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Former army of the Polish People's Republic From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Polish People's Army (Polish: Ludowe Wojsko Polskie, pronounced [luˈdɔvɛ ˈvɔjskɔ ˈpɔlskʲɛ]; LWP)[1] constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state (from 1952, the Polish People's Republic), ruled by the Polish Workers' Party and then the Polish United Workers' Party. The communist-led Polish armed forces, allowed and facilitated by Joseph Stalin, were the result of efforts made in the early 1940s in the Soviet Union by Wanda Wasilewska and Zygmunt Berling.
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The official name of those formations were: Armia Polska w ZSRR (Polish Army in the USSR) from 1943 to 1944, Wojsko Polskie (Polish Troops) and Siły Zbrojne Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej (Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland) from 1944 to 1952 and from 1952 Siły Zbrojne Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej (Armed Forces of the Polish People's Republic). On 7 October 1950, the anniversary of the Battle of Lenino was declared the official "Day of the Polish People's Army" by the authorities of the People's Republic.
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 (15,492 out of 29,372). Around 4,600 of them remained in the LWP by July 1946.[2]
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 (initially under Zygmunt Berling) and the Second Polish Army (commanded by Karol Świerczewski). The First Polish Army participated in the Vistula–Oder Offensive, the Battle of Kolberg and the final Battle of Berlin.[1]
After the war the Polish Army was reorganized into six (later seven) military districts. These were the Warsaw Military District, headquartered (HQ) 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.[citation needed]
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.[3] 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.
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.
In 1949, the first fundamental uniform reform after the war was made.[4] 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.[5]
Throughout the entire period of the existence of the Polish People's Army, its officers and soldiers were provided with pastoral care. Such a service was provided by the General Dean's Office of the Polish Army.[6]
In the 1980s, the Polish People's Republic had 4 military academies and 11 higher officers' schools, which trained auxiliary corpsmen and corresponded in rank to higher educational institutions. In 1954, judo instructors from the Warsaw and Kraków institutes of physical culture, participated in the training program for border guards and military personnel of the airborne units of the Polish army.[7]
Weapon | Origin | Type | Notes | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|
P-64 | ![]() |
Semi-automatic pistol | ![]() | |
P-83 | ![]() |
Semi-automatic pistol | ![]() | |
P-33[8] | ![]() |
Semi-automatic pistol | Licensed copy of TT-33. | ![]() |
AKM | ![]() |
Assault rifle | Standard issue rifle | ![]() |
PM-84 | ![]() |
Submachine gun | Limited use | ![]() |
PM-63 | ![]() |
Submachine gun | Standard submachine gun form 1963 till 1989[9] | ![]() |
7.62 mm pm wz.41 | ![]() |
Submachine gun | Polish PPSh-41 produced domestically.[10] | ![]() |
SWD | ![]() |
Designated sniper rifle | Standard marksman rifle of PPA | ![]() |
PK | ![]() |
General purpose machinegun | Standard general purpose machinegun of PPA | ![]() |
SKS | ![]() |
Semi-automatic rifle | [11] | ![]() |
Mosin–Nagant | ![]() |
Bolt-action rifle | Domestically produced.[12] | ![]() |
SG-43 Goryunov | ![]() |
Machine gun | [13] | ![]() |
RPG-7 | ![]() |
Light AT weapon | ![]() |
Tank | Origin | Version | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
T-60 | ![]() |
3 pcs. - 1944-1945[14][15] | After the war, several pieces were sent to military schools.[16] | |
T-70 | ![]() |
53 pcs. - 1944-1945[17] | Some of the tanks used after 1945 by the Internal Security Corps.[18] | |
T-34 | ![]() |
1940, 1941, 1942, 1943[19] | 118 pcs. - 1944-1945[20] | According to Magnuski, many different versions of the T-34 vehicle were used, both early production and modernized ones.[21] |
T-34-85 | ![]() |
M1, M2[22] | 328 pcs. - 1944-1945. 1083 pcs. - 1955, 1444 pcs. - 1960, 417 pcs. - 1985[23] | Domestically produced 1355 pcs. between 1952-1956.
In 1985, the military had 417 pieces of M1, M2 versions.[24] |
PT-76 | ![]() |
PT-76, PT-76B[25] | 68 pcs. - 1965, 108 pcs. - 1970, 112 pcs. - 1985, 30 pcs. 1990[26] | Some of the tanks were modernized in Poland by adding a DSzK HMG above the loader's hatch.[27] |
T-54 | ![]() |
A, AD, AM, AM1, AM2, T-55U[28] | 1258 pcs. - 1965, 998 pcs. - 1970[29] | Between 1956-1964, 2,000 T-54 tanks were produced under license in Poland.[30] |
T-55 | ![]() |
A, AD, AD-1, AD-2, AM, AD1M, AD2M, AMS[31] | 128 pcs. - 1965, 956 pcs. - 1970, 2653 pcs., 2100 pcs. - 1990[32] | Between 1964 and 1980, 5,000 T-55s were produced. Most of it was exported.[33] |
T-72 | ![]() |
M, M1[34] | 317 pcs. - 1985, 700 pcs. - 1990[35] | In the years 1981-1990, Zakłady Mechaniczne Bumar-Łabędy produced approximately 1,600 T-72 tanks.[36] |
IS-2 | ![]() |
M[37] | 50 pcs. - 1944-1945,[38][39] 180 pcs. - 1955, 75 pcs. - 1960[40] | Withdrawn from use in the 1960s.[41] |
IS-3 | ![]() |
2 or 3 pcs.[42] | Brought for testing purposes. They did not come into use. Two copies have been preserved in museums in Poznań and Warsaw.[43] |
TD/SPG | Origin | Version | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
SU-57 | ![]() |
SPG | 15 pcs. - 1944-1945,[44] Few pcs. survived war.[45] | Withdrawn from use in the 1950s.[46] |
SU-76 | ![]() |
SPG | 130 pcs. - 1944-1945,[47] 206 pcs. - 1955.[48] | Withdrawn from use in the 1950s.[49] |
SU-85 | ![]() |
TD | 70 pcs. - 1944-1945,[50] 51 pcs. - 1955, 43 pcs. - 1960[51] | Withdrawn from use in the 1960s.[52] |
SU-100 | ![]() |
TD | At least 3 pcs. - 1943-1945[53] | Withdrawn from use in the 1950s.[54] |
ISU-122S | ![]() |
SPG | 32 pcs. – 1944-1945,[55] 399 pcs. (together with ISU-152) – 1955, 49 pcs. – 1960[56] | Withdrawn from use in the 1960s.[57] |
SU-152 | ![]() |
SPG | 3 pcs. - 1944-1945[58] | |
ISU-152 | ![]() |
SPG | 10 pcs. – 1944-1945,[59] 399 pcs. (together with ISU-122S) – 1955[60] | Withdrawn from use in the 1950s.[61] |
ASU-85 | ![]() |
SPG | 20-30 pcs. - 1965-1975[62] | Withdrawn from use in the second half of 1970s.[63] |
2S1 Goździk | ![]() |
SPG | 166 pcs. - 1985, 490 pcs. - 1990[64] | Licensed production launched in the 1980s at Huta Stalowa Wola.[65] |
wz.77 DANA | ![]() |
SPG | The first copies appeared in WP in the mid-1980s.[66] | |
APC/IFV | Origin | Version | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
BWP-1 | ![]() |
IFV | 1 400[67] | |
BMP-2 | ![]() |
IFV | 62[68] | Sold to Angola after communism fell in country.[69] |
MT-LB | ![]() |
APC | 15 | [70] |
TOPAS | ![]() |
WPT-TOPAS, -2AP, R-2, R-3[71] | 120 pcs. - 1968, 70 pcs. - 1990[72] | Jointly developed by Poland and Czechoslovakia[73] |
SKOT | ![]() |
-1A, -2A, S-260 Art, S-260 Inż., -WPT, -2AP, R-1, R-2, R2M, R2AM, R-3, R-3M, R-3AM, R-4, R-6[74] | 548 pcs. - 1966
2 500 total production form Polish Army[75] |
Jointly developed by Poland and Czechoslovakia between 1963-1971.[76] |
BTR-60 | ![]() |
PU-12[77] | Included with the 9K33 Osa SAM system delivered between 1980 and 1985.[78] | |
BRDM-1 | ![]() |
The first ones entered the army in the 1960s[79] | ||
BRDM-2 | ![]() |
9P133, 9P148, RS, 9P31[80] | 800 pcs. - 1990[81] | |
FUG | ![]() |
The first ones entered the army in the 1960s[82] |
Model | Origin | Type | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
MiG-21 | ![]() |
Fighter | 600 | [83] |
MiG-23 | ![]() |
Fighter | 40 | [83] |
MiG-29 | ![]() |
Fighter | 12 | [83] |
Sukhoi Su-7 | ![]() |
Attack Aircraft | 50 | [83] |
Su-20 | ![]() |
Attack Aircraft | 40 | [84] |
Sukhoi Su-22 | ![]() |
Attack Aircraft | 110 | [84] |
Ilyushin Il-28 | ![]() |
Bomber | 80 | [84] |
Antonov An-2 | ![]() |
Transport | N/A | [84] |
Antonov An-26 | ![]() |
Transport | 20 | |
Ilyushin Il-14 | ![]() |
Transport | 30 | |
Mil Mi-8 | ![]() |
Helicopter | 80 | |
Mil Mi-2 | ![]() |
Helicopter | 200 | [85] |
Mil Mi-24 | ![]() |
Attack helicopter | 40 |
Towed anti-aircraft gun
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