The Polish Thermopylae is a name used to refer to several battles in Polish history. The Polish Thermopylae is a reference to the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label=Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting o ...

, where a Spartan force chose to fight to the death while vastly outnumbered.

Famous last stands dubbed "the Polish Thermopylae"

* Battle of Kłuszyn (4 July 1610) – a battle of the Polish–Muscovite War between forces of the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...

and the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...

. In the battle the outnumbered Polish force secured a decisive victory over Russia. The battle is remembered as one of the greatest triumphs of the Polish cavalry and an example of the excellence and supremacy of the Polish military at the time. (6,500 Poles defeated 30,000 Russians and 5,000 mercenaries.) * Battle of Hodów (11 June 1694) – a battle of the War of the Holy League between the Polish army and the

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

army of the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...

. The Polish hussars defeated their enemies, bringing victory to the Polish army, despite being vastly outnumbered (around 40,000 Tatars against 400 Poles). *

Battle of Węgrów Battle of Węgrów was one of the most important skirmishes of January Uprising in the Russian Partition of Poland. It took place February 3, 1863 near Węgrów in east Masovia. On January 22, Polish partisans liberated a town from Russian forces. ...

(3 February 1863) – this battle was part of the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

(Polish: ''powstanie styczniowe'') and it inspired

Auguste Barbier Henri Auguste Barbier (29 April 1805 – 13 February 1882) was a French dramatist and poet. Barbier was born in Paris, France. He was inspired by the July Revolution and poured forth a series of eager, vigorous poems, denouncing the evils of the ...

, a French poet, to write a poem entitled “Atak pod Węgrowem” (The Charge at Węgrów), in which he compared the attack of the Polish scythemen troops on Russian cannon to the heroic deeds of the ancient Spartiates. The comparison soon became popular in Europe, leading to a wave of popular support for the Polish cause. Barbier was not the only poet to compare the Poles to Spartans; similar references are contained in poems such as “Vanitas” (by

Cyprian Kamil Norwid Cyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a. Cyprian Konstanty Norwid (; 24 September 1821 – 23 May 1883), was a nationally esteemed Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor. He was born in the Masovian village of Laskowo-Głuchy near Warsaw. One of hi ...

) or “Bój pod Węgrowem” (

Maria Konopnicka Maria Konopnicka (; ; 23 May 1842 – 8 October 1910) was a Polish poet, novelist, children's writer, translator, journalist, critic, and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including ''Jan Sawa''. She ...

). *

Battle of Zadwórze Battle of Zadwórze (sometimes referred to as the "Polish Thermopylae") was a battle of the Polish-Soviet War. It was fought on 17 August 1920, near the railway station of , a small village located 33 kilometres from the city centre of Lwów ( ...

(17 August 1920) – part of the Polish-Soviet War, during which a Polish army battalion consisting of the

Lwów Eaglets Lwów Eaglets ( pl, Orlęta lwowskie) is a term of affection that is applied to the Polish child soldiers who defended the city of Lwów ( uk, L'viv), in Eastern Galicia, during the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918–1919). Background The city now k ...

(Polish: Orlęta Lwowskie) barred the way to Lwów preventing an advance of the 1st Cavalry Army commanded by

Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonnyy ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian ca ...

. 318 of the 330 soldiers were killed, and some were taken prisoner. Captain Bolesław Zajączkowski, the battalion's commander, took his own life together with several of his soldiers, and was later nicknamed the ‘Polish Leonidas’. The bodies of five identified officers were buried at the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów. The remaining ones were buried in a

kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asi ...

on the battlefield. The kurgan bears a memorial plaque which reads: “To the Lwów Eaglets, who fell protecting the entire borderland on 17 August of 1920.” *

Battle of Dytiatyn Battle of Dytiatyn was one of battles of the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921 also referred to as the ''Polish Thermopylae'' (together with Battle of Zadwórze and Battle of Wizna). It took place on 16 September 1920 between units of the 8th Pol ...

(16 September 1920) – another battle fought during the Polish-Soviet War, where the subdivisions of the 13th Infantry Regiment and two batteries of the 8th Artillery Brigade with a force of about 600 soldiers stopped the attack of Bolshevik infantry and cavalry with a force of about 2,000 throughout the whole day on the Hill 385 near the village of Dytiatyn. At the end of the clash, one infantry platoon from the 13th Infantry Regiment and the remaining artillery under the command of Cpt. Adam Zając defended to the last man. The protagonist's attitude of the defenders allowed time to regroup Polish-Ukrainian troops near the city of Halych, which without the protection of 13th Infantry Regiment on Dytiatyn would most likely be attacked from the flanks by Bolsheviks and annihilated. *

Battle of Wizna The Battle of Wizna was fought between September 7 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland and Germany during the initial stages of the invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. According to Po ...

(7–10 September 1939) – a battle fought during the

September Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after ...

(Polish: Kampania Wrześniowa). These were 720 Polish soldiers under the command of

Władysław Raginis Władysław Raginis (June 27, 1908 – September 10, 1939) was a Polish military commander during the Polish Defensive War of 1939 of a small force holding the Polish fortified defense positions against a vastly larger invasion during the Battl ...

who took a famous last stand against 42,200 German soldiers with 350 tanks, 457 mortars, cannon, grenade launchers and 600 Luftwaffe aircraft; the ratio roughly works out to one Polish soldier per sixty Germans and one aircraft. Only a few Polish soldiers were taken into captivity; the rest were killed fighting to the end, while the commanding officer kept his oath to die rather than surrender. When his soldiers ran out of ammunition, Raginis ordered his remaining men to surrender while he remained at the command post and committed suicide by detonating a hand grenade.Wiktorzak A., Wizna – Polskie Termopile, Głos Weterana, nr 9, 1997

Citations

Notes

References

{{reflist Battle of Thermopylae Battles involving Poland Last stands