Poland

Just adding to what everyone else wrote, concerning WW2, and all that jazz. If it wasn't for Poland, Europe would be entirely Moslem. The battle of Vienna. The large-scale battle was won by Polish-Austrian-German forces led by King of Poland John III Sobieski against the Ottoman Empire. If the Poles were to be defeated at Vienna, then nothing would have stopped the Ottomans from conquering the entire continent, and spread their religion. After the defeat of he moslems, John III Sobieski received a gift from the current Pope, I believe it was a Baton or a sword. Also, the Poles had the best cavalry in the entire world history! The "Winged Hussar's" had the best bred horses, and the biggest as well. They are called "Winged" Hussar's because of the 2 wooden arches on the backs of the Polish cavalryman were lined with feathers from various or a specific bird (not sure) and when the horses would charge toward the enemy, the air passing the through the feathers would create a very, VERY high-pitched screech that would scare the enemy's horses and cause havoc against enemy cavalry. The Polish horses were not affected because they were raised to adjust to that noise.