THE MILITARY TRADITION 20IThey are to be found in songs from Bathory's campaigns in Muscovy, in the
lively mazurkas of the uhlans, and above all in the words of the March of
Pitsudski's legions - My, Pierwsza Brygada (We of the First Brigade):
Legiony to, zolnierska buta The Legions stand for a soldier's slog,
Legiony to, ofiarny stos; The Legions stand for a martyr's fate,
Legiony to, zebracka nuta; The Legions stand for a beggar's song,
Legiony to, stracencow los; The Legions stand for a convict's death.
My, Pierwsza Brygada, We are the First Brigade;
Strzelecka Gromada, A regiment of rapid fire.
Na stos, Our fate,
Rzucilis'my swoj zycia los, Our very lives are at stake.
Na stos, na stos'. We've cast ourselves oathe pyre.^11
Inevitably, legends abound. Deprived of their due share of military glory in
modern times, the Poles were constantly drawn to tales of their nation's valour
in the past. Ogniem i mieczem (By Fire and Sword), Henryk Sienkiewicz's
fictional trilogy of stirring adventures in the Swedish Wars of the 1650s, retains
its pre-eminence in the world of popular literature, and has headed the popu-
larity charts in periodic vogues for historical films. Like all the heroes of real his-
tory, from Sobieski, to Kosciuszko, Poniatowski, Sowinski, and Major Hubal,
Pan Wolodyjowski gains added stature from the fact that his feats were per-
formed in a setting of national catastrophe. Thus, to the Polish way of thinking,
individual virtue can triumph over corporate disaster; the prowess of the Polish
soldier redeems the failures of the Polish army; and self-respect can be drawn
from defeat. Not until Poland's accession to NATO in 1997 did the prospects
change for the better.
Of all the analysts of Polish military affairs, none has proved more accurate,
or more prophetic than Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Writing in 1771, on the eve of
the Partitions, he predicted that Poland would never have an army to match
those of her neighbours. 'You will never have an offensive force', he wrote, 'and
for a long time you will never have a defensive one. But you already have ... a
preservative force which will protect you from destruction, even in bondage,
and will protect your government and your freedom in their only true sanctuary- in the hearts of the Poles.'^12