Maczek, Stanislaw The Price of Victory. General Stanislaw Maczek. A Polish Tank Commander's Memoir

General Stanislaw Maczek's stirring memoirs capture the vigour, sacrifice and dashed hopes of the Polish soldiers who fought alongside the Allies during the Second World War. As commander of the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade in September 1939, his men played a decisive role in resisting the German advance before crossing into Hungary with orders to rebuild the Polish army on French soil. During the Allied retreat in 1940, he and his men fought in another rearguard action and escaped to Britain. In February 1942, Maczek took command of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, which was formed from the Polish forces that had been training in Scotland since 1940. In July 1944, the division landed in Normandy and was responsible for closing the Falaise Gap at Mont Ormel and Chambois. It then fought its way through Belgium and Holland and finally accepted the surrender of the German navy in Wilhelmshaven. "The Price of Victory" is an inspiring story of bravery and skill in the face of overwhelming odds and the determination to fight for Poland on foreign soil. Having been welcomed as liberators in so many European cities, it was the greatest irony that the terms of the Yalta Agreement meant that the Poles' goal of liberating their country was denied them.