The Polish 7th Pomeranian Coastal Defence Brigade is a

mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

of the

Polish Land Forces 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 ...

(based at

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...

History

It was formed in 2001 from the 7th Pomeranian Mechanized Brigade (of the 8th Coastal Defence Division). Now it is a brigade of the 12th Mechanized Division based at

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

. It bears traditions of the disbanded 7th Sea Landing Division (known as the ''Blue Berets''), previously themselves the 23rd Landing Division ( :pl:23 Dywizja Desantowa) from 1958–63, therefore it is sometimes referred to the

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

of Poland, modeled after the French

Troupes de marine The (TDM, ) is a corps of the French Army that includes several specialities: infantry, artillery, armoured, airborne, engineering, and transmissions (Signals). Despite its name, it forms part of the Army, not the Navy. Intended for amphibi ...

of the French Army. The 7th Sea Landing Division was reportedly involved in internal security tasks during the disturbances of 1981-82, according to contemporary NATO assessments.{{Cite web, url=https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_archives/20111130_19820106_RECORD-MC-052-81_RESTR_PARTIAL_ENG_PDP.PDF, title=Summary Record: 52nd Meeting of the Military Committee in 1981 (14 December 1981), last=NATO Military Committee, first=, date=6 January 1982, website=, access-date=20 December 2017 However, as of 2007 there are no plans by the Polish Land Forces to create an active marine unit. Therefore, the 7th Brigade carries out only limited-scale exercises of amphibious assaults. The brigade is also the de facto successor of the 1st and 2nd Marine Rifle Regiments that were formed for the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland.

Structure

It consists of the following subunits: * 7th Coastal Defense Brigade in

** Command Battalion in Słupsk ** 1st Mechanised Battalion in Lębork with

BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ve ...

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed F ...

s ** 2nd Mechanised Battalion in Słupsk with BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles ** 3rd " Academic Legion" Mechanised Battalion in

Trzebiatów Trzebiatów (pronounced ; ; formerly german: Treptow an der Rega) is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 10,119 inhabitants (2016). Trzebiatów is located on the Rega River in the north-western part of Poland, roughly 9 kilo ...

with BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles ** Artillery Group with

2S1 Gvozdika The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (russian: link=no, 2С1 «Гвоздика», " Carnation") is a Soviet self-propelled howitzer based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mounting a 122 mm 2A18 howitzer. "2S1" is its GRAU designation. An alternative ...

122mm self-propelled howitzers ** Anti-aircraft Group with Hibneryt anti-aircraft systems and Grom surface-to-air missiles ** Reconnaissance Company ** Engineer Company ** Logistic Battalion

References

* Polish Armed Forces (WP)
7th Coastal Defence Brigade
Army brigades of Poland Marine corps units and formations Military units and formations established in 2001