Arnhem A Debt of Dishonour - Polish General Sosabowski

98 Books about Poland | Polish War Graves in Britain

The film A Debt of Dishonour about the Polish General Stanislaw Sosabowski and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was premiered at the Polish Embassy in London on 12 February 2013.

A Debt of Dishonour is concerned with the Battle of Arnhem which took place in Holland from 17 - 26 September 1944. It was an airborne operation involving the 1st British Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski was in command of the Polish Brigade.

The Battle of Arnhem was part of the plan codenamed Operation Market Garden. This was an attempt to seize bridges over the Rhine in the Netherlands. Arnhem was not a success.

The table below shows the fate of the 11,920 men who took part in the airborne operation as part of the British and Polish forces.

Battle of Arnhem	Number of Men
Killed or Died of Wounds	1,485
Evacuated on 25 September 1944	3,910
Prisoners of war or attempting to evade capture	6,525

Source: numbers in the table taken from the booklet Major General Sosabowski “Polski Bohater - Polish Hero" by Colonel Mike Russell.

A Debt of Dishonour reflects on the role of the Poles at Arnhem under General Stanislaw Sosabowski through interviews with the following British officers:

• Brigade Major (Retd.) Tony Hibbert MBE, MC
• Sir Brian Urquhart KCMG, MBE
• Major General (Retd.) John Drewienkiewicz CB, CMG, MA

An illustrated twelve-page booklet Major General Sosabowski “Polski Bohater - Polish Hero" by Colonel Mike Russell has been published to accompany the film. Colonel Russell is Commander of the Aldershot Garrison, "Home of the British Army".

Arnhem - A Debt of Dishonour (2012) is produced by Dr Marek Stella-Sawicki with the support of the Polish Heritage Society (UK).

Added on 02 March 2013. Updated on 20 November 2024.