A book to read. Warsaw 1920: Lenin’s Failed Conquest of Europe

Wow. What a good read. Especially if you like obscure but interesting history. I had no clue that in 1920 that Lenin decided to invade Poland (which had only recently become a country again after being split between Russia, Germany and Austria for over a hundred years). The history of Poland is interesting in itself (pick up James Michener’s Poland if you want a relatively easy historical lesson told in a good storytelling way).

This is a short book. It shows how close the new Soviet Union came to including Poland (and more geography if they had been successful and kept on going) as early as 1920. It also shows Poland’s resourcefulness (they didn’t really have a qualified experienced general) and fortitude in the face of some fairly overwhelming numbers. If you are interested in obscure historical moments that had an impact (because some things happened in this war that affected Soviet attitudes in WW2) then pick up this book.