Polish People's Army
The Polish People's Army was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the Second World War, and subsequently the armed forces of the Polish communist state, which was formalized in 1952 as the Polish People's Republic.
The creation of communist-led Polish armed forces that were outside the command of the Polish government-in-exile was allowed and facilitated by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, following efforts made in the early 1940s by Soviet-based Polish exiles Wanda Wasilewska and Zygmunt Berling.
Initially called the Polish Army in the USSR from 1943 to 1944, it became the Polish Troops and Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland from 1944 to 1952, and thereafter the Armed Forces of the Polish People's Republic. During these restructurings, the Polish military was increasingly integrated into Soviet military and command structures, becoming comparatively more distinct and independent in 1956.
On 7 October 1950, the anniversary of the Battle of Lenino—one of the first major engagements of Polish Armed Forces in the East against Axis forces—was declared the official "Day of the Polish People's Army" by the People's Republic.
History
World War II
What became the LWP was formed during World War II, in May 1943, as the 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division, which developed into the First Polish Army, unofficially known as Berling's Army. Because of the shortage of Polish officers and the policies of the Soviet Union, in March 1945 Soviet Red Army officers accounted for nearly 52% of the officer corps. Around 4,600 of them remained in the LWP by July 1946.It was not the only Polish formation that fought on the Allied side, nor the first one formed in the East. The earlier Polish force formed in the Soviet Union, known as Anders' Army, was loyal to the Polish government-in-exile and by that time had moved to Iran. The communist-led Polish forces soon grew beyond the 1st Division into two major commands – the First Polish Army and the Second Polish Army. The First Polish Army participated in the Vistula–Oder Offensive, the Battle of Kolberg and the final Battle of Berlin.
Immediate post-war years
After the war the Polish Army was reorganized into six military districts. These were the Warsaw Military District, headquartered in Warsaw, the Lublin Military District, HQ in Lublin, the Kraków Military District, HQ in Kraków, the Łódź Military District, HQ in Łódź, the Poznań Military District, HQ in Poznań, the Pomeranian Military District, HQ in Toruń, and the Silesian Military District, HQ in Katowice.In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Polish Army was under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Poland and Minister of Defense of Poland Konstantin Rokossovsky. It was increasingly integrated into Soviet military structure and organization. This process was mitigated in the aftermath of the Polish October of 1956, when Władysław Gomułka formalized aspects of Poland's military relationship with the Soviet Union. The Sovietization of the armed forces structure was phased out altogether and thus the combat and service support structures were integrated once more into regular combat formations following the old Polish model.
Cold War
An anti-Zionist purge in the Polish Army took place in 1968 to systematically remove soldiers of Jewish origin, following the Six-Day War between Israel and Arab countries.Characteristics
Uniform
In 1949, the first fundamental uniform reform after the war was made. The "Dress Rules for the Soldiers of the Polish Army" were introduced and were to apply from January 1, 1951.In the Polish People's Army, a soft field cap modeled on the pre-war one was introduced. After the war, the pre-war garrison caps were used again. Stiffened caps were only worn until around 1950 when they were completely replaced by round caps. In 1982, the Polish Rogatywka, modeled on the pattern from 1935, were restored in the Polish Army's Representative Company.
In the late 1950s, camouflaged field uniforms were introduced, starting with:
- wz. 58 "deszczyk" – used since 1958 to 1968.
- wz. 68 "moro" – used since 1968 to 1989.
- wz. 89 "puma" – incompletely implemented in 1989.
Polish People's Republic
United States