Military Model Scene

Title: The Battle for Warsaw 1939-1945

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones

Publisher: Pen & Sword

ISBN: 978-1-52674-150-9

 

This new Images of War title from author Anthony Tucker-Jones tells us what is really a sad story, the large scale destruction of the city of Warsaw and its' population in WW2.
The Introduction sets the scene rather neatly, reminding us that there were actually 5 significant battles for the Polish city during WW2. The first was in the German invasion of Poland in 1939. The second was in 1943, with the uprising in the Jewish Warsaw Ghetto. The third was the failed Russian attack in the summer of 1944, and that was at the same time as the Polish Home Army also tried to relieve Warsaw from the German oppression. It was left to 1945 for the Red Army to finally liberate the city. The stories of each of these 5 particular battles are spread across 8 chapters, each one introduced by a few pages of informative text to tell set the scene for the series of equally well captioned archive images which are the signature of the Images of War series. The destruction they show, including a number which have some quite graphic scenes of the dead, and the number of casualties among the citizens of the city thanks to the war is quite staggering.
The final section does at least show us that some of the Nazi perpetrators were brought to justice, while the task of rebuilding the city, recovering and burying the dead from the ruins and from within the underground sewers are all included. I think the reader can't help but wonder at what has been accomplished in rebuilding the city as it is today, but at the time, in 1945, it must have been a horrendous challenge to wonder where to even start the process. Another excellent addition to the series from the author.

 

Thanks to Pen and Sword for this review copy.

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Robin