Polish General Staff, formally known as the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

: ''Sztab Generalny Wojska Polskiego'') is the highest professional body within the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

. Organizationally, it is an integral part of the

Ministry of National Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and the Chief of the General Staff is the highest ranking military officer at the Ministry. It was created in 1918, and for a time bore the name Main Staff (''Sztab Główny''). Currently the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (''Szef Sztabu Generalnego Wojska Polskiego'') is General Rajmund Andrzejczak, since 2 July 2018.

History and structure

On 25 October 1918, a decision was made to establish the directorate of the chief of staff of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

. 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 The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

, all the institutions of the General Staff ceased to function and were transferred to joint German and Soviet. control. On 8 August 1944, the General Command of the Polish Army was created and on 1 January 1945, the

National Council of Poland National Council of Poland ( pl, Rada Narodowa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) was a consulting and expert body of the Polish government in exile and Polish president. The first council was formed in December 1939 and was disbanded in July 1941 in pr ...

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''): * Chief of the General Staff (Szef Sztabu Generalnego WP) -

Generał Generał (pronounced ) is the generic Polish language term for the rank of general. In narrow sense it is used to denote the rank of a four-star general introduced on August 15, 2002 (formerly ''generał armii'' - general of the army). It is curr ...

Rajmund T. Andrzejczak * First Deputy Chief of the General Staff (''I Zastępca szefa Sztabu Generalnego WP'') -

Generał broni Generał broni (literally ''General of arms'', ''general of the branch'', abbreviated gen. broni) is the second highest Generals grade in the Polish Army, second only to the recently introduced rank of Generał (both in Land Forces and in the Poli ...

(Air Force) Tadeusz Mikutel * Deputy Chief of Staff (''Zastępca szefa Sztabu Generalnego WP'') -

Generał brygady Generał brygady (, literally ''General of a brigade'', abbreviated gen. bryg.) is the lowest grade for generals in the Polish Army (both in the Land Forces and in the Polish Air Force). Depending on the context, it is equivalent to both the mod ...

Dariusz Pluta * Director of the Chief of the GS's Secretariat (''Szef Sekretariatu Szefa SG WP'') - Col. Cezary Kiszkowiak * Director of the Legal Department (''Szef Zespołu Prasowego - rzecznik prasowy SG WP'') - Col. Joanna Klejszmit * Director of the Coordination Center (''Szef Centrum Koordynacyjnego'') - Col. Adam Górecki * Chief NCO (''Starszy podoficer SG WP'') - Starszy chorąży sztabowy Andrzej Woltmann General Staff Directorates (''Zarządy Sztabu Generalnego WP''): *Organization and Manpower Complement Directorate (Zarząd Organizacji i Uzupełnień P1) - Colonel * Intelligence and Reconnaissance Analysis Directorate (Zarząd Analiz Wywiadowczych i Rozpoznawczych P2) -

* Armed Forces Application Planning and Training Directorate (''Zarząd Planowania Użycia Sił Zbrojnych i Szkolenia - P3/P7'') -

* Logistics Directorate (''Zarząd Logistyki - P4'') - Colonel * Armed Forces Development Planning and Programming Directorate (''Zarząd Planowania i Programowania Rozwoju Sił Zbrojnych - P5'') - Colonel * Management and Command Directorate (''Zarząd Kierowania i Dowodzenia - P6'') - Colonel * Material Planning Directorate (''Zarząd Planowania Rzeczowego - P8'') - Colonel

List of Chiefs

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
(1917–1918)

;Head of the Inspectorate ;Chief of Staff

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
(1918−1939)

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
(1939−1946)

Republic of Poland /
People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
(1945−1989)

Third Polish Republic (1990−present)

References

External links

* {{Chief of military by country 1918 establishments in Poland Military of Poland

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

History and structure

List of Chiefs

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ... (1917–1918)

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ... (1918−1939)