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Mariusz Samp
Gerona’s battles with Mieszko I in 963 – a myth or a real event?
Summary: In the belief of some historians, the first Polish-German war was fought in 963. During this war, the German margrave Geron managed to defeat the Polish prince Mieszko I and force him to pay the tribute. However, according to the research carried out, no armed clashes between Germans and Poles took place during this period. This fact has not been recorded in the chronicle of Saxon Saxon Widukind in the contemporary chronicle. Also, the later chronicler Thietmar, on the basis of which the hypothesis was made to subordinate Poland to the Emperor in the way of armed conquest, did not write about it directly. The story of the Bishop of Merseburg, based on Widukind’s reports, is too laconic and, moreover, has many inaccuracies. The messages he gave, so far regarded by some researchers as deserving of faith, seem not to be so. Widukind’s information is much more trusting. In connection with the above, it can be concluded that in 963 (and also later years) Mieszko I fought only with the Redar tribe, who even beat him twice. In spite of insufficient source base, it can also be assumed that Wichman, invading the Polish state armed with the Redar, did not cooperate in any way with Geron, who persuaded him to do so, wanting to have an easier task during the expedition in Lusatia in 963.
Key words: Mieszko I, German margrave Geron, Germany, Redar tribe, Wichman.
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Mariusz Samp
The Polish-German war of 1109 in Polish historiography – part 1: selective bibliography
Summary: The presented study consists of two parts. The first of them presents a selective bibliography, illustrating the most important studies concerning the history of the Polish-German war of 1109, and in the second one the author will try to characterize and evaluate it accurately. The analysis should reveal what has been researched and established so far with regard to the presented military campaign, and what is still awaiting to elaborate and raising doubts today. Only in this way can any progress be made in the study of this conflict, because, contrary to the sometimes appearing voices, there are still many things are unclear and still covered by a fog of ignorance. Properly articulating these gaps and deficiencies can stimulate today’s historians interested in this war and stimulate them to revisit and analyze controversial issues appropriately, taking into account the available research methods and the source database.
Key words: Polish-German war of 1109 years; selective bibliography; Polish historiography.
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Mariusz Samp
Bolesław III the Wrymouth and his defensive preparations to repel the Germans in 1109, The case of attack on Naklo
Summary: At the beginning of August 1109, the Polish prince Bolesław III the Wrymouth appeared with his army in Pomerania. At the end of the same month, the German ruler Henry V, invaded the Polish lands with a powerful army. The proximity of both attacks does not seem to be accidental, because even before the outbreak of the Polish-German conflict, the Germans formed a temporary alliance with the Pomeranians (through Zbigniew, previously exiled from Poland, and wanting to regain the lost power thanks to the help of the Germans), aimed at strategic flanking of Bolesław the Wrymouth, consisting of simultaneous attack by hostile forces from the west and north. Polish prince however in advance learned about the planned undertaking and decided to break down the Pomorania forces as soon as possible. In the final analysis, despite the initial difficulties, this art succeeded him. On August 10, in the general battle, the defensive forces of the heathens crashed, aiming at the rescue of Naklo, who was besieged by the Poles. Wrymuth’s preventive attack was a demonstration of his commanding talent, and the risk he took up paid off. Eventually, the Germans lost their coalition and could not take advantage of his help during a general hearing with Poland. In turn, Bolesław was able to allocate all available resources and forces to fight against the invader with the knowledge of the insured rear and the minimal risk of attacking pagans.
Key words: Battle of Naklo, Henry V, Bolesław III the Wrymouth.
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Mariusz Samp
International assistance for the state of Boleslaw III the Wrymouth during the Polish-German war of 1109, A few critical remarks on the margins of relations between Poland and Rus and Hungary before 1109
Summary: According to the oldest polish Gallus Anonymous chronicle, Boleslaw III the Wrymouth, having learned about the invasion of the imperial army of Henry V on his land, decided to sent his deputies to the Russian and Hungarian court with a request for help. He chronicler, however, did not say whether the rulers of the neighboring countries came to help the Polish prince or not. Other sources from this epoch are completely silent on this subject. Therefore, you can take two alternative versions to solution this problem. Either foreign military reinforcements did not come to the Polish lands and did not take part in the struggle with the German army, or, what absolutely can not be excluded in this place, appeared alongside Bolesław and participated in the fighting with him. The course of war activities seems to exclude the possibility that possible help would tilt the scale of victory for the defending Poles definitively. The Polish leader during the campaign had to rely primarily on his own forces. They caused that the enemy gave up continuing the war and withdrew from the Polish lands without tangible benefits.
Key words: The Polish-German war of 1109; Russia and Hungary; military assistance for Poland.
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Piotr Krzyżański
Battle of Byczyna – political and military assessment in Polish military historiography
Summary: Following paper is an attempt to present historical narration and discussions surrounding the Battle of Byczyna and its consequences.
Key words: Polish military historiography. Byczyna, battle, Early Modern History
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Karol Kościelniak
Characteristics of Polish relations from the course of the battle of Kryżbork/Jakobstadt of July 26 (August 5), 1704 year
Summary: The Great Northern War was an event that changed not only the Commonwealth, but also the Central European states, among others Russia. This war has brought many tactical and strategic changes that can be observed in battlefields and during the campaign. It is therefore appropriate to call up the battle relations that took place during the Great Northern War. Such a battle is a clash between the Swedish-Lithuanian troops and the Lithuanian-Russian troops, played at Kryzbork/Jakobstadt on July 26 (August 5), 1705.
Keywords: battle, great north war, army, relation
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Tomasz Ciesielski
In the foregrounds of Kamieniec Podolski. The suppression of the Bar Confederation in Podolia in the light of Jan de Witte’s reports
Summary: The article presents the strategic situation of the Kamieniec Podolski fortress in the period from winter 1768 to winter 1769, when the Bar Confederation was in Podolia. The commandant of the fortress Józef de Witte made every effort to keep the fortress, above all, constituting its garrison troops in the best condition and at the same time remain faithful to King Stanisław August. From preserved in the National Archives in Cracow J. Witte reports to the king, the Military Commission and senior officials and commanders of the army of the Crown that he fully succeeded. Witte reports are a valuable resource in this process to investigate the suppression by the army of the Russian Confederation of Bar in Podolia. In a new light on the Kazimierz Pułaski and his brothers as military commanders of the Bar Confederation.
Keywords: Podolia, Bar Confederation, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Okopy Świętej Trójcy, Zhvanets, Jan de Witte, Kazimierz Pułaski, Franciszek Pułaski
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Dominik Szczęsny-Kostanecki
“The Pole agreed: he hit and overpowered” – reception of the charge at Somosierra in Polish culture and Polish public life in the years 1808-1831
Summary. The paper tries to summarize the knowledge about how the charge of Somosierra (taking place during the Peninsular War) was perceived in the Duchy of Warsaw, during the constitutional period of the Polish Kingdom and finally – in the November Uprising. In order to examine this phenomenon it was decided to reach for a vast and diverse source base, i.e. for: memoires, correspondence, belles-lettres and – last but not least – for the then press. The narrative of the article, leading form the first documented mentions of the Polish light horsemen’s feat towards a partial replacement of Somosierra with the siege-of- Saragossa topos, quite popular during the November Uprising, respects chronological order, making to this rule but few exceptions. The term “reception” which was used, albeit semantically relative to “memory” (eagerly examined by contemporary historiography), gives the author more place for manoeuvre, allowing him to incorporate to the scope of the study history of historiography for instance as well as – which is extremely important for depicting the period 1808-1831 – the process of laying foundations for the future common and institutionalised memory, characteristic of the late 19th and the whole 20th Century.
Key words: reception, vision, charge, Somosierra, Peninsular War, chevau-légers, Duchy of Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland, November Uprising, Napoleon, Polish culture, public life, Krasiński, Łubieński
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Agnieszka Filas
Contemporary archaeology and military history in achieving mutual target – discovering past
Summary: Archaeology and history are two sciences which are focusing on discovering past of the human. It’s not true that first one research only chronologically distant past (up to medieval times), while leaving rest of the history to the historians. Both groups of scientists can not only use each others results, but also learn from each other. Joint scientific projects are a chance to expand knowledge of the past in society, and also a chance to exchange of knowledge and experiences between scientists. Article consists of cases, where archaeological and historical methodologies were combined. It shows what advantages brings such combination for both, scientists and society.
Key words: contemporary archaeology, military history, interdyscyplinarity, collaborative discovering of the past
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Mieszko M. Janas
Archaeological research of the Krakow Fortress
Summary: Cracow fortress was created in 19th century and it has become au unique piece of landscape of a modern town. The fortress is not only a proving element of complicated history of this town, but also about accomplishment of 19th century war engineering and people who created it. The period of tower’s existence in which I will concentrate my attention will be the time of it great trial. It was the time during which the great effort was put into the construction of the tower and was to be verified by upcoming war, especially the occurrence of Cracow battle of 1914. This incident was extremely important in the eyes of not only the Polish history, but also whole Austro-Hungarian Empire, because after lost Galician battle and after failed counter-offensive the Austro-Hungarian army had to retreat. Pointing to the results of the collected materials and information about the fortress and the battle I will be trying to emphasize the aspect of archaeological research about this topic. I will also pay attention to the need for further research in this field and also the necessity of cooperation of many specialists due to the multitude of issues and their complexity.
Keywords: fortress, archeology, Cracow, Galicia, war.
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Ryszard Kwieciński
Living conditions of the front legionnaire in the light of Jakub Hoffman’s memories
Summary: Jakub Hoffman was born on 19 March 1896 in Kolomyia, died on 27 December 1965 in London. He began his military service in the legions in 1914 as a private, struggling with the hardships of everyday life in the legion formations. He recorded his observations and experiences from the front in a journal, whose extensive fragment is stored in the National Archives of the Rivne Oblast. Hoffman’s journal, preserved in the form of a manuscript and a typescript, documents both the course of the battles fought by the legion regiments and also the front life conditions of the soldiers that so far have not been analyzed on a wider scale. In the light of Hoffman memoirs, hard conditions of everyday front life had no visible impact on the combat value of the legions’ soldiers, their patriotic enthusiasm or pursued values. The heroic fight of the legion soldiers on fronts of World War I contributed to internationalisation of the Polish case and in consequence to Poland regaining independence.
Keywords: Jakub Hoffman, Polish Legions, World War I, memories
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Maksym Kempiński
Non-military functions of the Poznan Citadel in the urban space and concepts of its development in the years 1918-1939
Summary: This article is an attempt to answer questions about the functions of the Citadel in the interwar period and the intentions of the municipal authorities of that time in relation to this area. The Poznań Citadel was built in the first half of the 19th century as a keystone of the entire fortification complex of the Prussian fortress surrounding the city, its central point and the place of final defense. After Poland regained its independence, it remained primarily a military area, with a strategic role as a powerful fort and the headquarters of the military communication units with the main radio station . However, in the interwar period, this object also served non-military functions, including sepulchral and commemorative functions, tourist and recreation as well as housing functions, because some of the slopes were intended for residential construction since the 1920s. Natural values and popularity among the Citadel slope walkers as well as the spatial development needs of Poznań prompted the Magistrate to undertake attempts to establish a park around the buildings of Fort Winiary in the 1920s. The military role of the Citadel as well as the interests of officers who planned to build a housing estate on the slopes as part of an officer’s co-operative, prevented the implementation of this project. Nevertheless, the city authorities did not resign from creating development projects for this area, especially that a residential villa estate called Winogrady was being built north of the Fort. Apart from the few ideas of the total development of the Fort area or the establishment of a plantation here, the Citadel in the concepts of pre-war planners and urban elites was to be a reservoir of recreational greenery for all residents. In this approach, the transformation of the former Winiary fort into a park, made after the Second World War, was a continuation of the activities of Poznań city planners from the time of the Second Polish Republic.
Key words: Poznań, Citadel, fortress, urban development, Second Republic of Poland, green wedges
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Maciej Franz
The military history and history of army in a comic of the times of the People’s Republic of Poland
Summary: The comic is a new form of expression. In Poland, after the Second World War, it was initially treated as a hostile invention of imperialism. With time, however, he was considered an important element in the propaganda war. Hence the agreement for Polish comics, especially if they showed the “right” story, convenient for the authorities. The history of wars and army in the Polish comic in the communist era has unfortunately become an element of the propaganda war. However, you can see that the comic book was and will remain a convenient tool to reach the reader with such a message of history, including wars, which is convenient and expected for him.
Key words: Comics, Polish People’s Republic, history of wars, history of army, propaganda
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Maciej Franz
“Under War Flag” – a brief history of a war-marine magazine
Summary: The periodical “Under War Flag” was one of the first Polish maritime magazines, created after 1989. There was only four years, but they gathered around them a group of interesting young authors. Today is forgotten. He remains a witness to the beginnings of the Polish freedom of research and publications on the history of naval warfare.
Key words: “Under War Flag”, historical magazine, maritime wars