In the last couple days a story has popped up across social media that has caught the attention of many in the firearms community. The story is from DW News, which is Germany’s international broadcaster that produces content in 30 languages, including English.
During the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I watched several international news broadcasts – all in English – that were available on YouTube. This included news segments from DW.
U.S. media coverage of the invasion of Ukraine was rather uniform and often devoid of any historical context. This was particularly true as outlets like CNN covered Poland’s massive intake of Ukrainian refugees. They gushed effusively over how Poles didn’t hesitate to welcome these refugees into their country, often into their own homes.
In none of these heartwarming stories that I saw did any of the ‘talent’ even once mention the key motivation of the Poles. When it comes to being invaded by Russians, Poles have been there before.
Over 100 years ago in August of 1920, during the Polish–Soviet War, the Battle of Warsaw saw Polish military forces lead by Józef Piłsudski stop the Red Army at the banks of the Vistula River on the eastern side of Warsaw in what is now remembered at the Miracle on the Vistula.
Poland stopped the Red Army from spreading Bolshevism throughout Western Europe. That’s kind of their thing, though. Back on September 12 of 1683, Poland’s famed Winged Hussars, under King John III Sobieski of Poland, lead the largest mounted calvary charge in history to end the two-month siege of Vienna, and in doing so stopped the Ottoman Empire’s expansion into Europe.
And, of course, the Soviets returned to Poland on September 17 of 1939, after Nazi Germany invaded from the west on September 1st. The two countries had secretly agreed to divvy up Europe after signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which was publicly a non-aggression pact between the two.
Fearing the increased militarization of Germany under the Nazis, Poland made its own plans for security. In March of 1939 Great Britain and France pledged to assure Poland’s independence, and formally entered into the Anglo-Polish Mutual Assistance Treaty with Great Britain and France on August 25, 1939.
While Poland was preparing for war, Great Britain and France were not ready for war. Poland was essentially left to its own defense, Germany was not attacked from the west, and World War II began unabated.
That brings us to today and the story that has the gun world abuzz: ‘Poland makes firearms training mandatory for schoolchildren‘.
Initial response to the story of mandatory firearms training in Polish schools has been met with “We need this here in America” or “Wwhy can’t we do that here?” Truth is, while it would be great to have some level of mandatory firearms education in schools, we’re not really concerned about invasion here in the United States. Beside being protected by two major oceans, Canada to our north, Mexico to our south, and the best military forces in the world, there’s that famous apocryphal warning from Japan’s Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, ”You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”
Yamamoto apparently never said that, but it’s pretty much a true statement, which is why invading the United States isn’t much of an option. Besides, we all watched Red Dawn and know that’s the game plan should an invasion occur.
For Poland, invasion has always been a concern. While the rest of Europe sees their business dealings with Russia as a deterrent to conflict because it wouldn’t be in Russia’s best interest, Poland is under no such illusion. The country has been increasing its defense spending beyond the minimum NATO requires and led all NATO nations spending more than twice the required amount in 2024.
This month Poland is taking delivery of the first of the 32 F-35A fighters they purchased for $4.6 billion to bolster their air defenses. The Polish F-35As are designated Husarz after the legendary Polish Winged Hussars cavalry units from the 16th century.
The mandatory training of Polish school children in firearms use isn’t about a Second Amendment-style right in Poland. It’s literally based on the country’s historic battles for independence, freedom, and self preservation.
Even though we’re coming up on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the impact on Poland has never really faded. In 2017 fans of Legia Warsaw FC unfurled a giant image of a German soldier holding a pistol to the head of a Polish child. Under it, a banner in English read, “During the Warsaw Uprising Germans killed 160,000 people. Thousands of them were children.”
The team was fined by UEFA, the governing body of European football (soccer), for the graphic demonstration, the timing of which was specifically August 2. The Warsaw Upraising began at 5:00pm on August 1, 1944.
One of several stories about Nazi atrocities during their control of Poland was of a group of kids who were rounded up by the Germans. The younger kids were playing, unaware of what was about to happen. As the children were lined up the youngest began to cry as they realized their fate. The older ones began to sing, “Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła,” the opening line of the Polish national anthem. In English it is “Poland Is Not Yet Lost.” The children were all shot before they could finish.
Should Russia, or any of its client states care to test Poland’s resolve, it will find a Poland armed with modern weapons of war and not equipment that’s a generation or two behind that of its enemy as they were in 1939.
They will also find a citizenry that hasn’t forgotten its past or the role Poland’s Armia Krajowa – the Home Army – played in fighting the Nazis. They were real life ‘Wolverines’ decades before Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell made teenagers fighting foreign invaders a thing in 1984.
“there’s that famous apocryphal warning from Japan’s Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, ”You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”
Actually, it’s never been confirmed he actually said that. The only thing which indicates it, was a partial writing from a currier and then it was so degraded the writing could not be matched to that of Yamamoto and was never authenticated to be from him, the currier said it could be but wasn’t sure and then it didn’t say ‘grass’ but was rather ‘glass’ and seemed to not be talking of invasion. It does not appear in the Yamamoto concerned writings to which it is generally attributed.
And also, Japan did invade the United States. They landed troops in a small island area off Alaska were the US had some troops at a weather station or outpost kind of thing. They captured and held the area for a while and took the US troops prisoner and I think they killed some in the short battle as Japan over ran the area. This was part of the United States.
“but wasn’t sure and then it didn’t say ‘grass’ but was rather ‘glass’”
I spent 18 months on Okinawa and the Japanese have problems pronouncing the letter ‘R’ in words, i.e. grass, gray, Ray.
So the person may have pronounced the word grass in a way it sounded like glass. My first name has an R in it and I experienced this many times while on Okinawa. Example: They would pronounce Ray as if they were saying Glay.
The AlCan Highway was built in response to the Jap invasion of the Aleutian Islands in 1941. It was even fueled by the Canol Highway and the refinery built near Johnson’s Crossing. The US took the Japs invasion seriously.
Japan invaded two of the Aleutian Islands in 1942 as a diversion for the Battle of Midway. The islands were Attu at the very end of the Aleutians and Kiska further to the east. The US invaded Kiska only to find the Japanese had withdrawn their forces. The invasion of Attu was hard fought with heavy casualties on both sides.
Japan never invaded the USA for a very good reason –
Alaska wasn’t a state until the late 1950s, long LONG after WW2 was over…
preussich friedland is now debrzno, but russia got to keep kaliningrad as a port.
I’ve become very disillusioned with the notion of a citizenry fighting to defend their country.
What are they defending? Regardless of the country you and your neighbors and all their kids are seemingly rising up to fight back an invading force.
The reality of which is that you and your neighbors and all their kids are just playing meat shield for a tiny cabal of wealthy, power mad elites who don’t want the invading force to spoil their good time.
I’d fight for my family, myself even my dogs but I don’t think I’d ever fight for my country. At least not in its current state. For Christ’s sake our own government is doing everything it can to bankrupt the country and dilute any unifying culture that may have existed through unchecked simping for illegals and until very recently Poland was doing the same and I bet Poland goes right back to doing those things the moment the pressure from Russia is off.
No blood or treasure should be spent defending this globalist, drug den, money laundering, child raping, gangster cookie jar we have here. I hope Trump can make this a country worth defending with the time he’s got but I doubt it.
Thanks to Hollywood, the world and especially Americans are very US centred. There are many movies about the Vietnam war. A war that in the scheme of things is historically irrelevant. You won’t find a Hollywood blockbuster about the Polish Soviet war which was actually of huge importance. No Americans in it (although there were some volunteer pilots). If there are no super heroes, cute animals or Americans, Hollywood is not interested. Foreigners know about the US civil war and can name the first US President. What do Americans know about other cultures? There will be those such as BBC, CNN types that will be outraged. Poles not allowing illegal Muslim immigrants into their country and now this, teaching innocent children to use firearms. Rather than learning history from movies, these journalistic so called “intelligensia” might actually indulge in reading some history books.
Will part of the training include safety and keeping one’s finger off the trigger until on target?????