Polish Armed Forces in the West
The Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; these were the Polish Armed Forces in the East.
The formations, loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, were first formed in France and its Middle East territories following the defeat and occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939. After the fall of France in June 1940, the formations were recreated in the United Kingdom. Making a large contribution to the war effort, the Polish Armed Forces in the West was composed of army, air and naval forces. The Poles soon became shock troops in Allied service, most notably in the Battle of Monte Cassino during the Italian Campaign, where the Polish flag was raised on the ruined abbey on 18 May 1944, as well as in the Battle of Bologna and the Battle of Ancona, and Hill 262 in France in 1944. The Polish Armed Forces in the West were disbanded after the war, in 1947, with many former servicemen forced to remain in exile.
General history
After Poland's defeat in September–October 1939, the Polish government-in-exile quickly organized in France a new fighting force originally of about 80,000 men. Their units were subordinate to the French Army. In early 1940, a Polish Independent Highland Brigade took part in the Battles of Narvik in Norway. A Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade was formed in the French Mandate of Syria, to which many Polish troops had escaped from Poland. The Polish Air Force in France comprised 86 aircraft in four squadrons; one-and-a-half of the squadrons were fully operational, while the rest were in various stages of training. Two Polish divisions took part in the defence of France, while a Polish motorized brigade and two infantry divisions were being formed.At the capitulation of France, General Władysław Sikorski was able to evacuate many Polish troops—probably over 20,000—to the United Kingdom.
The Polish Navy had been the first to regroup off the shores of the United Kingdom. Polish ships and sailors had been sent to Britain in mid-1939 by General Sikorski, and a Polish-British Naval agreement was signed in November of the same year. Under this agreement, Polish sailors were permitted to don Polish uniforms, and their commanding officers were Polish; however, the ships used were of British manufacture. By 1940, the sailors had already impressed Winston Churchill, who remarked that he had "rarely seen a finer body of men".
After being evacuated after the defeat of France, Polish fliers had an important role in the Battle of Britain. At first, the Polish pilots were overlooked, despite being numerous. Despite having flown for years, most of them were posted either to RAF bomber squadrons or the RAF Volunteer Reserve. This was due to lack of understanding in the face of Polish defeat by the Germans, as well as language barriers and British commanders' opinion of Polish attitudes. On 11 June 1940, the Polish Government in Exile signed an agreement with the British Government to form a Polish Air Force in the UK, and in July 1940 the RAF announced that it would form two Polish fighter squadrons equipped with British planes: 302 "Poznański" Squadron and 303 "Kościuszko" Squadron. The squadrons were composed of Polish pilots and ground crews, although their flight commanders and commanding officers were British. Once given the opportunity to fly, it did not take long for their British counterparts to appreciate the tenacity of the Poles. Even Air Officer Commanding Hugh Dowding, who had been one of the first to voice his doubt of the Poles, said: "I must confess that I had been a little doubtful of the effect which their experience in their own countries and in France might have had upon the Polish and Czech pilots, but my doubts were laid to rest, because all three squadrons swung into the fight with a dash and enthusiasm which is beyond praise. They were inspired by a burning hatred for the Germans which made them very deadly opponents." Dowding later stated further that "had it not been for the magnificent the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of the Battle would have been the same."
As for ground troops, some Polish ground units regrouped in southern Scotland. These units, as Polish I Corps, comprised the 1st Independent Rifle Brigade, the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade and cadre brigades and took over responsibility in October 1940 for the defence of the counties of Fife and Angus; this included reinforcing coastal defences that had already been started. I Corps was under the direct command of Scottish Command of the British Army. Whilst in this area, the Corps was reorganised and expanded. The opportunity to form another Polish army came in 1941, following an agreement between the Polish government in exile and Joseph Stalin, the Soviets releasing Polish soldiers, civilians and citizens from imprisonment. From these, a 75,000-strong army was formed in the Soviet Union under General Władysław Anders and informally known as "Anders' Army". This army, successively gathered in Bouzoulouk, Samarkand, was later ferried from Krasnovodsk across the Caspian Sea to the Middle East where Polish II Corps was formed from it and other units in 1943.
By March 1944, the Polish Armed Forces in the West, fighting under British command, numbered 165,000 at the end of that year, including about 20,000 personnel in the Polish Air Force and 3,000 in the Polish Navy. By the end of the Second World War, they were 195,000 strong, and by July 1945 had increased to 228,000, most of the newcomers being released prisoners-of-war and ex-labor camp inmates.
The Polish Armed Forces in the West fought in most Allied operations against Nazi Germany in the Mediterranean and Middle East and European theatres: the North African Campaign, the Italian Campaign, the Western European Campaign.
After the German Instrument of Surrender, Polish troops took part in occupation duties in the Western Allied Occupation Zones in Germany. A Polish town was created: it was first named Lwow, then Maczkow.
Polish troops were factored into the British 1945 top secret contingency plan, Operation Unthinkable, which considered a possible attack on the Soviet Union in order to enforce an independent Poland.
Denouncement
By 1945, relations between the British government and its exiled Polish counterpart were increasingly tense. Britain's Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, prioritized relations with the Soviet Union over the Polish government-in-exile as a way of prevent unrest among the pro-Soviet British working class, in particular its trade unions. Bevin and other British officials persuaded the Polish Armed Forces in the West to return to Poland, although none were forcibly returned. At the same time, there was British and American concern about a police state being built in Poland.In March 1945, Time reported on Polish "Surplus Heroes", stating that Bevin
promised Anders that those of his soldiers who did not want to return to the new Poland could find asylum in the British Empire. Argentina and Brazil were also reported ready to offer them homes. But Britain thought the best solution would be for them to return to Poland, and Britain was circulating an appeal through the Polish Army containing the Polish Government's pledge to treat the soldier exiles fairly. Anders argued that he could not advise the soldiers to return to Poland unless the Polish Government promised elections this spring. Bevin, too, wanted immediate Polish elections, but both men knew that the chances were becoming slimmer. In Poland the split between the Communist-Socialist groups and shrewd Stanislaw Mikolajczyk's Polish Peasant Party was deepening. Security Police raids on Peasant Party headquarters were reported last week. If efforts to smash the Mikolajczyk forces failed, then the Communist-Socialist groups would fight for a late fall election, when the popularity of the Polish Peasant Party, sure winner of an election now, might have waned. Nevertheless, Bevin argued that, elections or no, the Poles in Anders' army should go home.
In January 1946, Bevin protested against killings by the Polish provisional government, which defended its actions saying it was fighting terrorists loyal to Anders and funded by the British. In February 1946, Time reported "Britain's Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin told a tense House of Commons last week that terror had become an instrument of national policy in the new Poland. Many members of Vice Premier Stanislaw Mikolajczyk's Polish Peasant Party who opposed the Communist-dominated Warsaw Government had been murdered. "Circumstances in many cases appear to point to the complicity of the Polish Security Police... I regard it as imperative that the Polish Provisional Government should put an immediate stop to these crimes in order that free and unfettered elections may be held as soon as possible, in accordance with the Crimea decision... I am looking forward to the end of these police states." The Polish provisional government once again blamed Anders and his British backers for the bloodshed there.
It is often said that the Polish Armed Forces in the West were not invited to the London Victory Parade of 1946. At first the British government invited representatives of the newly recognised Polish People's Republic to march in the parade, but their delegation never arrived, with the reason never being adequately explained; the most likely explanation was Soviet pressure. Following criticism of the absence of a Polish delegation, 25 Polish RAF pilots were invited to march together with other foreign detachments as part of the parade of the Royal Air Force. They, in turn, refused to attend in protest over similar invitations not being extended to Polish army and navy personnel. The only Polish representative at the parade was Colonel Józef Kuropieska, the military attaché of the Polish People's Republic, who attended as a diplomatic courtesy.