Frantic 7: The American Effort to Aid the Warsaw Uprising and the Origins of the Cold War, 1944 - Hardcover

Radzilowski, John; Szcześniak, Jerzy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1612005608 ISBN 13: 9781612005607

Publisher: Casemate Publishers, 2017

Synopsis

The Frantic operations were conceived in late 1943 as Soviet advances made Soviet airfields accessible to Allied long-range aircraft. American aircraft could hit targets in central Europe, refuel and rearm at Soviet bases, then fly back to bomb additional targets. In addition to hitting Nazi war industries, the political objectives of Frantic were to build closer cooperation with the Red Army as the end of the war drew nearer.

 

For the first two weeks of the Warsaw Uprising, Soviet forces stood outside the city, and Stalin refused to let the RAF land at Soviet bases after dropping supplies to the Polish freedom fighters. But eventually the United States persuaded him to let them use Frantic to supply the Poles.

 

On 18 September 1944, American B-17 Flying Fortresses dropped arms, ammunition, medical supplies, and food over the city of Warsaw. The assistance came too late for the Polish freedom fighters. For many, Frantic 7 remains a mere gesture to placate Western public opinion, but the events of that day, and the courage of 1,220 airmen who risked their lives to bring them aid, are still remembered by the Poles of Warsaw.

  

This book gives a full narrative of Frantic 7, using the first-hand accounts of those on the ground in Warsaw to tell the stories of the young aircrew. It puts Frantic 7 in context, and explains how the diplomatic wrangling set the stage for the breakdown in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States.

About this title

About the Authors

John Radzilowski, Ph.D., is associate professor of history at the University of Alaska. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on U.S. and Polish history, including Traveller's History of Poland and American Immigration: An Encyclopedia of Political, Social and Cultural Change.

Jerzy Szcześniak lives in Warsaw. His passion is the history of the Second World War. His first book Frantic 7: Amerykańska Pomoc dla Powstania Warszawskiego was one of the first books in Polish to uncover the details surrounding the American mission in 1944.

Edition details

• Publisher: Casemate Publishers
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1612005608
• ISBN 13: 9781612005607
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208