Again and again in its history, Poland faced enemies far larger than itself. Some of its most celebrated moments came when outnumbered Polish soldiers won anyway, or held out long after anyone expected. This guide gathers ten of them, from the hussar victories of the Commonwealth to the stands of September 1939.
Ten battles against the odds
Orsha, 1514 · Konstanty Ostrogski lures a larger Muscovite army into a trap on the Dnieper.
Kircholm, 1605 · about 3,600 Polish-Lithuanian troops, led by the winged hussars, rout a Swedish army roughly three times their size.
Klushino, 1610 · Hetman Żółkiewski's hussars defeat a far larger Russian and foreign army and open the road to Moscow.
Khotyn, 1621 · a fortified Polish and Cossack camp holds for over a month against a much larger Ottoman army.
Vienna, 1683 · King Jan III Sobieski leads the relief army and a great cavalry charge to break the Ottoman siege.
Racławice, 1794 · Kościuszko's soldiers and peasants armed with scythes storm the guns of a better-armed Russian force.
Somosierra, 1808 · a single squadron of Polish light horse charges up a mountain pass and takes the Spanish batteries.
Warsaw, 1920 · a reborn Poland turns back the Red Army at the gates of its capital.
Westerplatte, 1939 · about 200 defenders hold out for seven days from the first morning of the war.
Wizna, 1939 · a few hundred men in bunkers on the Narew hold up a German corps for three days.
The secret of the hussars
Many of the earliest victories belonged to the winged hussars, the heavy cavalry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At Kircholm and Klushino their charges broke armies several times their size, and at Vienna they led the great charge that broke the Ottoman siege. Skill, training and a willingness to attack at the decisive moment did what numbers could not.
Defeats that became victories of the spirit
Not every battle here was won. Westerplatte and Wizna ended in surrender or death, but the defenders held so long against such odds that they became symbols of courage for the whole nation. For more of the battles that shaped the country, see the greatest Polish battles.