General Stanislaw Maczek's stirring memoir captures the elan, the sacrifice and the disappointed hopes of the Polish soldiers who fought alongside the Allies during the Second World War. As Commander of the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade in the September 1939 campaign, his men played a crucial role in resisting the German advance before crossing into Hungary with orders to rebuild the Polish Army on French soil. Fighting a further rearguard action during the 1940 Allied retreat, he and his men escaped to Britain. In February 1942, Maczek assumed command of 1st Polish Armoured Division, created out of the Polish forces which 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. Thereafter it fought on through Belgium and Holland, ultimately accepting the surrender of the German Navy at Wilhelmshaven. The Price of Victory is an inspiring tale of bravery and skill in the face of overwhelming odds, and of determination to fight for Poland on foreign soil. Having been welcomed as liberators in so many towns across Europe, it was the ultimate irony that the terms of the Yalta Agreement meant the Poles' aim of liberating their country was denied them. AUTHOR: Stanislaw Maczek was born in 1892 near Lwow, then part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The First World War interrupted his university studies and he was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Army serving on the Italian front. He joined the newly-formed Polish Army in 1918. In 1938 he became Commander of the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade, which gallantly resisted the 1939 German invasion of Poland. After regrouping in France and being involved in the withdrawal of French forces, he escaped to Scotland. In 1942, he took command of the 1st Polish Armoured Division which fought with distinction during the North-West Europe Campaign. Unable to return to communist Poland, he lived in exile in Edinburgh until his death in 1994. 16 b/w illustrations
