It’s a shame to read and hear from Russia’s ill-wishers who claim that we “monopolized” and “privatized” the victory over Nazism in World War II. And this is at a time when there is a flurry of articles and broadcasts in the Russian media about the fight against Nazism together with our allies.

The position of the Polish leadership is completely incomprehensible. The refusal to let the “Night Wolves” pass through Polish territory can be perceived as an attempt to disown the participation of the Polish Army in the Victory. It’s good that not everyone accepts this position, and there were people who picked up the baton of the bikers of the Night Wolves club and continued their route to the places of military glory of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

By the way, did you know that during the capture of Berlin, a Polish flag was installed on the Brandenburg Gate along with the Soviet one?

“For your and our freedom!” How Poland became the main ally of the Red Army

The largest regular force of a foreign state that fought alongside the Red Army on the Soviet-German front was the Polish Army.

Unfriendly neighbors

The complex and full of mutual grievances, the centuries-old history of Russian-Polish relations at the beginning of the Second World War, was replenished with a new episode, in Soviet historiography known as the “Liberation Campaign of the Red Army” in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus.

After Poland de facto ceased to exist as an independent state by mid-September 1941 following the German attack, and its government fled abroad, Red Army units occupied territories taken from Soviet Russia as a result of the Soviet-Polish War of 1919-1920.

It is clear that what was perceived in the USSR as the restoration of historical justice, the Poles themselves viewed completely differently.

At this moment, hardly anyone could have believed that just a few years later, Polish units, together with units of the Red Army, would storm the capital of the Third Reich. But in the end this is what happened...

After joining Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Poles ended up on the territory of the USSR. Some were refugees, others were captured, others were Polish officials government agencies, were arrested for participating in punitive activities against underground communists operating in Poland.

In modern Poland, when speaking about the fate of compatriots who found themselves in the USSR in 1939-1940, they immediately remember the word “Katyn”.

Lieutenant Colonel Berling's project

We will not once again plunge into this very dark story - the dead represented a small part representatives of the Polish army who found themselves in the USSR.

That is why, when the Soviet Union started thinking about creating Polish military units to fight the Nazis, there were no problems with personnel.

This idea first surfaced in the fall of 1940, when war with Germany remained a prospect, albeit not the most distant, but still a future.

The NKVD assembled a group former officers Polish army, with whom they discussed the issue of possible participation in the war with Germany as part of forces not controlled by the Polish government in exile. Among those who were ready to fight on such terms was Lieutenant Colonel Zygmunt Berling, future commander of the 1st Army of the Polish Army.

The decision to create from Poles and persons knowledgeable Polish language, a separate division within the Red Army, was accepted on June 4, 1941, less than three weeks before the start of the war. The formation of the division was supposed to be entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel Berling.

London Memorandum

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War The Soviet government's plans for the Poles underwent changes. The USSR entered into allied relations with Great Britain, and through it, relations with the Polish government in exile in London improved.

On July 3, 1941, the USSR government decided to allow the formation of national committees and national military units from Czechoslovaks, Yugoslavs and Poles on the territory of the USSR, as well as to provide assistance in arming and equipping these national units.

On July 11, 1941, a Soviet-Polish-English memorandum was signed in London on the creation of a Polish army in the USSR in the form of an autonomous unit, operationally subordinate to the Supreme Command of the USSR.

Thus, it was decided that the Polish army in the Soviet Union would be linked to the Polish government in exile.

On August 12, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree on amnesty for Polish citizens on the territory of the USSR, finally removing barriers to the beginning of the formation of Polish formations in the Soviet Union.

Dissenting opinion of General Anders

A week before this, the future Polish army received its commander - he became General Vladislav Anders.

General Anders was extremely negative towards the USSR and, to put it mildly, did not welcome the idea of ​​fighting the Nazis side by side with the Red Army. He saw his task as forming military units from the Poles who were on the territory of the USSR and leading them out of the country to join the British forces. Anders was convinced that the real struggle for Poland would begin when the Soviet Union was defeated by Hitler. General Anders had no doubt about the defeat of the Red Army.

Of course, while in the USSR, Anders tried not to voice his thoughts out loud.

The equipment and armament of the Polish troops, called “Anders’ Army,” was carried out jointly by the USSR, Great Britain and the USA. Only in September and October 1941, the USSR transferred weapons to the “Anders Army” for one infantry division: 40 artillery pieces, 135 mortars, 270 heavy and light machine guns, 8451 rifles, 162 submachine guns, 1022 pistols and revolvers.

In December 1941, an agreement was reached to increase the “Anders Army” from 30 to 96 thousand people.

We want to go to Palestine!

For the leadership of the USSR, Polish formations began to turn into headache. Large funds were required for the maintenance, training, and armament of these units. And this happened at a time when the enemy stood at the walls of Moscow.

In February 1942, the USSR government requested the Polish side to commit the fully trained and equipped Polish 5th Infantry Division to battle on the Soviet-German front. General Anders strongly protested, saying that the Poles would be able to enter the battle only when the formation of the army as a whole was completed.

The Soviet side agreed with this decision, despite the difficult situation at the front. Meanwhile head of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria reported that anti-Soviet sentiment reigned in the “Anders Army”; officers refused to fight the Nazis along with the Red Army.

Since the end of 1941, Great Britain and the USA began to offer the Soviet Union to transfer the “Anders Army” through Iran to the Middle East. Representatives of the Polish government in exile began to insist on the same thing.

You can imagine what was going on in the souls of the Soviet leaders. While the most difficult battles are going on at the front, and every division, every regiment is in conflict, several tens of thousands of equipped and trained Polish soldiers are sitting in the rear and setting the conditions for where they will fight and where they will not.

"We'll do without you"

By March 1942, the “Anders Army” included more than 70 thousand Polish military personnel and about 30 thousand civilians. When at a meeting with Stalin On March 18, 1942, General Anders once again began to talk about the need to transfer the Poles to the Middle East, Joseph Vissarionovich gave vent to his feelings: “If the Poles don’t want to fight here, then let them say directly: yes or no... I know where the army is is being formed, so it will remain there... We can do without you. We can give everyone away. We can handle it ourselves. We will retake Poland and then we will give it to you. But what will people say to this..."

The evacuation of the “Anders Army” from the USSR began in March 1942 and was completed by September 1. In parting, the overjoyed Anders thanked Stalin and stated that “the strategic center of gravity of the war is currently moving to the Near and Middle East.” The general also asked to continue the conscription of Poles into the army in the USSR and send them to him as reinforcements.

If Stalin expressed his feelings about what happened with restraint, then lower-ranking military leaders who were involved in helping to form the “Anders Army” sent after the Poles selected tirades from that part of Russian folklore, which is also called “obscene language.”

"Anders' Army" as part of the British army, after being in the Middle East in 1944, managed to make its mark in battles in Italy. In modern Poland, where the “Anders Army” is ranked above all other Polish formations of the Second World War, the so-called “assault on Monte Cassino” is considered a cult event, although this battle in a secondary theater of operations cannot be compared with the same assault on Berlin , in which other Poles showed themselves.

However, enough about “Anders’ army” - we’ve already given it more attention than it deserves.

Division of Polish Patriots

Among the Polish military and civilians who were in the USSR, there were great amount those who considered the behavior of General Anders a real betrayal and disgrace for the Polish nation.

On March 1, 1943, the “Union of Polish Patriots” was created in the USSR, the backbone of which was made up of Polish communists and representatives of other leftist forces, as well as public figures and representatives of Polish culture who advocated friendly relations between Poland and the USSR. This organization became a counterweight to the Polish government in exile located in London.

In May 1943, the “Union of Polish Patriots” put forward the idea of ​​​​forming new Polish units that would fight shoulder to shoulder with the Red Army. On May 6, 1943, the State Defense Committee of the USSR issued Resolution No. 3294 “On the formation of the 1st Polish Infantry Division named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko.” Already on May 14, 1943, the formation of a division began near Ryazan.

In fact, it was a return to the unrealized idea of ​​1941. The division commander was the same Colonel Zygmunt Berling. He managed to visit the “Anders Army” as the head of a military camp, but refused to leave with the “Andersites” to the Middle East.

By July 5, 1943, the division included about 14,400 soldiers and officers. On July 15, 1943, on the anniversary of the historic Battle of Grunwald for the Poles, the division’s fighters took the military oath, and on the same day the “Union of Polish Patriots” presented the division with a red and white battle banner, with the motto “For your and our freedom!”

Baptism of fire and blood

Due to a shortage of technical personnel, at the first stage more than 300 Soviet officers were included in the division.

The formation of Polish units proceeded rapidly. Already on August 10, 1943, the formation of the 1st Polish Corps was announced, which, in addition to the Kosciuszko division, included the 1st Polish tank regiment named after Heroes of Westerplatte and the 1st Fighter Aviation Regiment "Warsaw".

The baptism of fire of the Poles on the Soviet-German front took place on October 12-13, 1943 in the Battle of Lenino, which was part of Orsha offensive operation.

Became part of the 33rd Army General Gordov The 1st Polish Division clashed with units of the 337th Wehrmacht Infantry Division.

In the two-day battles near Lenino, the Polish division, faced with a well-armed enemy, lost up to a third of its personnel killed, wounded and missing. At the same time, the German losses in killed and wounded amounted to about 1,500 people, more than 320 Nazis were captured.

For the operation near Lenino, Polish soldiers were awarded 239 Soviet and 247 Polish orders and medals.

Three Polish soldiers became Heroes Soviet Union — captains Juliusz Hibner And Vladislav Vysotsky, and Private Anela Kzhiwon. Vladislav Vysotsky and submachine gunner of the women's company Anelya Kzhivon received the high award posthumously.

Despite the losses, a start had been made. Now the Poles fought the Nazis not somewhere on the outskirts of the world, but where the fate of the war was being decided.

They fought for their homeland

By March 1944, the 1st Polish Corps was deployed into the 1st Polish Army, or 1st Army of the Polish Army. Not only Polish citizens, but also Soviet citizens of predominantly Polish origin were enlisted in the army.

The commander of the unit was the same Zygmunt Berling, who now wore the shoulder straps of a lieutenant general.

In July 1944, a historical moment arrived - the 1st Polish Army, as part of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, crossed the Western Bug and entered Polish territory.

It was the soldiers of General Berling, who fought shoulder to shoulder with the Soviet soldiers, who liberated their native country from the Germans, and not the escaped army of Anders.

On the territory of Poland, the army was replenished by fighters of the Ludowa partisan Army, which acted from ideological positions similar to those expressed by the “Union of Polish Patriots”.

On July 26, 1944, having replaced units of the 8th Guards Army, the 1st Polish Army reached the eastern bank of the Vistula in the area of ​​Dęblin and Pulawy and began fighting to capture the bridgehead on the left bank. Subsequently, the army took part in the battles on the Magnushevsky bridgehead.

In September 1944, the Polish 1st Army liberated Prague, a suburb of Warsaw.

In January 1945, Polish troops played vital role in the liberation of Warsaw, which was taken on January 17.

In total, more than 10 thousand soldiers of the 1st Polish Army were killed in the battles for the liberation of Poland, and about 27 thousand were injured.

To Berlin!

By 1945, the number of Polish formations fighting on the Soviet-German front reached 200,000 people, which was almost three times the size of Anders’ Army. In addition to the 1st Army of the Polish Army, the 2nd Army was also formed, which became part of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

The 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army participated in the Berlin offensive operation, and units of the 2nd army were also involved in the Prague operation.

In the battles for Berlin, the Polish Army lost 7,200 people killed and 3,800 missing.

The Polish Army became the largest regular foreign force fighting alongside the Red Army on the Soviet-German front. The actions of the Polish Army were noted 13 times in the gratitude orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces The USSR, more than 5 thousand military personnel and 23 formations and units of the Polish Army were awarded Soviet orders.

The best Polish soldiers, together with soldiers of the Red Army, took part in the Victory Parade on Red Square on May 24, 1945.

Friendship that will never exist again

More than a dozen Poles who fought in the ranks of the Polish Army were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among them General Stanislav Poplavsky, a Pole, born in Ukraine, who served in the Red Army and in 1944 was sent to serve in the Polish Army.

It was under his command that the 1st Army of the Polish Army broke through the German defenses on the Oder and stormed Berlin. For skillful command and control of troops in the Berlin operation, on May 29, 1945, Colonel General Poplavsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

During the capture of Berlin, the Polish flag was installed on the Brandenburg Gate along with the Soviet one.

One of the favorite films of both Soviet and Polish children for many years was the film “Four Tankmen and a Dog,” which told about the soldiers of the Polish Army who went through the war alongside the soldiers of the Red Army.

Armed forces of the world

Polish Armed Forces

It was in the capital of Poland in 1955 that an agreement was signed on the creation of a military bloc of socialist countries, which, accordingly, was called the Warsaw Pact Organization. And it was precisely from the Polish events of the early 80s. The collapse of the socialist camp began. By the time the Department of Internal Affairs was dissolved, the Polish army was second in its combat potential after Soviet army. The Polish Army was armed with 2,850 tanks, 2,377 armored fighting vehicles, 2,300 artillery systems, and 551 combat aircraft.

In 1999, Poland, together 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 conscription to the hired principle of recruitment with characteristic change motivation from patriotic to financial. However, having a common border with Russia and Belarus and suffering strong form Russophobia, Poland, unlike almost all other countries of the alliance, has retained elements of defense consciousness. Thanks to this, the Polish Army is gradually becoming the most powerful army in NATO (naturally, after the USA and Turkey and without taking into account the nuclear potentials of Great Britain and France).

Ground troops Poland have the following organizational structure.

Headquarters of the 2nd Mechanized Corps.

11th Armored Cavalry Division(it includes the 10th, 34th armored cavalry, 17th mechanized brigades, 23rd artillery regiment, 4th air defense regiment).

12th Mechanized Division"Shetzin" (2nd "Legionnaire" and 12th mechanized, 7th "Pomeranian" coastal defense brigade, 5th artillery regiment, 8th air defense regiment).

16th "Pomeranian" mechanized division(1st Armored, 9th Armored Cavalry, 15th and 20th Mechanized Brigades, 11th Artillery Regiment, 15th Air Defense Regiment).

18th Mechanized Division(1st Armored, 21st Podhale Rifle Brigade).

In addition to these four divisions, which unite 11 brigades, there are separate 1st Aviation, 6th Airborne, 9th Support, 25th Air Cavalry, 1st and 10th Transport Brigades, 1st, 2nd 1st, 5th engineering, 4th, 5th RKhBZ, 2nd, 9th, 18th reconnaissance regiments.

The tank fleet is the fourth in NATO (after the USA, Turkey and Greece), and includes only third-generation tanks: 247 German Leopard-2 (142 A4, 105 A5), 232 own RT-91, 260 Soviet T-72 ( another 175 in storage). We are developing our own PL-01 Anders tank.

There are from 343 to 485 BRDM-2, up to 38 BWR-1 (BRM-1), up to 1265 BWP-1 (BMP-1), up to 352 MTLB, at least 359 AMV "Wolverine" armored personnel carrier (there are also 7 KShM, more 40 auxiliary vehicles based on it and approximately 330 chassis of the same armored personnel carrier for the production of other auxiliary vehicles), 40 American Cougar armored vehicles, 45 Oshkosh M-ATV and 29 MaxPro. The Wolverine armored personnel carriers are produced in Poland under a Finnish license and are gradually replacing the decommissioned BWP-1, which were also produced in Poland, but under a Soviet license.

Self-propelled artillery includes 24 self-propelled guns "Crab" of own production (155 mm), 395 Soviet self-propelled guns 2S1 (122 mm), 111 Czech wheeled self-propelled guns "Dana" (152 mm). Soviet self-propelled guns are being withdrawn from the ground forces and are being replaced by the Crab self-propelled guns. The towed artillery is represented by 24 Soviet D-44 (85 mm) guns, which will soon be decommissioned. Mortars - 268 LM-60 (60 mm), 18 2B9M (82 mm), 99 M98 (98 mm), 146 M-43 and 15 2S12, 8 self-propelled "Cancer" (on the chassis of the Wolverine armored personnel carrier, there are also 4 artillery KShM on the same chassis) (120 mm) (LM-60, M98, “Rak” - of our own production, the rest - Soviet). MLRS – 93 Soviet BM-21, 30 Czech RM-70, 75 own WR-40 “Langust” (122 mm). BM-21s are partially decommissioned and partially converted into WR-40s.

There are 291 Israeli Spike-LR ATGMs (including 18 self-propelled on the Hummer and 27 on the Wolverine), 132 Soviet Malyutka, 77 Fagot, 18 self-propelled Konkurs (on the BRDM).

Military air defense consists of 64 Soviet Osa-AK and 60 Strela-10 air defense systems, 91 Soviet Strela-2 MANPADS and 400 own Grom MANPADS, from 28 to 86 Soviet ZSU-23-4 Shilka and 404 anti-aircraft installations ZU-23 (23 mm).

In addition, storage may include several hundred T-55 tanks, up to 80 BMP-1, from 70 to 100 self-propelled guns 2S1 and up to 4 2S7, up to 350 M-30 guns, up to 166 D-20, up to 395 mortars, up to 40 BM-21. This equipment has been withdrawn from the aircraft and is intended for export or used as a source of spare parts.

Army aviation includes 80 combat helicopters - 24 Mi-24 (11 D, 13 V) (up to 7 D, up to 2 V in storage), 19 Mi-2URP (up to 16 more in storage), 2 Mi-2URN (still up to 12 in storage), 29 W-3W (including 14 WA). The Mi-2 and the Polish W-3 created on their basis can be considered combat only conditionally, therefore, in fact, only the Mi-24 are such.

There are also up to 72 multi-purpose and transport helicopters - 15 W-3 (3 A, 2 AE, 1 ARM, 3 RR, 6 PL), 4 Mi-17, 25 Mi-8 (7 MT, 17 T, 1 P; more up to 10 T, 1 P in storage), 27 Mi-2 (7 H, 4 T, 6 D, 1 M, 4 P, 4 R, 1 RM; still up to 5 H, up to 13 T, up to 4 D, up to 4 M, up to 3 P, up to 10 R, up to 8 RM in storage).

It is widely known that the Second world war Three powers won: the USSR, Great Britain and the USA. It was they who made the most significant contribution to the victory. Nevertheless, in addition to them, hundreds of thousands of representatives of other nationalities also fought with the Wehrmacht troops in the ranks of the Allies. The most numerous of them were Poles, who fought not only as part of the pro-Soviet Polish Army, known to our citizens from the film “Four Tankmen and a Dog,” but also numerous partisan detachments, operating in occupied Poland, but also in the troops of the Western powers. For many years, people in our country preferred not to talk about this last fact. The reason for this is big politics and the Cold War.

The invasion of Poland by German troops on September 1, 1939 was lightning fast. By the end of the second week of fighting, the Polish army had almost completely ceased to exist as a single organism. Scattered units retreated to the east in panic. 17 days after the German attack, the threat came from this side. The Red Army, encountering almost no resistance, crossed the Polish lines and rushed towards the German troops. In this situation, parts of the Polish Army retreated to Hungary and Romania. Some managed to make their way to Lithuania and Latvia. Most of the remaining military personnel were captured by Soviet or German armies. As a result, more than half a million Polish soldiers ended up in camps in Germany and the USSR.

Meanwhile, the Poles who escaped capture were not going to stop fighting. They decided to take different routes to France, Warsaw's ally. Together with its army, the Polish military leadership intended to enter the fight against Hitler and, passing through German territory, return home. Confidence in such an outcome was promoted both by the authority of the French troops, who were considered invincible, and by the firm conviction that despite the seizure of territory, Poland still exists and is ready to fight. In September 1939, General Sikorsky managed to create a government in exile and agree with the allies on the formation of national armed forces. The personnel for them were the military that sneaked into the country, as well as representatives of the local Polish diaspora. Thus, by the new year, 1940, more than 40 thousand soldiers of the army of the 2nd Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had gathered in France. Within a few months, almost 82 thousand people joined the new army. From them they decided to form two corps, as well as a number of smaller formations. However, due to unsatisfactory supplies, the Polish regiments looked impressive only on paper. Only half of the army was fully equipped, armed and newly trained. Nevertheless, even with such a truncated composition, it still entered the fight with the enemy. The first to receive such an honor was the 5,000-strong brigade of Podhale riflemen under the command of Colonel Zygmunt Szyszko-Bogush.

This military unit, which had undergone an accelerated retraining course, was to become part of the Anglo-French expeditionary force. According to the plans of the allied strategists, he was supposed to go to the aid of Finland, which was at war with the USSR. However, the war ended earlier than expected in Paris and London. But the battles in northern Europe could not have happened without the participation of the Poles. True, instead of Finland, the Podgal brigade was sent to Norway, which was attacked by Hitler in the spring of 1940. At the beginning of May, British, Polish and French units landed in Narvik Bay and forced the German units to retreat into the mountains. Subsequently, despite this initial success, the Allies were forced to evacuate. The weak Norwegian army had practically ceased to exist by that time, and on May 10 the Wehrmacht launched an offensive against Belgium, Holland and France.

Returning to Brest in last days French campaign, Podhale riflemen took part in the fight against the Germans. After several days of clashes, the brigade was destroyed. Only a few of the surviving soldiers managed to get to England. Most were captured.

It was not only this connection that suffered a similar fate. Almost all units of the Polish army in France were completely defeated. Despite the resistance, tens of thousands of people were captured by the Germans. Nevertheless, almost 30 thousand soldiers of the Polish Army managed to escape. They managed to reach Foggy Albion, from where the Poles intended to continue the fight to return home. However, they were able to get to the continent only four years later. Until this time, the war against the Germans in Europe was continued by Polish pilots and sailors, who made their contribution to the overall victory.

Lost in the Sands

While Sikorsky’s units, defeated in France, were preparing for new battles in Great Britain, another Polish formation made itself known in the Middle East. It was a brigade of Carpathian riflemen (about 4.5 thousand people in total), which, by the will of fate, ended up in this region. It was formed on April 12, 1940 from several groups of military emigrants who made their way to the French mandated territory of the Levant from Greek, Yugoslav and Romanian ports. Its commander was Colonel Stanislav Kopansky.

After the news of the capitulation of Paris and the subordination of the local French command to the pro-German government, the brigade, despite attempts to disarm it, still managed to retreat to the British in Palestine, and then to Egypt. The unit, which never took part in the battles, went to the Italian front in May 1941. It then took place in the African desert, three hundred kilometers west of Alexandria.

At the end of the summer, the Poles were taken to the besieged fortress of Tobruk in Libya. Here the riflemen were opposed by the Italian-German troops of the famous General Erwin Rommel. On December 10, the city was released. The Poles, exhausted and exhausted by the long siege, heavy losses and unusual, unbearable heat, nevertheless took part in the further English offensive. They were taken to Palestine for reorganization only in May 1942. Subsequently, the Carpathian riflemen became part of the 2nd Polish Corps, formed from Polish units in the USSR.

Poles in Russia

In 1941, after Germany attacked the USSR, the Polish government in exile in London, under pressure from Great Britain, agreed to sign a peace treaty with Moscow. One of its points provided for the creation of a Polish army on the territory of the Soviet state. Its soldiers were to be former soldiers of the Polish Army located in Soviet camps, as well as Poles deported from the western regions of Belarus and Ukraine. A former captain of the Russian General Staff was appointed to command the military unit. imperial army, and later - the commander of the Polish Novogrudok cavalry brigade Vladislav Anders.

Soon the news of the creation of the Polish army spread throughout all the camps, prisons and special settlements of the Gulag. Citizens of Poland, who received freedom after a year and a half of hard labor, rushed to the city of Buzuluk Saratov region, where Anders located his headquarters. Many arrived with their families. As a result, already in the fall of 1941 the number of Poles, as well as Belarusians, Jews and Ukrainians, significantly exceeded the planned composition of the army. The Soviet Union could not provide them with everything they needed. At that time, the Red Army was fighting stubborn battles with the Germans on the outskirts of Moscow. Stalin demanded that Polish divisions be brought into battle as soon as possible. Anders referred to their unpreparedness and lack of uniforms and ammunition.

As a result, in 1942, after a series of long negotiations between Churchill, Stalin and Sikorsky, it was decided to withdraw Polish units from the territory of the USSR to Iran and the Middle East. By the end of the summer, more than 100 thousand Polish citizens and members of their families had been evacuated. However, many Poles were never able to leave the Soviet Union. At the end of the war, several divisions of the pro-Soviet Polish Army were formed from them. Together with the Red Army, they took part in bloody battles for the liberation of their homeland and stormed Berlin.

Anders' army, after being reorganized into the 2nd Polish Corps, after a year of training and performing security service in the oil fields of Iran and Iraq, was sent to Italy, where in May 1944 it played a decisive role in breaking through the German defense line.

Monte Cassino

The first Polish soldiers arrived in the Apennines at the end of 1943. A few months later, the 2nd Corps was able to take part in the fighting.

In mid-May 1944, Anglo-American-French troops once again began an assault on the Gustav Line - the Wehrmacht defensive fortifications located south of Rome. Previous attempts to break through it were unsuccessful. The key point of the positions defended by the Germans was the Benedictine monastery, located on the steep and inaccessible mountain of Monte Cassino.

The Polish corps received the order to knock out the enemy and take possession of the monastery. After several days of bloody fighting, at the cost of hundreds of lives of natives of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, the monastery was taken. The road to Rome is clear.

Anders' units continued their offensive along the Adriatic coast of Italy. In July they liberated Ancona, and ended their combat journey in April 1945 in Bologna.

In Western Europe

While the Andersites fought the enemy in Italy, thousands of Poles in Great Britain, who escaped death in the summer of 1940, underwent intensive training in Scotland for several years. By the summer of 1944, when the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy and began their invasion of Europe, the Polish armored division of General Stanislaw Maczek and the parachute brigade of Stanislaw Sosabowski were awaiting the order to begin hostilities in Albion in full combat readiness.

Finally, the order to be sent to the front was received. At the end of July, Machek's division landed in France, where it became subordinate to the 1st Canadian Army, becoming its main striking force. A few days later, she took part in a tank battle near Caen, and soon - near Falaise, where she faced the elite SS divisions Leibstandarte and Hitler Youth. Finding themselves surrounded, German units tried to escape from the cauldron created by the Anglo-American armies. Most weak point in the Allied defense there was a section in the area of ​​the Mont-Ormel commune, through which the Nazis tried to break through. Polish units stood in their way. As a result of the three-day battle, the parties suffered heavy losses. The Germans, abandoning all their armored vehicles, managed to escape from the encirclement. However, Machek's tankers managed to capture five thousand SS men. Among them, as among other prisoners captured by the Allies in France, there were a considerable number of Poles who replenished the greatly depleted composition of the division.

Soon units of the parachute brigade also entered the battle. In mid-September they took part in an operation to seize bridges in the Netherlands. As a result of the battles near Arnhem, the paratroopers suffered significant losses and only after several days of continuous battles behind enemy lines were they able to link up with the advancing British troops. Subsequently, Polish paratroopers did not take part in the war.

Meanwhile, after a short rest, the Polish 1st Armored Division continued its advance along the sea coast. Together with the Canadians, she participated in the liberation of Belgium and Holland. On May 6, 1945, tankers accepted the surrender of the garrison of the German Kriegsmarine base in Wilhelmshaven. Now only a few hundred kilometers separated them from Poland. However, it turned out to be impossible to overcome them.

Return

In May 1945, the war in Europe ended. By this time, there were already a quarter of a million people in Polish units in the West. Throughout the six years, the fighters hoped to return home, but these dreams were not destined to come true, since at the Yalta Conference the allies agreed that Poland would enter the sphere of influence of the USSR.

The British and Americans recognized the pro-Moscow Polish government of national unity. The emigrant authorities refused support. Under the current conditions, many Poles who were in Soviet camps at the beginning of the war refused to return to their homeland. They did not want to come to terms with the fact that Poland had become communist. As a result, most of the military personnel decided to remain in the West.

Nevertheless, more than 100 thousand Poles, as well as natives of Belarus and Ukraine, repatriated to their homeland voluntarily.

In general, although Polish troops in the Allied armies did not play a significant role in achieving victory in the West, their moral contribution to the fight against the Reich was quite large. Deprived of their homeland, citizens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth fought the enemy wherever possible: from Norway to Africa and from Italy to Belgium and Holland.

Poland is one of the safest countries in Europe for both locals and tourists. And the security itself is ensured by the local police, who are always ready to help people, as well as by the military forces.

Let's look at them in more detail in order to have an idea of ​​why Poland is considered one of the most defensive countries in Europe, and to know where to turn in this state if an emergency situation arises.

Polish police - information for tourists

The police in this state began its formation in 1989, replacing the previous structure, which was recognized by the Polish authorities as ineffective. At that time, the police forces enjoyed rather low confidence of the people, and could not efficiently perform all the functions assigned to them.

After a series of reforms in 1990, the police received a modern structure and began to work according to new standards. Naturally, all changes in the police system were carried out at the legislative level.

Today the police are completely separate from the other security structures of this country, including the army. Also, every police officer is protected from the influence of any political forces. The infusion of representatives of the old formation into the new ranks of the police was also limited.

It was these principles of formation of the police that made it possible to carry out reforms in it in as soon as possible and as efficiently as possible.

Over the entire period of formation of the new police structure, over 100 thousand employees were replaced, and already at the beginning of the transformation, up to 40% of the main personnel, who had not undergone retraining in due time, were fired.

Also, such basic features of the work of this system as transparency, openness to both the press and local governments were developed.

Actions were carried out to identify the level of trust of local residents in such structures, numerous surveys, as well as police visits to schools and other institutions to introduce the public to representatives of law and order.

Modern police have been able to implement all the tasks assigned to them, including effective work with citizens, entrepreneurs, local authorities, as well as increasing general trust in this structure, which in last years increased by 70%.

The Polish police are always open to cooperation with both local residents, and with tourists. Anyone in need can contact her personally by finding a police officer on the street or at the police station. Tourists in Poland can also contact the police at hotline to call a team to a specific address or report existing problems.

The police force consists of three main major divisions. These are patrol, criminal and anti-terrorism. Patrol units are the most open to cooperation with private individuals; unlike criminal units, they can provide their data publicly, which is why you should contact them if you need emergency assistance in this country.

Upon joining the EU, police forces received numerous subsidies. Thanks to them, cars, motorcycles, and ambulances, similar to those already in service with other police units in all Eurozone countries, were purchased in Poland for such formations.

Some of them do not have identification marks, but they are also listed on the balance sheet of certain structures, and thanks to them the police officer can do his job effectively.

Currently, you can contact the Polish police using one general number, 997, if you are calling from a landline number. If you call the police from your mobile phone, you need to dial the general service number 112, by which you can contact both the police and the ambulance, if necessary.

The police structure is, of course, a powerful force protecting internal order Poland, however, it is in no way inferior to the armed forces of the state. Back in the 50s, it was second in number after the Soviet one.

However, unlike many Baltic and even European armies, after the collapse of the Union itself, it did not actually lose its own combat effectiveness and currently continues to increase its own power.

The Polish defense forces today are fully equipped and represented by all branches of the military. There is a fleet, a tank army, ground-based air defense, aviation, represented by airplanes and helicopters, artillery and armored cavalry. All units form local forces without attracting partners from other countries, unlike other states.

In 1999, Poland became a member of NATO, rebuilding its own defense system to the standards of this bloc. Very quickly, the state also expanded its own army, thanks to which in just a few years it became one of the largest in this alliance, second in size only to the American and Turkish.

Currently, the Polish army has completely switched from the conscription principle of recruiting its own personnel to the contract one. The number of Polish troops was slightly reduced in comparison with 1998 (which, in general, was observed in all troops included in the NATO structure), and some of the weapons were modernized.

In particular, German Leopard tanks were received (deliveries of which continue) and modern aircraft were purchased, which in this country are among the newest in the world. Air defense installations have also been modernized.

The most powerful units of the Polish army are considered to be ground forces, namely tanks (in scale they bypass even German formations) and ground air defense. IN good condition aviation. To some extent, only the fleet of this state is experiencing a crisis, which, nevertheless, remains in service with submarines, in particular machines like the Norwegian Cobben.

In recent years, as part of the modernization of their own Baltic fleet, the Poles have tried to create their own updated missile corvettes. However, this venture was not successful due to low funding for the industry: only one corvette was created, and it did not receive missiles, and is currently used exclusively as a patrol vessel.

There is an opinion that all the reforms of the Polish army carried out in recent years, as well as the replacement of some weapons, have somewhat reduced the defense capability of the state.

However, in reality this is not the case. In recent years, it has been possible to significantly strengthen Poland's forces and make them one of the most powerful, at least in Western Europe.

Poland today is one of the few European countries on whose territory there are no foreign troops. All units located on its territory have not changed their configuration since the Warsaw Pact, and they are deployed either on the western border of the state or in the center of the country.

The situation with the weapons of the Polish army is also quite ambiguous. Its individual parts are undergoing modernization unevenly, and therefore are at different levels of development. However, almost all types of troops have their own characteristics of weapons, in particular:

• Poland has the oldest fleet in the Baltic, which is equipped with guns from the 50s and 60s. In the coming years, they should be decommissioned, but at present there is no replacement for them, as well as developed strategies that would help take the fleet to a new level.
• The Polish Air Force is the only one in the world that has two main aircraft, the F-16 and the MiG-29. And this is not counting helicopters, which also have a significant weight in the structure of this particular type of military.
• This country's tank fleet is the fourth largest in Europe. Moreover, it is currently the only army in which development of a new tank is currently underway. And it should be a futuristic small-sized Andersen.

It is also interesting that Poland today is the only country in the NATO bloc that continues to expand its troops and is constantly modernizing them. As a result, the army of this state will be able to become one of the largest in Europe in just a few years, especially against the backdrop of a noticeably shrinking contingent of other states.

And this despite the fact that in fact the budget for this industry in Poland is seriously limited. Despite the fairly wide contingent of units, the Polish army is not set up for expansion. It is completely focused on the defense of the state and has little hope for assistance in military operations from other representatives of the NATO bloc.

Some time ago I promised to talk about the Polish armed forces. This topic should certainly not worry anyone except spies and military specialists, or residents Kaliningrad region, so I sincerely hope that everyone reading this is a resident of that very area. If you are not a resident of that very area, please stop reading this and don’t pollute your brain.

Firstly,

It’s no secret that the Polish armed forces are still in a protracted leap between the Soviet past and the pro-Anato present. This leap began immediately after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact coalition; to be more precise, to pin it down to a date, it is 1991. To completely reorient the Polish armed forces towards NATO, it was necessary not only to re-equip the entire Polish weapons system, which, in itself, had a rather serious impact on the transitional economy of the Republic of Poland, but also to retrain the entire command staff with a change military doctrine countries.

Secondly, it is obvious that Poland is unable to keep up with Russia and Germany, with its two completely different, much more powerful neighbors in the east and west. Poland will be significantly weaker than its powerful neighbors, even if the neighbors are weakened to the maximum or neutralized for some reason. Poland has fewer people, less territory and a weaker economy, a consequence of a less powerful military than its super-heavy neighbors. It is this moment that forces Poland to look for a foreign military partner or to integrate into a stronger military alliance in order to guarantee Poland’s own security, at least in the medium term.

Thirdly, Poland is quite strongly integrated into the North Atlantic bloc of NATO and the EU structure. Polish membership in these structures gives it a historically unprecedented degree of security, but also limits its relations with alternatively oriented forces.

The expectation of a full-scale crisis of NATO's structure in the near future will certainly change the security configuration in Europe left over from the times cold war. Poland has many alternatives to the NATO bloc, given the large number of neighboring states that are in difficult geopolitical situations and are also looking for alternative centers of collective and national security. Such states would see Poland as the strategic nexus of any such post-NATO system, given its territorial location on the North European Plain. It seems that many of the greatest geopolitical minds of the last century agreed with the assessments of these states that Poland is one of the most important strategic nodes on the Eurasian continent.

Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Zbigniew Brzezinski predicted that if Moscow regained significant influence over Ukraine, then Russia would once again have the means to become a powerful imperial state spanning Europe and Asia. In such a scenario, which may still exist today, Brzezinski believed that Poland would be the most important component in any vector of application to stop Russian expansion in Western Europe, declaring Poland a geopolitical turning point on the eastern border of a united Europe. Sir Halford Mackinder, considered the founding father of geopolitics, described Poland as the epicenter of a “belt of independent buffer states,” which he perceived as the key to control of the “Eurasian heartland,” which in turn would be the key to control of the entire world. Based on the results of the First World War, the famous Polish general Jozef Pilsudski believed that a union of states from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, led by Poland and including Finland, the Baltic states, the former Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania - the so-called "Intermarium" - was the key to preserve the independence of Central Europe from strong, hostile states to the east and west of this center.

A similar strategic alliance is currently being tried to be created today through the revival of the Visegrad Group, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. This group will function as a bloc in various political and military forums and will include the proposed Visegrad combat

groups outside NATO and European Union command. Poland is also a lead state, meaning it has operational command of the bloc - as does a number of other EU battlegroups - such as Battlegroup Weimar (Poland, Germany and France) and Battlegroup 2010 (Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania ). With these different groups Poland can orient itself in any of these directions - north to the Nordic and Baltic countries, south to the Carpathian belt, west to the European core or east to Russia. Currently, security measures in the north, west and south reflect Poland's current need to distance Poland from Russia's sphere of influence and interests.

Ground forces

The Polish Army has for a long period been focused on replacing or upgrading old Soviet equipment to improve the efficiency of the modern army and increase interoperability

with NATO. The update itself implied: reconstruction and modernization of battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, missile systems, ammunition, helicopters and much more. Overall, Poland has restructured its ground forces into a smaller, more flexible force, with expeditionary capabilities more in line with NATO's defense priorities.

Poland is a significant contributor to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, with 2,420 troops in the International Security Assistance Force, making Poland the fifth largest troop-contributing country outside the United States. Poland made a similar contribution to the US operation

in Iraq, providing a total of about 2,500 people. The operations in Afghanistan and Iraq were opportunities for Poland to demonstrate increased activity in the NATO bloc, facilitating integration Polish forces to the alliance. Warsaw's contribution to both campaigns is far more indicative of Poland's desire to forge a close security relationship with the United States than any of its nominally stated goals.

Naval forces

Poland's navy suffers from the same basic geopolitical constraints as its ground forces when faced with much more powerful neighbors in more favorable geographical conditions. Even a small naval force could easily blockade both of Poland's main ports: Gdansk and Gdynia, given the numerous chokepoints in the eastern Baltic Sea. Access to the Atlantic Ocean requires passage through the Skagerrak Strait, a strait that connects the North and Baltic seas, for example, such a blockade can be accomplished without much effort: the Swedes, Danes and Germans. Even having passed the Skagerrak, before the Polish fleet entered the Atlantic Ocean it would still have to pass into either the North Sea or the English Channel, which is the traditional home of the British naval forces. Thus, the main priority of the Polish Navy has traditionally been to limit access and protect the coast from hostile forces approaching by sea.

Poland has a large and well-equipped fleet of miners and minesweepers. This is primarily a legacy of the Cold War, during which Polish shipyards produced mainly landing ships and minesweepers, fulfilling the role of the Polish navy under the Warsaw Pact. This role coincided with Poland's maritime geography, as Polish naval and merchant vessels were vulnerable to the blockade of the Skagerrak Strait. As a result, Poland became the owner of relatively broad mine clearance capabilities, which are unique and valuable, even in the rather multifunctional NATO structure.

Since joining NATO, Navy Poland became less focused on coastal defense and instead increased the priority of integration and interaction with NATO and international navies. Poland has invested quite heavily in the development of advanced naval command and control, or the so-called “double K” - “C2”. This made it possible to fully integrate national system"double K" - "C2" - including computer systems, radios and various communications devices - with the NATO network. It is difficult to overestimate the degree of military-technical modernization of Poland necessary for the transition to the “double K” - “C2” system, since post-Soviet equipment and NATO equipment simply cannot communicate with each other.

Air Force

Modernization air force is a slow process because it tends to be more costly than technology upgrades in other industries. Poland has spent millions of dollars rebuilding and modernizing late-model Soviet aircraft such as the MiG-29, which were due to be scrapped without modernization, as well as purchasing 48 F-16C/D fighters from the United States. Poland has also purchased five C-130E Hercules cargo aircraft, which are currently being refurbished in the United States. Construction of its own transport and strengthening of logistical capabilities will strengthen Poland’s position in NATO, since these types of aircraft are vital for transporting personnel and military equipment in expeditionary operations for typical operations of NATO forces.

IN Lately Poland has announced that instead of upgrading 38 Soviet-made Su-22 aircraft, the Polish Ministry of Defense plans to replace the fleet from 123 to 205 unmanned combat aircraft. aircraft. They require more personnel to pilot, store, launch, and maintain the vehicle than manned platforms, but training personnel to operate them requires less time than training pilots. A fleet of unmanned combat aerial vehicles cannot replace the specific capabilities of the Su-22, but the transition to drones is general trend among the most modern armed forces. Ultimately, this should be more cost effective than continually upgrading legacy platforms. This process takes considerable time and money, and, as you understand, can lead to destabilization of Poland's fiscal policy.

Other purchases

Poland's attraction to an external source of power to ensure its security means that the Polish military must take into account not only Polish national imperatives, but the imperatives and interests of its allies. This also applies to the purchase of certain types of military equipment and the development of military capabilities not only denotes Poland's national defense needs, but also signifies loyalty to Polish military allies. Examples of Polish leasing deals: 40 Cougar medium-mine-resistant combat vehicles from the United States, which will be used in Afghanistan, as well as Poland's purchase of 8 Aerostar unmanned aerial vehicles, four of which are planned for use in Afghanistan. Mine-protected combat vehicles are particularly well suited for counterinsurgency, as they provide one of the best protection from improvised explosive devices used against NATO forces in Afghanistan. After use in NATO missions in Afghanistan, mine-resistant combat vehicles will likely be returned back to the United States due to the high cost of operation in Poland itself.

Poland continues to develop its “special” bilateral relationship with the United States of America. The most important thing for Poland is to maintain some US military presence on Polish territory. In May 2011, the United States sent several F-16s from California to train alongside Polish F-16s. Starting next year, US troops will be stationed in Poland for the first time, although still only on a rotational basis. Poland hopes to receive even more commitment from the United States to deploy ground-based SM-3 ballistic missile interceptors as part of a missile defense system in Europe. But Washington's commitment to missile defense in Europe has changed repeatedly over the years as a result of changes in US government leadership, technological advances and strategic priorities regarding US relations with Russia and Central/Eastern European countries. Consequently, Warsaw is increasingly focusing on promoting regional security groups with various countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics and even the Scandinavian countries.

Fortunately for Poland, the current security environment in Eurasia has created an atmosphere in which traditional threats to Poland are purely hypothetical. The longer this thesis remains true, the more time Poland will have to develop its military potential. If Poland uses this time to eliminate dependence on traditional systems collective security, then the main priority for Warsaw will be to increase its independent military force, and not focusing solely on the existence of NATO and the European Union, guaranteeing the national security of Poland. At the same time, protecting Poland from traditional geopolitical threats will require significant financial expenses, mobilization of labor resources and considerable time.

Materials used in the article are taken from open sources.