Poland and Hungary can always count on each other, their current cooperation on the NATO and EU platforms gives both countries a sense of safety, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said on Monday after talks with his Hungarian counterpart Tibor Benkő.
On Monday, Mr Błaszczak and Mr Benkő visited Skierniewice, a town in central Poland known as the receiving point for Hungarian ammunition sent to Poland to aid its war against the Soviet Union in 1920.
Recalling the 1920 events, the Polish Defence Minister said that without Hungary’s support the Polish forces could not have stood up to the Red Army.
He also stated that Polish-Hungarian ties dated back several centuries, with both countries sharing many similar experiences over their history. In this context he mentioned the ties between Polish and Hungarian royalty, and the participation of Polish general Jozef Bem in battles of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.
Commenting on contemporary relations between Hungary and Poland, Mariusz Błaszczak called them “very, very close,” and said that cooperation in NATO and the EU gave both countries a sense of safety. The Minister also announced the signing of an agreement on cooperation between Polish and Hungarian special forces.
Mr Benkő also highlighted the historical ties between Poland and Hungary, observing that by pooling forces Warsaw and Budapest were able to attain their goals.
In the summer of 1920, when the Bolshevik Army broke the Polish defence and marched onward to Warsaw, Hungary provided vital support to Poland. When Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia banned the transport of military equipment for Poland, Hungary, fearing that they would be the next target of the Soviet invasion, donated their own ammunition supplies and 58 million cartridges from the Csepel factory near Budapest.
The Hungarians also brokered the supply of supplies to Poland from France, falsifying waybills to bypass blockades. Deliveries were made to the railway junction in Skierniewice. On August 12, at the peak of the Battle of Warsaw, 20 million rifle rounds reached Skierniewice.