The Polish Armed Forces () were the military of the Second Polish Republic from 1919 until the demise of independent Poland at the onset of World War II in September 1939.
History The outbreak of First World War meant that a large number of Poles from the lands of the Polish partitions were forced to stand as soldiers in the ranks of German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian armies. In addition to these troops, Polish volunteer units were formed to fight either on the side of the coalition or central states.
A branch of 'Bajonians' was established in France and in Poland by Witold Ostoja-Gorczyński (Legion of Puławy). However, these were small units. The first ceased to exist due to losses, and the second could not grow due to political considerations.
The Polish Legions were the greater union of the Polish Army of the independent Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. They were created in 1914 by brigadier Józef Piłsudski. The members of these formations were members of underground military associations. From 1908, there was an Active Fighting Association. In 1910, two public organizations, Shooting Association and Towarzystwo "Strzelec", related to ZWC, were established. In 1911, on the initiative of the Zarzewie Independence Youth Organization, the Shooting Teams were created. The next organization was formed in 1908 on the initiative of Wawrzyniec Dayczak.
Apart from the Polish Legions, a significant force was the Polish Army in the East, including the Polish Corps organized in Russia since 1917. They constituted a significant part of the staff of the Polish Army revived in November 1918.
First years of peace
In 1921–1939, the Polish armed forces consisted of the army and navy. The army consisted of main weapons: infantry, cavalry (from 1924) and artillery, technical weapons: sappers, communication and car troops and armored weapons, auxiliary weapons: gendarmerie and rolling stock. In addition, the army included aviation and organizational units of the PEC (from 1924) and the National Defense (from 1937).
The army numbered July 31, 1921: 20,038 officers and military officials, 1,583 ensigns, 248,835 soldiers and 67,390 horses.Witold Jarno, Okręg Korpusu Wojska Polskiego nr IV Łódź 1918–1939, Łódź 2001, p. 85
The percentage of soldiers of Polish nationality in 1922 was about 78%, after conscription in Eastern Galicia a year later it dropped below 66%, although according to the assumptions of the authorities, Poles were to constitute a minimum of soldiers. Despite the efforts of the administration, the percentage of Poles fell to 64% in 1926.[Krzysztof Wasilewski: Kto bronił Polski w 1939? (pol.). W: Tygodnik Przegląd]
A personnel policy was pursued in the army, which was strongly criticized by representatives of the Jewish minority. Soldiers of Jewish origin were treated as second-class soldiers or even suspected of disloyalty to the Polish state. Jews were removed from all formations, especially from the navy, aviation and communications. Even during the Polish-Bolshevik war, a camp in Jabłonna (pl) was created, in which about 1,000 soldiers and officers of Jewish descent were interned (the decision to establish it was issued on August 16, 1920, the camp operated until September 9, 1920; its creation caused an international scandal, from which Minister Sosnkowski had to explain before the Sejm and the public). In reply to parliamentary interpellations, Sosnkowski stated that "Jews are not fit for more serious work than typing" In connection with the Sejm resolution of June 17, 1919, according to which only Polish citizens of Polish nationality could be officers of Jewish descent, even promoted officers of independent Poland.Szymon Rudnicki, Żydzi w parlamencie II Rzeczypospolitej, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, 2015, pp. 70–71, , , OCLC 924844552
On March 23, 1923, the General Staff of the Polish Army issued a secret order regarding all Jews in special services. From the end of the 1920s, people of Jewish origin were not recruited into the aviation, navy, communications and armor, and the Border Protection Corps.
1926-1936 Following the failed assassination attempt at him in May 1926, Marshal Piłsudski began taking efforts to better control the armed forces. As a result, Pilsudskiego and gathered around him an environment of generals and officers, mainly from former Polish Legions, took over total control over the armed forces. By contrast, Pilsudskiego's civilians supporters created a political camp called sanation.M. Sioma, Lublin 2007; Zamach stanu Józefa Piłsudskiego i jego konsekwencje w interpretacjach polskiej myśli politycznej XX wieku,
Almost immediately after Marshal Piłsudski took over power over the army, who took over the portfolio of the minister of military affairs, was reorganized the highest military authorities. On June 11, 1926 he was appointed chairman of the Central Military Council. On August 6, a decree of the President of the Republic of Poland was published, countersigned by the minister of military affairs, on conduct command over armed forces in peacetime and the establishment of a General Inspector Office of the Armed Forces as the Supreme Commander foreseen on time war. Both of these positions were held by Józef Piłsudski. Hence, his duties included development and control any mobilization and operational work related to the preparation for war.
In the period 1926–1935, the officers of the Polish Armed Forces finally formed and stabilized, for the most part uniformly educated in Polish officer and cadet schools.
Signal corps were reorganized in 1929. Communication regiments and large infantry units were disassembled and received their own telegraph companies formed at the expense of battalions. Formation of signal platoons began for the cavalry brigades. In addition to the smaller formations, Radiotelegraph Regiment () and Signal Training Center were created.
1936-1939 After the death of Józef Piłsudski, major changes in the personnel of the Polish Army took place. The position of General Inspector of the Armed Forces was taken by General Edward Rydz-Śmigły. General Tadeusz Kasprzycki became the minister of military affairs. There were also shifts in General Inspectorate Staff. Its members included Tadeusz Kutaże and Władysław Bortnowski. General Wacław Stachiewicz was appointed the Chief of the General Staff.
The new management sought to organize basic areas of military life, and above all to modernize its current structure and to equip the army with modern equipment. Intentions in the field of modernizing the army were quite serious. A special initiative in this direction was manifested by the General Staff, which obtained greater powers than before.
The growing German threat in the second half of the 1930s caused the need to coordinate the state's defense efforts. Therefore, by decree of the President of the Republic of Poland of May 9, 1936, "On Exercise sovereignty over the armed forces and organizations of supreme military authorities in peace", issued on the basis of the provisions of the new constitution from April 1935, a State Defense Committee was created, whose tasks were they were supposed to be similar to the previous Council of State Defense. It was to be a body mediating between military authorities and the government in matters related to with the preparations of the state for defense and exceeding the powers military authorities. It was headed by the president, and the general became his deputy Armed Forces Inspector. The permanent working body of the Defense Committee, namely the Secretariat, was headed by the chief of the General Staff.
Modernization and expansion plan In the summer of 1936, work began on a plan to modernize the Polish Army. A six-year plan of modernization and expansion of the army was created. The plan's assumptions were aimed at strengthening the firepower of the basic types of weapons: infantry and cavalry. It predicted increasing the number of manual and heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank rifles and field guns in individual infantry divisions to the level of leading European armies.
The rapidly changing political situation in Europe in the second half of the 1930s and the growing threat of war against the Republic of Poland by Germany and the USSR resulted in the need to accelerate and complete work on the operational Plan "East" and work on the Plan "West".Stanley S.Seidner, Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz Rydz and the Defense of Poland, New York, 1978, chs. 1-2. Their shape, among other factors, is also a meaningful expression development of Polish military thought from 1935–1939, and also a reflection of the then Polish war doctrine. This first plan, updated at the beginning of 1939 257, was directed against possible aggression by the USSR. It prepared for a defensive war in the coalition with Romania as an ally. From the western powers, however, was expected only material assistance imported by sea through the port of Gdynia. To be mobilized as part of this plan, the Polish Army was to consist of 49 large units: 37 infantry divisions, 11 cavalry brigades and a motorized brigade.The Polish Army was involved in the development of the industrial capacity of the Polish state, including the Central Industrial Region (Poland)
On September 1, 1938, the Act of April 9, 1938 on universal military duty entered into force, which sanctioned the division of the Armed Forces into: "the army" (land forces) and the navy. The army consisted of organizational units of the permanent army and organizational units of the National Defense, as well as organizational units of the Border Protection Corps.
Structure and organization The formation of the Polish Army unit took place in a complicated political situation. It encountered serious organizational and personnel difficulties. It was often improvised and spontaneous. Sometimes it was forced by changing external and internal conditions of the reviving state.
It was decided to recruit soldiers of former Polish military formations and members of secret organizations. Recruitment options were very convenient. POW ranks had over 30,000 members. There were over 15,000 former legionnaires and over 20,000 soldiers demobilized in Russia.
However, the main mobilization reserves were residents of the former Polish Kingdom and Poles serving in the ranks of foreign armies. The formation of the reborn Polish army, however, encountered difficulties related to desertions and evasion of conscripts from service in the army. Already in 1919 ordinances were issued to conduct hunts for deserters. Only in May 1920 in the Kielce region more than 2,000 deserters and conscripts were caught evading the service in the Polish army.
In connection with the resolution of the Sejm of June 17, 1919, only Polish citizens of Polish nationality could be officers (this excluded the appointment of officers, e.g. citizens of Jewish origin)
After the introduction of a peace organization in 1921 and in the early years 20s, the Polish Army formed 90 infantry regiments, 30 field artillery regiments, 10 heavy artillery regiments,Piotr Zarzycki: 3 Pułk Artylerii Ciężkiej im. Króla Stefana Batorego. Pruszków: Oficyna Wydawnicza "Ajaks", 1993 a heaviest artillery regiment, a mountain artillery regiment and 10 horse artillery squadrons. From 1923 there were an artillery regiment, an anti-aircraft division, 30 independent cavalry regiments and 10 divisional regiments, which in 1924 was renamed to independent cavalry. The large number of cavalry in the Polish army and its organization into large ones units resulted not only from the specific Polish experience gained from the period of 'wars for independence and borders'. It was also conditioned economic and structural backwardness of the then agricultural Kresy.