The Last Polish Thermopylae
Poland faced up to a Nazi force that outnumbered them 40 to 1- but their brave resistance has gone down in history
Polish history is lined with examples of standing tall against invaders from across the continent. In 1939, the nation was invaded by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, events which divided the country. In September 1939 the most recent example of a Polish Thermopylae occurred outside a village 90 miles north of Warsaw.
Thermopyla refers to a battle in 480 BC where a small Spartan army fought to the death against a much larger Persian force. It ended in Persian victory, but the fighting spirit of the Spartans has been commended for centuries.
Polish history is lined with examples of standing tall against invaders from across the continent. In 1939, the nation was invaded by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, events which divided the country.
The events of September 1939 had seen Poland used as the last piece of the appeasement plan most notably associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Time and again, pieces of Europe were allowed to fall into Hitler’s hands, and Poland was next in his sights.
Poland was invaded by Hitler’s forces after the leader of the Third Reich gained confidence in an agreement signed with Italy. This paved the way for more of Europe to fall into his hands and although resistance would have been anticipated- the defensive rearguard Polish forces took part have gone down in legend.
From September 7–10, a small band of Polish soldiers engaged German soldiers near the village of Wizna, 90 miles northeast of Warsaw. They were led by Captain Władysłav Raginis and numbered between 350 and 700. The opposing German forces were 40,000 strong- and had Panzer tank divisions and artillery to support their march advance across Poland.
Preparations for the invasion had been started before the Germans arrived, the river Biebrza, a tributary of the River Narew was seen as a key strategic point and so defences were built around this crossing point. The aim for the Germans was to cross at this point, encircle the Polish forces, and then start their advance towards Warsaw.
To get the Polish to surrender without a shot being fired, the Germans dropped leaflets from aircraft onto the village telling the locals to surrender as most of Poland was already in their hands. The Polish troops were not going to give up their homeland without a fight.
Raginis and his men built bunkers but defenses such as machine gun pillboxes were sparsely spread out. An issue for his forces was the shortage of anti-tank artillery, with over 300 tanks heading towards them with their gun barrels aimed at Warsaw.
On September 7 the first German attack saw them gain the village, but the Polish fell back to a better position on the other side of the river. The Germans followed, but Polish engineers destroyed bridges slowing the advancement. For the rest of this first day, German artillery rained down on the Polish forces and this likely made the Germans believe their advance towards the Polish was clear.
On September 8 and 9 German infantry carried out attacks, but were held back by machine gun fire. The Germans had no other option than to turn back after receiving heavy casualties from the Polish guns, and by this point, the leadership would have probably expected their forces to be on their way to Warsaw and not bogged down in muddy fields near a town in Eastern Poland.
As the German infantry withdrew, tanks were sent towards the Polish lines in an attempt to knock out the bunkers. This however created a strange stalemate as the Polish couldn’t destroy the tanks and the German tanks couldn’t destroy the bunkers. The overwhelming numbers the Germans had would win out in this battle though, as the Polish forces were unable to call on reinforcements.
A flaw in the bunkers' setup was that they were spaced too far apart, meaning soldiers were too far away from being able to support each other. The Germans used this to their advantage, taking out a pillbox at a time. The focused bombardment and advance of the tanks pushed the Polish troops to the brink but it wasn’t until September 10 that they finally surrendered.
Captain Raginis had said before the battle that he would die before he’s taken prisoner, and his last action was to detonate a grenade whilst holding it inside a bunker. The Germans were able to push through the last of the defences, and their path to Warsaw opened up.
The Battle of Wizna may have ended in defeat for the brave Polish force, but it became a beacon of hope against Nazi oppression. The following years would plunge the world into darkness, but when the light shone again stories such as this were brought to the forefront.
Swedish metal band Sabaton are known for their songs based on military conflicts across the years. The song 40:1 is about the Battle of Wizna and the impossible odds the Polish faced at the very beginning of their invasion by Nazi Germany. A powerful song, it paints a vivid picture of the task that was ahead of Raginis and his men.
