The General Background

In the autumn of 1943 another direct Russo-Polish confrontation seemed imminent. The Red Army was on the offensive; by the first days of October 1943 they stood on the White Russian sector of the Eastern Front, less than sixty miles from Poland's pre-war frontier. Their entry into the country could not be long delayed. It would occur during an acute political impasse between Poland and Russia, as diplomatic relations between the two countries had been suspended and the future of Eastern Poland – or, to the Russians, the Western Ukraine and White Russia – was disputed.

At this time Russia's political and military standing within the Grand Alliance was at its highest. The Soviets' victories at Stalingrad and Kursk unambiguously revealed to the world their military and political prowess. It opened before them new vistas in eastern and central Europe; it marked the beginning of their advance towards Berlin, the very heart of Germany. After Stalingrad Russia was no longer fighting for her survival but was harvesting the strategic and political fruits of this victory. In brief, she was fast becoming one of the most formidable world powers, a power whose continued participation in the conflict was essential for the final Allied victory in Europe. The Soviet Union still bore the main burden of the land-war against Germany, whose energies for war were far from being spent. The Western Allies were as yet only preparing their main invasion of Europe and the battle for Germany was an event to come. Furthermore, Russia's co-operation in the campaign against Japan and her active participation in the post-war settlement was greatly desired by Roosevelt and Churchill.