History of the Polish Army

We all know what the Polish Army is. Lessons on history are hardly in vain. However, much is forgotten. In the article we will recall the history of the Polish Army in order to better understand the information and understand the course of some historical events. This topic will be very interesting not only for historians, but also for all who are interested in the chronology of the events of the war.

What is the Polish Army?

It is a combined-arms formation or army. The history of the Polish Army begins in the USSR in 1944. The army consisted mainly of Poles. Also there were many ordinary servicemen of the USSR Armed Forces of different nationalities. In official documents and orders has the name "1st Polish Army".

The army was involved in the Great Patriotic War, and specifically in the following operations:

• Lubelsko-Brest.
• Warsaw-Poznan.
• East Pomeranian.
• Berlin.

The beginning of history

The military formation was created in the spring of 1944 by the number of soldiers serving in the Polish corps. It was created a year before. Infantry Division. T. Kosciusko served as the basis for the formation of the corps. Not only the Poles could join the army. It was also open to Soviet citizens with Polish roots. The Soviet Union took this military formation seriously and provided it with decent military support. Commander of the army was Sigmund Berling.

In the spring of the same year, the Polish Army received new soldiers. 52 thousand people arrived, Unfortunately, there were no more than 300 officers among them. Podhorunzhikh was even smaller, and they served only in the pre-war Polish army. This all greatly aggravated the so-present problem of the lack of competent officers.

In the summer the Polish Army could boast of: cavalry, armored, anti-aircraft artillery brigades, 2 air regiments and 4 infantry brigades. By 1944, the personnel was 90 thousand people.

The beginning of hostilities

In the summer of 1944, fighting began. Immediately it is worth mentioning that the Polish Army in the Second World War played an important role. The military operations were conducted under the operational guidance of the First Byelorussian Front. At the end of the month, part of the army crossed the Western Bug. As a result, the army entered the territory of Poland. In July of the same year, the 1st Army of the Polish Army joined forces with the Army of the Ludovians (the army of partisans). Only after this event the army began to be called the unified Polish Army, however in the documents the first name still continued to appear.

By the time the army already had 100,000 troops. At the same time, about 2500 young soldiers were trained for officers, and about 600 for pilots. The army owned approximately 60,000 rifles and rifles, had about 4,000 machine guns, 779 radio stations, 170 motorcycles, and 66 aircraft.

Replenishment of forces

In July 1944, the 1st Polish Panzer Corps was created as part of the Army, with Colonel Ian Rupasov as commander. At this time, the Polish army managed to get to the eastern shore of the Vistula, which served as the beginning of the battles to conquer the left-bank territory. A little later the army fought on the Magnuszew bridgehead. It is also worth noting that the armored brigade already known to us fought on the western bank of the river for the Studzyan bridgehead.

In August 1944, the Polish Committee for National Liberation issued a decree on mobilization, which provided for the recruitment of young men born in the years 1921-1924. Also called on all military specialists, officers and sub-officers, suitable for service. As a result of this order, in just a few months, the armed forces of Poland were replenished by several dozen newly arrived soldiers. Approximately 100 thousand people were drafted from the liberated territory of Poland, the rest - from the USSR. At the end of the autumn of 1944, there were about 11,500 servicemen from the USSR in the Polish Army.

It is an interesting fact that the army had deputy commanders for work with political agencies and chaplains. At the same time, the deputy army commander, Petr Jaroszewicz, in the future became prime minister of Poland.

Liberation of Warsaw

In 1944, in the autumn, the armed forces of Poland were able to liberate Prague. After this, an ill-considered attempt was made to force the Vistula, which failed. In the winter of 1945, the army took an active part in defending the capital of Poland. The Polish army in the Second World War in this operation acted like this:

• The main forces of the army crossed the Vistula;
• The 2 nd Infantry Division was engaged in the crossing of the Vistula, it was she who started the operation on the offensive to Warsaw from the north;
• The Soviet 31st Special Armored Trains Division and the 6th Infantry Division of the Polish Army in the Prague area crossed the Vistula.

On January 17, 1945, as a result of brutal and prolonged fighting, Warsaw gained freedom.

A little later, the Polish Army liberated Bydgoszcz by conducting a breakthrough operation across the central part of Poland. After a while, the main forces were concentrated on the assault of Kohlberg. At the same time, the First Polish Armored Brigade attacked Gdansk within the framework of the Eastern Pomeranian operation. The army in Stetin stopped to calculate the losses. They amounted to about 3,000 missing and 5,400 killed.

By 1945, the strength of the army was 200,000. This number is 10 part of the total number of soldiers who participated in the Berlin operation. During its time, the Polish army lost about 7,000 killed and 4,000 missing.

Help of the USSR

One can not ignore the moment that the Soviet Union has invested enormous material and human resources in the creation of the army. In 1944, the Soviet Union transferred about 200,000 carbines and rifles to the Polish military units, as well as a large number of anti-aircraft, hand and machine guns, anti-tank rifles, submachine guns, mortars, tanks, armored vehicles and aircraft. And this if you do not take into account the trophy and training weapons. In the second half of 1944, Soviet educational institutions trained more than 5,000 Polish soldiers.

Reaction

At the same time in the UK, the Polish emigre government, as well as those who supported it in Poland (the Craiova Army), reacted very negatively to the fact that Polish armed forces were being created on the territory of the USSR. They were extremely negative about such activities in the USSR. The reaction was highlighted in the press, where there were statements of the sort that the Beurling Army was not a Polish army, and also that the Polish Army was a detachment of mercenaries in the Soviet service.

Summing up the article, let's say that this army had a worthy history. She took part in a number of important operations. At the same time, the Soviet Union played a key role in the creation and provision of the army. The army has become an example of how the forces can unite, when necessary. Our people had conflicts with the Poles, but it is still worth acknowledging that we are related to close people.