USA/ If the Soviet army had overcome Polish resistance, Bolshevism could have penetrated the whole continent
“There is no room for doubt. If Soviet troops had overcome Polish resistance and captured Warsaw, Bolshevism would have spread throughout Central Europe and might as well have penetrated the entire continent,” wrote Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount Abernon.
The British diplomat, a member of the Inter-Allied Mission in Poland during the Polish-Bolshevik war, was quoted in an interview with PAP by William Ciosek, the producer of a film project depicting the contribution of the American Kosciuszko Squadron and its founder and commander Merian Cooper to Poland’s victory over the Russians in the Polish-Soviet War, 1919-20. He reminds us that Abernon published an account of the Battle of Warsaw, August 12-25, 1920, entitled “The Eighteenth Decisive Battle of the World.”
Ciosek, head of the Foundation to Illuminate America’s Heroes, also gathered the opinions of other authorities to emphasize the importance of the “Miracle on the Vistula” and attract Hollywood interest. He cites the groundbreaking work of military historian and mechanized warfare visionary, Maj. Gen. J.F.C. Fuller, “The Decisive Battles of the Western World and Their Influence Upon History.” Fuller also saw the Battle of Warsaw as having profoundly influenced the fate of the western world.
Another well-known British historian, A.J.P. Taylor, described Poland’s victory as “Far more than an episode in Eastern European affairs. It largely determined,” Taylor said, “the course of European history for the next twenty years or more.”
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur discussed the great importance of the “Miracle on the Vistula” with Lieutenant General Edward L. Rowny (1917-2017). Ciosek interviewed General Rowny at his home in Bethesda, Maryland.
“I was one of the people on MacArthur’s staff who helped plan the Inchon landings during the Korean War. He knew I was a first-generation Polish-American”, Rowny told Ciosek.
Ciosek notes that Rowny, a repeatedly decorated commander of the U.S. armed forces in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as a military adviser to five U.S. presidents, lived to see his hundredth birthday.
“He never forgot Douglas MacArthur’s comments on the climactic Polish-Soviet battle. He assured me,” Ciosek said, “that like D’Abernon, Fuller, and Taylor, MacArthur also maintained that the 1920 Battle of Warsaw was one of the most important military engagements in the history of the world.”
The originator of the proposed film about the participation of American airmen in the Battle of Warsaw is very much aware of the costs of the project. He knows that the superlative script by writer-historian Sheldon Bart will be expensive to realize on thescreen.
“But General Rowny told me to never give up, which is one of the lessons of the Polish-Bolshevik war. I’m glad I listened to him”, says Ciosek. He is pleased to report that a lot of progress has recently been made.
“The screenplay was well received by industry representatives. Our dynamic promotional trailer, assembled by Chris Ridder, an accomplished, West Coast film editor, has generated interest on two continents. We have made significant breakthroughs and expect to make an official announcement of the co-production and investment team in the next few months”, Ciosek said.
Another reason why the enthusiasts behind the project are determined to make this film is to inspire the Ukrainian people in their battle against Putin’s army.
“Hopefully the ‘Miracle on the Vistula’ of the twentieth century will be replicated by a ‘Miracle on the Dnieper’ in the twenty-first century” - concludes the founder and head of the Foundation to Illuminate America’s Heroes.
