Poland's Amateur Defenders

Published: Aug. 11, 2016, 3 a.m.

Playing war-games in the woods has become an ever-more popular pastime in Poland as thousands of young people join paramilitary groups to defend their country against possible invasion. Others \u2013 so-called \u201cpreppers\u201d - are building bunkers and storing food supplies so their families can survive any disaster. Now the government plans to recruit such enthusiasts into a state-run volunteer defence force \u2013 to counter a possible Russian threat. But are the authorities stoking fear \u2013 and creating an amateur force that\u2019s no use in 21st Century warfare? Tim Whewell reports from the forests of north-eastern Poland, close to the Russian border.

Producer: Estelle Doyle