"I
don't know if the tanks, planes, and helicopters we so frequently buy aren't
like the horses of 1939 deployed against the German army.
It must be admitted that the parade on August 15, 2025,
looked much better than it did just a dozen years ago, when outside observers
asked whether it was the army or perhaps reenactment groups. However, it's
difficult to dispel the doubts as to whether the tanks, planes, and helicopters
we so frequently buy aren't like those proverbial horses of 1939.
The 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II,
solemnly celebrated at Westerplatte, prompts reflection on the September Campaign.
The list of weapons purchases for our army brings to mind the memories of
Henryk Żuk, head of the "Laundry 2" intelligence agency, convicted in
the trial of the First Main Directorate of WiN. In his book "On the
Chessboard of Life," he pointed out that while attending the School of
Artillery Cadets in Toruń, he applied three times for assignment to the
motorized artillery, but his request was rejected because he was too good a
rider. "In Germany," Żuk writes, "motorized forces were frantically
expanding, especially armored units, while here we still clung to the
horse."
I'll spare
you the description of the clash between German troops and our horse artillery
in the first days of the war.
The Polish army is looking increasingly better. But isn't it
outdated?
It must be admitted that the parade on August 15, 2025,
looked much better than it did a dozen or so years ago, when outside observers
asked if this was the army or perhaps reenactment groups. It's hard to shake
the doubt, however, whether the tanks, planes, and helicopters we so routinely
buy aren't just like those proverbial horses of 1939.
The Ukrainian
events demonstrate that drones, artillery, missiles, and skies will be key in
any future armed conflict.
And we're
ecstatic that we'll buy another 1,000 tanks from Korea and several hundred from
the US, and that we'll have more of them than the British, French, and Germans
combined. At a time when tanks have become the object of hunting in Ukraine
using cheap drones. Will we be one war behind again?
The Poles were clearly having a holiday, since there's no
longer even a debate about whether on the anniversary you could do otherwise.
The combatants quickly punctured our inflated balloon of
national pride with a single drone, which exploded in a cornfield, shattering
windows in nearby houses. What if that drone flew just over a hundred
kilometers away and shattered the chandelier under which important figures like
to discuss the country's security?
Minister Radosław Sikorski didn't miss the opportunity to
assure us that "Poland's most important mission to NATO is the defense of
our own territory".
It seems that the worst-case scenario for us is the end of
the conflict. Then air traffic over Ukraine will resume, and we will be left
with the Jasionka airport, like Himilsbach with English [1].
Author: Jacek Czaputowicz - Professor at the University of
Warsaw, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2020.”
1. The anecdote
According to the story, Himilsbach was offered a role that
required him to learn English. He refused, saying there was no point learning
the language for the part because he might not get the role anyway. The
anecdote is meant to convey a lack of effort due to a fear of potential
failure.
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