EDWARD RYDZ ŚMIGŁY remains to this day one of the most controversial and misunderstood figures in Polish history.

With the defeat of Poland in 1939 his reputation appeared to be totally, utterly and irretrievably destroyed. He was depicted as an incompetent who had failed to prepare properly for war and who had then led Poland to military disaster. He was dismissed as a coward for himself crossing the border into Romania while his troops were still fighting. The Germans heaped derision on their beaten foe. The new Polish Government-in-exile emerged, on the whole, from the pre-war opposition in Poland and felt they had every reason to blame him for the defeat and were absolutely determined to sideline him completely. The Soviets, who themselves invaded Poland in September 1939, hated him for his role in their own humiliation at Polish hands in 1920. The post-war Communist puppet regime in Poland was under strict orders to malign the reputations and obliterate the memories of all pre-war Polish leaders.

Yet before the war Rydz-Śmigły had a reputation as a brave and successful General who had never lost a battle. Popular with his troops he had a reputation for bravery, integrity and, prior to his promotion to Marshal, modesty and he certainly had an impeccable record in the struggle for Polish independence and in the Polish Legions of World War I. In 1919 he led the Polish forces which entered Kiev and in 1920 he played a major role in defeating the Soviets. He was a talented artist and poet and a man of some considerable charm and personal generosity.

In Poland there has been something of a reassessment of his reputation. With the passage of time It is now possible to stand back and ask in the situation he faced with the resources he possessed and, critically with the assurances he thought he had from Great Britain and France, what else could he have actually done to avert disaster? The answers to these questions are certainly not all to his benefit but it does begin to become possible to come to a fairer assessment of his total career and his overall place in Polish history.

This web site is an attempt to assist the search for a fair and balanced assessment of a man whose career was a an outstanding record of devotion and success culminating in total disaster and the destruction of everything he held dear.