General Wladyslaw Sikorski was the Head of the wartime Polish Government and Polish Commander-in-Chief, 1939-1943. Sikorski rose to prominence in Poland between 1910 and 1918 as part of the movement towards Polish independence, achieved in 1918. In 1920 Sikorski was largely responsible for the defeat of the Red Army. In 1926 he fell from favour following a military coup. During this fallow period, 1926-1939, Sikorski travelled, mainly in France. He also wrote influential military-science treatises. In September 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union invaded and annexed Poland. Sikorski, his military offices refused by the Polish Government, fled to Romania. There he was intercepted by the French ambassador to Poland and taken to Paris where he established a Polish Government-in-Exile and rebuilt the Polish Army. In May 1940 France was overrun by Germany. Sikorski removed himself and his government to London. There he began to re-build the Polish army largely lost in France. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Sikorski was forced by the British Government to accept the Soviets as allies. This led to a larger Polish army being formed in the Soviet Union and sent to the Middle East, commanded by General Anders who was to become a thorn in Sikorski's side. By 1943, the two men were clearly enemies. Sikorski died in an air crash off Gibraltar. The cause has never been satisfactory established. AUTHOR: Evan McGilvray was born in Winchester, Hampshire in 1961. He writes mainly about 20th century warfare. McGilvray is a graduate of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, UCL. McGilvray's books already published by Pen & Sword include topics as diverse as Anders' Army, The First Polish Armoured Division, Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, General Sir Ian Hamilton and the relationship between Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle. Evan McGilvray is able to work in Polish, Czech, French and Russian. Latterly he has been making a study of the Latvian language. He now lives in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, writing and helping to look after his grandchildren. In addition to writing military history, McGilvray also writes plays and loves to walk in the nearby countryside. His website: evanclivemcgilvray.com 16 b/w illustrations
