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, it's a historically inaccurate ratio, which we'll explain later.
This battle took place between September 7th and 10th, 1939, and was part of the Invasion of Poland.
Although the defeat of the Poles in this invasion was inevitable, they managed to build a siege and several bunkers to hold off the Nazis for a heroic three days.
This became heroic because of the proportions involved in the battle.
The Germans had about 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, as in reality there were almost 60 Nazi soldiers for every Polish soldier.
“At the beginning of September came
A war unknown to the world
No army will enter these lands
That are protected by Polish hands”
In fact, the Germans did enter these lands, however, it took them longer than expected, and they suffered far more casualties than they ever imagined.
“So come, bring everything you have
Let hell come, let the flood come
We will not stop
Unless it's 40 against 1
Your lives will soon be decimated”
They knew their fate, but they wouldn'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 was the German army, navy, and air force, which joined forces to use the Blitzkrieg (lightning war) technique to quickly decimate any newly invaded territory.
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