Misplaced Pages

#828171

55-902: On 25 October 1918, a decision was made to establish the directorate of the chief of staff of the Polish Army . In 1928 the General Headquarters of the Polish Army was established, known commonly at the time as the Main Staff ( Sztab Główny ). In September 1939, during the Invasion of Poland by the Wehrmacht and the Red Army , all the institutions of the General Staff ceased to function and were transferred to joint German and Soviet. control. On 8 August 1944,

110-560: A Military Gendarmerie unit, a component of the 10th Logistics Brigade, elements of the 5th Military Engineers Regiment, and three Mil Mi-17 helicopters. In 2019 a new long-term program designed to modernize the Polish Armed Forces was introduced. Over the period of the next 10 to 14 years a large portion of the equipment currently being used by the Polish Army will be either upgraded or replaced. Some elements of this program are already in place. The Polish Ministry of Defence signed

165-768: A Warsaw Pact attack on Denmark , to open the Baltic straits to the North Sea and beyond. There were 205,000 personnel, of which 168,000 were conscripts. Following the end of the Cold War the Wojska Lądowe was drastically reduced and reorganised. In 1992, the Kraków Military District was recreated. From nine divisions, the total was planned in 2001 to fall to four, plus six independent brigades. Since 1 January 1999, Poland has been divided into two military districts. These are

220-658: A clearance area of more than 250,000 square kilometers (80% of the country). 14.75 million munitions of various types and 59 million bullets, bombs and other ammunition were found and removed. The mining operations cost the lives of 646 sappers. In 1949 the military districts were reduced to four. They were the Pomeranian Military District , HQ in Bydgoszcz, the Silesian Military District , HQ in Wroclaw,

275-569: A contract aiming at modernization of all Leopard 2 main battle tanks used by the Polish Army to the Leopard 2PL standard. The completion of this program is planned to take place prior to 2023. The first Leopard 2PL arrived in March 2018. The Polish Army has 1,009 tanks (2017) including 249 Leopard 2 tanks (117 Leopard 2A4, 105 Leopard 2A5, 25 Leopard 2PL , 2 Leopard 2NJ), 232 PT-91 tanks, that underwent modernization in 2016, and 328 T-72 tanks. 230 of

330-580: A personal computer, new protective uniform, modular body armor, night vision devices, advanced communication system, etc. To modernize its artillery, Poland has purchased several systems including the WR-40 Langusta rocket launchers equipped with state-of-the-art Topaz fire control. In 2019 the Ministry of Military Affairs ordered 20 M142 HIMARS launchers plus support vehicles. 122 new self-propelled NATO-compatible tracked AHS Krab gun-howitzers will replace

385-681: A result of the German invasion of Poland that began on 1 September 1939—no longer existed and proclaimed any treaty or diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Poland invalid. Diplomatic relations were re-established in 1941 after the German invasion of the Soviet Union , when the British government allied itself with the attacked Soviet Union and pressured the Polish government to act accordingly. Consequently,

440-498: A result of the invasion, the Polish government has expedited the process of modernization of the military equipment. In July 2022, Poland signed a contract to acquire 1000 K2 Black Panther tanks and 460 K9 Thunder howitzers from South Korea for (the cost for the latter was US$ 2.4 billion). The first batch of K2 tanks and K9 howitzers was delivered in December 2022. Further deliveries are scheduled for 2023-2026 period. Looking towards

495-439: A total of around thirty Polish divisions involved. Boris Savinkov was at the head of an army of 20,000 to 30,000 largely Russian POWs, and was accompanied by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius . The Polish forces grew from approximately 100,000 in 1918 to over 500,000 in early 1920. In August 1920, the Polish army had reached a total strength of 737,767 people. Half of that was on the frontline. Given Soviet losses, there

550-665: Is being planned. After the invasion of Ukraine, Poland ordered 1 battery of the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) short-range air defense system from the UK as a short-term stop-gap, with plans to eventually acquire 23 batteries for the NAREW program. The Polish army has 863 new KTO Rosomak multi-role wheeled armored personnel carriers. They will be combined with new BWP Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle. The gradual replacement of older BWP-1 with this particular new design

605-401: Is to start from 2023 onward (prototypes are currently being tested). New rifles ( FB MSBS Grot ) and pistols ( Vis-100 ) are being brought into service to supplement current FB Beryl rifles as well as to replace FB P-83 Wanad pistols and AKM rifles. A new Individual Warfare System "Tytan" (Titan) is being developed to integrate combat systems designed for individual soldiers and includes

SECTION 10

#1732845528829

660-575: The 1st Warsaw Mechanised Division was disbanded. General Edward Pietrzyk served as commander of the Polish Land Forces from 2000 to September 2006. He was succeeded by General Waldemar Skrzypczak (2006–2009). In May 2014, Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak announced plans for the future acquisition of attack helicopters in response to the Russo-Ukrainian war . On 25 November 2015, chief of National Defence Commission Michał Jach, indicated

715-522: The 2S1 Goździk , and new wheeled AHS Kryl howitzers will replace the wz. 1977 Dana. Deliveries of 122 M120 Rak mortars have been ongoing since 2017, plus 60 command vehicles (based on the KTO Rosomak fighting platform) and support vehicles. New reconnaissance vehicles, the Rosomak WRT, began entering into service after 2016. Before the end of 2023 will commence the formation of a sixth army division in

770-763: The British government and joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West , forming the bulk of what would become the Polish Second Corps . After Anders' Army left Soviet controlled territory, the Soviet-Polish relations deteriorated and the Soviets decided to assume much greater control over the remaining Polish military potential in the USSR. Activities of organisations and people loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, particularly

825-573: The Buzuluk area, by recruiting from NKVD camps for Polish POWs . By the end of 1941, 25,000 soldiers (including 1,000 officers) had been recruited, forming three infantry divisions : the 5th , 6th and 7th . In the spring of 1942, the force was moved to the area of Tashkent . The 8th and 9th divisions were also formed that year (divisions numbered 5 to 9 existed both within Anders' Army and Berling's First (1,2,3,4,6) and Second Armies (5,7,8,9,10). In

880-684: The Eastern Front under Soviet command all the way to the Battle of Berlin . Like other communist -led Polish institutions, the People's Army operated in opposition to the Polish government-in-exile. After the war, the Polish People's Army became the military of communist-ruled Poland . At the outset of the Soviet invasion of Poland (17 September 1939), the Soviets declared that the Polish state and government—as

935-615: The Internal Security Corps (KBW). The rule was that military units were used primarily against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), while the Internal Security Corps was used to fight the armed underground independence. Often however army units fought the underground resistance, and vice versa . The culmination of the UPA suppression operation was the so-called 'Wisła Action' ( Operation Vistula ) which took place in 1947. At

990-811: The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in Korea . Poland contributed troops to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon between 1982 and 2009. Poland sent a divisional headquarters and a brigade to Iraq after the 2003 Iraq war . Poland sent ten rotations of troops, manning a significant portion of Multinational Division Central-South . At its peak Poland, had 2,500 soldiers in the south of Iraq. Poland deployed about ten attack and transport helicopters as part of its force in Iraq between 2004 and 2008. These helicopters formed

1045-700: The Polish Armed Forces in the East , as well as interior (partisan) forces, primarily represented by the Home Army (AK) had land forces during the Second World War . While the forces fighting under the Allied banner were supported by the Polish Air Force and Navy, the partisan forces were an exclusively land formation. The army operational today has its roots in the surrogate force formed in support of Soviet interests during

1100-847: The Polish II Corps and went on to fight Nazi German forces in the Italian Campaign , including the Battle of Monte Cassino . From Poles who remained in the Soviet Union, the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was formed in May 1943. It was enlarged and reorganised into the Polish First Army ( Berling's Army ) and the Polish Second Army . Together they constituted the Polish People's Army ( Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP); it fought on

1155-648: The Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921, and in the two smaller conflicts ( Polish–Ukrainian War (1918–1919) and the Polish–Lithuanian War (1919–1920)). Initially, right after the First World War , Poland had five military districts (1918–1921): The Polish Land Forces as readied for the Polish–Soviet War was made up of soldiers who had formerly served in the various partitioning empires, supported by some international volunteers. There appear to have been

SECTION 20

#1732845528829

1210-579: The Pomeranian Military District ( Pomorski Okręg Wojskowy ) with HQ in Bydgoszcz , covering northern Poland, and the Silesian Military District ( Śląski Okręg Wojskowy ) with HQ in Wrocław , covering southern Poland. From that date the former Krakow Military District became the headquarters of the Air-Mechanized Corps, which later became the headquarters of the 2nd Mechanised Corps . On 1 September 2011

1265-718: The Poznań 1956 protests , the Polish 1970 protests , and protests during Martial law in Poland in 1981–1982. Troops of the Silesian Military District also took part in the suppressing of the 1968 democratisation process of Czechoslovakia, commonly known as the Prague Spring . In 1989 the Pomeranian Military District controlled the 8th, 12th, 15th, 16th, and 20th Divisions, the Silesian Military District controlled

1320-754: The Second Army was tasked with the protection of the western border of the state from Jelenia Gora to Kamien Pomorski, and on the basis of its headquarters, the staff of the Poznan Military District was created at Poznań. The southern border, from Jelenia Gora to the Użok railway station (at the junction of the Polish, the Soviet and the Czechoslovak borders) was occupied by the First Army . Its headquarters staff formed

1375-581: The Warsaw Military District , HQ in Warsaw , and the Kraków Military District with its headquarters in Kraków. In November 1953, the Kraków Military District was dissolved and until 1992, Poland was divided into three districts. Following victory and the movement of Polish borders these troops and other Polish soldiers thought loyal to their Soviet overlords were built up into a force which was to form part of

1430-650: The Warsaw Pact . Polish Army troops would have formed part of the second strategic echelon deployed for an attack on NATO 's Allied Forces Central Europe . A Polish Front headquarters was formed in 1958, along with three armies formed from 1955, the First Polish Army, the Second Army, and the Fourth Army, mobilisation-only headquarters that were to be formed within the three districts. The Polish Front headquarters

1485-545: The Wisla and Narew procurement programs. The Wisla program will procure medium range air defense platforms and is being fulfilled through the acquisition of 2 Patriot air and missile defense batteries integrated with IBCS (delivery scheduled for late 2022), with plans to order six further batteries. The Narew program covers short range air defense (SHORAD) and is in its final stages of design selection and contract assignment. Considerable involvement of Polish defense contractors

1540-596: The land forces of the Polish Armed Forces . They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stretches back a millennium – since the 10th century (see List of Polish wars and History of the Polish Army ). Poland's modern army was formed after Poland regained independence following World War I in 1918. When Poland regained independence in 1918, it recreated its military which participated in

1595-417: The 2nd, 4th, 5th, 10th, and 11th Divisions, and the Warsaw Military District the 1st, 3rd, and 9th Divisions, plus the 6th Airborne Division earmarked for Front control. The 7th Sea Landing Division was based within the Pomeranian Military District but probably earmarked for front control. The two districts facing Germany each controlled four divisions in 1990, which had been recently reorganised, in line with

1650-862: The First Army were involved in heavy fighting during the latter stages of the Warsaw Uprising , after crossing the Vistula following the capture of Warsaw 's eastern Praga district, but suffered heavy losses. After eventually taking control of Warsaw in January 1945, the First Army took part in the Vistula–Oder Offensive . Subsequently, it fought in Pomerania , breaking through the Pomeranian Wall ( Pommernstellung ) fortified line and capturing Fortress Kolberg ,

1705-582: The General Command of the Polish Army was created and on 1 January 1945, the National Council of Poland decided to establish the General Staff of the Polish Army, the head of which was appointed Soviet-Polish General Vladislav Korchits . The General Staff consists of the following command personnel and organizational units at the Ministry of National Defence (MON): Command personnel ( Kadra kierownicza ): General Staff Directorates ( Zarządy Sztabu Generalnego WP ): Polish Army War on Terror The Land Forces ( Polish : Wojska Lądowe ) are

Polish General Staff - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-440: The Independent Air Assault Group ( pl:Samodzielna Grupa Powietrzno-Szturmowa ). The division was disbanded in 2008. A Polish Military Advisory Liaison Team (MALT) stayed in Iraq until at least 2011 (see pl:PKW Irak ). One of the most recent peace keeping missions was MINURCAT in Chad and the Central African Republic , where Poland despatched troops from 2007 to 2010. Among the deployed troops were two Reconnaissance companies,

1815-534: The Polish First Army was integrated into the 1st Belorussian Front . These formations were led by Soviet commanders and fought under Soviet general command (the Second Army, for example, was led by the Soviet and Polish general Stanislav Poplavsky ). There was a shortage of Polish officers (most were killed at Katyn or departed with Anders' Army) and in the Polish First Army and the Second Army approximately 40% of officers and engineers were Soviet. Special political officers, almost exclusively made up of Soviets, oversaw

1870-506: The Polish embassy in Moscow , were curtailed and its assets confiscated. Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Polish government were suspended by the Soviet side as news of the Katyn massacre emerged in 1943. In June 1943, the Union of Polish Patriots (ZPP) was founded in Moscow. The ZPP was a mass-membership, communist-led organization for Polish citizens. It conducted political activities and organized large-scale social welfare and relief programs for Polish communities in

1925-460: The Polish soldiers. The Soviets also created political military police , which later became the Main Directorate of Information of the Polish Army (Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego). The First Army entered Poland from Soviet territory in the summer of 1944, on the right wing of the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive , fighting in the battles during the Soviet crossing of the Vistula River around Dęblin and Puławy . In September 1944, units of

1980-399: The Poznan Military District, HQ in Poznan, the Pomeranian Military District, HQ in Torun (formed from the staff of the short-lived LWP 1st Army Corps) and the Silesian Military District, HQ in Katowice, created in the fall of 1945. In June 1945 the 1st, 3rd and 8th Infantry Divisions were assigned internal security duties. The 4th Infantry Division was reorganised for the purpose of creating

2035-462: The Soviet Union. The ZPP was led by the pro-Soviet Polish communist Wanda Wasilewska . At the same time, due to the efforts of Wasilewska and Zygmunt Berling , a new army was established—the Polish People's Army ( Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP). Its first unit, the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division ( 1 Dywizja Piechoty im. Tadeusza Kościuszki ), was created in the summer of 1943, reaching operational readiness by June/July. In August,

2090-545: The T-72s are being upgraded by the Bumar-Łabędy arms manufacturing plant. Improvements include: installation of new radio communication systems, digital engine control and start-up system, 3rd generation thermal imaging cameras, external transport baskets, and any necessary overhauls and repairs that can improve their longevity and combat ability on the modern battlefield. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has donated over 200 T-72 tanks to Ukraine's army, along with dozens of other armored vehicles. As

2145-415: The USSR, were released. Polish Prime Minister, General Władysław Sikorski , nominated General Władysław Anders —one of the Polish officers held captive in the Soviet Union—as commander of a new Polish army which immediately began to be formed in the USSR with the aim of fighting against the Germans alongside the Soviet Red Army . The new formation became known as Anders' Army and started to organise in

2200-408: The basis of the Silesian Military District . In mid-1945, after the end of World War II , the Polish Army, as part of the overall armed forces, the People's Army of Poland , was divided into six (later seven) districts. These were the Warsaw Military District, HQ in Warsaw, the Lublin Military District, HQ in Lublin, the Kraków Military District, HQ in Kraków, the Lodz Military District, HQ in Lodz,

2255-516: The center of the country. Minister Błaszczak reiterated, that the future force structure of the Polish Land Forces will be built around "six well-armed divisions." Polish Armed Forces in the East The Polish Armed Forces in the East ( Polish : Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Wschodzie ), also called Polish Army in the USSR, were the Polish military forces established in the Soviet Union during World War II . Two armies were formed separately and at different times. Anders' Army , created in

Polish General Staff - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-419: The corps was reorganized into the First Polish Army . Subsequent Soviet-created Polish army units on the Eastern Front included the Second (1945) and Third Polish Armies (the latter was quickly merged with the Second due to recruitment problems); the smaller formations included 10 infantry divisions (numbered from 1st to 10th) and 5 armoured brigades. Plans for a Polish Front were considered but dropped, and

2365-512: The division was enlarged to a corps, becoming the Polish 1st Corps. It was placed under command of General Berling; other notable commanders included General Karol Świerczewski and Col. Włodzimierz Sokorski . The division with its supporting elements was sent to the Eastern Front in September 1943 and its first major engagement was the Battle of Lenino . By March 1944, the corps had been strengthened with increasing armoured and mechanical support and numbered over 30,000 soldiers. In mid-March 1944,

2420-408: The erroneous myths generated by this campaign were accounts of Polish cavalry charging German tanks, which did not, in fact, take place. In the east, the Red Army took the other half of the country in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact . Following the country's fall, Polish soldiers began regrouping in what was to become the Polish Army in France . Both the Polish Armed Forces in the West and

2475-416: The establishment of the People's Republic of Poland after the Second World War . Two Polish armies, the First Army (Poland) and the Second Army fought with the Red Army on the Eastern Front , supported by some Polish Air Force elements . The formation of a Third Army had begun but was not completed. The end of the war found the Polish Army in the midst of intense organisational development. Although

2530-574: The future, the 'Wilk' procurement program envisions the acquisition of up to 500 new tanks. Some of the T-72s and PT-91s will be replaced by M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 main battle tanks (separate from the Wilk program) after Poland signed a contract to purchase 250 Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tanks (plus ammunition, spare parts, training, and logistical vehicles) on April 6, 2022. For air and missile defense, acquisitions of Poprad Anti-Air missile systems - which covers very short range air defense (VSHORAD) - are in their final stages. Legacy systems will be replaced through

2585-417: The implementation of the Polish Front concept was abandoned, new tactical units and troop types were created. As a result of mobilisation, troop numbers in May 1945 reached 370,000 soldiers, and in September 1945 there were 440,000. Military districts were organised in liberated areas. The districts exercised direct authority over the units stationed on the territory administered by them. Returning to Poland,

2640-423: The late 1990s Soviet defensive doctrine, from a 3:1 mix of motor rifle : tank regiments into a 2:2 mix of motor rifle and tank regiments. The Warsaw Military District in the east controlled only the 1st Mechanised Division . Two other mechanised divisions in that district had been disbanded in 1988. There was also the 6th Airborne Division and the 7th Sea Landing Division , possibly intended to form part of

2695-481: The military agreement of 14 August and the Sikorski–Mayski agreement of 17 August, between the Polish government-in-exile and the Soviet government, were signed; Joseph Stalin agreed to abrogate the Poland-related aspects of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . As an amnesty for Polish citizens in the Soviet Union was negotiated, tens of thousands of Polish prisoners of war held in Soviet camps, as well as hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens who had been deported to

2750-449: The necessity to increase the number of Polish troops from 100,000 to 150,000. However, Jach stressed that the process was complicated and should not be rushed. On June 17, 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the increase of the Polish armed forces to 300,000. the formation of two new mechanized divisions was announced. From the 1950s the Polish Land Forces have contributed troops to peacekeeping operations, initially

2805-480: The same time demobilisation took place, moving the armed forces to a peacetime footing. On 10 August 1945 a "decree of the partial demobilisation" of the armed forces was issued. The next demobilisation phases took place in February and December 1946. One of the most important tasks facing the army after the war was mine clearance. Between 1944 and 1956 the demining operation involved 44 engineering units or about 19,000 sappers. They cleared mines and other munitions in

SECTION 50

#1732845528829

2860-411: The second half of 1941, was loyal to the Polish government-in-exile . After Operation Barbarossa and the consequent Polish-Soviet Sikorski–Mayski agreement , an amnesty for Polish citizens in the Soviet Union was declared, which made the formation of Polish military units possible. In 1942, Anders' Army was evacuated to Iran and transferred to the command of the Western Allies . It became known as

2915-413: The second part of 1942, during the German Caucasus offensive (the most notable part of which was the Battle of Stalingrad ), Stalin agreed to the transfer of the Polish formations to the Middle Eastern front. Anders' Army went via the Persian Corridor to Pahlavi , Iran . About 77,000 combatants and 41,000 civilians—Polish citizens—left the USSR. Anders' Army thus passed from Soviet control to that of

2970-430: Was deactivated in 1990, and the three-army mobilisation scheme was likewise abandoned. Polish land forces during the communist era included troops dedicated to internal security – the Territorial Defence Forces – and control of the country's borders. Until the fall of communism the army's prestige continued to fall, as it was used by the communist government to violently suppress several outbursts of protest, including

3025-494: Was rough numerical parity between the two armies. By the time of the Battle of Warsaw Poles might have even had a slight advantage in numbers and logistics. Among the major formations involved on the Polish side were a number of Fronts , including the Lithuanian-Belarusian Front , and about seven armies, including the First Polish Army . The German invasion of Poland began on 1 September 1939. The Wehrmacht seized half of Poland quickly despite heavy Polish resistance. Among

#828171