by Evan McGilvray
Hardback (6.4×9.5 inches). 267 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Poland’s Conflicts with Ukraine, Lithuania, & Soviet Russia
In this biography, Jozef Pilsudski spent most of his life battling for Polish independence, mostly against the Russians and later Soviets, but also including Ukraine and Lithuania. He seems blessed with a talent for playing all sides against each other, leaving him and his forces to maneuver towards independence.
Pre-WWI, he took 20,000 British pounds from the UK to spy on the Russians. During WWI, he joined the Austro-Hungarians and Germans to beat the Russians and then slipped between the three to carve out something resembling Poland before fighting against the Ukrainians and Lithuanians to settle the border.
Yet his biggest success came against the Soviets in 1920 with a massive offensive into the USSR, followed by being overwhelmed by numbers that drove him and his army back to Warsaw. That saw a large counter-attack that defeated the Soviets and finally convinced the Communists to settle a border.
Obviously, he did not do this all by himself. Yet, I’m not sure which time period is more fascinating. When he used the British money to buy weapons for a failed coup, or when he robbed a Russian train of the Tsar’s payroll that he used to bankroll an army (of sorts) and start the Polish independence movement rolling.
The description of the Polish-Soviet war offers insight and analysis of his thinking process, actions, and results. The swirl of battle lacks one key ingredient: maps. I know where Warsaw and Danzig are located, but all those attacks and counter-attacks in towns north of Warsaw mean absolutely nothing to me. The more detailed the recap, the more books need maps to help us befuddled readers understand time and distance. Otherwise, like this, it’s all just a bunch of names.
Another nit: mentioning historians in the text is distracting because, in my ignorance, I don’t know 99% of them. Just summarize their work, make your point, and leave a footnote.
A few typos: “25April” (p80) needs a space; “equal of everything expect Cossack” (p89) should read “except Cossack”; two periods at end of a sentence (p162); “unfortunate .” (p185) needs the space in front of the period deleted; and “for both side” (p189) could use an “s.”
One suggestion is to italicize the non-Polish units. I sometimes became confused which division in the maelstrom of maneuver was on which side. Sometimes it was clear, sometimes not. And when they are fighting over the same town, I had to backtrack in the text.
The book contains 16 black and white photos…and no maps.
This is a fine bio about a fellow I had not heard of, but who is basically the George Washington of Poland. For his talents and faults, he helped create an independent Polish country. It’s an interesting tale.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
