peace pact with Poland in 1920, Poland had already known they got ready to attack their neighbouring country. This is how Russia struggled to recover territory lost in World War I and expand the Communist revolution to the west of Europe. In 1919 the Poles gained control of most of the disputed territories. The Soviet counter-offensive was very successful, throwing Polish forces back westward all the way to the Polish capital of Warsaw, were the decisive battle took place, but many communists in Moscow, at that time, saw Poland as a bridge over which communism would pass even as far as into Germany. When the Polish forces achieved an unexpected and decisive victory in the Battle of Warsaw in the summer of 1920, the war ended with a ceasefire dividing the disputed territory between Poland and Soviet Russia. The victory, like all the knowledge from Soviet messages deciphered by Poles faster than by the Russians especially at the end of the war, is all owed to Polish cryptologists, says Grzegorz Nowik:
'It was excellent intelligence, highly modern and effective. The cryptologists broke practically all Russian ciphers, not only the Bolshevik ones. Poland controlled then the whole correspondence from the White Sea to the Black Sea, from the River of Dnepr to Vladivostok. Poles were informed about the situation in the country and on the battlefield by the Russian political, administrative, organizational military correspondence. '
Already in the spring of 1920 the headquaters of Polish Army knew nearly all steps to be taken by the Red Army. Polish cryptologists would inform Jozef Pi³sudski, the then Polish commander-in-chief, not only about the enemy’s number of units, armament, equipment, staff, but even about their low morale – a result of diseases and hunger as well as of their bare feet during battles. Later Polish cryptologists broke the Enigma code which was one of the major successes in World War II. Grzegorz Nowik says, the specialists in deciphering German codes learnt directly from their colleagues, the heroes of 1920:
'Enigma wasn’t just a coincidence or a miracle. It’s a consequence of Polish intellectual thought. The new thing that my book shows is that Poles didn’t only win the war using force and army, they mainly won it intellectually. '
Altogether Soviet codes and a few thousand Soviet messages were deciphered successfully. In his book: ‘Before Enigma got deciphered…’ Grzegorz Nowik gives the whole story of professors of Polish Universities in Warsaw and Lvov who led by a mathematician and linguist lieutenant Jan Kowalewski, stopped communism at thePolish border in 1920 and later taught younger colleagues to break codes to win the war against fascism.
Also, a Polish mathematician discovered the secret behind the German Enigma encryption system. Had it not been for him, the team at Bletchley Park would have had a much more difficult time with breaking Enigma.
I think you may find this interesting.
Although it is too late to tell them this directly, we owe these Poles an incredible debt for their efforts in the service of freedom.
This I would like to know more about. I have only heard about how the Brits did it.
There are some bok on the subject. The British contribution was a computer that sped the process, but the foundation for the work was the result of the efforts of a Polish mathematician.
bok=books
ping
Poland saved Western Civilization in 1920. Few Americans know that.
Russian invaders? The Russians only invaded Poland because Poland invaded the Soviet Union in April, 1920 and got itself defeated. Needless to say, the Russians didn't like being attacked and launched a counterattack.
Marshall Pilsudski was a fool, and was very lucky not to have had his country wiped off the map for his stupidity. Invading Russia is never a smart idea, all the stupider if your country is poor and weak to begin with.
"Poland saved Western Civilization in 1920. Few Americans know that."
They also did it in 1683 at Vienna.
Very interesting--I heard about Enigma project in Britain that was also the result of Polish codebreakers.
I currently read "Da Vinci Code" and try to play a bit of codebreaker myself--don't have enough patience though, so It won't be my job -:)))))
Please add me to the Eastern European ping list. The Polish victory in 1920 is one of the most underrated stories of the 20th century. This was the first battle of the Cold War, and if Russia had been allowed to advance, battle weary Europe might have fallen to Communism.
OK
Is this the new short hand plural form? ; )
I beleive a Pole was able to make a copy of the machine from memory?
Very cool story -- thanks for the ping.
It was, but Tukhatchevski's Red Army got very close to victory, too.
They've done it more than once.
Thanks for an interesting link.
Perhaps of interest to your MI Ping list...best regards. T_J.
Interesting.
Tip off by Towed_Jumper
They weren't. Pilsudski invaded the Soviet Union. Did he capture the Ukraine? No. He was defeated, the Soviets counter-attacked, and marched to the gates of Warsaw. So he prevented Warsaw from being lost... some accomplishment. There wouldn't have been a Battle of Warsaw had Pilsudski not gone out invading countries bigger than his. The guy was a dolt.
That's a bizarre argument. So Lenin tricked Pilsudski into invading the Soviet Union so Lenin could defeat him and capture Warsaw? Supporting Pilsudski is never having to say you're sorry.
I don’t know why this is so sensational news, I knew it, that Poland broke Soviet codes.
Russia gained these lands during partition of Poland (1772 - 1975), they had no rights to do that.
The problem with Pilsudski, was that he let his hatred of the Czar get in the way of helping the Whites in the Russian Civil War. Polish assistance to the Whites could have helped turn the tide in the White's favor.
Yep, but in this case non-communist Russia, supported by the West would never agree for independent Poland within borders containing territories, that former used to be part of Russian Empire.
Oh nonsense. Pilsudski was enforcing 200-year old claims on Russian territory, which he thought he could get away with because Russia was weak. He was wrong. He lost, Russia defeated him and then invaded Poland, and Poles everwhere should thank their lucky stars (and curse Pilsudski) that his foolishness didn't wind up costing them Poland's independence.
It's hard to think of anybody anywhere doing anything less intelligent than what Pilsudski did. It's the equivalent of Luxembourg invading Germany, Kuwait attacking Iraq, Canada declaring jihad on the United States... mindblowing!
Please - give yourself a chance and read the article, or links, that I've provided.
True, but what makes you think the Whites would have been any more eager to give Poland the Ukraine than the Reds were? This wasn't about Communism vs. Anti-Communism, Pilsudski was simply trying to steal some rich land opportunistically, and he got beat bad in the process, almost losing his country.
I read the article. I agree with you that it's a good thing that the Soviets didn't win at Warsaw, but Pilsudski was certainly asking for it.
The article glosses over the fact that the reason the Bolsheviks were at the gates of Warsaw in the first place was because Pilsudski had INVADED the Soviet Union, capturing Kiev, the country's third largest city. It's the functional equivalent of Canada conquering Chicago and then, after the United States has defeated them and recaptured Chicago and marched to the gates of Ottawa, suddenly declaring the war to be a fight to preserve Canadian independence. There is no justification for what Pilsudski did.
Beside these land were not Russian but Belarusian and Ukrainian with large Polish/Jewish minorities.
I'm not sure why Poland should have any more claim to the Ukraine than Russia, but that aside, regardless of the merits of Pilsudski's two-hundred-year-old land claim, invading the Soviet Union was, as Talleyrand might have said, worse than a crime, it was a blunder. And I have no tolerance for stupidity.
If Pilsudski would not attack them, do you think that further history would be more merciful for the Poles? I don’t think so.
His plan was to conquer Belarus and Ukraine, turn them into Polish satellite states, and use them to boost the power of one Jozef Pilsudski. Since he not only failed to conquer Belarus and Ukraine, but almost lost his country through his little scheme, I think you're probably accurate in describing his plan as less that completely succesful.
If Pilsudski would not attack them, do you think that further history would be more merciful for the Poles? I don’t think so.
Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe the Russians wouldn't have mistrusted the Poles to the extent that they had to ally with Hitler against them. In any event, invading the Soviet Union in 1920 was simply stupid.
Even using your words, it would be the greater gift for them ever made. I think that it would be a lot better for them (and of course for the Poles) to become “Polish satellites” than part of Soviet Union.
Since he not only failed to conquer Belarus and Ukraine, but almost lost his country through his little scheme
Anyway he conquered probably more that anybody expected before. I don’t think that he almost lost his country, in fact he let Soviet army came to the gates of Warsaw where he prepared successful defense. If the Polish army broke their codes, it means that they controlled situation.
Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe the Russians wouldn't have mistrusted the Poles to the extent that they had to ally with Hitler against them.
Nor Whites nor commies respected Polish independence. They would come to us anyway, as always. It has nothing to do with trust but everything with territorial ambitions.
In 1919, the Soviets had fomented communist revolts in Germany and Hungary. In 1920, Lenin said, "...our victory will be a lasting victory only when our undertaking will conquer the whole world, because we had launched it exclusively counting on the world revolution."
At the Ninth All-Russia Conference of the Russian Communist Party, Lenin announced that the "defensive period of the war with worldwide imperialism was over." (emphasis mine) In this speech Lenin explained how Poland was the lynchpin of the capitalist imperialist "entente," and how an alliance with nationalist German proto-Nazis could destroy the Versailles Peace. Stalin would eventually fulfill this plan with his pact with Hitler.
Even though he had signed a treaty with Lithuania affirming their sovereignty, he still ordered the Red Army to occupy and "Sovietize" Lithuania in the summer of 1920.
Lenin hoped that the "oppressed proletariat" in Poland would help the Reds defeat their "class enemy." He was wrong.
To say that the Soviets invaded Poland in self-defense is ignorant and despicable.
The Nazis destroyed Warsaw, a cultural capital, imprisoned Poles and Jews...forced labor and murder.....
Glad this is out. Pay back's a bitch!
Russia gained these lands during partition of Poland (1772 - 1975), they had no rights to do that.==
May be. But theirs are not polish either. TODAY they belong tp rightful owners and they are not poles:)))..
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