The Polish I Corps ( pl, I Korpus Polski; from 1942, Polish I Armored-Mechanized Corps, pl, I Korpus Pancerno-Motorowy) was a tactical unit of the

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; th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was formed in the United Kingdom on 28 September 1940. It was subordinate to the

Scottish Command Scottish Command or Army Headquarters Scotland (from 1972) is a command of the British Army. History Early history Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of war with France in 1793. The Scottish District was comman ...

, and the Corps HQ was at

Moncreiffe House Moncreiffe House is a country house near Bridge of Earn in Perthshire in Scotland. It is a category B listed building. History The original house was designed by Sir William Bruce in the classical style for Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 1st Baronet a ...

in Perthshire (near the

Bridge of Earn Bridge of Earn ( gd, Drochaid Èireann) is a small town in Perthshire, Scotland. Often referred to simply as 'The Brig' (Scots Language, Scots for 'bridge'). The village grew up on the south bank of an important crossing of the River Earn, whose ...

). It numbered 3,498 officers and 10,884 soldiers. The Corps was initially formed to protect a stretch of Scottish shore between the Firth of Forth and Montrose against a possible German invasion of Britain.Pierwszy Korpus Polski

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in pl, Wielka Interaktywna Encyklopedia Multimedialna - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The first printed edition was released ...

, accessed November 2011. Later it became the logistical base for Polish Army units fighting as part of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Operations

Allied Forces in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H7755

For most of its existence the core of the Corps was composed of a variety of

en cadre A cadre (, , ) is the complement of commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers of a military unit responsible for training the rest of the unit. The cadre may be the permanent skeleton establishment of a unit, around which the full unit ca ...

units. Once these had been formed into full tactical units, they were dispatched to the fronts separately, as parts of other Allied commands. The units created out of First Corps' nominal infantry brigades were 1st Armoured Division,

1st Independent Parachute Brigade The 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute infantry brigade of the Polish Armed Forces in the West under the command of Major General Stanisław Sosabowski, created in September 1941 during the Second World War and based in S ...

, 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, and a variety of other detachments. The main units of the Corps fought separately, and were grouped together mostly for administrative purposes. After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, the Corps started to act as a single unit. Its two largest components were joined together in northern Germany, near the port of

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...

, and the Corps took part in the

occupation of Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

. Like most other units of the

, it was disbanded in 1947, with personnel transferred to the

Polish Resettlement Corps The Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC; pl, Polski Korpus Przysposobienia i Rozmieszczenia) was an organisation formed by the British Government in 1946 as a holding unit for members of the Polish Armed Forces who had been serving with the British Arm ...

Commanders

It was commanded by generals

Marian Kukiel Marian Włodzimierz Kukiel (pseudonyms: ''Marek Kąkol'', ''Stach Zawierucha''; 15 May 1885 in Dąbrowa Tarnowska – 15 August 1973 in London) was a Polish major general, historian, social and political activist. One of the founders of Zwi� ...

(1940-1942),

Józef Zając Józef Ludwik Zając (pron. Za-YANTz) (1891–1963) was a Polish general and pilot. Biography Born on 14 March 1891 in Rzeszów, Józef Zając studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, graduating with a PhD in philosophy in 1915. He ...

(1943),

Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz Mieczysław Ludwik Boruta-Spiechowicz (20 February 1894, in Rzeszów – 13 October 1985, in Zakopane) was a Polish military officer, a general of the Polish Army and a notable member of the post-war anti-communist opposition in Poland. He joine ...

(1943-1945), and Stanisław Maczek (1945-1947).

Subordinate units

Initially the Corps included the HQ, two Rifle Brigades (numbered 1 and 2), five

Rifle Brigades (3, 4, 5, 7 and 8, usually

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

-sized), as well as service units. By late 1940 the Corps had over 14,000 men at arms. The 2nd Rifle Brigade was reformed into the 10th Armored Brigade on 3 October 1940. In 1942, this formation was expanded to the 1st Armoured Division. The 4th Brigade became the

on 9 October 1941. 3rd, 5th and 7th Brigades formed the Training Brigade on 6 December 1941. The 1st Tank Regiment (''1 Pułk Czołgów''), was created in October 1940. On 1 September 1941, it was renamed the

16th Independent Armoured Brigade , image = , caption = , dates =1941-1943? , country = , allegiance =Poland , branch =Armour , type = , role = , size = , command_structure =I Corps in the West (Poland)1st Armoured Division (Poland) , garrison = , garrison_label = , ...

. On 25 February 1942 the Brigade was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division. In the short period of September to October 1943, the Brigade was merged with the 10th Armoured Brigade to form the 10/16th Armored Brigade. In November 1943 the Brigade was recreated as the 16th (cadre) Independent Armoured Brigade. This unit was not committed to combat on the continent. Until February 1945, it was assigned to the 2nd (cadre) Armoured Grenadier Division.Bellis, p. 53 During combat operations on the continent, the 1st Armoured Division and the 1st Parachute Brigade were assigned to other Allied commands. 1st Parachute Brigade was attached to the

First Allied Airborne Army The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary For ...

while 1st Armoured Division was under the command of the First Canadian Army. At the end of the war, the Corps comprised the 1st Armoured Division, the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, the 4th Infantry Division, and the 16th Independent Armoured Brigade.

Notes

References

* Malcolm Bellis, ''Commonwealth Divisions 1939 - 1945'', Crewe: John Rigby Printers Ltd., 1999. . * Witold Biegański, ''Krótki informator historyczny o Wojsku Polskim w latach II wojny światowej'', tom 5. ''Regularne jednostki Wojska Polskiego na Zachodzie'', Warsaw 1967. * * Tadeusz Kryska-Karski, Stanisław Żurakowski. ''Generałowie Polski Niepodległej'', Warsaw 1991. {{Authority control 1 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1947 Poland–Scotland relations Military history of Scotland History of Perth and Kinross Organisations based in Perth and Kinross 1940 establishments in Scotland 1947 disestablishments in Scotland