Polish army uniform. Military uniform of poland

Stephen Pledge

Title: Buy the book "Polish Army 1939-1945": feed_id: 5296 pattern_id: 2266 book_

Poland was the first country to fall victim German aggression during the Second World War. Despite this, her army continued to fight on different fronts throughout the five years of the carnage. By the end of the war, the Polish army was the fourth largest among the armies of the allied powers, second only to ground forces Soviet Union, USA and UK. Polish soldiers have taken part in almost all major campaigns in the European theater of operations, and the story about them is difficult and tragic. The courage of Polish soldiers often turned into pointless losses as a result of the activities of unscrupulous politicians. Fate has been cruel to the Poles during all these years, and especially cruel to the soldiers of Poland.

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On the eve of the war, Pride of Poland: cavalry at the parade in Warsaw. Hats - caps with a rigid square crown and a crimson band of horse shooters.

The Polish army in 1939 was in many ways the brainchild of its founder, Marshal Jozef Pilsudski. A socialist and revolutionary, Pilsudski formed and in 1918 led the first ragged units of the Polish army into the battle for independence. After 125 years of foreign rule, a free Poland was reestablished by the decision of the Versailles Peace Conference. Although no precise boundaries were specified, the armed uprising in Germany naturally shaped the western outlines of the state. In the east, the situation was different: both Poland and Bolshevik Russia sought to acquire the territories of the former Russian Empire, lying between them and inhabited by Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians and Jews. In 1920, the Polish army under the leadership of Pilsudski seized the initiative and laid siege to Kiev, located in the depths of the territory of Ukraine. However, the Polish troops soon had to retreat under the blows of the First Cavalry Army and the formations of the Red Cossacks. The fate of Poland hung in the balance, but at the moment when the victory of the Bolsheviks already seemed inevitable, the southern wing of the Red Army, under the leadership of Stalin, halted the advance and did not provide assistance to the Chervonio-Cossack northern flank of Tukhachevsky, although they were already almost near the suburbs of Warsaw. Pilsudski used the situation superbly, and the Red Army was forced to withdraw. The euphoria of success for some time overshadowed the hardest economic, political and social problems new state. Poland found itself sandwiched between two temporarily weakened but not broken neighbors who wanted revenge.

Polish infantry company on the march (photo taken shortly before the war). The soldiers are wearing old French RSC gas masks. High windings will soon be replaced by short ones. The stripes of cloth in the applied infantry colors (yellow and blue) on the collars are barely visible.

The victorious Polish army emerged from the war of 1920 proud and confident. Pilsudski initially refused proposals to take power into his own hands, but painful attempts to establish parliamentary democracy in the country forced him in 1926 to decide on a coup d'etat. Without holding an official post, he ruled the country until his death in 1936, and then his successors established a "colonel regime", which, without much success, continued the same policy until 1939. The army was Pilsudski's pride, and the grateful Poles did not spare funds for the maintenance of the armed forces. The share of military spending in the national budget was a noticeably larger share than in other European states, but in absolute terms, the Polish military budget could not be compared with the military budget of Germany or the Soviet Union. To equip at least one armored division, an amount was required that exceeded the entire military budget of Poland - an agrarian country with a poorly developed industry. Pilsudski managed to recruit officers from the disintegrated armies of Austria-Hungary, Prussia and Russia to the Polish army. Its equipment was an incredible mixture of outdated weapons from the arsenals of almost all European armies. Pilsudski himself was not a career officer, and the Polish army as a whole became a reflection of not only his strong, but also weaknesses... The training of senior officers and coordination at the senior staff level was in its infancy, with the main emphasis on "improvisation". Technical innovations like cars, planes and tanks were met with little enthusiasm.

Polish infantry parade, soldiers in full field uniform, 1936. The dark blue buttonholes are trimmed with yellow piping along the trailing edge and decorated with the traditional silver zigzag pattern. There are no other signs of discrepancy on the buttonholes. The infantrymen are armed with a Polish-made Mauser 98 rifle. The second soldier from the left in the front rank is armed with the rkm wz.28 light machine gun - a slightly modified version of the Browning automatic rifle produced in Poland.

The organization and tactics of the Polish army were greatly influenced by the Soviet-Polish war of 1920. In contrast to the First World War, the war of 1920 was very mobile. But this dynamism was caused, first of all, by the lack of modern weapons... Of course, airplanes, machine guns and armored cars gave this war a "modern" look, but there were too few of them to have a noticeable impact on the course of the campaign. In 1914 in the West, machine guns put an end to the history of cavalry, but in 1920 there were too few automatic weapons in Poland, and here the cavalry continued to dominate the battlefield. The Polish cavalry emerged from the war crowned with glory and remained the most prestigious branch of the army. Of course, some changes on the battlefield were taken into account. Attacks in the equestrian ranks were gradually abandoned, and in 1934 the peak was officially removed from the cavalry armament. Nevertheless, the cavalry regiments continued to be the elite of the Polish army, which attracted best soldiers and officers.

If cavalry was the elite of the Polish army, then horse artillery was the elite of the elite. During the 1939 exercises, the deployment of a battery of 75-mm field guns of the 02/26 model - Putilov divisional three-inch guns, converted to French 75-mm ammunition, was being worked out. This old weapon turned out to be a formidable enemy of German tanks, and the high skill of calculations also played a significant role.

The nightmares of the trench war led men like Martel, Liddell-Hart, de Gaulle and Guderian to seek a mechanized antidote to machine guns and breech-loading howitzers. But the Polish military leaders did not know the hardships of trench warfare and could not accept this European craving for mechanization. Therefore, the Polish army remained, in fact, the army since the beginning of the First World War. Poland had 30 infantry divisions and 11 cavalry brigades - cavalry made up about a tenth of the entire army. The army was distinguished by a very low level of motorization, communication remained at a primitive level. The artillery was almost exclusively horse-drawn, almost all of the guns remained from the First World War, but often did not reach these old standards. In response to the formation of a new army in Germany after Hitler came to power in 1936, Poland began to modernize its armed forces. Given the weakness of the Polish industrial base, it was decided to mechanize four cavalry brigades by 1942. Great efforts were made to saturate the troops with anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. By the start of the 1939 war, the program was far from complete. Only one mechanized brigade was formed, the second was in the stage of formation. The tank forces had three battalions of good light tanks, as well as several hundred light tankettes, dispersed between reconnaissance units of cavalry brigades and infantry divisions. The army adopted the excellent 37mm Bofors anti-tank gun, as well as a Polish-designed anti-tank gun that caused a lot of trouble for the Germans in 1939.

A soldier of the 1st Light Cavalry Regiment in a peacetime uniform with collar tabs. The caps of the light cavalry had round crowns and dark red bands. The collar is trimmed with a characteristic "Polish" zigzag made of sewn silver braid for privates and corporals. The ranks above the corporals were entitled to zigzags embroidered with silver thread. A zigzag flanks the regimental pennant, in this case a silver one with a dark red stripe in the center. On muffs shoulder straps monogram "JP" - "1st regiment of light cavalry of Józef Pilsudski."

With the approaching war, the Polish command developed a plan “ Z"(From Zachod- West), focused on protecting Poland from Germany. The Polish military leadership was skeptical about the possible prospects for such a conflict. At best, it hoped to hold out for six months, awaiting help from its Western allies - France and Britain. The Poles believed that France would launch a major offensive two weeks after declaring war on Germany. The Polish command was quite well aware of the German plans and the state of the German army. Back in 1933, they managed to unravel the code of the Enigma encryption machine ( Enigma), but in 1938 the Germans changed all encryption equipment, and this source of information dried up. Unfortunately, the Polish command continued to consider itself sufficiently informed, and as a result underestimated the power of the Wehrmacht. But it was much worse that the ability of German tank and motorized divisions to maneuver was underestimated - however, this was characteristic not only of the Poles. His own limited experience in using weak tankettes led to skepticism about the capabilities of armored units and the lack of serious theoretical developments. The Poles also "overlooked" the incredible opportunities that the interaction of artillery and air support provided.

Officers of the 10th Mechanized Brigade during a meeting, 1939. In the center, in berets, Colonel S. Maczek and his adjutant F. Skibinsky. At the start of the war, this was the only Polish mechanized brigade; she was nicknamed "Black" for her characteristic leather jackets which were worn by some tankers. Characteristic feature the equipment of her soldiers were also old German helmets of the 1916 model.

The strategic options available to the Polish Army were unenviable. On three sides the country was surrounded by Germany and its allies, on the fourth was the Soviet Union. The Poles believed that the political differences between Germany and the USSR could not be overcome, and therefore left the eastern part of the country practically defenseless, concentrating all forces on the western border. Poland is a plain without major natural barriers, except for the mountains in the south. The center of the country is crossed by rivers that can be used as natural barriers, but at the end of summer the water levels are low and they can be forced in many places. In addition, a retreat beyond these rivers at the very beginning of the campaign would mean the loss of densely populated industrial areas, in which, in addition, the main military depots were located. Consequently, it was impossible to surrender these territories either for political or military reasons. The only alternative was the concentration of troops in the border areas and the subsequent slow retreat with battles. It was this plan that was adopted by the Polish command: the Polish forces were too stretched, but there was still hope that in the course of an organized retreat, the Polish troops would concentrate more and more. This was a weak strategic decision, completely powerless against mobile German formations, both in terms of the number of troops and their equipment. This murderous strategy was based only on the hope of France entering the war.

The Polish army was twice as small as the German, and the backlog in tanks, aircraft and artillery was even greater. The only weapon in which the Poles had an undeniable advantage was the saber. At the end of August, the situation was aggravated by diplomatic pressure from France and Great Britain, who demanded not to start mobilization so as not to provoke Germany. In the last week of August 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany signed a Non-Aggression Pact, which contained a secret protocol defining the plan for the partition of Poland between them. In the early morning of September 1, 1939, the Wehrmacht launched an offensive; the bloodiest war in the history of mankind began. The old battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the small garrison of Westerplatte in Danzig (Gdansk).

SEPTEMBER CAMPAIGN 1939

The Polish army was still in a state of mobilization when the first waves of German dive bombers began to destroy warehouses, roads and lines of communication. The conventional wisdom that the Polish air force was burned to the ground on the first day is incorrect. By the beginning of the war, the Polish squadrons were dispersed across secret airfields, so they suffered the first strikes relatively painlessly. Although the Polish pilots were well trained, the P-11s were “yesterday” compared to the Luftwaffe and their numbers were very small. Light bomber "Karas" ( Karas) was a kind of hybrid of the army reconnaissance aircraft "Lysander" ( Lysander) and the Fireay Battle bomber ( Fairey Battle). It turned out to be ineffective due to the air superiority of German fighters. Polish fighters and anti-aircraft gunners were able to shoot down an unexpectedly large number of German aircraft, but the Germans held the air superiority firmly. Only in the skies over Warsaw did they meet with a serious rebuff.

An infantry platoon of the 10th mechanized brigade in soft-crowned slingshots. The Ursus truck is equipped with an anti-aircraft machine gun for the ckm wz.30 machine gun, produced under license by the American water-cooled Browning machine gun of 30 caliber.

The captain of the 1st light tank battalion assigns a task to the tank commander. The officer is wearing a black tank jacket, and the soldiers are wearing simple khaki overalls. A small bag on the soldier's chest is a Polish WSR wz.32 gas mask, which replaced an old French gas mask. Instead of slingshot, the tankers were supposed to have black berets.

The September campaign is often associated with the image of the brave Polish lancers, with lances attacking German tanks. There were no such attacks in reality, but such stories can be found not only in popular, but also in serious historical literature. The story of a horse attack on tanks was the work of Italian war correspondents on the Pomeranian front. The story was taken up by German propaganda, which greatly embellished it. The events on the basis of which this legend was created took place on the evening of September 1, during a shootout in the area of the Kroyanty farm. Several Polish infantry divisions and the Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade held positions in the Pomeranian Corridor area. It was impossible to organize a reliable defense here, but the troops were moved to prevent the Germans from annexing the corridor, as happened in the Sudetenland. After the outbreak of hostilities, Polish troops were immediately withdrawn to the south. The retreat was covered by the 18th Uhlan regiment of Colonel Mastelarzh and several infantry regiments. On the morning of September 1, General Guderian's 2nd and 20th Motorized Infantry Divisions attacked Polish forces in the Tuchola forest area. Infantrymen and cavalrymen held the defense until noon, but then the Germans began to push them back. Towards evening, the Poles retreated to the railway crossing, and Mastelarzh ordered the enemy to be driven back at any cost. In addition to the Uhlan regiment, Mastelarzh had a certain amount of infantry and tankettes of the TK that were part of the brigade. However, the old tankettes were practically unusable, so they, along with some units of the regiment, were left on the defensive lines. And two squadrons of lancers in equestrian formation attempted to outflank the Germans in order to then strike them in the rear.

Towards evening, the Poles found a German infantry battalion stationed in a clearing. The lancers were only a few hundred meters from the enemy; a saber attack seemed like the best solution. Moments later, two saber squadrons flew out from behind the trees and scattered the Germans, hardly inflicting significant damage on them. But when the lancers were lining up after the attack, several German armored vehicles appeared in the clearing, armed with 20-mm automatic cannons and machine guns. The Germans immediately opened fire. The Poles, suffering losses, tried to gallop beyond the nearest hills. Mastelarzh and his staff officers were killed, and the losses of the cavalry were terrible. The next day, Italian war correspondents visited the site of the battle. They were told about the Polish cavalry attack on tanks, and the legend was born. True, the Italians "forgot" to mention that that evening Guderian had to work hard to prevent the retreat of his 2nd Motorized Infantry Division "under strong pressure from the enemy cavalry." "Strong pressure" was provided by the Uhlan regiment, which had lost more than half of its personnel and made up no more than ten percent of the strength of the 2nd motorized infantry division.

Communication units relied on black buttonholes with cornflower blue piping on the trailing edge. The Poles used shepherds or other breeds of dogs to tow the bobbins with the telephone wire.

The positions of the Polish cavalry were greatly stretched, the horses were withdrawn from the front line for almost a kilometer. As in 90% of the actions of the Polish cavalry in 1939, the horsemen fought dismounted. Several German tanks managed to slip through the gaps in the Polish defenses in the morning fog and in the early morning launched an attack in the very center of the brigade's defenses. The tanks entered the location of the brigade's horse-artillery units. Outdated or not, the old three-inch guns repulsed a tank attack. Only a few tanks managed to return to their own. A horse patrol sent to observe the enemy came across an advancing German column. The cavalrymen dismounted and took refuge among the group of buildings. They fought off attacks all day, only with the onset of darkness, the few survivors managed to escape from the ring. Meanwhile, the main forces of the Germans attacked the positions of the entrenched Poles.

Experiencing an acute shortage of anti-tank weapons, they met the German tanks with tame fans. The first attack was repulsed, as well as several subsequent ones, but the losses of the cavalrymen grew at an alarming rate. In unsuccessful morning attacks, the Germans lost more than 30 tanks and armored vehicles, after which they changed their tactics. In the afternoon, the attacks began to be preceded by a massive artillery barrage, and the tanks moved accompanied by infantry. This time the Germans almost succeeded. The situation was so dire that the brigade commander personally brought ammunition to the 37-mm anti-tank Bofors. The attempt of the Poles to counterattack with the existing tankettes did not lead to success, but the armored train "Smyaly", which took up a firing position behind the Polish positions, on the other side of the river, rendered great support to the defenders. By evening, the field near the positions of the Polish troops was littered with burning German tanks, tractors and armored vehicles. The Poles announced the destruction of 75 tanks and 75 units of other equipment; it is possible that these figures are overestimated, but the 4th Panzer Division was washed in blood that day. The Poles also suffered heavy losses, especially serious were the losses in horses and convoys that were hit by German dive bombers. The brigade was able to hold its positions for another day, but on September 3, a German infantry division entered its flank from the north, and the Poles had to retreat.

TKS tankette company awaiting orders, Warsaw area, September 13, 1939. Tankers wear regular khaki overalls and French-style tank helmets. The TKS tankettes, the most numerous armored vehicles of the Polish army, were armed with only one Hotchkiss machine gun.

By September 3, Guderian's troops were able to cut the Pomeranian Corridor and were able to attack southward to Warsaw, overcoming the weak defensive positions of the Poles. The Polish defenses were broken through in several places, and there were no reserves for patching holes. Contact between the central command in Warsaw and the field headquarters was cut off. France and Great Britain formally declared war on Germany, but there was no particular consolation in that. German tank wedges entered the gaps of the Polish defense, and by September 7, the forward units of the 4th Panzer Division reached the Warsaw suburbs. The Germans tried to enter the capital of Poland on the move, but stumbled upon a tough defense. Only on September 9, the Poles reported 57 burned German tanks.

Soldiers of the 1st Grenadier Division at the parade on the occasion of the presentation of the new regiment banner, Arras, France. Pay attention to the standard French uniform and equipment, as well as the Lebel rifles of the 1886/96 model. The corporal (far left) has two stripes on his shoulder straps. In the center is a non-commissioned officer.

The second week of the war was even more difficult. After Marshal Eduard Smigly Rydz became supreme commander and head of state, the Polish government chose to leave the capital so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. The country's leadership was stationed near the Romanian border, issuing an order to gather the remaining troops for the defense and defense of the so-called “Romanian bridgehead”. This was an unfortunate decision: communication with the border areas was very poor, and as a result, the Polish army lost even that unstable connection with the command, which it had previously. The only bright spot was General Tadeusz Kutsheba's Poznan army. This group was cut off from the main forces, but was able to retreat in an organized manner to the Kutno region. Kutsheba's troops posed a serious threat to the flank of the German 8th Army, and from September 9 they even began to attack across the Bzura River in a southern direction, pushing the Wehrmacht's 30th Infantry Division, which was not prepared for defense. The Bzur counter-attack of the Poles turned out to be completely unexpected for the enemy and cost the marshal's baton to the commander of the German troops Blaskowitz. The Wehrmacht had to weaken the onslaught on Warsaw and transfer significant forces from the east against the Kutsheba grouping. The battle lasted a week and ended with the complete encirclement of eight Polish divisions. In a crazy skirmish, some Polish cavalry and infantry units managed to escape the trap and break through to Warsaw.

Two soldiers from the liaison unit of the Polish Independent Mountain Brigade rest on a hillside, Borkenes region, Norway. They wear standard French field uniforms and motorcycle jackets. On the helmets, you can see the image of the Polish eagle in grayish-white paint.

Stefan Stažiński announced his surrender, hoping thereby to save the surviving townspeople. The small garrison of the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic coast continued to fight until October 1. On the day when German troops paraded through the streets of Warsaw, fighting continued between the Polesie tactical group and the German 13th and 29th mechanized infantry divisions. The fire did not stop until October 5th.

The Polish General Staff in the interwar period was not optimistic, but no one expected the campaign to end so quickly and lead to total annihilation. The Poles underestimated the fighting efficiency of the Wehrmacht and hoped too much for the help of France, and also pinned too many hopes on their hopelessly outdated army. The entry into the war of the Red Army brought the defeat of Wormwood closer for several weeks. The Soviet troops cut off some of the Polish troops that could retreat to the territory of Romania and Hungary, which hastened the fall of the "Romanian bridgehead". The only thing that cannot be doubted is the determination and courage of the Polish soldiers. Field Marshal Hertz von Rundstedt, who commanded Army Group South in 1939, wrote: “The Polish cavalry attacked heroically; on the whole, the courage and heroism of the Polish army deserves the greatest respect. However, the High Command was unable to adequately meet the requirements of the situation. "

POLISH ARMY IN EXPULSION

France, 1940

There was not the slightest doubt that the struggle would continue. Even before the fall of Warsaw, plans were adopted to organize resistance underground, and a number of orders called on Polish units to break through to France. Poles from infancy were brought up on stories about the heroic past of their people. Disasters were common in Poland. Throughout the XIX century. each of the Polish uprisings was invariably suppressed, but each subsequent generation was ready to shed blood for freedom. The history of Poland also knew an example of the existence of an army in exile: thousands of Poles stood under the banner of Napoleon, hoping with his help to return Poland to the map of Europe. During the First World War, Polish units operated in France and eventually achieved the revival of the country. In 1939, Polish soldiers believed they should restore their reputation in the eyes of the French, not to mention their own people. There was no doubt that the fate of Poland depended on the goodwill of France and Great Britain. Few doubted the idea that France and Britain would win the war. The Poles hoped to convince the French government that after the September defeat they had enough will to continue the struggle.

Among the tasks assigned to the Polish units that ended up in England after the fall of France was the maintenance of armored trains guarding the coastal zone. The crew of this armored train is formed of "supernumerary" Polish officers. In total, 12 such armored trains operated on the British coast.

The task of transferring tens of thousands of Polish soldiers from Romania and Hungary to France turned out to be more difficult than initially thought. The German government exerted strong pressure on these countries, trying to obtain the internment of Polish soldiers until the end of the war. Nevertheless, Poland's relations with Hungary and Romania were benevolent, and both of these states saw their possible fate in the fate of Poland. Camps for Polish soldiers were indeed created, but it was not difficult to leave them, and everyone who wanted to could escape from them.

Many officials, including Smigly-Rydz himself, were also interned, and it was impossible for them to escape to France. Therefore, the Polish government in exile was formed from relatively random individuals. To a certain extent, the fact that the pre-war leaders of Poland could not get into France turned out to be even a positive moment: Polish soldiers could not forgive them for their defeat in 1939. This, as well as pressure from French diplomats, led to the fact that the posts of head of government and supreme commander General Władysław Sikorski was appointed Polish army. In many ways, this was the best candidate. Since 1920, Sikorsky has been making a brilliant military career, but after the death of Piłsudski during the period of the "colonels' regime" he fell out of favor, was removed from affairs and did not participate in the September campaign. He held a centrist position, so he was equally acceptable to both the right and the left. In addition, Sikorsky enjoyed a reputation as a Francophile, so it was easier for him than anyone else to establish trusting ties with the French government.

General V. Sikorski, leader of the Polish government in exile, presents awards to two privates after a field exercise, Scotland, 1941. The general wears a three-star slingshot and a silver zigzag along the band. The stars and zigzag are repeated on the uniform's shoulder straps. The general's buttonholes are also visible in dark blue velvet with a silver eagle and carmine red piping along the upper edge. Two soldiers wear Mle French tank protective helmets. 1935, worn by Polish units in Britain before the introduction of British helmets. Most often, reconnaissance units were equipped with such protective headgear.

After negotiations, the French agreed to help in the formation of a separate Polish army on their territory. The French felt guilty for their inactivity during the September events in Poland, but nevertheless public opinion considered the Poles to be completely incompetent, and the whole venture was a waste of time and money. However, the more thoroughly the French military experts analyzed the course of the campaign, the less criticism they made. In the end, an agreement was reached to form four infantry divisions: the idea of that period about the Slavs as good infantrymen affected. The number of the corps of the military personnel who were able to escape from Poland was supposed to be 35,000 people. However, in addition to the soldiers who arrived in France, Polish emigrants who had lived in the country earlier expressed a desire to join the army. As a result, there were about 45,000 volunteers. Throughout the autumn and winter of 1939/40. the Poles spent in French camps, having received from the French government only blue French uniforms and small arms, obsolete even by Polish standards.

Further developments developed rapidly. The Soviet Union attacked Finland, and France and Great Britain decided to provide military aid the staunch Finns. Sikorski offered the services of Polish units, who were happy to fight the Red Army, which occupied part of their homeland. In January 1940, the French began to supply equipment for the 1st separate Polish mountain brigade "Podhale" ( Podhale). However, before this and other parts of the allies were prepared, Finland began negotiations with the USSR. Spring came, and the Poles were still forced to beg for arms and equipment from the French. Two divisions were almost ready: 1st Grenadier and 2nd Rifle. Finally, the French gave out something more significant, in particular, equipment for two battalions of R-35 tanks, which were equipped with the resurgent 10th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade. The 10th Mechanized Brigade, nicknamed the "Black Brigade" for its specific black overcoats, was the only fully mechanized unit of the Polish Army in September 1939. It fought gloriously. Its commander, Colonel Stanislav Macchek, taking advantage of the fact that the unit fought near the Romanian border, was able to withdraw almost all of its personnel to Romania, and then to France.

By the beginning of the battles in 1940 in France, two Polish divisions were practically formed, and two more (3rd and 4th) were in training camps. The mountain brigade was the first to enter the battle. At the end of April, the brigade under the command of General Sigmund Bochush-Shishko was transferred by sea to Anken (Norway), together with a brigade of French Alpine riflemen. The Poles took their first battle on May 14, when they had to knock out the Germans, who had fortified themselves on the top of the hill above the village. In the course of a difficult and bloody battle in the mountains, the French realized that they could rely on the Poles. However, due to the fact that the Germans occupied the Netherlands on May 10, a decision was made on May 26 to evacuate the Norwegian Expeditionary Force. A Polish mountain brigade disembarked at Brest on 14 June and was soon involved in fierce fighting in Brittany.

Fire control section of the battery of 75-mm anti-aircraft guns WZ.36AA in anticipation of a raid by Luftwaffe bombers near Warsaw, September 2, 1939. Anti-aircraft gunners wear khaki overalls and helmets of the 1931 model, worn backwards so that the visor does not interfere with the use of optical instruments. The buttonholes on the officer's uniform (in the center, with glasses) are green with yellow piping along the trailing edge and a silver zigzag.

Ironically, the 1st Polish Grenadier Division was stationed in a small Saar pocket, which the French captured in September 1939, demonstrating "aid" to the Poles in the attack on them by Germany. The 2nd Infantry Division was stationed in the Belfort area on the Swiss border. The French army was in dire need of tanks, so the 10th mechanized brigade of Colonel Maczek was thrown into battle, not yet fully equipped. The 1st Division entered the fighting only at the end of the campaign: it covered the retreat of the French XX Army Corps. At the same time, the division commander, General Bronislaw Dukh, was put in a very difficult position: in mid-June, Sikorsky, seeing that France was doomed, ordered all Polish units to evacuate to England. However, General Dukh decided to continue to fight in France in order to avoid reproaches of cowardice. The decision cost the soldiers dearly: from 17 to 21 June, the division lost 45% of its personnel. After the surrender of France, the Spirit ordered his soldiers to get to England as best they could, but only a few were able to carry out this order.

The 2nd Infantry Division also took little part in hostilities and on June 17, together with the French 45th Army Group, left for Switzerland, where it was interned. The 3rd division, which had not yet completed its formation and training, took part in bloody battles in Bretonne, where it was completely defeated. The 4th Division never entered the battle and was evacuated to England through the Bay of Biscay. Macek's tank crews fought in the fiercest battles during the retreat of the VII Army Corps to Dijon in Champagne. Polish tank crews acted in conjunction with Senegalese units. By June 19, the brigade had lost three quarters of its personnel and all its tanks. Maczek ordered the survivors to look for ways to get to England.

A Polish sergeant prepares a charge for a 3.7-inch British anti-aircraft gun. This photo clearly shows the changes that the Poles have made in the British uniform issued to them. The shoulder straps of the British khaki field jacket with white or silver lace and thin red piping indicate military rank. The patch of the Polish Army at the top of both sleeves was dark red with white letters, below - a red patch with a black bow and arrow: the badge of the British anti-aircraft gunners. On the collar there are Polish buttonholes: green with yellow piping on the back edge. The Polish soldiers stationed in England painted the image of an eagle with yellow paint on their helmets.

Risen Phoenix

So, less than a year later, the Polish army suffered a second crushing defeat. Illusions about the invincibility of the French army, as well as hopes of a quick victory and return home were dispelled. A new defeat meant new losses. Of the 75,000 Poles who reached France, about 19,000 were evacuated to England, a quarter of whom were pilots. In addition, the Carpathian Brigade of General Stanislav Kopansky, formed in the Middle East, withdrew to Palestine, so as not to clash with the troops subordinate to the Vichy government. Relations between the Poles and the British were not as cordial as with the French, but in the summer of 1940 they did not have to choose partners. Churchill sympathized with Sikorski's plans to form the Polish army as an independent fighting unit, and the wandering soldiers ended up in the Glasgow area. There was little work for the Poles: protecting the coast and military training... At first, the RAF was reluctant to take Polish pilots into fighter squadrons, but the air situation became more and more tense, and in August 1940 several Polish squadrons were formed, the 303rd Polish Squadron proved to be the most effective during the "Battle of England". Although the squadron was equipped with outdated types of aircraft, the level of combat training of the Poles was significantly higher than that of inexperienced British pilots who had more modern Spitfires and Hurricanes. The successes of the Polish pilots in 1940 contributed to the warming of relations with the British, and as a result they were able to obtain a certain amount of more modern military equipment. The Poles turned out to be the most decisive army in exile from those in the United Kingdom, so very quickly the British forgot their former disdain for the Poles. The defeat of the backward Polish army in 1939 faded with the defeat of the well-equipped British and French armies. A big problem for the Polish army in 1940 and 1941. there was a shortage of manpower. Volunteers arrived from Poland, literally on foot reaching any neutral port, but the lack of qualified officers and diplomats did not allow even these troops to be brought into proper condition.

In 1941, the Poles and the British greeted with joy the news of the German attack on the Soviet Union. The British were happy to have an ally in their fight against Hitler. The Poles, on the other hand, received painful satisfaction from the fact that the entire might of the Wehrmacht fell on the Red Army. They hoped that the Russians and the Germans would grind each other to dust, as they did in 1914–1918, and this would give Poland a chance of rebirth again. The British government was not delighted with such sentiments and insisted that the Polish government in exile restore diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the Sikorski government chose to comply, and in 1941 the corresponding treaty was signed. However, Stalin did not agree to cede the Polish territories captured in 1939, and this immediately led to the emergence of rather strained relations between the two new allies.

1. Private of the 18th Lancers Regiment. 1939 g.

1. The field headdress "slingshot" with a quadrangular crown was introduced in 1937. On the slingshot, only one emblem was supposed to be worn - a Polish military eagle embroidered with gray whining (In 1939, in some units, old caps, similar to American ones, with a metal eagle). The slingshot should not be confused with the Polish cap that existed during the same period. The cap also had a traditional square crown, but not soft, but hard. In addition, the cap was supplied with a black leather visor and a colored band with insignia under the eagle. The color of the band of the cap indicated the type of troops, with the exception of the cavalry, where each regiment had its own color. Officer's caps were trimmed with silver edging along the edge of the bottom, and also had narrow braids sewn on the bottom in the form of a cross. Light cavalry regiments and border guards wore similar caps, but with a round, "English" crown.

Uniform reform in the early 1930s. modernized and standardized the Polish uniform, and also eliminated the differences in cut between the uniforms of officers and soldiers. The woolen uniform of the 1936 model was sewn from khaki fabric, a slightly greener shade than the English uniforms. The cut was usual: four pockets, shoulder straps, a turn-down collar. Oxidized silver buttons. The summer uniform had the same cut, but was sewn from linen fabric. The cavalrymen wore breeches reinforced with leather harnesses in stride, as well as cavalry boots with spurs. The figure shows a soldier of the 18th Uhlan regiment with peacetime collar tabs: a blue and white pennant with two braids with a scarlet central stripe between them. Along the edge of the collar there is a traditional Polish galloon zigzag. V war time such buttonholes were not supposed to be worn.

Brown leather waist belt and cavalry Y-shaped shoulder straps. Two three-section pouches for Mauser-type clips, a carbine of the 1929 model, a cracker bag of the 1933 model, a shovel and a bayonet on a waist belt. The gas mask is not visible. Horse harness - soldier's bridle and saddle of the 1925 model. The saddle is equipped on the left with an attachment for the 1934 model saber. During the September 1939 campaign, there were also older French, Prussian or Russian sabers. The overcoat of the 1936 model in the roll is fixed on the front bow of the saddle. Saddlebags and an oat bag are attached to the rear of the saddle. The blanket was supposed to be laid under the saddlecloth.

Pica French type with a weather vane-badge of regimental flowers. In 1939, the pikes were not supposed to be used in battle, but there was no uniformity here. Some units left the pikes in the barracks, others took them with them, but for the most part they carried them in a wagon train. Lances with a regimental badge and squadron badges were supposed to be worn at all times.

2. The uniform is the same. Pay attention to Adrian's French helmet - in 1939 it remained in almost all cavalry and horse artillery units, as well as in some artillery, reserve infantry and auxiliary units. In the field, of all the insignia, it was supposed to wear only stripes on shoulder straps according to military rank... The corporal was entitled to two silver chevrons with a red piping. Encryption with a number or a monogram by the name of the regiment, as well as with the traditional designations that existed in some parts, were worn on shoulder straps only in peacetime. In the field, such ciphers were worn on muffs that could be easily removed from the shoulder straps. Collar pennant in ruby red / blue with white central stripe, flanked by a silver NCO zigzag.

The corporal is armed with the rkm wz.28 light machine gun, a further development of the 1928 Belgian Browning automatic rifle.

1. Lieutenant of the infantry, 1939

2-3. Private infantry, 1939

1. Field hat-slingshot with an eagle, general cut overcoat for officers and lower ranks. On the shoulder straps there are officers' stars. All the infantrymen had a yellow and blue stripe across the corners of the collar. Officers, as a rule, wore good quality breeches and boots in the field, and if the officer was entitled to a horse, then spurs were attached to the boots. British-style officer gear made of brown leather. Over the left shoulder straps of the tablet and binoculars, over the right shoulder - the strap of the holster of the ViS pistol. Linen WSR gas mask bag with a fabric shoulder strap.

2-3. Standard infantry uniforms and equipment are presented from the front and from the back. Polish helmet, model 1931, painted with a dark olive “salamander” paint, to which small cork chips have been added, creating a grainy surface texture. Helmets were supplied primarily to infantry units, but by 1939 some artillery and other units also had time to receive them. The winter woolen uniform of the 1936 model included straight trousers with short windings and lace-up boots from the 1934 model (sometimes the boots were sewn from unpainted leather). Canvas satchel, model 1932, suspended from a bowler hat, painted olive or left unpainted. A part of a tent or a blanket was often wrapped around an overcoat, and the entire roll was attached to a knapsack in the form of a horseshoe, which covered it from above and from the sides. On the left side there is a small sapper shovel and a Mauser-type bayonet together with a canvas bag of 1933 model. On the right, they are balanced by a bag with a WSR gas mask of the same size and weight. Three-section pouches on the front on the waist belt. Interestingly, among infantrymen, the role of cavalry shoulder straps is played by the straps of the knapsack. The weapon is a Polish-made Mauser rifle, in 1939 it was found in three main variants: a rifle of the 1898 model, similar to the German rifle 98a, the carbine of the 1898 model and the carbine of the 1929 model, similar to the German 98k. Infantry buttonholes are blue with yellow piping on the back and white zigzag. In combat conditions, buttonholes were not supposed to be worn.

1. Private of the 10th horse infantry regiment 10th mechanized brigade, 1939

2. Tankman, 1939

3. Second lieutenant of the mountain rifle regiment of the 21st mountain division, 1939

1. The only fully mechanized brigade in 1939 was nicknamed the "Black Brigade" because of its characteristic black leather coats with a fabric collar and shoulder straps. The coats were sewn with a deep wrap to the right. The 10th Mechanized Brigade was probably the only Polish unit whose soldiers continued to wear khaki-colored German helmets of the 1916 model in 1939. A black coat covered the usual cavalry uniform and breeches. Cavalry boots in the motorized artillery units of this brigade were decorated with symbolic spurs (strips of metal around the heels); in the field, these decorative “spurs” were not worn. The same "spurs" were worn by all officers of the brigade in evening dress. Note the cavalry leather outfit with Y-shaped shoulder straps.

2. Tank officers wore black leather coats or jackets, while rank-and-file tankers usually dispensed with cloth overalls. The head is protected by a khaki-painted helmet, which is a Polish version of a French tank helmet; there were also French-made helmets. Weapon: ViS pistol. On the side is a box with an old French RSC gas mask.

3. In the 21st and 22nd mountain divisions, instead of a slingshot, they wore felt hats, traditional for the mountainous regions of Podhale in southern Poland. A Polish military eagle is attached to the hat along the front, and under it is an asterisk denoting the rank of second lieutenant. On the side is the divisional emblem ("broken" swastika cross on double twigs), with which an eagle feather is pinned to the hat. The division emblem is also repeated on the collar of the cape, which replaced the overcoat in mountain divisions. Cloak collar with infantry yellow and blue stripe. The cloak was often worn thrown over the left shoulder, leaving the right free. In this picture, the holster of the ViS pistol and the saber, suspended from the waist belt, are not visible. Servicemen of the 21st Mountain Division wore "Hutsul" hats, traditional for the costumes of the inhabitants of the Eastern Carpathians.

1. Shooter of the 4th Warsaw Rifle Regiment of the 2nd rifle division, France, 1940

2. Lieutenant of the 1st Grenadier Division, France. 1940 g.

3. Shooter of a separate mountain rifle brigade, Norway, 1940

1. During the "strange war" Polish soldiers in France were dressed in a motley mixture of old French uniforms of dusty blue color with different types of headdresses - caps, caps, berets. Only the units of the 1st Grenadier and 2nd Infantry Divisions in the spring of 1940 began to receive the French uniform of the 1935 model in khaki. Some Polish infantry units received brown berets instead of khaki caps (bonnet de police). Poles continued to wear the emblems and insignia of their army, made of metal or molded rubber, or embroidered. Some received quadrangular French buttonholes, but in Polish colors: for example, for infantry, they were dark blue with yellow edging, but without a part number. Units of the 2nd Infantry Division wore "bayonet" buttonholes in regimental colors. Cavalry and tankmen wore pennant-shaped buttonholes on the collars. The 10th mechanized brigade received the standard uniform and equipment of the French tankers. The 1935 French infantry helmet was adorned with the image of the Polish eagle, which was either applied with paint or was a patch plate; some have specially ordered head-plates for helmets.

Soldiers of the 4th Rifle Regiment wore a brown beret with the national emblem. On the left side of the beret, a buttonhole of regimental colors was sewn: light green, divided by a dark blue stripe. The same buttonholes were sewn on the collars of uniforms. There were no other distinctive signs. Standard French field uniforms included a uniform, 1938 golf pants, tapes and lace-up boots. The 1939 pouches are supported by Y-shaped shoulder straps. Modified knapsack model 1934 with a blanket in a roll, an ANP 31 gas mask on the left side, a musette on the right side. The 1935 flask was worn at the back, exactly in the middle of the belt. Armament - Berthier rifle sample 1916

2. The officer wears a cap with a Polish eagle. There are two stars under the eagle and on the left side of the cap, denoting the rank of lieutenant. The stars are also pinned to the shoulder straps of the French overcoat. The officer wears a gas mask bag and an M1935A automatic pistol holster.

3. The mountain units were supposed to be equipped on the model of the French Alpine riflemen, but in reality the picture was very diverse. The helmet is painted with an image of an eagle. Usually mountain shooters wore khaki beret. Many people wore a water-repellent canvas "motorcycle" jacket over their uniforms. Like the "motorcycle parts jacket" similar to it, it was very popular: the jacket could be worn over the uniform for warmth. Instead of the traditional headdress of the Polish mountain units - a French artillery helmet. The winding golf pants are tucked into thick woolen socks. Leather equipment of the old 1915 model, but the rifle is new - MAS 36. A gas mask bag with a shoulder strap.

1. Shooter of a separate Carpathian rifle brigade, Tobruk, Libya, 1941

2. Shooter of the 6th Lvov rifle brigade of the 5th Kresovskaya infantry division, Italy, autumn 1944

3. Lieutenant of the 4th armored stick "Scorpion" of the 2nd armored division, Italy, early 1945

1. The uniforms of the soldiers of the Carpathian brigade differed from the British only in the Polish insignia: the Poles wore the standard British tropical khaki uniform or field uniform for a temperate climate, cloth equipment of the 1937 model and were armed with British weapons. This soldier wore a khaki woolen pullover over a jersey and jersey shorts. On the legs - high golf socks and army boots with short canvas leggings. The British style helmet is painted in sand and decorated with the image of the Polish eagle on a red field. Rifle No. 1 Mk III SMLE.

2. The machine gunner is outfitted in a British field uniform of the so-called "1940 model" with open buttons and pockets without bow pleats. 1937 standard cloth equipment. In Italy, soldiers sometimes wore wellington rubber boots to get rid of the autumn slush. The camouflage net on the helmet is depicted as "torn" so that the Polish eagle can be seen. Small diamond-shaped buttonholes on the collar of a British field blouse in traditional Polish colors: in this case, infantry, blue with yellow piping. Under the national ribbon-stripe at the top of the sleeve - the divisional emblem. Even lower, a white lion on a red-blue field is the emblem of the Lvov brigade. After Cassino, Poles began to wear the emblem of the 8th british army: dark blue square patch with a white shield bearing a yellow cross. In preparation for the assault on Monte Cassino, they tried not to wear brigade or divisional emblems for reasons of secrecy. The soldier's armament is the Bren light machine gun.

3. Black beret of the Royal Armored Corps with an embroidered Polish eagle over two stars denoting the rank of lieutenant. On the left on the beret, the regimental emblem: a silver scorpion on a red rhombus. Regimental buttonholes on the collar, metal, painted: black and orange pennant-weather vane with a central red stripe, additionally decorated with the image of a scorpion made of white metal. There are silver five-pointed stars on the shoulder straps. The divisional emblem on the left sleeve is sewn close to the narrow red stripe indicating the branch of the military (in the British army, belonging to tank forces indicated by a two-color stripe with yellow front and red back halves. The red stripe indicated the infantry. - Approx. ed.). This is how an officer on a parade in the near rear might look: on the front line he would not wear his Order of Virtuti Militari. The cloth ammunition, including the pistol holster and pouch, was almost white-washed. The revolver is traditionally fastened to the shoulder with a cord. Light yellow tank gloves with leggings. The officers preferred to wear pre-war field uniforms with hidden buttons.

1. Private of the Polish independent parachute brigade, Netherlands, 1944

2. Second lieutenant of the 24th Uhlan regiment of the 1st Polish armored division, North-Western Europe, 1944-1945.

3. Private of the 10th Dragoon Regiment of the 1st Polish Armored Division, North-Western Europe, 1944-1945.

1. Polish paratroopers wore the same uniforms and equipment as their English comrades: a helmet without a visor and a back cap, field uniforms, Denison's landing overalls and equipment of the 1937 model, to which a rope was sometimes added to overcome obstacles. The paratrooper is armed with a Sten submachine gun. Only a yellow eagle on a helmet, gray-gray buttonholes with yellow piping and silver insignia adopted in parachute units indicate belonging to the Polish unit. In addition, the uniform of the Polish paratroopers was distinguished by a light bluish-gray beret with a traditional Polish eagle and insignia (this headdress is not shown in the figure).

2. The earthy-brown overalls of the Polish tankmen seem to have more often two hip pockets instead of one on the left thigh, like the British. The stars on the shoulder straps are the only thing that denotes the officer's dignity of this tanker. The collar of the combat jacket is extended over the overalls; the regimental buttonholes in the form of "Uhlan" badges-weathercocks are visible on it: they are white with a yellow central stripe at the 24th Uhlan regiment. On the black beret of British tankmen, the Polish eagle and the stars of the lieutenant are embroidered. The cloth equipment includes a tank open hip holster with a long cloth belt. Pay attention to the cord of the revolver, which was always fixed on the right shoulder, regardless of whether the holster was located on the right or left of the belt. The officers were supposed to have brown boots.

3. The regiment was part of the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade. Regimental buttonholes were crimson and orange, with a central green stripe. In memory of the Polish 10th Mechanized Brigade of 1939, the regiment was left with a black shoulder strap and a cord on its left shoulder. In the upper part of the left sleeve there was a national ribbon-stripe, under it - the emblem of the 1st Armored Division. On the right sleeve, instead of the divisional one, there is a regimental emblem: on a blue shield there is the St. Andrew's cross and the coat of arms of the Scottish city of Lanark, in which the soldiers of the 10th regiment were trained. On the helmet there is an eagle, equipment of the 1937 model, field uniforms of the 1940 model, weapons - the Thompson submachine gun.

Home Army, August 1944

The Home Army rebels did not have uniform uniforms. As far as possible, civilian clothing was supplemented with elements of Polish pre-war uniforms or captured German uniforms. At the very beginning of the uprising, a large German warehouse of uniforms was captured, and the rebels were given many sets of various camouflage uniforms; these "panthers" were very popular. All the rebels wore a red and white armband, sometimes they additionally depicted the emblems of the detachments, the Polish eagle, the letter WP (Wojsko Polskie) or an abbreviation for the name of the detachment. Sometimes the helmets depicted a large Polish eagle in white instead of the red and white ribbon shown in Figure 1. This rebel is dressed in civilian clothing and armed with a makeshift flamethrower. A soldier (2) is part of one of the Boy Scout companies. He is dressed in a black German cap with a Polish eagle and a "panther" - in this case, a two-sided winter army top camouflage with a Wehrmacht "blurred" pattern. He is armed with the Blyskawica (lightning) submachine gun - the Polish counterpart of the British Sten submachine gun, of course, much less reliable than the prototype. The Courier Girl (3) wears a comminuted army camouflage jacket. Goggles were necessary to protect the eyes from the toxic fumes when they had to wade through the sewer pipes. Most of the couriers were unarmed, only a few had small-bore pistols, unsuitable for serious combat.

From the Editor: In Poland, there were also pro-Soviet partisan detachments under the control of the Krajowa Rada Narodowa. By her decree on January 1, 1944, the Army of Ludov (literally - the People's Army) was created. Organization of the Human Army at the beginning of 1944:

1st district "Warsaw" (partisan unit "Imeni Chvartakov"); 2nd district "Warsaw - Leva Podmeyska" (two groups, including "In the name of K. Pulaski"); 3rd district "Warsaw - Prava Podmeyska" (partisan formations "Yastzhab", "Yurek", "Zygmund", "Imeni I. Slovatsky", "Dombrovsky"); 18th district "Plock" (groups "Charny", "Mala", "Kuba", "Vaschik", "Lasek", "Ryshard", "Macek", "Zhelazny"), II district "Lubelsky" - the main apartment partisan formations (1st partisan brigade "Imeni Zhemy Lubelskaya", partisan formations "Armata", "Stara", "Yanovskiy", "Yegier", partisan battalion "Imeni Kholoda"); III district "Radomsko-Keletsky" (partisan battalion "In the name of General Bem"; partisan formations "In the name of B. Glovatsky", "In the name of Zavisha Cherny", "In the name of I. Sovinsky", "In the name of D. Chakhovsky", "In the name of M. Langevich "," In the name of V. Lukashinsky "," Garbats "); District IV "Krakow" (partisan formations "Gadek Podhalansky", "Gutek", "Stefan Kola", "Zygmund", "Stanko"); V district "Slasko-Dombrovsky" (partisan formations "Imeni Marcin", "Kvasny", "Klusovnik").

1. Private 1st Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko, 1945

2. Tankman of the 1st Polish armored brigade "Heroes of Westerplatte", Polish Army, 1944-1945.

3. Private 1st Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko, 1945

1. When in 1943 the formation of units of the Polish Army began in Selts, the soldiers received Soviet uniforms. But for political reasons later, a special uniform appeared, more reminiscent of the Polish uniform of the 1936 model. A uniform with a turn-down collar, breeches, boots or boots with windings were supplemented with a slingshot or "confederate" with a square crown. The helmet is of the Soviet type, the equipment is also Soviet, leather. The color of the uniform varied, more often it was of a grayish-green hue, but there was also the usual one - khaki. The new uniform did not supplant the Soviet one. The khaki overcoat resembled the Polish pre-war in cut, but the standard Soviet overcoats were often used. The soldier is armed with a DP light machine gun, which the Poles call "gramophones". Soviet-style helmet with a white Polish eagle, but for political reasons - without the traditional crown and shield. In Poland, when the soldiers of the Polish Army appeared there, such eagles were nicknamed "plucked chickens." Many soldiers continued to use the pre-war emblems, cutting off their crowns, and later began industrial production of eagles without a crown. Buttonholes of a new triangular shape, but the infantry colors (blue and yellow) remained the same: they were confirmed by two orders from 1943 and 1945. At first, the infantrymen wore buttonholes with the blue half over the yellow one, and the reverse color combination was given to the armor-piercing units. In 1945, the infantry changed the color combination on the collar tabs to the opposite.

2. A khaki uniform is worn over a tank overalls tucked into boots with short tops. The headdress is a black Soviet summer tank helmet. There were also navy blue overalls and helmets. The TT pistol of the 1935 model. The specialized units of the Polish Army - tankmen, sappers, etc. - preferred to wear more standard elements of Soviet uniforms and equipment.

3. The discrepancy between the color shades of the fabric of the headdress, uniform, breeches and overcoat was a common occurrence. Tall boots and Soviet-style equipment, including cloth pouches for three magazines for the PPSh-41 each. Instead of Soviet helmets of the 1940 model, Poles often wore slingshots, putting them on even in winter, although they were given fur hats with earflaps. The insignia are the same as in Figure 1. The insignia by rank in general remained the same as in the pre-war army. There were only minimal differences: for example, the stars could be yellow, not white metal; for embroidery, instead of silver thread, white was used.

One of the most important moments of the pact concluded was the agreement on the formation of a number of units of the Polish army on Soviet territory. They were to be staffed from more than 200,000 Polish prisoners of war who were on the territory of the USSR. These units were headed by the former cavalryman General Vladislav Anders. Soon, these troops turned into another problem in the relations of the Poles with the Soviet Union. Polish prisoners of war were a crowd of half-starved, ragged people, exhausted by war and captivity. It was very difficult to form combat-ready units out of them, especially since the Soviet Union itself experienced a serious shortage of weapons and equipment. In addition, among the prisoners of war, a significant proportion were officers, with a shortage of privates. However, the Soviet side insisted that the Polish units take at least a symbolic participation in the war as soon as possible, and demanded that Anders form at least one Polish division as soon as possible and send it to the front. The presence of such a poorly equipped division would be of little real value and lead to the deaths of many people. The Soviet government insisted that the first Polish division be formed by October 1941, but by this time the 5th Kresovskaya division was still walking in rags, and 40% of the soldiers did not have shoes. Politicians talked about the unity and mutual understanding of the allies, and the soldiers had to sacrifice their lives for the interests of a foreign state, which had just violated the treaty, and now refused to recognize their rights to the lands on which their ancestors lived for centuries. Anders, who was under pressure from the NKVD, nevertheless shared the beliefs of his soldiers and refused to send Polish units into battle, citing a lack of equipment.

Soldiers of the 5th Infantry Division (from June 1943 - Kresovskaya) at the parade, Saratov, USSR, December 1941. Soon the unit was sent to the Middle East, later its soldiers fought in Italy near Monte Cassino. The horses of the soldiers of the banner group of the steppe breed. The uniform is a mixture of elements of Polish and Soviet uniforms.

During the negotiations, the Soviet side admitted that it was not in a position to adequately equip all Polish units, and it was decided to send some of them to Great Britain and Iran, where the British side could assist in equipping them. Relations between the Polish and Soviet sides continued to deteriorate, especially since the Poles began to openly accuse the Soviet side of opposing the formation of their units. In particular, Stalin denied the Poles the right to enroll in the Polish army Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews who had Polish citizenship before 1939 and lived in the Polish territories seized in favor of the USSR. It seemed that the situation was already getting out of control, but in 1942, American and British diplomats were able to convince Stalin to send Polish troops to Central Asia... Thanks to this, the Soviet Union was able to free up six infantry divisions, which were performing the role of occupying troops in Iran, together with British units. Western diplomats assured that in this case it would be easier to equip Polish units in order to then send them to fight the Nazis - either to the Soviet-German front, or somewhere else. By that time, the Soviet government had already begun to openly accuse the Poles of unwillingness to fight against the Germans. At the same time, the Soviet leaders refused to take into account any statements of the Poles regarding the actions of the Soviets and the Nazis on the partition of Poland in 1939, as well as to talk about the prospects for the return of the captured Polish territories, including the most important city of Lviv. By the spring of 1943, about 115,000 Polish soldiers and their families had been dispatched to the Middle East. This was only a small part of the one and a half million Poles who were at that time in Soviet camps as prisoners of war and deported persons who were imprisoned during the "decolonization" of the eastern regions of the country carried out by the NKVD.

Soldiers of a separate Carpathian rifle brigade look out in the sky for German planes, the defense of Tobruk. British uniform and equipment; Poles could only be distinguished by specific insignia, and sometimes by the image of an eagle on a helmet, inscribed in a red oval shield. From the stripes on the shoulder straps, it can be determined that the machine gunner on the left has the rank of corporal.

Poles arrived in Central Asia just at a time when relations between the Polish and Soviet governments were heating up to the limit. The Germans discovered graves with the remains of 4,000 Polish officers in the area of the small town of Katyn. The Poles believed that both Nazis and Soviet units could be guilty of this mass murder. Moreover, the suspicions against the Soviet Chekists looked more convincing, since the Soviet side refused to provide clarification about the fate of the 15,000 Polish officers captured by the Red Army in 1939. If they really fell into the hands of the Nazis, then why did the Soviets simply not publicize this fact? The Poles have achieved an investigation under the auspices of the International Red Cross. The Soviet government regarded this as a pretext for breaking off diplomatic relations and accused the Poles of conspiring with the Nazis. The Soviet government hoped that the post-war leadership of Poland should be "friendly" towards the USSR, in other words, be formed in accordance with Stalin's wishes. As a sign of friendly intentions, the Soviet Union demanded that the Sikorsky government recognize the Soviet annexation of half of the territory of pre-war Poland in exchange for a small part of German lands, which were supposed to be taken from Germany during the post-war reconstruction of Europe. Both Churchill and Roosevelt at the meetings in Tehran and Yalta agreed with these proposals. In foreign policy The United States and Great Britain were dominated by a friendly attitude towards the USSR, in addition, Churchill and Roosevelt tried to appease Stalin at a time when Soviet troops bore the main hardships of the war on the ground fronts. Public opinion in Great Britain and the United States was pro-Soviet, and Poland's position seemed like a kind of funny incident, a product of blind anti-Bolshevism and even anti-Semitism. It was an unfair position, but many Americans and British at that time naively believed in the idea of a “Soviet paradise”, which crumbled much later, when they became aware of the atrocities committed by Stalinism. The severance of relations between the Polish government and Stalin was a tragedy; the Soviet side got the opportunity to form its own puppet Polish government in Moscow. It, in turn, announced the creation of its own army, which was supposed to fight side by side with Soviet troops instead of Anders' army.

Meanwhile, the Polish army returned to the battlefields again, although this concerned only a small part of it. In September 1941, the Carpathian Brigade of General Stanislav Kopansky was transferred to Egypt to participate in the defense of Tobruk. The brigade was formed in 1939 in Syria from Polish soldiers who arrived in the Middle East through the Balkans. After the fall of France, the brigade was taken over by the British army.

The brigade consisted of three infantry battalions and a cavalry regiment (equal in number to the battalion). The brigade defended western part perimeter Tobruk, and during the December breakthrough was able to push back the Italian division "Brescia" and occupy Akroma. In the battle of Gazala, the Poles acted side by side with the New Zealand units. At the beginning of 1942, the brigade was returned to Palestine, where its personnel were used to form and equip new units from the Polish military who arrived from the USSR.

In June 1943, General Sikorsky was killed in a plane crash over Gibraltar. This was a very big loss, since Sikorski was one of the few influential Poles who enjoyed the same trust among his compatriots and the governments of the United States and Great Britain. There was no other leader of the same magnitude. The command of the army passed to General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, and Stanislav Mikolajczyk became the prime minister of the Polish government in exile.

II Polish Corps in Italy, 1944-1945

Anders' army was stationed in Palestine, Iraq and Iran. The personnel of the army were used to form the II Polish Corps, as well as to replenish the I Polish Corps deployed in Scotland. There was no prospect of a quick return of the Poles to combat units: they were tormented by malaria, they were poorly uniform and exhausted. The training lasted from the fall of 1942 until the fall of 1943. During this period, Polish troops were used by British counterintelligence as a cover to convince the Germans that the British were preparing to invade the Balkans. The Poles themselves believed that there was some truth in this: they were ready to take part in landing operation in Greece or Yugoslavia as part of the allied army in order to then liberate Poland and Central Europe before the approach of Soviet troops. But in 1943 this plan was finally rejected as too risky.

Montenegro, March 3, 1944 Armored personnel carriers of the 3rd platoon of the headquarters company of the 3rd battalion of the 1st brigade of the 3rd Carpathian line division cautiously advance. The platoon leader, armed with a Thompson submachine gun, walks alongside the armored personnel carrier, not letting go of his cigarette. The leading armored personnel carrier is armed with a Boyes 14mm anti-tank gun.

The three main units of the II Polish Corps were the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, the backbone of which were Kopansky's veterans who participated in the battle of Tobruk; The 5th Kresovskaya Infantry Division, transferred to Iraq and Egypt, and the 2nd Independent Armored Brigade, which in 1945 was deployed to the Warsaw Armored Division. In September 1943, II Corps began redeploying to Italy and deploying to positions in the Sangro River area. The activity of the Polish units was limited only to participation in patrols: the 8th British Army tried in every possible way to hide the reinforcements arriving to it from the Germans, preparing for the spring offensive on Rome. In May 1944, II Corps was moved into position to take part in the fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. The Poles were given the hardest task of storming the monastery itself. Three previous assaults were repulsed with huge losses; The monastery was located high in the rocky hills and was an ideal defensive position, defended by the soldiers of the 1st Parachute Division. Unlike previous attempts, this time it was decided to start the offensive immediately along the entire Gustav line by the joint efforts of the 8th British and 5th American armies. The XIII British Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Oliver Fox, was to launch an attack into the Leary River valley behind the monastery to force the Germans to abandon their positions on the hill.

In the early morning of May 12, 1944, after an artillery barrage that lasted two and a half hours, the Kresovskaya division launched an attack on San Angelo, and the Carpathian Riflemen - to Hill 593. The artillery fire was less effective than expected, and the losses of the Poles began to grow rapidly. The Carpathian riflemen reached the sharp ridge of height 593, but in a few hours of the battle they lost 20% of their personnel. In the evening, Leader took his bloodied units back to their original positions. Although the territory was not cleared of the enemy, General Lees expressed his gratitude to the Poles, stressing that without the sacrifices they made, the British offensive across the Rapido River valley would not have been successful. The Polish II Corps pulled back enemy reserves and artillery, which would otherwise have fallen on the XIII Corps. On May 16, the XIII Corps managed to almost completely cut off the monastery from the main German forces, and on May 17 the Poles again entered the battle, this time with the support of Sherman tanks from the 2nd Polish Armored Brigade. By nightfall, they were on the crest of height 593, which dominated the monastery. That night, the surviving German paratroopers began to retreat so as not to be captured, and on May 18 the Poles pulled up their rearguard units. On this day, the 12th regiment of the Podolsk lancers hoisted a red and white Polish flag over the Monte Cassino monastery.

During the week of fighting, the II Corps suffered heavy losses: 4,199 people, 25% of whom were killed. The number of outages was equal to approximately 25% of the total two divisions that were part of the corps.

After the battle for Cassino, the II Corps took part in the offensive along the Adriatic coast, capturing Ancona on April 20, 1944, and Bologna in April 1945. As soon as the II Corps left the battle in the area of Senio and Bologna, the Poles learned about the results Yalta conference... It became clear that the British and American governments agreed to the territorial claims of the USSR. This was a blow to most of the soldiers of the II Corps: they were from the eastern provinces of Poland, which were retreating to the Soviet Union. The sacrifices and suffering that the soldiers had made seemed in vain. True to their obligations to their allies, the Poles finished the Italian campaign with honor, but they fought with a heavy heart. Like the legion of Dombrowski, who fought in Italy during the Napoleonic era, they could no longer hope to be lucky to parade through their native streets after the end of the war.

I corps in North-Western Europe, 1944-1945

The 1st Polish corps was smaller in number than the second. Its main combat units were the 1st Polish Armored Division (the core of which was the 10th Mechanized Brigade of General Maczek) and the separate parachute brigade of General Stanislav Sosabovsky. The I Corps was also responsible for the formation and training of commando groups, which were thrown into the territory of occupied France and Poland to interact with partisan detachments.

The 1st Polish Armored Division, along with the Canadian II Corps, was part of the 21st Army Group. She landed in Normandy and on 8 August 1944 took part in a major tank battle during the breakthrough near Caen. The division was positioned at the forefront of the 21st Army Group's offensive and advanced rapidly, leading the British-Canadian forces. The division bypassed Falaise and was close to closing the encirclement of German troops in Normandy, capturing a road junction near Chambois and Hill 262. The Germans were locked in a Falaise cauldron: Polish, Canadian and British troops were advancing from the north, American troops from the south. The Poles, who during the offensive broke away from the main forces of the Allies, found themselves in the path of the German troops, who were trying to break out of the encirclement. The positions at Mont Ormel became the scene of fierce fighting. Parts of the 1st Polish armored division had to withdraw to the south and link up with the Americans, while part of the units managed to link up with other Polish troops operating to the north. In the end, the gap in the Allied defenses was closed, and it is not surprising that the battle zone was called "dead land". Roads blocked by retreating German motorized columns and horse-drawn carts were constantly subjected to Allied air raids and artillery shelling. In the battle of Falaise, the Poles suffered heavy losses: about 2,000 people, that is, 20% of the personnel, and more than a hundred tanks, which amounted to approximately 40% of the tank fleet.

A mountain patrol from the 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division prepares to enter the Agnone-Carpinone area, March 29, 1944. Soldiers are dressed in white camouflage overalls with hoods, kepis in khaki with large sun visors and woolen headphones. Brown tarpaulin vests (apparently made in Canada) can hold spare magazines for the Bren LMG. The soldiers wear mountain goggles; skis were often used in the mountains. Armament - British SMLE rifles and Mills grenades.

Among the tens of thousands of captured Wehrmacht soldiers taken near Falaise, there were several thousand Poles, who immediately agreed to change the German uniform to the uniform of the English standard. In this unusual way, the 1st Armored Division was able to make up for the losses. The Battle of Falaise was key, giving the Allies the opportunity for a quick further advance into the interior of France. The losses of the German side in manpower, and especially in equipment, were irreparable. The role of the Poles in the battle was decisive. As Montgomery noted on this occasion, the Allies caught the Germans in a bottle, and the Poles played the role of a cork.

The crew of the Sherman tank of the 1st Polish Armored Division before the heat of the breakthrough near Kapom, August 8, 1944. The Poles are chatting merrily with the sergeant of the 42nd Scottish Regiment "Black Guard" (in the center, with a scarf around his neck). Tankers wear khaki protective overalls. The division's emblems began to be worn later: not a single soldier has them in this photo.

After the bloody battle of Falaise, the Poles no longer had to participate in such heavy battles. After a short rest for replenishment and resupply, the 1st Armored Division was sent to Holland, where it operated in the Saint-Niklaas area, taking part in the crossing of the Axel-Hulst Canal. The division then participated in the liberation of dozens of Dutch cities, among which the most important were Breda and Merdik. The seizure of the German port of Wilhelmshaven became the last page in the division's combat annals.

The Polish I Corps never operated as an independent unit. The second unit of the corps - the 1st separate parachute brigade - was formed in England with the aim of landing on Polish territory to interact with the Resistance forces, which were supposed to start an armed uprising. In the summer of 1944, just before the start of the uprising, the British command suddenly changed plans and decided to use the brigade on the Western Front. Naturally, the Polish paratroopers had to obey the orders of the command. The brigade was planned to be used during several small amphibious operations after the landing in Normandy, but they never took place. Only in September 1944 the brigade was involved in Operation Market Garden.

Calculation of a three-inch mortar of the 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division in the area of Mount Croce, March 11, 1944 Divisional emblems (on the sleeve of the soldier in the foreground) on the front line preferred to be ripped off. The emblem of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division is a white and red square with a green spruce. Field uniform and equipment of the British standard.

Initially, the Polish paratroopers were supposed to be used two days after the start of the operation, as a reinforcement of the 1st British Airborne Division, whose task was to capture the bridges in Arnhem. The commander of the Polish brigade, General Sosabovsky, was literally horrified when he got acquainted with the detailed plans of the British landing operation: in his opinion, it was disgustingly planned and completely insufficiently provided. Nevertheless, he had to yield under pressure from both the government and his paratroopers, to whom this operation seemed almost the only opportunity to take part in real battles after long and difficult exercises. Due to bad weather, the brigade's landing was delayed for three days. But even by this time, the 1st Airborne Division of Urquhart, which had landed in Arnhem earlier, could not fulfill the assigned tasks, in particular, it could not seize the zone intended for the landing of the Polish brigade. In addition, the British paratroopers lost radio contact with the main forces and were unable to inform the British Air Force command of the situation. As a result, the Polish brigade was thrown onto the opposite bank of the river from the British occupied, right at the location of the Germans. Many Polish paratroopers were shot in the air, and the survivors had to seize their own foothold. Despite several unsuccessful attempts, they were never able to reach out to reinforce the Urquhart units, and on September 25 the remnants of the 1st British Airborne Division were withdrawn across the river. During the fighting, the Polish brigade lost 590 people, more than 25% of its personnel.

A patrol from the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division was stationed in a crater next to a knocked-out Italian-made StuG М42 mil 75/34 85l (i) assault gun (these self-propelled guns were in service with some parts of the Wehrmacht). District of Castel Bolognese, 13 February 1945. On the right sleeve, a national patch is visible and under it is the emblem of the British 8th Army. On the left sleeve, the soldiers wore the divisional emblem.

By the end of the war, the Polish army on the Western Front numbered about a quarter of a million soldiers. In addition to the units that took part in the battles, several more divisions were formed and tank brigades, but they did not have to take action. The Polish army was more of a symbolic force, like the other armies in exile. And yet, the Polish troops took part in many large operations, often the Poles got the most difficult tasks, involving heavy losses. The Polish contribution to the war is all the more significant because the Polish soldiers had to face enormous difficulties before they could reach the army that was forming in exile. But in the end, their efforts were in vain. By 1945, it became clear that the United States and Great Britain had agreed to transfer half of the territory of pre-war Poland to the USSR, giving it in return a small tract of German lands. They also agreed with the formation of a puppet coalition government, acting under the pressure of the communists. The Soviet Union could not allow the Polish divisions formed in the West to return to Poland in full force. These parts continued to exist until 1947, but then it became finally clear that no one needed them. The new Polish communist government allowed soldiers to return to their homeland as private individuals, but very few took advantage of this opportunity. After five years in a foreign land, many lost touch with their homeland and families, and their return did not bring joy. Many on native land ended up in camps, in which they remained until 1956.Most Poles remained in England, although there is not a single big city in North or South America, as well as Australia, wherever there was a society of Polish army veterans.

Unknown partisan detachment of the Home Army, Eastern Poland. The woman wears a Polish army overcoat, most of the men wear slingshots.

ARMY IN THE UNDERGROUND

The history of the numerous scattered Resistance groups operating in Poland during the German occupation is very complex. Due to the requirements of the volume of the book, we will restrict ourselves to only the most concise notes.

Resistance to the invaders on the territory of Poland began immediately after the occupation. It was caused not only by long-standing freedom-loving traditions, but also provoked by the inhuman cruelty of the occupiers. The German plans, of which no one made a secret, envisaged the destruction of the entire Jewish population and the Polish national elite, and the rest of the population was supposed to be used as slaves, deporting the labor force to various areas of the Reich. In total, over the years of occupation, one and a half million Poles were deported - approximately seven percent of the country's population (excluding Jews and prisoners of war). In 1940, all Polish Jews were driven into ghettos, in which hundreds of thousands of people died, and from 1942 those who remained were transferred to death camps.

An officer and radio operator of a Polish independent parachute brigade, after an unsuccessful landing, are trying to make out the positions of the 1st British Airborne Division in the Arnhem area on the other bank of the Rhine, September 1944. Poles wear standard British airborne uniforms, differing only in insignia and emblems on their helmet.

Despite strong anti-Soviet sentiments, Poland was one of the few occupied European countries whose representatives did not serve in the volunteer units of the SS troops on the Soviet-German front. The Germans also failed to form a collaborationist Polish government. The extreme cruelty of the Nazis on the territory of Wormwood could not be compared with their behavior in the occupied countries of Western Europe. For every one killed German soldier the invaders executed ten Poles. Anyone who helped a Jew is subject to the death penalty, and hundreds of Poles have paid with their lives for such "crimes." During the years of occupation, about three million Jews and three million Polish citizens of other nationalities were killed.

The situation in the Soviet zone of occupation was different, but no less dire. About 1,200,000 Poles (mainly from among politicians, civil servants, military personnel, representatives of the educated middle class) were imprisoned in Stalin's camps. The Soviet NKVD, with more experience than the Hitlerite Gestapo, posed a significantly greater threat to the Resistance movement than the Nazi administration.

General K. Sosnkovsky, who became the commander-in-chief of the Polish army after the death of Sikorsky in 1943, congratulates the second lieutenant of the Carpathian rifle division. Next to Sosnkowski, the commander of the II Polish corps, General V. Anders. Both generals wear matching buttonholes and shoulder straps, Sosnkovsky has insignia by rank sewn on the cap. Sosnkowski has the emblem of the 3rd division on his sleeve, Anders has the emblem of the 2nd corps - a white Warsaw mermaid on a red shield. Anders usually wore a black tank beret with an eagle and insignia. Note that both generals were pinned to their uniforms full order"Virtuti Militari" instead of the usual order bar.

By 1943, most of the Resistance groups belonging to various political currents became part of the Home Army ( AK), which numbered almost 300,000 members and supported the Sikorsky government. The ultranationalists from the NSZ and the communists from the Human Guard had noticeably smaller forces. Home Army Strategy 1939-1943 was built on the rejection of large-scale guerrilla warfare... The underground workers were accumulating forces for subsequent major operations. Unlike, for example, Yugoslavia, the territory of Poland is a flat area with a relatively small number of shelters. In addition, large transport arteries, feeding the Soviet-German front, passed through the territory of the country. Therefore, the German command kept quite large forces in Poland. But even under these conditions, the Resistance movement on the territory of Poland was more active than in the countries of Western Europe. In 1942, the monthly losses of the German army from the actions of the Polish partisans averaged 250-320 people, and by the beginning of 1944 - 850-1700.

The Jews driven into the ghetto at first did not dare to take serious action against the Germans, fearing a general worsening of the situation. However, the first mass deportations of Jews to the Treblinka concentration camp in July 1942 convinced even the hesitant that there was no prospect. In the Warsaw ghetto, a right-wing Zionist group ZZW was formed, which included about 400 people who had light weapons and received experience in handling them. After July 1942, the center-left group ZOB was formed, which established cooperation with the Home Army; some of the weapons were transferred by the Poles, some were purchased on the black market. In total, the ZOB consisted of about 600 fighters, armed almost exclusively with pistols and had no combat training. Both Jewish groups acted independently and hardly coordinated their actions. When on April 19, 1943, the Germans attempted to transport the remainder of the ghetto population to Treblinka, both groups revolted. Street fighting went on for several days, and after most of the ghetto was destroyed and the rebels lost cover on the surface, the survivors went into underground communications, from where they made separate sorties for a month. The uprising in the Warsaw ghetto was one of the most heroic performances in the history of the European Resistance: about a thousand young men and women, armed almost only with pistols and grenades, fought the SS for a month.

The Home Army leadership intended to raise a national uprising; his plans were developed under the code name "The Tempest". The uprising was to begin in the east and gradually cover new territories to the west as the German troops retreated. The purpose of the uprising was to prevent the Nazis from carrying out the "scorched earth" tactics, to accelerate the advance through the territory of the Wormwood of the advancing Soviet units and to show the world community that the Home Army and the Polish government in London are the true representatives of Poland. The Tempest plan began to operate simultaneously with the beginning of the spring offensive of the Soviet troops in 1944. The rebels were led by Tadeusz Komorowski, nicknamed Boer. Tens of thousands of rebels attacked German units, especially in the eastern regions of the country, but the uprising had almost no real impact on the course of the war. The supply of weapons to the rebels was negligible. A significant part of the weapons left in caches back in 1939 turned out to be unusable by 1944. Due to technical and political differences between the allies, the Poles received very little weapons and ammunition through the "air bridges": only about 350 tons (for comparison: the French Resistance movement received 10,000 tons, and the few Greek partisans - about 5,000 tons). Detachments of the Home Army on the territory liberated by Soviet troops were usually forcibly disbanded, and their personnel were transferred to the Polish Army (more about it is described in the next chapter). The Tempest plan was not supported in the West for political reasons.

A machine gunner, armed with a Bren machine gun, watches the movement of vehicles of the 1st Polish Armored Division in the Gilza region (Holland, early 1945). On the sleeve of the greatcoat the emblem of the division and the national ribbon-stripe. The unit's emblem can also be seen on the white rectangle next to the left mudguard of the armored personnel carrier. On the mudguard itself there is a red abbreviation PL in a white oval.

In the summer of 1944, the Red Army approached Warsaw. The Soviet leadership launched a propaganda campaign aimed, on the one hand, at denigrating the Home Army as an accomplice Western powers and, on the other hand, to the call of the Poles to fight against the Germans. The Home Army leadership decided to start the uprising in Warsaw itself, given that the Soviet army was already on the outskirts of the city. The leaders of the Army hoped to capture the city before the arrival of Soviet troops, in order to force the USSR government to reckon with itself as a real force, and to hold Warsaw until the Western allies recognize it as a real representative of the Polish people.

Machine gun detachment of the Home Army on the streets of the Warsaw suburb of Prague at the beginning of the Warsaw Uprising on September 1, 1944. A variety of types of machine guns can be distinguished, including the Browning rkm and the German Ministry of Defense 15. Civilian clothes with elements of military uniforms, all have white left sleeves. -red bandages.

The plan for the uprising had many serious flaws. Many secret warehouses with weapons were located outside the city and were practically inaccessible. The planning of the operation was carried out in a hurry and turned out to be ill-considered. The prediction of the actions of the German and Soviet side was based on plausible, but turned out to be false data. The significance of the withdrawal of the German administration from Warsaw at the end of July, as well as the role of the assassination attempt on Hitler in July 1944, were overestimated. The rebels did not know about the arrival of powerful German reinforcements. It was completely incomprehensible why the Soviet command had to storm the city, since as the Soviet troops already had several convenient bridgeheads on the western bank of the Vistula. In addition, the Poles underestimated Stalin's political cunning. In fact, the only reason for the uprising was emotion: the traditional Polish willingness to take up arms to defend the symbols of their homeland. In fact, the leadership of the Home Army led the spontaneous uprising.

The immediate reason that prompted the order to march on the afternoon of August 1, 1944 was reports of Soviet tanks that were seen in the Prague suburb of Warsaw, as well as rumors about the German impending deportation of the entire male population of the city. The Home Army forces in Warsaw reached 40,000 people, although no more than 5,000 of them were at least somewhat decently armed. Nevertheless, the Poles were able to quickly dislodge the German garrison and capture almost the entire city - with the exception of a few positions, which later turned out to be key and allowed the Germans to seize the initiative. Attempts to seize Okese airport ended in failure. The Germans also held onto Prague, a part of the city on the eastern bank of the Vistula, preventing the rebels from capturing any of the bridges.

Sapper unit of the 1st Infantry Division of the Polish Army before the battle, Belarus. Soviet-style uniform with Soviet-made slingshots.

Ignoring the British plans for a limited supply of weapons to the Home Army, the rebels insistently demanded that London deliver weapons and ammunition by air. The leadership of the Home Army did not share the jubilation that reigned on the streets of Warsaw. All Soviet troops did not appear. The Poles could not have known that the tanks seen near Prague were only part of a small reconnaissance group. They, like the main forces of the Soviet troops, were withdrawn 40 km to the east, where they were forced to repel the German counteroffensive. Parts of the Red Army reached Warsaw already at the end of the offensive and, even if they wanted to, could not help the uprising. Hitler, enraged by the attempt on his life just committed, ordered to wipe Warsaw off the face of the earth, destroying its entire population, including all women and children. In addition to the regular units of the Wehrmacht and the SS troops, SS police companies were transferred to Warsaw, as well as SS units, staffed by traitors from among former citizens THE USSR. Among the punishers, the most notorious was assault brigade SS Dirlewanger, staffed by the Germans and criminals, as well as the 29th SS Grenadier Division (the so-called Kaminsky brigade), which consisted of people from the "Bryansk forests".

Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko at a training camp in Selts near Moscow, summer 1943. Poles wear pre-war insignia, but for political reasons, they depict eagles without a crown and shield. The uniform is gray-green or khaki. Most of the soldiers are armed with Shpagin submachine guns.

August 5 was the first day of the nightmare.On this day, units of the Dirlewanger and Kaminsky brigades, having an advantage of 5: 1, attacked the weakly defended area of Wola. They did not take over many streets, but a large number of civilians fell into their hands. The drunken invaders carried out a real massacre. It is conservatively estimated that about 10,000 men, women and children were executed that day. On August 6, SS Obergruppenführer von dem Bach-Zelewski took command of the German units in Warsaw. Even this stern general, who participated in punitive operations, was shocked by the atrocities perpetrated in Wola. Kaminsky's brigade was removed from their positions, and he himself was shot. Dirlewanger, a maniac murderer and pedophile, escaped the fate of Kaminsky only thanks to his patrons in the leadership of the SS. The Germans changed their tactics. Sapper groups were called in to help. With the help of remotely controlled subversive carts "Goliath" barricades were destroyed. Artillery shelling and raids by dive bombers caused heavy casualties among the civilian population.

Poorly armed and equipped, the Poles left without food simply begged the British to drop them at least a little of their weapons. Several attempts were made, but the British, South African and Polish transport crews suffered heavy losses and the Allies refused further attempts to establish an air bridge to Warsaw. Polish pilots flew to the last, but losses in people and vehicles led to the complete disappearance of their squadron. Stalin refused to give the Allies an air corridor through the territory of the Soviet Union. At first, he declared that the uprising had already been suppressed, and later branded the Home Army as "criminal." Americans were stunned by this duplicity. Churchill continued to insist, but the ailing Roosevelt did not insist.

The fighting continued for another month, but on September 9 the Poles began negotiations on the terms of surrender. Meanwhile, the Red Army went on the offensive, Prague was taken, on September 13, Soviet units reached the eastern bank of the Vistula. On the same day, the Americans received Stalin's permission to use the air corridor to deliver food and equipment to Warsaw through the territory of the Soviet Union. However, at that time, most of the city was already in the hands of the Nazis, and a significant number of dropped containers fell not to the Poles, but to the Germans. It is unclear why Stalin changed his mind. Some believe that he did it under pressure from the British or Polish communists. Others, more cynical historians, believe that he simply wanted to "teach" the Home Army a lesson.

Parts of the Polish Army made several attempts to force the Vistula in the Warsaw area, but they all ended in failures and brought heavy losses. Soviet night aviation also organized the delivery of ammunition, but the scale was clearly insufficient. By the end of September, there was no longer any hope of a Soviet offensive. On October 4, the Home Army command announced the surrender of Warsaw. The allies immediately told the German government that the rebels should have prisoner-of-war status, threatening with harsh sanctions.

Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko in the carriages before being sent to the front, where they will be baptized by fire in the Lenino area. Soviet uniform and equipment, Polish insignia. The soldiers are armed with Mosin rifles.

The suppression of the Warsaw Uprising meant the end of the Home Army, with the exception of small groups in the western regions of the country. It was finally disbanded in October 1944. When the Soviet army liberated Warsaw in January 1945, it was a ghost town. The entire population was deported, and the few surviving houses were blown up by the Nazis during the retreat.

Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division. Full hiking gear, 1940 model Soviet helmets with a white Piast eagle.

POLISH MILITARY

Of the 200,000 Polish soldiers captured by the Red Army in 1939, about 70,000 disappeared with Anders. Among them were the overwhelming majority of the surviving officers. However, many of those who remained were pro-Soviet: they either believed that Poland should come to terms with the loss of part of the territories and, to some extent, sovereignty, having received compensation in the form of German territories, or they were staunch communists and adherents of Stalinist ideas. The rest of the Polish officers urged Stalin to form a pro-Soviet Polish army. At first he was not inclined to do this, but the situation was changed by the break with the Sikorsky government after the Katyn scandal. As a result, the formation of an alternative pro-Soviet government began on the basis of a group of Polish communists - the Union of Polish Patriots ( ZPP), operating in Moscow since 1941.At the same time, the formation of the army - the Polish People's Army ( Ludowe Wojsko Polskie, LWP), The educational center which was located south of Moscow. The first regular units of the Polish Army were the 1st Infantry Division. Tadeusz Kosciuszko (commander General Sigmund Berling) and the 1st Polish Armored Brigade. These units were recruited from Polish prisoners of war, Soviet soldiers of Polish nationality and volunteers. Many Poles made a natural choice between the prospect of returning to a concentration camp and battles for the liberation of their homeland, regardless of the political orientation of the Polish Army. However, due to the purges carried out by the NKVD and the departure of most of the officers with Anders, the Polish Army experienced a severe shortage of commanders, which could not be filled until the very end of the war. The vacant positions often had to be appointed Soviet officers... Some of them were ethnic Poles, but many were Ukrainians or Belarusians. In general, about 40% of officers and non-commissioned officers in the Polish Army were Soviet servicemen of non-Polish nationality, and in technical branches of the military, such as aviation, artillery, communications services, this percentage was much higher.

Crew of the SU-85 of the 14th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of the Polish Army. Soviet black tank helmets made of tarpaulin. The soldier on the left wears a khaki quilted jacket, the other two wear the uniforms of the Polish Army. On board the SU-85 there is a Polish orel.

In October 1943, the 1st Infantry Division entered the battle near Smolensk in the Lenino region. The fierce battle took place from 12 to 14 October. The division's losses reached 25% of the personnel, and it was taken to the Smolensk region. As the Soviet troops advanced to the west, the number of Polish volunteers increased, so the Polish Army was deployed into the 1st Polish Army, led by the same Berling. The army (roughly the same size as the British or American corps) consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd infantry divisions and auxiliary units. By the summer of 1944, its population had reached 90,000. Later, the formation of the 2nd and 3rd Polish armies began, but the latter was soon disbanded, and its personnel was transferred to the 2nd. The idea of creating a Polish front was abandoned due to a lack of command personnel.

In July 1944 the 1st polish army the beginning of hostilities. Operationally, she was subordinate to the 8th Soviet guards army 1st Belorussian Front and participated in the crossing of the Bug. The army became the first Polish unit to cross the Polish border. Further, the army participated in the liberation of Deblin and Pulaw in late July - early August. The 1st Polish Armored Brigade took part in the defense of the Studzian bridgehead on the western bank of the Vistula south of Warsaw. In September, Berling's army was transferred to the outskirts of Warsaw - Prague. On September 16, attempts began to cross the Vistula in order to connect with units of the Home Army. They managed to catch on to several bridgeheads, but the Poles could not build on the success, and on September 23 the troops were withdrawn. By the end of the summer offensive, the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions, which had pushed the German troops back from the Vistula River north of Warsaw, were again withdrawn to the western bank of the river.

Insignia of the Polish Army: 1) Marshal; 2) full general; 3) lieutenant general; 4) lieutenant general; 5) colonel; 6) lieutenant colonel; 7) major; 8) the captain; 9) lieutenant; 10) second lieutenant; 11) a lieutenant; 12) staff sergeant; 13) sergeant; 14) platoon officer; 15) corporal; 16) senior private. The insignia are embroidered with silver thread, 11-16 with a narrow red edging. Shoulder straps according to the color of the uniform, buttons on the uniform of 1939, oxidized, silver.

The 1st Polish Army remained aimed at Prague during the winter, and in January participated in the liberation of Warsaw. Berling's troops participated in the breakthrough through central Poland, liberating Bydgoszcz on January 28. Then the 1st Polish Army was transferred to the north, and it took part in the battles, advancing along the Baltic coast. The main forces of the army took part in the assault on Kolobrzeg (Kolberg), and the 1st Polish armored brigade was advancing on Gdansk. In the winter battles, the Polish 1st Army lost 20,000 men. In Szczecin, the Polish 1st Army halted for regrouping before the final attack on Berlin.

By the beginning of the spring offensive in 1945, the 2nd Polish Army of General Karol Szewczewski was ready for battle. The army consisted of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Infantry Divisions and the 1st Polish Armored Corps. The 2nd Polish Army was part of the 1st Ukrainian Front and operated north of the Czechoslovak border. In 1945, the role of the Polish army increased markedly, since the number of Polish formations reached 200,000 people, accounting for approximately 10% of the total number of Zhukov and Konev's forces that stormed Berlin. The 1st Polish Army crossed the Oder and the Hohenzollern Canal. On March 1, 1945, the 1st Separate Warsaw Cavalry Brigade carried out the last Polish cavalry attack in World War II and took the German positions in the Schonfeld area by storm. In the last days of the war, the 1st Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko took part in street battles in Berlin, including in the area of the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery. The 2nd Polish Army advanced in a southern direction and reached the outskirts of the capital of Czechoslovakia. Participation in these last battles cost the Polish Army 32,000 people.

Polish divisional emblems:

a) 1st Armored Division - stylized helmet of the Polish "winged hussars" of the 17th century: black drawing, orange center of the circle;

b) 2nd Armored Division - silver or gray plate arm on a khaki field;

c) 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division - green spruce on a white-red square;

d) 5th Kresovskaya infantry division - brown bison on a pale yellow field with brown edging.

ASH OF HOPE

For the Poles of the military generation, there was no easy choice. Refusal to fight meant for them the loss of national identity and pride, surrender to the mercy of the thugs from the Gestapo or the NKVD. Inspired by their heroic and bloody past, they chose armed struggle and suffering. In World War II, Poland suffered such human and material losses that no other European state had ever known. Six million Poles were killed - one in five. Half of them were Jews, and the largest Jewish community in Europe virtually disappeared. Warsaw was destroyed more than any other city, and losses in 1944 alone exceeded the death tolls in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. More than 150,000 Polish soldiers died on the battlefields, and the number of those who perished in the camps cannot be accurately counted. Many of the best young men and women of Wormwood are buried under the ruins of Warsaw, in thousands of unmarked graves throughout Europe - from Falaise to Monte Cassino, along the banks of the Bzura, near Lenino, at Katyn.

For the Polish soldiers who fought in the west, it was a defeat during a victory. The end of the war destroyed their hope of meeting their homeland. For the soldiers of the Polish Army, the victory was also bitter. Many Poles were obliged to move from their native places in the east of the country to new places - the former German lands. The war on the eastern borders continued for several more long years - the Polish Army fought with the remnants of the Ukrainian gangs. The Home Army laid down its arms, but by order of the new communist government, about 70,000 of its former members were arrested. Some soldiers of the Home Army refused to surrender and formed partisan detachments that continued the civil war with units of the Human Army and the security forces of the new government. In the battles between communist units and various Ukrainian and Polish partisan units, about 100,000 more Poles were killed. In 1947, the provisional coalition government was removed, and power in the state passed to the former NKVD agent Boleslav Berug, and Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky became the Minister of Defense of Poland. It was a period of political games and opportunism, when even the leader of the communist wing of the Resistance, Vladislav Gomulka, was arrested and accused of "national deviation". It was a dark time.

Yet it would be a mistake to regard the sacrifices made during the war as wasted. Deep pride in the heroism of their soldiers is one of the most important factors that ensured the consolidation of Polish society in the first post-war decades. The memory of the stubborn resistance of the Poles did not disappear in the Soviet Union either. Soviet tanks crushed popular uprisings in East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, but not a single Soviet tank entered Poland during the 1956, 1970, or 1976 unrest. Largely thanks to the memory of the military glory of the Polish Army in 1939-1945. Poles, even during the period of communist rule, were able to build a more liberal society than that existed in the Soviet empire.

Notes (edit)

Ironically, both Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski and Kaminsky, and Marshal Rokossovsky, who commanded Soviet troops in the Warsaw area, were all of Polish origin.

By order of the Soviet command, soldiers and officers who had nothing to do with Poland, but simply bore surnames, even remotely similar to Polish ones, were also enrolled in the units. - Approx. ed.

Poland was the first country to fall victim to German aggression during World War II. Despite this, her army continued to fight on different fronts throughout the five years of the carnage. By the end of the war, the Polish army was the fourth largest among the armies of the allied powers, second only to the ground forces of the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain. Polish soldiers took part in virtually all major campaigns in the European theater of operations.

The Polish army in 1939 was in many ways the brainchild of its founder, Marshal Jozef Pilsudski. The army was the pride of Pilsudski, and the Poles did not spare money for the maintenance of the armed forces. The share of military spending in the national budget was significantly larger than in other European states. To equip at least one armored division, an amount was required that exceeded the entire military budget of Poland, an agrarian country with a poorly developed industry. Pilsudski managed to recruit officers from the disintegrated armies of Austria-Hungary, Prussia and Russia to the Polish army. Its equipment was an incredible mixture of outdated weapons from the arsenals of almost all European armies. Pilsudski himself was not a career officer, and the Polish army as a whole became a reflection of not only his strengths, but also his weaknesses. The training of senior officers and coordination at the senior staff level was in its infancy, with the main emphasis on “improvisation.” Technical innovations such as cars, aircraft and tanks were met with little enthusiasm. The organization and tactics of the Polish army were greatly influenced by the Soviet-Polish war of 1920. In contrast to World War I, the war of 1920 was very mobile, but this dynamism was caused primarily by the lack of modern weapons. a noticeable impact on the campaign. In 1914 in the West, machine guns put an end to the history of cavalry, but in 1920 there were too few automatic weapons in Poland, and here the cavalry continued to dominate the battlefield. The Polish cavalry emerged from the war crowned with glory and remained the most prestigious branch of the army. Of course, some changes on the battlefield were taken into account. Attacks in the equestrian ranks were gradually abandoned, and in 1934 the peak was officially removed from the cavalry armament. Nevertheless, the cavalry regiments continued to be the elite of the Polish army, attracting the best soldiers and officers into their ranks. The nightmares of the trench war led men like Martel, Liddell-Hart, de Gaulle and Guderian to seek a mechanized antidote to machine guns and breech-loading howitzers. But the Polish military leaders did not know the hardships of trench warfare and could not understand this European craving for mechanization. Therefore, the Polish army remained, in fact, the army since the beginning of the First World War. Poland had 30 infantry divisions and 11 cavalry brigades - cavalry made up about a tenth of the entire army. The army was distinguished by a very low level of motorization, communication remained at a primitive level. The artillery was almost exclusively horse-drawn, almost all the guns remained from the First World War, but oftenthey did not even live up to these old standards.

In response to the formation of a new army in Germany after Hitler came to power in 1936, Poland began to modernize its armed forces. Given the weakness of the Polish industrial base, it was decided to mechanize the four cavalry brigades by 1942. Great efforts were made to saturate the troops with anti-tank anti-aircraft weapons. By the beginning of the 1939 war, only one mechanized brigade had been formed, the second was in the stage of formation. Tank troops had threeI had battalions of good light tanks, as well as several hundred light tankettes, sprayed between reconnaissance units of cavalry brigades and infantry divisions. The army adopted the excellent 37 mm Bofors anti-tank gun, as well as a Polish-designed anti-tank rifle, which caused a lot of trouble for the Germans in 1939.

With the approach of war, the Polish command developed a plan ≪Z≫ (from Zachоd - West), focused on protecting Poland from Germany. The Polish military leadership was skeptical about the possible prospects for such a conflict. At best, it hoped to hold out for six months, awaiting help from its Western allies - France and Britain.

The Polish command was quite well aware of the German plans and the state of the German army. Back in 1933, they managed to unravel the code of the Enigma encryption machine, but in 1938 the Germans changed all encryption equipment, and this source of information dried up. Unfortunately, the Polish command continued to consider itself sufficiently informed, and, as a result, underestimatedlo the power of the Wehrmacht. But it was much worse that the ability of German tank and motorized divisions to maneuver was underestimated - however, this was characteristic not only of the Poles. His own limited experience in using weak tankettes led to skepticism about the capabilities of armored units and the lack of serious theoretical developments. The Poles also "overlooked" the incredible opportunities that the interaction of artillery and air support provided.

The strategic options available to the Polish Army were unenviable. On three sides the country was surrounded by Germany and its allies, on the fourth was the Soviet Union. Poles believed that political divisionsbetween Germany and the USSR could not be overcome, and therefore left the eastern part of the country practically defenseless, concentrating all forces on the western border. Poland is a plain without major natural barriers, except for the mountains in the south. The center of the country is crossed by rivers that mCan be used as natural barriers, but in late summer the water levels are low and can be forced in many places. In addition, a retreat beyond these rivers at the very beginning of the campaign would mean the loss of densely populated industrial areas, in which, in addition, the main military depots were located. Consequently, it was impossible to surrender these territories either for political or military reasons. The only alternativethere was a concentration of troops in the border areas and a subsequent slow retreat with battles. It was this plan that was adopted by the Polish command: the Polish forces were too stretched, but there was still hope thatin the course of an organized retreat, the Polish troops would become more and more concentrated. This was a weak strategic decision, completely powerless against mobile German formations, both in terms of the number of troops and their equipment. This murderous strategy was based only on the hope of France entering the war. The Polish army was twice as small as the German, and the backlog in tanks, aircraft and artillery was even greater. The only weapon in which the Poles had an undeniable advantage was the saber. At the end of August, the situation was aggravated by diplomatic pressure from France and Great Britain, who demanded not to start mobilization so as not to provoke Germany.

SEPTEMBER CAMPAIGN 1939

The Polish army was still in a state of mobilization when the first waves of German dive bombers began to destroy warehouses, roads and lines of communication. The conventional wisdom that the Polish air force was burned to the ground on the first day is incorrect. By the beginning of the war, the Polish squadrons were dispersed across secret airfields, so they suffered the first strikes relatively painlessly. Although the Polish pilots were well trained, the P-11s were “yesterday” compared to the Luftwaffe and their numbers were very small. The light bomber Karas was a hybrid of the Army's Lysander reconnaissance aircraft and the Fairey Battle bomber. It turned out to be ineffective due to the air superiority of German fighters. Polish fighters and anti-aircraft gunners were able to shoot down an unexpectedly large number of German aircraft, but the Germans held the air superiority firmly. Only in the skies over Warsaw did they meet with a serious rebuff.

The first blow was struck by the German army in three main directions: in the north through the Pomeranian corridor, in the center to Lodz, and in the south to Krakow. The first attacks of the Germans were repelled in many places, but they continued to storm the positions of the Polish troops and achieved success. The Wehrmacht was not yet at the zenith of its power, but even at that time the German army was undoubtedly one of the strongest in Europe. The September campaign is often associated with the image of the brave Polish lancers, with lances attacking German tanks. There were no such attacks in reality, but such stories can be found not only in popular, but also in serious historical literature. The story of a horse attack on tanks was the work of Italian war correspondents on the Pomeranian front. The story was taken up by German propaganda, which greatly embellished it. The events on the basis of which this legend was created took place on the evening of September 1, during a shootout in the area of the Kroyanty farm. Several Polish infantry divisions and the Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade held positions in the Pomeranian Corridor area. It was impossible to organize a reliable defense here, but the troops were moved to prevent the Germans from annexing the corridor, as happened in the Sudetenland. After the outbreak of hostilities, Polish troops were immediately withdrawn to the south. The retreat was covered by the 18th Uhlan regiment of Colonel Mastelarzh and several infantry regiments. On the morning of September 1, General Guderian's 2nd and 20th Motorized Infantry Divisions attacked Polish forces in the Tuchola forest area. Infantrymen and cavalrymen held the defense until noon, but then the Germans began to push them back. Towards evening, the Poles retreated to the railway crossing, and Mastelarzh ordered the enemy to be driven back at any cost. In addition to the Uhlan regiment, Mastelarzh had a certain amount of infantry and tankettes of the TK that were part of the brigade. However, the old tankettes were practically unusable, so they, along with some units of the regiment, were left on the defensive lines. And two squadrons of lancers in equestrian formation attempted to outflank the Germans in order to then strike them in the rear. Towards evening, the Poles found a German infantry battalion stationed in a clearing. The lancers were only a few hundred meters from the enemy; a saber attack seemed like the best solution. Moments later, two saber squadrons flew out from behind the trees and scattered the Germans, hardly inflicting significant damage on them. But when the lancers were lining up after the attack, several German armored vehicles appeared in the clearing, armed with 20-mm automatic cannons and machine guns. The Germans immediately opened fire. The Poles, suffering losses, tried to gallop beyond the nearest hills. Mastelarzh and his staff officers were killed, and the losses of the cavalry were terrible. The next day, Italian war correspondents visited the site of the battle. They were told about the Polish cavalry attack on tanks, and the legend was born. True, the Italians “forgot” to mention that that evening Guderian had to make a lot of efforts to prevent the retreat of his 2nd motorized infantry division “under strong pressure from the enemy cavalry”. "Strong pressure" was provided by the Uhlan regiment, which had lost more than half of its personnel and made up no more than ten percent of the strength of the 2nd motorized infantry division.

But there was hardly another battle in which the Polish cavalry demonstrated such miracles of heroism as the Battle of Mokra on September 1. This was one of the few battles in which the Polish Cavalry Brigade operated in full force. It is also interesting because here the Polish cavalry brigade was opposed by a German tank division. On the morning of September 1, the Volyn Cavalry Brigade under the command of Colonel Julian Filipovich, which had three of its four cavalry regiments, occupied positions in the area of the Mokry farm. The fourth regiment was still on its way. In terms of numbers, the Volyn brigade was more than twice inferior to the German 4th Panzer Division, which had just crossed the Polish-German border, and the superiority of the Germans in firepower was even greater. The brigade's anti-tank arsenal consisted of 18 37-mm Bofors guns, 60 anti-tank rifles and 16 old Putilov three-inch guns, adapted for French 75-mm shells. The Germans had 295 tanks, about 50 armored vehicles and numerous artillery. The positions of the Polish cavalry were greatly stretched, the horses were withdrawn from the front line for almost a kilometer. As in 90% of the actions of the Polish cavalry in 1939, the horsemen fought dismounted. Several German tanks managed to slip through the gaps in the Polish defenses in the morning fog and in the early morning launched an attack in the very center of the brigade's defenses. The tanks came out just at the location of the horse artillery units of the brigade. Outdated or not, the old three-inch guns repulsed a tank attack. Only a few tanks managed to return to their own. A horse patrol sent to observe the enemy came across an advancing German column. The cavalrymen dismounted and took refuge among the group of buildings. They fought off attacks all day, only with the onset of darkness, the few survivors managed to escape from the ring. Meanwhile, the main forces of the Germans attacked the positions of the entrenched Poles. Experiencing an acute shortage of anti-tank weapons, they met the German tanks with hand grenades. The first attack was repulsed, as well as several subsequent ones, but the losses of the cavalrymen grew at an alarming rate. In the unsuccessful morning attacks, the Germans lost more than 30 tanks and armored vehicles, after which they changed tactics. After noon, the attacks began to be preceded by massive artillery preparation, and the tanks moved accompanied by infantry. This time the Germans almost succeeded. The situation was so dire that the brigade commander personally brought ammunition to the 37-mm anti-tank Bofors. The attempt of the Poles to counterattack with the existing tankettes did not lead to success, but the armored train "Smyaly", which took up a firing position behind the Polish positions, on the other side of the river, rendered great support to the defenders. By evening, the field near the positions of the Polish troops was littered with burning German tanks, tractors and armored vehicles. The Poles announced the destruction of 75 tanks and 75 units of other equipment; it is possible that these figures are overestimated, but the 4th Panzer Division was washed in blood that day. The Poles also suffered heavy losses, especially serious were the losses in horses and convoys that were hit by German dive bombers. The brigade was able to hold its positions for another day, but on September 3, a German infantry division entered its flank from the north, and the Poles had to retreat.

The situation was approximately the same in other areas. The Poles were able to repel the first blows of the German army, having suffered heavy losses, and then began to withdraw. However, the Polish plan of retreat with battles and subsequent regrouping in new defensive positions failed. The dominance of the Luftwaffe in the air made it impossible to travel on the roads during the day. The soldiers had to fight during the day and move at night, and as a result, the Polish soldiers were completely exhausted. Reinforcements could not arrive on the front line in time, as the roads were clogged with streams of refugees. The German minority in western Poland was pro-Nazi and acted as the fifth column. By September 3, Guderian's troops were able to cut the Pomeranian Corridor and were able to attack southward to Warsaw, overcoming the weak defensive positions of the Poles. The Polish defenses were broken through in several places, and there were no reserves for patching holes. Contact between the central command in Warsaw and the field headquarters was cut off. German tank wedges entered the gaps of the Polish defense, and by September 7, the forward units of the 4th Panzer Division reached the Warsaw suburbs.

After Marshal Eduard Smigly Rydz became supreme commander and head of state, the Polish government chose to leave the capital so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. The country's leadership was stationed near the Romanian border, issuing an order to collect the remaining troops for the defense and defense of the so-called “Romanian bridgehead”. This was an unfortunate decision: communication with the border areas was very poor, and as a result, the Polish army lost even that unstable connection with the command, which it had previously. The only bright spot was General Tadeusz Kutsheba's Poznan army. This group was cut off from the main forces, but was able to retreat in an organized manner to the Kutno region. Kutsheba's troops posed a serious threat to the flank of the German 8th Army, and from September 9 they even began to attack across the Bzura River in a southern direction, pushing the Wehrmacht's 30th Infantry Division, which was not prepared for defense. The Bzur counter-attack of the Poles turned out to be completely unexpected for the enemy and cost the marshal's baton to the commander of the German troops Blaskowitz. The Wehrmacht had to weaken the onslaught on Warsaw and transfer significant forces from the east against the Kutsheba grouping. The battle lasted a week and ended with the complete encirclement of eight Polish divisions. In a crazy skirmish, some Polish cavalry and infantry units managed to escape the trap and break through to Warsaw.

On September 18, the Polish government crossed the border into Romania and called on all the remaining units to do the same to form a new Polish army in France. Most historians agree that this announcement, in fact, marked the end of the organized resistance of the Polish army, but in fact the fighting continued on and on. Some of the campaign's most violent fighting occurred when Polish units attempted to break through south of Lublin. In the area of Tomaszuv-Lubelsky, the largest oncoming tank battle of the entire campaign took place. The losses of Army Group Yug, which fought both on Bzura and near Warsaw, after September 18 were more than in all the previous 17 days.

Warsaw continued to defend itself, despite daily Luftwaffe raids and growing civilian casualties. On September 27, the mayor of Warsaw Stefan Stajinski announced his surrender, hoping thereby to save the surviving citizens. The small garrison of the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic coast continued to fight until October 1. On the day when German troops paraded through the streets of Warsaw, fighting continued between the Polesie tactical group and the German 13th and 29th mechanized infantry divisions. The fire did not stop until October 5th.

Organization of the Warsaw Pact.

The Polish People's Army was the largest in the organization of the Warsaw Pact after the Soviet Army. In the Polish army, the only one among the allied armies of the Soviet Union, there were elite formations of the division level - an airborne division and a marine division. In Poland, as in the USSR, there were also a number of special units designed for operations inside the country and not subordinate to the Ministry of Defense.

Experiments with airborne assault forces began to be carried out in Poland on the eve of World War II; in 1938, a Military Parachute Center was established in Bydgoszcz. After Poland's defeat in September 1939, many soldiers and officers continued to fight with the British army. In the summer of 1940, an airborne unit was formed in Great Britain from the Poles, later deployed to the 1st separate Polish paratrooper brigade. The brigade took part in the landing near Arnhem, tragic for the allies. On Eastern Front a separate assault battalion was formed as part of the Polish Army operating together with the Red Army. Divisions of the battalion several times parachuted into the rear of the German troops to provide assistance to the Polish partisans. After the war, small airborne units were formed as part of the Polish army.

In 1956, the 6th Pomeranian Infantry Division was transformed into an airborne division. The compound became known as the 6th Pomeranian Airborne Division. The division was stationed in the Krakow area, Warsaw Military District. Its organizational structure was quite different from that of the Soviet paratrooper division. In terms of numbers, 4,000 soldiers and officers, the Polish division was inferior to the Soviet one; in terms of mechanization, the Poles also did not receive airborne combat vehicles. Instead of the BTC, the division was armed with OT-64 wheeled armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. It is completely incomprehensible how this heavy equipment fit into the structure of the parachute division. Perhaps it was concentrated in one mechanized regiment, the staff of which was close to that of a conventional motorized rifle regiment. The only type of special airborne armored vehicles in service with the Polish airborne division was the ASU-85 self-propelled guns. This self-propelled gun was not popular with the Polish paratroopers; self-propelled guns were removed from service in the early 80s.

The entire personnel of the Polish division, including clerks and cooks, without fail during the service, made at least 15 parachute jumps. The division had units that were preparing for action in special conditions - in the mountains, the Arctic. The division's polygons were located in the Carpathians. Service in the division was considered extremely honorable among the Poles.

Polish paratroopers took part in suppressing student unrest in Krakow in 1967-1968, in Operation Danube - the introduction of troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968. The personnel of the division were always considered by the leadership of the Polish Workers' Party as a reserve in case of suppressing internal unrest, primarily - among the German population of Silesia, annexed to Poland after the end of World War II. In the event of a war in Europe, it is likely that the Polish airborne troops could be tasked with capturing and destroying launchers of Pershing ballistic missiles and Tomahawk strategic cruise missiles.

The 6th Airborne Division included a separate special-purpose battalion, formerly known as the 4101st Airborne Battalion. The personnel were preparing for a sabotage war deep behind enemy lines. The battalion was more subordinate to the Polish counterintelligence than to the army command.
For the protection of the first persons of People's Poland, servicemen of the special battalion BOR - Batalion Ochrony Rzadu were used.

Even more mysterious than the Polish Airborne Division was the Polish Marine Division. Units of the Marine Corps were part of the coastal defense - Jednostka Obrona Wybrzeza, an analogue of the pre-war Polish coastal defense - Ladowa Obrona Wybrzeza. Parts of the Ladowa Obrona Wybrzeza in September 1939 fought in Polish Pomerania with German troops. The Polish Marines were formed on the basis of the 23rd Mechanized Division and the 3rd Marine Regiment. After the reorganization, the compound became known as the 7th Lutsk Amphibious Division - 7 Luzycka Dywizya Desantnowa-Morska. The division was stationed in Gdansk and was part of the army, not the navy. The division numbered approximately 5,500 men. Each of the three regiments of the division included five companies armed with OT-62 tracked armored personnel carriers, ten of which were armed with 82-mm mortars. The division also had units of Frog tactical ballistic missiles, BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket launchers, tank and reconnaissance battalions, and support units. The division was intended to support the actions of the Soviet Baltic Fleet and the Polish Navy in the seaside direction in cooperation with the Soviet 36th Guards Marine Regiment. Probably, in the event of a large-scale war in Europe, the division was tasked with establishing control over the Baltic straits together with Soviet and East German troops.
In addition to the 7th Marine Airborne Division, the Poles had two battalions of marines, focused on defensive actions to protect the country's coastline. The Polish navy included units of combat swimmers.

The Poles have created a variety of internal security units, from elementary police to paramilitary brigades armed with armored vehicles. Poland has never been characterized by internal stability, the population of the country, saturated with the poison of Catholicism, for the most part, was critical of the leading role of the PUWP and the general line of the CPSU. Internal security units were never particularly popular with the Poles, which made recruiting difficult.

In 1956, army units refused to open fire on striking workers in Poznan; a brigade of the Ministry of the Interior drowned the strike in blood. The soldiers and officers of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs have earned a reputation as the bloodthirsty Cerberus of the communist regime, taking part in the suppression of numerous anti-government actions by Polish Catholics. In 1965, all the paramilitary units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were transferred under the control of the Ministry of Defense and consolidated into the internal defense forces - Wojska Obrony Wewnetrznej, an analogue of the Soviet internal troops... According to Western estimates, the army consisted of 17 regiments, one regiment per province. The personnel of the regiments were trained as army motorized riflemen and wore the uniform of the Polish army, but with their own symbols. The armament and equipment of the Wojska Obrony Wewnetrznej regiments were also similar to those of the army units.

Another element of internal security is Wojskowa Sluzba Wewnetrzna. Nominally a military police, this service actually ensured the internal security of the Polish armed forces, including counterintelligence activities. The number of Wojskowa Sluzba Wewnetrzna was 25,000 people. In the early 1980s, units of the army security service were involved in the fight against the so-called Solidarity trade union.

The equivalent of the USSR KGB Border Troops in Poland was Wojska Obrony Pogranicza. Since Poland had peaceful and secure borders, the Polish border guards had much less worries than the Soviet "green caps". Polish border guards were preparing for conventional combat. The main unit of Wojska Obrony Pogranicza was a brigade, the brigades were named according to the border districts in which they were stationed. The military color of the Polish border guards was green, but in the Podgalyansk brigade, in the continuation of the traditions of the Polish mountain riflemen, the uniform of the Polish mountain rifle regiments of the pre-war period was adopted. This brigade was considered elite in the Polish border troops. The personnel were preparing for hostilities in the Carpathians.

By the time of the dissolution of the OVD, the Polish army was in it the second in its combat potential after Soviet army... In service with the Army Paul lski had 2850 tanks, 2377 armored combat vehicles, 2300 artillery systems, 551 combat aircraft. In 1999, Poland, along with the Czech Republic and Hungary, entered the "first wave" of NATO expansion. Over the past years, it has been affected by all the trends characteristic of this bloc: a significant reduction in the Armed Forces, the transition from the conscription to the hired principle of manning with a characteristic change in personnel motivation - from patriotic to financial, which obviously reduces combat effectiveness. However, having common border with Russia and Belarus and suffering from a strong form of Russophobia, Poland, unlike almost all other countries of the alliance, has kept stronge elements of defense consciousness. Thanks to this, the Polish Army is gradually becoming the strongest army in NATO (naturally, after the United States and Turkey, and without taking into account the nuclear potentials of Great Britain and France).

Poland's ground forces include an armored cavalry and two mechanized divisions, which include an armored one, three armored cavalry, five mechanized and one coastal defense brigade. In addition, there are separate aviation, airborne, Podgal riflemen, and air cavalry brigades.

The tank fleet is the fourth in NATO (after the USA, Turkey and Greece) in terms of the number of vehicles (892). At the same time, it includes only third-generation tanks: 128 German Leopard-2A4, 232 of its own RT-91 (based on the T-72), 532 of the T-72 themselves. In terms of the number of modern tanks, Poland is in second place in NATO after the United States, bypassing even Germany (that has less than 700 Leopard-2s left), and Great Britain, France and Italy - even taken together. This moment is very indicative. The tank is the backbone of any classic ground war. And the attitude towards the tank fleet is an indicator of what a given country is preparing for. Moreover, Poland is now the only European country (apart from Germany, which is endlessly modernizing the Leopard-2), developing a new tank - the futuristic PL-01 Anders. It is supposed to produce more than one thousand units (however, the feasibility of these plans is not obvious). In addition, 119 Leopard-2s (105 A5 and 14 A4) will be purchased in Germany in the near future. The old BWP-1 (a licensed copy of the Soviet BMP-1), of which a little more than a thousand remain, are being replaced by the AMV "Wolverine" armored personnel carriers, which are manufactured in Poland under a Finnish license. Now there are about 600 of them, the total number will exceed 900.

The Polish army has over a thousand artillery systems, mostly still Soviet ones, which are gradually being decommissioned. The self-produced self-propelled guns "Crab" enter service, however, at an extremely low rate (now there are eight, in total 24 should be built), and part of the BM-21 "Grad" MLRS are being converted into WR-40 "Langusta", but their number will not exceed 75.

Army aviation includes 90 combat helicopters - 27 Mi-24, 20 Mi-2URP, 43 W-3W. However, the Mi-2 and the Polish W-3s created on their basis can be considered combat only conditionally, therefore, in fact, only the Mi-24 are such. The Polish Air Force is the only one in the world that is armed with both MiG-29 and F-16. Moreover, already in the post-Soviet period, the Poles bought all German and Czech MiG-29s. Now they have 32 aircraft of this type, one more is in storage. On the other hand, the Poles received 48 F-16s not used, like many other countries, including NATO, but specially built for them in the United States in 2003-2004. Therefore, the Polish F-16 today is almost the newest aircraft of this type in the world (except for several Egyptian and Turkish ones), in particular, incomparably newer than similar aircraft of the US Air Force itself. Su-22M4 attack aircraft remained 26 (22 more in storage), they are quickly written off, it is planned to replace them with combat UAVs.

Poland's ground air defense is perhaps the strongest among the European NATO countries, it includes one battery of the American Patriot air defense system, one regiment of Soviet S-200 and Krug air defense systems, 13 divisions of the Soviet C-125 air defense system.

The Polish Navy has five submarines - one Soviet-built project 877 and four Norwegian type "Cobben" (another such submarine is used as a coastal station for training cadets). The surface fleet includes two former American frigates of the Oliver Perry class, the Kazhub corvette, three Orcan-class missile boats built in the late GDR (in addition, four Soviet missile boats pr. 1241T have been decommissioned and are laid up), 19 minesweepers and five medium amphibious assault ships of the Lublin class. Anti-ship missiles are armed only with frigates and missiles: frigates have American Harpoons, Orkans have Swedish RBS-15s.
There are no foreign troops on the territory of Poland. The configuration of the units of the Polish Army itself, oddly enough, has changed little compared to the era of the Warsaw Pact. Only one brigade is stationed near the Belarusian border and one division (16th mechanized) near the Kaliningrad region. The rest of the units are deployed either on the western border or in the center of the country.

Currently, Poland is the only European NATO country showing interest in developing its own armed forces. Therefore, despite budgetary restrictions (they significantly slow down plans for rearmament, especially the Navy), it has every chance to become a leader in European military development in the near future. Fear of Russia is driving Poles not to shrink as quickly as their alliance counterparts.
Moreover, it is the Poles who most adequately assess the current state of NATO. From Warsaw, one regularly hears statements that the alliance in its current form does not provide any security to anyone, so something needs to be done - either strengthen or change the format. But so far these statements remain a voice crying in the desert, because the overwhelming majority of NATO members do not feel a security deficit (since they do not border on Russia), and the Balts are too weak to create something on their own in the military field. And the Americans, who have begun a significant reduction in military spending, will primarily save on troops in Europe, which will become purely symbolic. It should be understood that the Poles are not going to attack Russia, they are going to defend themselves. Their perception of history is such that Russians are eternal traditional aggressors (discussions on this issue can be carried on endlessly and without any result). At the moment, the Polish Army is becoming the strongest army in foreign Europe simply because it is reducing more slowly than the others. At the same time, it is weaker than the Armed Forces of Belarus alone, all the more so - the sums of the Belarusian army and the forces of the Western Military District of the Russian Federation. Of course, the Polish army creates some pressure on the enclave Kaliningrad region, but rather limited.

Photo: Alexey Gorshkov

The WAS special project is timed to coincide with the 72nd anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany. Explore and compare the uniforms of the foot soldiers of the seven armies that fought in the European theater of World War II.

Evgeniy, 49 years old, postal courier
Uniform: Lieutenant of the 1st Polish Infantry Division named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Where did you fight

The first formation of units from Polish citizens who were in the USSR (refugees, prisoners of war, prisoners) began in 1941. By the name of their commander, they are called "Anders' army." After the conflict between the Polish government in exile with Stalin, they went to Iran, to the British.

The second time to form the Soviet Polish Army began in 1943, with the creation of a division named after Kosciuszko. She reached Berlin.

What they wore

Initially, Polish units wore mostly Soviet military uniforms, but with their own insignia. Own uniforms with traditional elements became widespread only in 1944, when the division entered the territory of Poland. Of course, the pre-war Polish uniform was prettier. This one was made in the Soviet Union, simple.

The leader of the Polish uprising against the Russian Empire in 1794, a participant in the US War of Independence.

Details

Rogotyvka or confederate is a national military headdress since the 18th century. Everybody wore it, not just the officers. Unless the officers could be made of better quality cloth.

Buttonholes for infantrymen of the Polish Republic (1918-1939)

On the cockade - the eagle of the first Polish royal dynasty Piast. So it was carved in a stone niche with the sarcophagus of Boleslav III. Unlike the pre-war, this eagle looks less aggressive and does not wear a crown.

Yellow and blue are the colors of the infantry in the Polish army. These buttonholes have replaced the famous "cogwheel". In 1944, when there were battles with the UPA, problems arose. The Ukrainians even cut off these buttonholes from Polish uniforms. Therefore, the Polish Army has officially returned its gear. But many soldiers who served in the old pre-war army sewed it up much earlier.

Two red stripes are badges for minor injuries. The Poles had a different system, but many officers moved to the Polish Army from the Red Army, therefore they retained their insignia.

Facial hair in Polish units was regulated, but during the war, this was practically not followed. The closer to the front, the less conventions.

During the First World War, the Poles fought on both sides, and therefore, after the formation of the Polish state in November 1918, its army was formed from numerous units and subdivisions, dressed in a wide variety of uniforms: Austrian, German, French, as well as Russian and even Italian ... The first regulations concerning uniforms appeared in 1919, but in the 1930s. new regulations were introduced, according to which the Polish military again donned the uniform in which they met Pe ...

Tankman, Armored Troops, 1939 The Polish army tankers dressed very much like their French counterparts: in double-breasted black leather coats, black berets and French helmets for mechanized troops. Under the leather coat of this tanker one can see everyday uniform... The military emblem of the Polish armored forces is clearly visible - orange-black triangular collar tabs. They were also worn on an overcoat - single-breasted, with a turn-down collar, six buttons in the front, folding cuffs with two buttons and a smooth tapered ... Sergeant, Polish Army in the USSR, 1941 In September 1939, in accordance with a secret agreement with the Germans, Russia annexed the eastern regions of Poland and imprisoned thousands of Poles in prisons and POW camps. However, when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Russians allowed the formation of an armed force that consisted of the very same Polish prisoners. At first, these soldiers wore the same clothes in which they went in prison: shabby old Polish uniforms or simply civilian clothes. However, later according to ... Private, 2nd Polish Corps, 1944 The Poles, who were the first to free themselves from the Stalinist camps, were sent from Russia to help the British in Iraq, where they formed the 2nd Polish Corps (this unit also included a small number of Poles who were in the Middle East at the beginning of the war). At the end of 1943, this corps, numbering 50,000, was relocated to Italy and became part of the British 8th Army. He took part in the battles for Monte Cassino in May 1944 and operated in Italy until the very end of the war. Polish ... Captain, Air Force, 1944 Until 1936, soldiers and officers of the Polish Air Force wore army uniforms with yellow stripes and a cap band and white metal or cloth "wings" on the left sleeve of the tunic and overcoat above the elbow. In 1936, a new steel bluish or gray mold was introduced. This captain is dressed in everyday uniforms of the 1936 model with insignia on the band of his cap and on shoulder straps. On the crown of the cap badge is a Polish eagle in a special aviation design, and on the left side ... Lieutenant, Air Force, 1939 Flight overalls for crews of enclosed aircraft are sewn from unpainted linen during the summer months. The lieutenant wrapped his own scarf around his neck; otherwise the coarse matter rubbed against the skin. His headgear is a standard leather flying helmet and goggles. The ranks of junior officers were designated by five-pointed stars (from one to three) on the shoulder straps, on the front of the cap and on the left side of the beret. On the upper part of the left sleeve of the flight suit there was a black round cloth patch, edged with ... Captain, Air Force, 302 Squadron, 1940 In December 1939, Polish pilots appeared in the British Royal Air Force, and in August 1940, the formation of an independent Polish Air Force began in England. The original plan called for all foreigners serving in the British Air Force to be recruited into the Volunteer Reserve and wear British uniforms with national shoulder patches. However, the creation of the Polish Air Force implied that Poles would wear Polish cockades and Polish insignia on their collar tabs, while ... Senior sailor, Navy, 1939 The uniform of the sailors and officers was similar to that of the sailors of other fleets. The standard naval overcoat was double-breasted with two rows of four gold-plated buttons. The summer uniform for officers and cornet (intermediate rank, corresponding to a midshipman in the Soviet Navy) consisted of a cap with a white case, a single-breasted white jacket with a standing collar fastened with four buttons, long white trousers and white canvas boots. This sailor is wearing a traditional naval uniform ... Private, SV, 1939 This soldier wears a 1915 French Adrian steel helmet, which was standard for equestrian units, and a sheepskin coat, adopted for wearing in place of a long double-breasted overcoat in very cold weather. Rifle - German, Mauser 98K. ... Private, SV, 1939 This modern-looking uniform was standard for the infantry, but it was not always sufficient for other branches of the military. The color of the type of service (dark blue for infantry) is present on the collar buttonholes and insignia on the shoulder straps. The equipment is similar to that of the German, but more often than not cheap tarpaulin equipment was used. The rifle is a Polish version of the German "Mauser" model 1929 ... 1

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POLISH ARMY IN EXPULSION

France, 1940

Many officials, including Smigly Rydz himself, were also interned, and it was impossible for them to escape to France. Therefore, the Polish government in exile was formed from relatively random individuals. To a certain extent, the fact that the pre-war leaders of Poland could not get into France turned out to be even a positive moment: Polish soldiers could not forgive them for their defeat in 1939. This, as well as pressure from French diplomats, led to the fact that the posts of head of government and supreme commander General Władysław Sikorski was appointed Polish army. In many ways, this was the best candidate. Starting in 1920, Sikorski made a brilliant military career, but after the death of Pilsudski during the period of the "colonel regime" he fell out of favor, was removed from office and did not participate in the September campaign. He held a centrist position, so he was equally acceptable to both the right and the left. In addition, Sikorsky enjoyed a reputation as a Francophile, so it was easier for him than anyone else to establish trusting ties with the French government.

Further events developed rapidly. The Soviet Union attacked Finland, and France and Britain decided to provide military assistance to the staunch Finns. Sikorski offered the services of Polish units, who were happy to fight the Red Army, which occupied part of their homeland. In January 1940, the French began to supply equipment for the 1st separate Polish mountain brigade "Podhale" ( Podhale). However, before this and other parts of the allies were prepared, Finland began negotiations with the USSR. Spring came, and the Poles were still forced to beg for arms and equipment from the French. Two divisions were almost ready: 1st Grenadier and 2nd Rifle. Finally, the French gave out something more significant, in particular, equipment for two battalions of R-35 tanks, which were equipped with the resurgent 10th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade. The 10th Mechanized Brigade, nicknamed the "Black Brigade" for its specific black overcoats, was the only fully mechanized unit of the Polish Army in September 1939. It fought gloriously. Its commander, Colonel Stanislav Macchek, taking advantage of the fact that the unit fought near the Romanian border, was able to withdraw almost all of its personnel to Romania, and then to France.

Risen Phoenix

So, less than a year later, the Polish army suffered a second crushing defeat. Illusions about the invincibility of the French army, as well as hopes of a quick victory and return home were dispelled. A new defeat meant new losses. Of the 75,000 Poles who reached France, about 19,000 were evacuated to England, a quarter of whom were pilots. In addition, the Carpathian Brigade of General Stanislav Kopansky, formed in the Middle East, withdrew to Palestine, so as not to clash with the troops subordinate to the Vichy government. Relations between the Poles and the British were not as cordial as with the French, but in the summer of 1940 they did not have to choose partners. Churchill sympathized with Sikorski's plans to form the Polish army as an independent fighting unit, and the wandering soldiers ended up in the Glasgow area. There was little work for the Poles: coastal protection and military training. At first, the RAF was reluctant to take Polish pilots into fighter squadrons, but the air situation became more and more tense, and in August 1940 several Polish squadrons were formed, the 303rd Polish Squadron proved to be the most effective during the "Battle of England". Although the squadron was equipped with outdated types of aircraft, the level of combat training of the Poles was significantly higher than that of inexperienced British pilots who had more modern Spitfires and Hurricanes. The successes of the Polish pilots in 1940 contributed to the warming of relations with the British, and as a result they were able to obtain a certain amount of more modern military equipment. The Poles turned out to be the most decisive army in exile from those in the United Kingdom, so very quickly the British forgot their former disdain for the Poles. The defeat of the backward Polish army in 1939 faded with the defeat of the well-equipped British and French armies. A big problem for the Polish army in 1940 and 1941. there was a shortage of manpower. Volunteers arrived from Poland, literally on foot reaching any neutral port, but the lack of qualified officers and diplomats did not allow even these troops to be brought into proper condition.

1. Private of the 18th Lancers Regiment. 1939 g.

Uniform reform in the early 1930s. modernized and standardized the Polish uniform, and also eliminated the differences in cut between the uniforms of officers and soldiers. The woolen uniform of the 1936 model was sewn from khaki fabric, a slightly greener shade than the English uniforms. The cut was usual: four pockets, shoulder straps, a turn-down collar. Oxidized silver buttons. The summer uniform had the same cut, but was sewn from linen fabric. The cavalrymen wore breeches reinforced with leather harnesses in stride, as well as cavalry boots with spurs. The figure shows a soldier of the 18th Uhlan regiment with peacetime collar tabs: a blue and white pennant with two braids with a scarlet central stripe between them. Along the edge of the collar there is a traditional Polish galloon zigzag. In wartime, such buttonholes were not supposed to be worn.

A pike of the French type with a weathervane-badge of regimental flowers. In 1939, the pikes were not supposed to be used in battle, but there was no uniformity here. Some units left the pikes in the barracks, others took them with them, but for the most part they carried them in a wagon train. Lances with a regimental badge and squadron badges were supposed to be worn at all times.

2. The uniform is the same. Pay attention to Adrian's French helmet - in 1939 it remained in almost all cavalry and horse artillery units, as well as in some artillery, reserve infantry and auxiliary units. In the field, of all insignia, it was supposed to wear only stripes on shoulder straps according to military rank. The corporal was entitled to two silver chevrons with a red piping. Encryption with a number or a monogram by the name of the regiment, as well as with the traditional designations that existed in some parts, were worn on shoulder straps only in peacetime. In the field, such ciphers were worn on muffs that could be easily removed from the shoulder straps. Collar pennant in ruby red / blue with white central stripe, flanked by a silver NCO zigzag.

The corporal is armed with the rkm wz.28 light machine gun, a further development of the 1928 Belgian Browning automatic rifle.

1. Lieutenant of the infantry, 1939

2-3. Private infantry, 1939

1. Private of the 10th Cavalry Rifle Regiment of the 10th Mechanized Brigade, 1939

2. Tankman, 1939

3. Second lieutenant of the mountain rifle regiment of the 21st mountain division, 1939

1. Shooter of the 4th Warsaw Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Rifle Division, France, 1940

2. Lieutenant of the 1st Grenadier Division, France. 1940 g.

3. Shooter of a separate mountain rifle brigade, Norway, 1940

1. Shooter of a separate Carpathian rifle brigade, Tobruk, Libya, 1941

2. Shooter of the 6th Lvov rifle brigade of the 5th Kresovskaya infantry division, Italy, autumn 1944

3. Lieutenant of the 4th armored stick "Scorpion" of the 2nd armored division, Italy, early 1945

2. The machine gunner is outfitted in a British field uniform of the so-called "1940 model" with open buttons and pockets without bow pleats. 1937 standard cloth equipment. In Italy, soldiers sometimes wore wellington rubber boots to get rid of the autumn slush. The camouflage net on the helmet is depicted as "torn" so that the Polish eagle can be seen. Small diamond-shaped buttonholes on the collar of a British field blouse in traditional Polish colors: in this case, infantry, blue with yellow piping. Under the national ribbon-stripe at the top of the sleeve - the divisional emblem. Even lower, a white lion on a red-blue field is the emblem of the Lvov brigade. After Cassino, Poles began to wear the emblem of the 8th British Army at the top of the right sleeve: a dark blue square patch with a white shield bearing a yellow cross. In preparation for the assault on Monte Cassino, they tried not to wear brigade or divisional emblems for reasons of secrecy. The soldier's armament is the Bren light machine gun.

3. Black beret of the Royal Armored Corps with an embroidered Polish eagle over two stars denoting the rank of lieutenant. On the left on the beret, the regimental emblem: a silver scorpion on a red rhombus. Regimental buttonholes on the collar, metal, painted: black and orange pennant-weather vane with a central red stripe, additionally decorated with the image of a scorpion made of white metal. There are silver five-pointed stars on the shoulder straps. The divisional emblem on the left sleeve is sewn close to the narrow red stripe indicating the type of service (in the British army, belonging to the tank forces was indicated by a two-color stripe with yellow front and red back halves. The red stripe stood for infantry. - Ed.). This is how an officer on a parade in the near rear might look: on the front line he would not wear his Order of Virtuti Militari. The cloth ammunition, including the pistol holster and pouch, was almost white-washed. The revolver is traditionally fastened to the shoulder with a cord. Light yellow tank gloves with leggings. The officers preferred to wear pre-war field uniforms with hidden buttons.

1. Private of the Polish independent parachute brigade, Netherlands, 1944

2. Second lieutenant of the 24th Uhlan regiment of the 1st Polish armored division, North-Western Europe, 1944-1945.

3. Private of the 10th Dragoon Regiment of the 1st Polish Armored Division, North-Western Europe, 1944-1945.

Home Army, August 1944

1. Private 1st Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko, 1945

2. Tankman of the 1st Polish armored brigade "Heroes of Westerplatte", Polish Army, 1944-1945.

3. Private 1st Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko, 1945

During the negotiations, the Soviet side admitted that it was not in a position to adequately equip all Polish units, and it was decided to send some of them to Great Britain and Iran, where the British side could assist in equipping them. Relations between the Polish and Soviet sides continued to deteriorate, especially since the Poles began to openly accuse the Soviet side of opposing the formation of their units. In particular, Stalin denied the Poles the right to enroll in the Polish army Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews who had Polish citizenship before 1939 and lived in the Polish territories seized in favor of the USSR. It seemed that the situation was already spiraling out of control, but in 1942 American and British diplomats were able to persuade Stalin to send Polish troops to Central Asia. Thanks to this, the Soviet Union was able to free up six infantry divisions, which were performing the role of occupying troops in Iran, together with British units. Western diplomats assured that in this case it would be easier to equip Polish units in order to then send them to fight the Nazis - either to the Soviet-German front, or somewhere else. By that time, the Soviet government had already begun to openly accuse the Poles of unwillingness to fight against the Germans. At the same time, the Soviet leaders refused to take into account any statements of the Poles regarding the actions of the Soviets and the Nazis on the partition of Poland in 1939, as well as to talk about the prospects for the return of the captured Polish territories, including the most important city of Lviv. By the spring of 1943, about 115,000 Polish soldiers and their families had been dispatched to the Middle East. This was only a small part of the one and a half million Poles who were at that time in Soviet camps as prisoners of war and deported persons who were imprisoned during the "decolonization" of the eastern regions of the country carried out by the NKVD.

Poles arrived in Central Asia just at a time when relations between the Polish and Soviet governments were heating up to the limit. The Germans discovered graves with the remains of 4,000 Polish officers in the area of the small town of Katyn. The Poles believed that both Nazis and Soviet units could be guilty of this mass murder. Moreover, the suspicions against the Soviet Chekists looked more convincing, since the Soviet side refused to provide clarification about the fate of the 15,000 Polish officers captured by the Red Army in 1939. If they really fell into the hands of the Nazis, then why did the Soviets simply not publicize this fact? The Poles have achieved an investigation under the auspices of the International Red Cross. The Soviet government regarded this as a pretext for breaking off diplomatic relations and accused the Poles of conspiring with the Nazis. The Soviet government hoped that the post-war leadership of Poland should be "friendly" towards the USSR, in other words, be formed in accordance with Stalin's wishes. As a sign of friendly intentions, the Soviet Union demanded that the Sikorsky government recognize the Soviet annexation of half of the territory of pre-war Poland in exchange for a small part of German lands, which were supposed to be taken from Germany during the post-war reconstruction of Europe. Both Churchill and Roosevelt at the meetings in Tehran and Yalta agreed with these proposals. The foreign policy of the United States and Great Britain was dominated by a friendly attitude towards the USSR, in addition, Churchill and Roosevelt tried to appease Stalin at a time when Soviet troops bore the main burdens of the war on the ground fronts. Public opinion in Great Britain and the United States was pro-Soviet, and Poland's position seemed like a kind of funny incident, a product of blind anti-Bolshevism and even anti-Semitism. It was an unfair position, but many Americans and British at that time naively believed in the idea of a “Soviet paradise”, which crumbled much later, when they became aware of the atrocities committed by Stalinism. The severance of relations between the Polish government and Stalin was a tragedy; the Soviet side got the opportunity to form its own puppet Polish government in Moscow. It, in turn, announced the creation of its own army, which was supposed to fight side by side with Soviet troops instead of Anders' army.

The brigade consisted of three infantry battalions and a cavalry regiment (equal in number to the battalion). The brigade defended the western part of the Tobruk perimeter, and during the December breakthrough managed to push back the Italian Brescia division and occupy Akroma. In the battle of Gazala, the Poles acted side by side with the New Zealand units. At the beginning of 1942, the brigade was returned to Palestine, where its personnel were used to form and equip new units from the Polish military who arrived from the USSR.

II Polish Corps in Italy, 1944-1945

Anders' army was stationed in Palestine, Iraq and Iran. The personnel of the army were used to form the II Polish Corps, as well as to replenish the I Polish Corps deployed in Scotland. There was no prospect of a quick return of the Poles to combat units: they were tormented by malaria, they were poorly uniform and exhausted. The training lasted from the fall of 1942 until the fall of 1943. During this period, Polish troops were used by British counterintelligence as a cover to convince the Germans that the British were preparing to invade the Balkans. The Poles themselves believed that there was some truth in this: they were ready to take part in the landing operation in Greece or Yugoslavia as part of the allied army in order to then liberate Poland and Central Europe before the approach of Soviet troops. But in 1943 this plan was finally rejected as too risky.

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