POLAND'S NEW LEADERS'
By ROBERT POWELL Such developments are all to the good, and it is to be hoped that it will be in the spirit of democracy that the many difficult problems ahead will be tackled. This applies not only to the Russo-Polish issue, but also to the many problems of post-war reconstruction for Poland which will soon have to be considered. It is too often the case that a Government-in-exile is called upon to show such far- sighted wisdom and surrender of personal interests as would be difficult even in normal times, and which seem impossible in con- ditions such as the present.
For this reason it must be regretted that so much personal pre- judice, masquerading under the guise of democracy, has revealed itself in the hidden struggle over the appointment of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces. Most of the British Press has concentrated during the past fortnight upon the political appointments. Yet it may well be that the person of the new Commander-in-Chief will prove to be much more significant for the future of both Poland and East Europe.
General Kasimierz Sosnkowski, the military successor of Sikorski, has been described by some British commentators, who have taken little trouble to understand the real background of the recent crisis, as " highly reactionary " and a menace to a progressive Poland.
It may, therefore, be some help to a better understanding if some reference is made to his past and to his general outlook. Sosnkowski was the only candidate for this high post. His past career as a soldier fully justified the appointment. For he is obviously the only Polish high-ranking officer who has not only the qualifications and the experience, but also enjoys the fullest confidence and respect of the Polish soldier. Sosnkowski, like Sikorski, only became a soldier because it was necesary to fight for the liberation of his country. During the last war he was imprisoned for sixteen months by the Germans in various fortresses. In the immediate post-war years not only did he play an important part in the fighting in East Europe, but he was also Minister of War in the twelve different Governments, between 1918 and 1924. Yet for many years before the outbreak of the present war he remained in the background, mainly because he disagreed with the Beck policy. He cannot, therefore, be charged, even by his enemies, with having exercised any great influence upon public affairs in Poland during that period.
Even in the critical month preceding Hitler's sudden attack on Poland, Sosnkowski was refused an active command. And again immediately war broke out. Twice, his request to be put in com- mand of the defence of Warsaw was refused by Smigly-Ridz. Only on September zoth, when the situation had become desperate, was he given a command. But it was too late. Russia had already marched in from the East, and there was nothing left for Sosnkowski but to escape as a peasant to Hungary, and then to travel on to France to join Sikorski.
Sosnkowski is not " merely " a soldier. He is much more than that. But as C.-in-C. no one will do more to develop the fighting qualities of the Polish armed forces, and to see to it that they concentrate upon their soldiering. In his first Order of the Day, Sosnkowski made it clear that there was to be no dabbling in politics. "The soldier,", he wrote, " is the citizen of his country, and his heart is concerned for its fate and its honour. But the Army does not take part in politics. It carries out the decisions of the President and the Government. The Army is only interested in its military tasks and destiny, and prepares itself unceasingly for battle with its eyes fixed on the'battlefields which await it on the way to Poland."
Those who have followed developments in the Polish Army during the past two years will be the first to stress the importance of this standpoint. At the same time they will also be the first to agree that this is not an easy task, since this very army is not made up of men who are 'soldiers by profession, but of civilian Poles from all walks of life who have donned uniform because of German aggres- sion and their own determination to win a new, free and independent Poland. It is also because Sosnkowski understands this situation so thoroughly himself that this same Order of the Day goes on to say: " The Polish soldier understands that the main aim of the inexorable fight is the reconstruction of a free, independent, strong and secure Republic. He dreams of a country where justice shall prevail, where those who work shall find full political and social rights, and the whole nation can secure the basis of prosperity and the conditions essential for a happy life for each individual."
Sosnkowski has been accused of being strongly anti-Russian. The main evidence for this charge appears to be his resignation from the Polish Cabinet when the Russo-Polish Agreement was signed two years sago. His own friends say that Sosnkowski is in favour of an understanding with the Soviets—that, at the time of the German attack on Russia, he was in Scotland recovering from the effects of the raid on London of May zoth, 1941, and that he immediately wrote to Sikorski urging the necessity of an understanding with Moscow. His objections were to the time of the specific agreement, and that they were too vaguely worded, and would consequently lead to misunderstandings when interpreted in hard facts later on. History alone can be the judge in this issue ; but nobody could a,ccuse Sosnkowski of being merely opposed on grounds of personal prejudice. Some of his critics also appear to resent the fact that he is a man who " thinks twice " before deciding on any important issues. But none of them can charge him with lack of knowledge, practical as well as theoretical, on most of the matters with which he has had to deal at different times. It is not unimportant in this connexion to mention the fact that he was a strong supporter of closer Polish-Czechoslovak co-operation at a time when many of his compatriots who now accuse him of being reactionary were quite unenthusiastic about it But as the new C.-in-C. Sosnkowski • will devote all his thought and energy to the Polish armed forces. He brings to this a know- ledge gained from close co-operation in other days with some of the finest military brains of France. The new C.-in-C. has a high admiration for what Britain has achieved in military as well as other fields during the past four years. And it can be said without hesita- tion that he would co-operate with the other Allies in all their plans. In addition to the Polish troops here in Britain, there is also a power-
ful force in the Near and Middle East, ready to follow the new C.-in-C.'s call to battle whenever it is given.
With a more democratic Government and the concentration of military control in the hands of a leader who is determined to con- centrate upon soldiering and not politics, there are hopes of greater consolidation of Polish interests both within and without the home- land, provided personal issues are put aside.
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