The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the

Polish Armed Forces in the East The Polish Armed Forces in the East ( pl, Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Wschodzie), also called Polish Army in the USSR, were the Polish Armed Forces, Polish military forces established in the Soviet Union during World War II. Two armies were formed ...

in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the

Polish People's Republic 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 ...

), ruled by the

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 ...

and then the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

. The

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

-led Polish armed forces, allowed and facilitated by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, were the result of efforts made in the early 1940s in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Wanda Wasilewska ukr, Ванда Львівна Василевська rus, Ванда Львовна Василевская , native_name_lang = , birth_date = , birth_place = Kraków, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place ...

and

Zygmunt Berling Zygmunt Henryk Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. Berling was a co-founder and commander of the First Polish Army, which fought on the ...

. The official name of those formations were: ''Armia Polska w ZSRR'' (Polish Army in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) from 1943–1944, ''Wojsko Polskie'' (Polish Troops) and ''Siły Zbrojne Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej'' (Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland) from 1944–1952 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 The Battle of Lenino was a tactical World War II engagement that took place on 12 and 13 October 1943, north of the village of Lenino in the Mogilev region of Byelorussia. The battle itself was a part of a larger Soviet Spas-Demensk offensi ...

was declared the official "Day of the Polish People's Army" by the authorities of the People's Republic.

History

World War II

What became the LWP was formed 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 opposin ...

, in May 1943, as the 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division, which developed into the

First Polish Army First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, 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 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 ...

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. It was not the only Polish formation that fought on the

Allied 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 ...

side, nor the first one formed in the East. The earlier Polish force formed in the Soviet Union, known as

Anders' Army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understand ...

, was loyal to the

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 ...

and by that time had moved to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. 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 Karol Wacław Świerczewski (; callsign ''Walter''; 10 February 1897 – 28 March 1947) was a Polish and Soviet Red Army general and statesman. He was a Bolshevik Party member during the Russian Civil War and a Soviet officer in the wars foug ...

). The First Polish Army participated in the Vistula–Oder Offensive, the Battle of Kolberg and the final

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

Immediate post-war years

After the war the Polish Army was reorganized into six (later seven)

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

s. These were the

Warsaw Military District The Warsaw Military District ( pl, Warszawski Okręg Wojskowy, WOW) was one of three military districts in Poland, the other two being the Pomeranian Military District and the Silesian Military District. It was the regional executive body of the ...

, headquartered (HQ) in Warsaw, the

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

Military District, HQ in Lublin, the

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Military District, HQ in Kraków, the

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Military District, HQ in Łódź, the

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Military District, HQ in Poznań, the

Pomeranian Military District The Pomeranian Military District (Polish acronym POW) was a military district of the Polish Armed Forces from 1945 to 2011. Formally it was subordinate to the Minister of National Defence in the operational matters of defense and detached governm ...

, HQ in

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

, and the

Silesian Military District Silesian Military District ( pl, Śląski Okręg Wojskowy) was one of three military districts in Poland, the other two being the Pomeranian Military District and the Warsaw Military District. All three were disbanded by the end of 2011 due to the ...

, HQ in

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Polish Army was under the command of

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History To ...

and Minister of Defense of Poland

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who becam ...

. It was increasingly integrated into Soviet military structure and organization. This process was mitigated in the aftermath of the

Polish October Polish October (), also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the politics of Poland in the second half of 1956. Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution, which was less dramatic than the ...

of 1956, when

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Go ...

formalized aspects of Poland's military relationship with the Soviet Union.

Jerzy Eisler Jerzy Krzysztof Eisler (born 12 June 1952 in Warsaw) is a Polish historian, focusing mostly on the history of Poland during the communist era. He is a professor at the History Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and member of the Institut ...

, ''Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR'' he Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR Wydawnictwo Czerwone i Czarne, Warszawa 2014, , pp. 214–215 The Sovietization of the armed forces structure was phrased 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 Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

origin, following the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

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 Rogatywka (; sometimes translated as ''peaked cap'') is the Polish generic name for an asymmetrical, peaked, four-pointed cap used by various Polish military formations throughout the ages. It is a distant relative of its 18th-century predece ...

, modeled on the pattern from 1935, were restored in the Polish Army's Representative Company.

Chaplaincy

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.

Training

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

institutes of physical culture, participated in the training program for border guards and military personnel of the airborne units of the Polish army.Влодзимеж Голембевский. Из-под Фудзиямы на Вислу // журнал «Польша», № 5 (117), май 1964. стр.52-53

Engagements

- 1943 * Battle of Studzianki - 1944 * Vistula-Oder offensive - 1945 * Battle of Kolberg - 1945 * Battle of Bautzen - 1945 *

- 1945 *

Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1946) Anti-communist resistance in Poland may refer to: * Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1953) The anti-communist resistance in Poland, also referred to as the Polish anti-communist insurrection fought between 1944 and 1953, was an armed s ...

Operation Vistula Operation Vistula ( pl, Akcja Wisła; uk, Опера́ція «Ві́сла») was a codename for the 1947 forced resettlement of 150,000 Ukrainians (Boykos and Lemkos) from the south-eastern provinces of post-war Poland, to the Recovered Te ...

- 1947 * Poznań protests of 1956 *

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

- 1968 * Polish protests of 1970 *

Pacification of Wujek The Pacification of Wujek was a strike-breaking action by the Polish police and army at the Wujek Coal Mine in Katowice, Poland, culminating in the massacre of nine striking miners on December 16, 1981. It was part of a large-scale action aime ...

- 1981 * Martial law in Poland (13 December 1981 – 22 July 1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polskie, Ludowe Wojsko Military history of Poland Poland–Soviet Union relations Polish Land Forces Polish People's Republic Military units and formations established in 1943 Warsaw Pact Disbanded armies Military units and formations of the Cold War