Salvete Omnes,
so this day, August 15 is the Polish Army Day (Feast of the Soldiers) - the date is also the Feast of Assumption of Mary.
So for more than millennium Polish warriors, knights and soldiers, mostly peasants led by their noble lords and officers defended the Polish lands.
This particular August date commemorates the battle of Warsaw, AD 1920, when the Red Army Juggernaut of an offensive was broken and eventually rolled back into the Red Russian lands (although there are many disagreements and disputes on why the leadership did not help White Russians finish off the Bolshevik rule and restore Russia from the communist monstrosity), thus preserving the newly restituted Polish state.
The battle is important to the XX i XXI century modern Polish state ideology and politics, but we have had many battles equally important and momentous in our millennium long history. But be what it may, at least the holiday falls in the summer month, when the weather is warm and sunny.
Hail to the defenders - and may war never return to the Polish lands
and along with the text I am including some photos of the Polish cavalry drummers of the mounted musicians platoon from the 1 pulk szwolezerow (1st chevau-leger regiment) of the 2nd Republic - Polish names for these musician-soldiers were 'kotlista'(modern) and old 'pauker, paukier, pałkier, & pałkierz, '
during the pre-partition Poland - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Crown of Poland - the mounted drummers were part of the cavalry units and were very colorful, while playing an important role of signaling and providing psychological support to the fighting troops.
and although the Napoleonic 1st Polish chevau-legers of the Guard were not part of the Polish army, their splendid uniforms and short but illustrious history merits to have them included here - painted by Bronislaw Gembarzewskie (great historian and illustrator, another victim of the Nazi German genocidal policies in occupied Poland)
Valete
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