The Forgotten Few: The Polish Air Force in the Second World War pdf

Mr Adam ZAMOYSKI is an award-winning British historian and author of the best-selling epic "1812. Napoleon’s Fatal March on Moscow" and its sequel "Rites of Peace. The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna". Mr ZAMOYSKI has published several other acclaimed books on key figures and aspects of European and world history. His comprehensive history of Poland, "The Polish Way", not only featured in the best seller lists for several weeks when it came out in 1987, but has never been out of print since. He is also a distinguished commentator and reviewer, and has contributed to all the major British papers and periodicals and lectured widely in England, Europe and the United States.

The Forgotten Few: The Polish Air Force in the Second World War pdf by Adam Zamoyski

The crucial role played by Polish airmen during the Second World War and the colourful stories of their adventures have become part of British folklore. But very few people have any idea of the extent of their involvement, or how they came to be in Britain. In this brilliant history, Adam Zamoyski explores the unwavering courage of Polish fighters and how they helped to defeat the Nazis. By the beginning of 1941, there was a fully fledged Polish Air Force operating alongside the RAF. With 14 squadrons and support services, it was larger than the air forces of the Free French, Dutch, Belgians and all the other European Allies operating from Britain put together. Some 17,000 men and women passed through its ranks while it was stationed on British soil. They not only played a crucial part in the Battle of Britain, they also contributed significantly to the Allied war effort in the air and took part in virtually every type of RAF operation, including the bombing of Germany, the Battle of the Atlantic and Special Operations. This book is not intended as a full history of the Polish Air Force. Nor does it pretend to assess the exact contribution of these men and women to the Allied cause. The intention is to give a picture of who they were, where they came from, how they got here and what they did. It also looks at their, at times, strained but ultimately successful collaboration with the RAF and their sometimes difficult, often notorious, but ultimately happy relationship with the British people.