Kenneth K. Koskodan

“No Greater Ally”, a first book, written by Ken K. Koskodan (KKK) is a great read for all history buffs. The comprehensive overview of the extensive Polish contribution to the victors of WW2 in the European and North African campaigns is extremely well presented. The extent of the 200,000 Polish troops and airmen who escaped from the Germans to fight in new arenas far from their home country is truly remarkable. The Polish combatants made incredible journeys to fight again and again significantly supporting the Allies not only in the well known Italian campaign at Monte Casino but also in Normandy and beyond. The Poles first escaped Poland and congregated in mass in France. The Poles were greatly disappointed that the Brits and especially that the French were slow to respond to the Polish dilemma at the time of the initial German invasion of Poland and worse that the French were reluctant and un-prepared to even defend themselves in May 1940.

This was a tale that needed to be well established before the passage of time fogged out a true appreciation of the valiant Polish contribution to the overall allied war efforts. Moreover this book published as recently as 2011, has captured many first hand accounts that shortly will be longer be available. Poland suffered proportionally more than any other nation, not only from the Nazi forces but also very much more so from the Russians. The invasion of Poland from four sides was gallantly defended and the country had the least resources and stood very much alone and still managed to hold off the foes for six weeks in September and the early days of October 1939. The book continues to relate Polish activity through to the final days of the war in Europe. The detail provided in the early days of the invasion of Poland is however somewhat overwhelming.

The sequence of events detailed in the opening chapter could have been made much clearer if a better map had been provided by the publisher, Osprey Publishing. This was also true for the 1944, Polish Home Guard Warsaw uprising chronicled in great detail in the pen-ultimate chapter. This uprising lasted 63 days in anticipation of support from the Red Army who although within ten miles of the city center were ordered by Stalin to wait out the defeat of the Polish defenders before resuming their advance. Moreover the Germans managed to completely destroy Warsaw before the Russians finally arrived.

Moreover the 250 pages of narrative would have been far easier to read if a 12 or greater font size had been employed. The first hand eye witnessed narratives were differentiated from the writer’s narrative by use of a size 6 font or smaller.

Fortunately KKK’s writing reads well with clarity and fluidity and the narrative was not only easy to comprehend but the chronological order was well maintained; KKK while at Michigan State University has produced a scholarly work that will serve the history of both WW2 and Poland well. The footnotes listed in the back of the book are extensive and the recommended reading list is of a good but at the same time of a most manageable length. The ravages of both the Germans and the Russians onto the remaining resident population are clearly revealed without resort to dramatic unwholesome details. Poland suffered two double invasions and occupation by both the Germans and the Russians throughout the entire six years of the WW2 conflict.… (más)