Text written by WikiBrother Gabriel Brandino , from @moshinhell
One of the best stories from the band Sabaton is in the song "40:1," and today we're going to explain it. The song is named after the ratio referring to the Battle of Wizna , which took place during World War II.
The name refers to the ratio of Polish soldiers to Nazi soldiers; however, this is a historically inaccurate ratio, which we will explain later.
This battle took place between September 7th and 10th, 1939, and was part of the Invasion of Poland.
Although defeat for the Poles in this invasion was inevitable, they managed to establish a siege and several bunkers to hold off the Nazis for a heroic three days. This became heroic due to the scale of the battle.
The Germans had approximately 42,000 soldiers, 350 tanks, as well as artillery and air support from the Luftwaffe. Meanwhile, the Poles had only an average of 720 soldiers.
Therefore, the ratio used by the band is incorrect, since in reality there were almost 60 Nazi soldiers for every Polish soldier.
"In early September came
a war unknown to the world.
No army will enter these lands
that are protected by Polish hands."
The Germans did indeed enter those lands, but it took them longer than expected, and they suffered far more casualties than they had ever imagined.
"So come on, bring everything you've got.
Let hell come, let the flood come.
We won't stop
unless it's 40 against 1.
Your lives will soon be decimated."
They knew their fate, but they didn't give up easily, holding off the German army while their wives and children managed to escape.
"Baptized in fire
40 against 1
Spirit of the Spartans
Death and glory
Polish soldiers
Unrivaled
Fury of the Wehrmacht halted"
The Wehrmacht were the German army, navy, and air forces that joined together to use the Blitzkrieg (lightning war) technique to quickly decimate any newly invaded territory.
"Always remember the fallen soldier.
Always remember, country and sons thrown into war.
Always remember the fallen soldier.
Always remember, buried in history."
The battle ended with all the Polish soldiers dead, but with many lives saved thanks to their bravery, and even in infinitely smaller numbers, they managed to inflict great damage on the German army.
In total, approximately 1,400 soldiers were killed, 10 tanks were destroyed, and one plane was shot down.
Heinz Guderian , the German general responsible for the invasion, later had to explain himself to Adolf Hitler, as it was inconceivable that the powerful Nazi army would take so long and suffer so many casualties against such a small army with inferior equipment.
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