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No Greater Ally: The Untold Story of Poland's Forces in World War II (General Military) Paperback – February 15, 2011

4.4 out of 5 stars 99 customer reviews

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Product Details

  • Series: General Military
  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Osprey Publishing; Reprint edition (February 15, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1849084793
  • ISBN-13: 978-1849084796
  • Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 0.8 x 7.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

Format: Hardcover
Too few books in the Second World War genre are really new and novel in historical content; fortunately Kenneth K. Koskodan's "No Greater Ally: The Untold Story of Poland's Forces in World War II (General Military)" doesn't fall into this category. Koskodan has produced a first class piece of historiography that is both new and novel, and simultaneously engaging and extremely enjoyable to read. Even if you think you know something about Poland during the war you'll certainly find something to merit your time spent with this book!

Each of the ten chapters in Koskodan's 250 pp of formal prose is essentially dedicated to a single story, whether a discussion of a single time period or group of Poles engaged in fighting the Nazis. Some of the stories are not unknown, while others have been only vaguely covered in the past, and still others are quite new. Simply what Koskodan has done is to put all major the pieces of the Polish puzzle into one book, something never done previously at this level. Appropriately, if somewhat predictably, Koskodan bookends his prose with appropriate discussions of political and military environments associated with Poland and her `allies' and `potential adversaries' at the beginning (Chapt 1 and 2) and end of the war (Chapt 10), respectively. Buttressing these `bookends' from either inside edges are stories of the Polish underground. In Chapter 3 Koskodan does a wonderful job setting up the overall story of the Polish underground and Home Army (AK), which were arguably the most organized and effective resistance groups of the the Second World War. There is much to learn in this chapter as Koskodan has certainly done his research.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is a good "look" at the contributions of Polish citizens to the defeat of Germany in WW II. It is interesting that Poland's contribution to victory in WW II has been so slighted. What is very interesting was the way Poland was treated by the West as Roosevelt snuggled up to "Uncle Joe". What a travesty of justice. Interesting to consider the reasons why none of this was covered in my 147 hours of undergraduate and graduate history and political science.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Never have a people been as overlooked in history books, particularly in the history books covering WW11, as the Polish people. My father served in the Free Polish Forces and books such as this make his sacrifice worthwhile. The Poles after bloody battles were occupied in 1939 by both the Germans and the Soviets, but never surrendered as their Government went into exile. They fought on as partisans, resistance fighters, Warsaw insurgents (1943 Ghetto Uprising and 1944 Warsaw Uprising). They fought as soldiers, paratroopers, amoured personnel, bombers, spys, pilots and sailors alongside their British allies in all Western theatres against Germany. Since 1943 they fought alongside the Soviets, and participated in the defeat of Berlin. They saw bitter defeat in France (1940) and Narvik (1940), but saw victories in North Africa, Italy (they took Monte Cassino) and Normandy (they beat the German panzers in Falaise). They gave the allies the Enigma Machine codes, which seriously undermined the German war effort. In return their country was handed over to the communists. The Poles were dismissed in history as easybeats and sickenly portrayed as collaborators that hunted down Jews. A complex history has been simplified and usually in favour of the negative. During the recent Normandy landing ceremony the ignorant French President failed to invite the Polish President and, thereby, insulted the Polish veterans who attended. This was one of several slights to those who, like my late father, fought for the freedom of others to ensure their own freedom. Books like this are very few and overdue for publication in English. I am of part Polish extraction and am very in interested in Polish history. I wish more people knew about the Poles and their contribution to WW11 rather than continue to make stupid and negative comments based on ignorance.
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Format: Hardcover
The title of this book says everything: the U.S., Britain, and France had no greater ally than Poland during WWII and yet the story of the Poles' fierce loyalty to the Allie cause during that war has been, up till now, almost completely untold.

Why is that? Why do history books always paint a pathetic picture of Poland's mounted cavalry defense against the blitzkrieg, inferring by that image that the invasion was over in a matter of days because the Polish defense was apparently laughable? Why does no one ever mention that nearly 20 percent of the RAF airmen were Poles? Why does no one seem to know that Polish servicemen supported the Allies in nearly every major conflict during WWII?

It is very possible that stories of the major Polish contributions to the Allied cause were swept under the rug out of sheer embarrassment. If the stories got out, the obvious question would be, "why then did the Allies hand over Poland to the Soviet Union at the end of the war? Why didn't we fight for their freedom as they had fought for ours?"

As one reads through the extremely well-written, well-researched, and well-organized text of Kenneth Koskodan's book, that heartbreaking question, though not actually posed by the author, comes to mind again and again.

Koskodan's narrative - which focuses on military specifics while remaining immensely readable - generally follows the timeline of the war and clearly delineates the contributions of the Polish armed services along that timeline.
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