AGNUS + AGNI

Żołnierze 1 Pułku Szwoleżerów (1920).

100th anniversary - Battle of Warsaw

Ignacy Skorupka (31 July 1893 – 14 August 1920) was a heroic chaplain of the Polish Army and a volunteer in the Polish-Bolshevik war. While giving the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to a wounded soldier, Father Skorupka was fatally wounded by Bolshevik fire. Ignacy Skorupka became a symbol of the Battle of Warsaw and of the sacrifice of those who defended Poland and Christianity against the Soviet invasion.

Battle of Warsaw (1920) - the War that Saved Europe from Communism

15.8.1920 ‘Miracle on the Vistula river’ was one of the most important battles in world’s history. By the summer of 1920, the Red Army was approaching Warsaw, and both sides knew that the ensuing battle would determine the outcome of the war. But it was more than a territorial squabble. It was a clash of ideologies: Christianity vs. atheism, individual liberty vs. state control. Poland’s desisive victory over the Soviet army stopped the spread of Bolshevik communism further westwards into Europe.

The Battle of Warsaw, 1920: One Hundred Years Ago by Norman Davies

Polish Cultural Institute in London  

The Allegory of Victory in 1920, Zdzisław Jasiński

The Battle of Warsaw, 1920

Free people everywhere should be grateful to the Poles for the victory. - Lawrence W. Reed

Many historians consider the Polish-Soviet war (February 1919 – March 1921), and especially the Battle of Warsaw, to be a key moment in European history.

Making war on Poland was more than a local affair to the Soviets. They made it plain that the Poles were simply in the way of their larger goal: exporting communism to the rest of Western Europe. Germany, gripped by post-war economic and political chaos, seemed ripe for a Marxist revolution if only Soviet troops could move in and assist, but Poland would have to be disposed of first.

Nicknamed “the Red Napoleon,” Soviet commander Mikhail Tukhachevsky ordered, “To the West! Over the corpse of white Poland lies the road to worldwide conflagration. March upon Vilnius, Minsk, Warsaw and onward to Berlin over the corpse of Poland!” Bolshevik theoretician and Lenin confidant Nikolai Bukharin publicly declared that the campaign would take communist forces “straight to London and Paris.”

Soviet victories in the summer of 1920 looked unstoppable, as Moscow’s Red Army pushed to within striking distance of the Polish capital. From August 12-25, the Battle of Warsaw raged. Foreign observers expected the imminent collapse of Poland. Then, the tactical brilliance of Pilsudski and his chief of staff Tadeusz Rozwadowski plus the legendary courage of Polish fighters combined to produce what Poles call “the Miracle on the Vistula.”

While the central Russian armies were fixated on Warsaw, a Polish strike force side-slipped to the south of the city, and then turned north in a left hook into the exposed Russian flank. Surprised, demoralized, and outmaneuvered, the Russian armies disintegrated, with some retreating back to Russia and others fleeing to German territory to be interned. Pilsudski's counteroffensive was assisted by the breaking of Russian codes, a Polish specialty that they later used to crack the Nazi Enigma machine.

Today, August 15th, is the anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw during the Polish-Bolshevik War in which Poland defeated Russia.

The war featured overconfident and squabbling Russian invaders, determined Polish defenders, jamming of a military communications system, a counteroffensive against the invaders, and Westerners surprised at Poland's success. Sound a bit familiar? 🤔

Because people outside Eastern Europe usually know little about Eastern European history, it's worth reminding everybody that Russia has been stopped by smaller neighbors in the past.

The Battle of Warsaw became known as the Miracle on the Vistula (Cud nad Wisłą).

Russia has been trying to undermine and neutralize Poland one way or another for about 250 years. Just today I saw this news story at Meduza.

'We are here': Two Russian nationals detained in Poland after allegedly hanging Wagner recruitment posters around Krakow and Warsaw

At the best of times, Poland is suspicious of Russia – and with good reason. Joining NATO on 19 March 1999 was a great relief for Poland.

The Polish attitude towards Russia could be summed up by this joke which may have been inspired by the September, 1939 invasions of Poland from the west by Nazi Germany and from the east by Soviet Russia.

A Polish soldier is being charged by a Russian and a German. Who does he shoot first, and why? The German, because business before pleasure.

Discalced Carmelites wearing the Great Veil.

The Great Veil was largely abandoned after the Vatican II.

15 de Agosto

Alégrate y gózate Hija de Jerusalén

mira a tu Rey que viene a ti, humilde,

a darte tu parte en su victoria.

Eres la primera de los redimidos

porque fuiste la adelantada de la fe.

Hoy, tu Hijo, te viene a buscar, Virgen y Madre:

“Ven amada mía”,

te pondré sobre mi trono, prendado está el Rey de tu belleza.

Te quiero junto a mí para consumar mi obra salvadora,

ya tienes preparada tu “casa” donde voy a celebrar

las Bodas del Cordero:

• Templo del Espíritu Santo

• Arca de la nueva alianza

• Horno de barro, con pan a punto de mil sabores.

Mujer vestida de sol, tu das a luz al Salvador

que empuja hacia el nuevo nacimiento

Dichosa tú que has creído, porque lo que se te ha dicho

de parte del Señor, en ti ya se ha cumplido.

María Asunta, signo de esperanza y de consuelo,

de humanidad nueva y redimida, danos de tu Hijo

ser como tú llenas del Espíritu Santo,

para ser fieles a la Palabra que nos llama a ser,

también como tú, sacramentos del Reino.

Hoy, tu sí, María, tu fiat, se encuentra con el sí de Dios

a su criatura en la realización de su alianza,

en el abrazo de un solo sí.

Prayer for the

Feast of the Assumption

August 15th

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and Mother of humanity,