Charismatic statesman...brilliant military strategist...visionary European diplomat...plucked virtually overnight from a decade of "wilderness years"...General Wladyslaw Sikorski (1881-1943) led the Polish nation after the Nazi German and Soviet invasions of Poland in September 1939. During the most desperate year of World War II-from the fall of France in June 1940 until Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941-Poland remained Great Britain's greatest ally due to Sikorski's tireless efforts, fighting side by side with the British in North Africa and the British Isles. As both Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief, Sikorski's commanding presence, skillful diplomacy, and decisiveness under pressure earned the respect of Churchill and Roosevelt. Taking off from Gibraltar after a tour of military inspection in North Africa on July 4, 1943, Sikorski tragically perished in a mysterious plane crash that still fuels conspiracy theories 70 years later. Sikorski was "no simple soldier." The dynamic life of this little-known World War II Allied leader is told through nearly 300 photographs and illustrations. First time in English.

Translated by: Jarek Garlinski