First Polish Army (1944-1945)
Encyclopedia
The Polish First Army was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944, from the previously existing Polish I Corps as part of the People's Army of Poland (LWP). The First Army fought westward, subordinated to the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front, during the offensive against Germany that led to the capture of Berlin in May 1945. In the Berlin Offensive, the First Polish Army's strength was over 74,000, thus making up 7.5% of the strength of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front, which counted over 980,000 men when the Polish First Army is included in the total. During the Berlin Offensive, the Polish First Army sustained casualties of over 10,400 men.
The First Polish Army was formed from the previous Polish I Corps in the Soviet Union, a formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East
. On 10 August 1943, The Soviets gave permission for enlarging the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division
into a Corps. The new formation was to be composed of 2 infantry divisions, one artillery and one armor brigade, one support and one air regiment, four independent battalions, and support units. It was commanded by gen. Zygmunt Berling
, his second-in-command' Gen. Karol Świerczewski
, and Col. Włodzimierz Sokorski
. The formation of the corps took part in combat from September 1943. In March 1944 it was enlarged again, forming the Polish First Army.
. 39% of officers and technical specialists assigned to the 1st Army were Soviets, while for senior officers the proportion reached 75%.
. It first entered combat in the summer of 1944 as part of the 1st Belorussian Front
on the right wing of the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation, fighting in the battles during the Soviet crossing of the river Vistula
around Dęblin
and Puławy. In September 1944 it was involved in fighting around Warsaw
in an attempt to support the Warsaw Uprising
. However, those efforts received minimal Soviet support and ended in failure. In January 1945 it took part in the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and afterwards it moved towards Bydgoszcz. The Polish First Army then fought in Pomerania, breaking through the Pomeranian Wall
(Pommernstellung) fortified line and capturing Fortress Kolberg, a heavily fortified city, in March. Its units advanced northwest as far as Danzig and Kępa Oksywska. During the battles to penetrate the Pomeranian fortifications, the 1st "Warsaw" Cavalry Brigade made the last mounted charge of Polish cavalry
at the village of Schoenfeld.
In the spring of 1945 the army, now numbering 78,556 soldiers, was redeployed to the front on the Oder river in preparation for the final Soviet offensive of the war in Europe. The Polish Second Army
also entered the line of battle at this time, and together the two armies contributed about 10% of the total forces involved in the operation. During the offensive it crossed the river on April 16 and joined the Battle of Berlin
. In it, among other actions, Polish units of the 1st Army crossed the Hohenzollern Canal and advanced on Kremmen
, Flatow, Paaren and Nauen
. They ended their campaign by participating in the Battle of Berlin
. The troops of the 1st Infantry Division
supported by the 2nd Howitzer Artillery Brigade and the 1st Independent Mortar Brigade, fought in Berlin
around the Technical University
and the southwestern side of the Tiergarten
close to the zoo.
The army was disbanded after the war on August 22, 1945. Its constituent units went on to serve in the armed forces of the newly created Polish People's Republic.
making up the bulk of Red Army's order of battle. It had a good mix of infantry
units and artillery
together with other support arms. Its armor capability was considerably weaker, and consisted of only one organic
tank brigade. In manpower it was broadly equivalent to an American infantry corps
, having a strength of 74,530 men on May 1, 1945. At the end of the war in 1945, it consisted of the following large units (honorific
names given in brackets)
The First Polish Army was formed from the previous Polish I Corps in the Soviet Union, a formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East
Polish Armed Forces in the East
Polish Armed Forces in the East refers to military units composed of Poles created in the Soviet Union at the time when the territory of Poland was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the Second World War....
. On 10 August 1943, The Soviets gave permission for enlarging the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division
Polish 1st Tadeusz Kosciuszko Infantry Division
The Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was an infantry division in the Soviet-organized Polish armed forces formed in 1943 and named for the Polish and American revolutionary Tadeusz Kościuszko...
into a Corps. The new formation was to be composed of 2 infantry divisions, one artillery and one armor brigade, one support and one air regiment, four independent battalions, and support units. It was commanded by gen. Zygmunt Berling
Zygmunt Berling
Zygmunt Henryk Berling was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. During Second World War he was sentenced to death in absentia for desertion from the Polish Army of General Władysław Anders...
, his second-in-command' Gen. Karol Świerczewski
Karol Swierczewski
Karol Wacław Świerczewski was a Pole who became a Soviet military officer and a general. He served as a general in the service of the Soviet Union, Republican Spain, and the Soviet sponsored Polish Provisional Government of National Unity after World War II.- Life :Karol Świerczewski grew up in...
, and Col. Włodzimierz Sokorski
Włodzimierz Sokorski
Włodzimierz Sokorski was a Polish communist official, writer, military journalist and eventually a Brigadier General in the Soviet-dominated People's Republic of Poland...
. The formation of the corps took part in combat from September 1943. In March 1944 it was enlarged again, forming the Polish First Army.
Composition
The personnel of the Polish First Army were primarily Poles and Jews who had been deported into the USSR after its conquest of eastern Poland following the Soviet invasion of PolandSoviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
. 39% of officers and technical specialists assigned to the 1st Army were Soviets, while for senior officers the proportion reached 75%.
Operational history
It operated under the auspices of the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. It first entered combat in the summer of 1944 as part of the 1st Belorussian Front
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
on the right wing of the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation, fighting in the battles during the Soviet crossing of the river Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
around Dęblin
Deblin
Dęblin is a town, population 19,500 , at the confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which altogether has over 100 000 inhabitants....
and Puławy. In September 1944 it was involved in fighting around Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in an attempt to support the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
. However, those efforts received minimal Soviet support and ended in failure. In January 1945 it took part in the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and afterwards it moved towards Bydgoszcz. The Polish First Army then fought in Pomerania, breaking through the Pomeranian Wall
Pomeranian Wall
Pomeranian Wall, Pomeranian Line or Pomeranian Position was a line of fortifications constructed by Nazi Germany in the Pomeranian lakeland region. It was constructed in two phases. In the years 1930-1935 it was constructed as a light defensive position in case of an attack from the Second Polish...
(Pommernstellung) fortified line and capturing Fortress Kolberg, a heavily fortified city, in March. Its units advanced northwest as far as Danzig and Kępa Oksywska. During the battles to penetrate the Pomeranian fortifications, the 1st "Warsaw" Cavalry Brigade made the last mounted charge of Polish cavalry
Battle of Schoenfeld
The Battle of Schoenfeld took place on March 1, 1945 during World War II and was the scene of the last mounted charge in the history of the Polish cavalry.The website notes the assertion by Polish author Cezar Leżeński that further cavalry charges were made on April 21, 1945, at Heckelberg and...
at the village of Schoenfeld.
In the spring of 1945 the army, now numbering 78,556 soldiers, was redeployed to the front on the Oder river in preparation for the final Soviet offensive of the war in Europe. The Polish Second Army
Polish Second Army
The Polish Second Army was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944 as part of the People's Army of Poland. The organization begun in August under the command of generals Karol Świerczewski and Stanislav Poplavsky, and the formation under command of general Świerczewski entered active...
also entered the line of battle at this time, and together the two armies contributed about 10% of the total forces involved in the operation. During the offensive it crossed the river on April 16 and joined the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
. In it, among other actions, Polish units of the 1st Army crossed the Hohenzollern Canal and advanced on Kremmen
Kremmen
Kremmen is a town in the district of Oberhavel, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located 15 km west of Oranienburg and 38 km northwest of Berlin. It is known mostly for its castle Ziethen. The local church contains an organ built in 1817 by Tobias Thurley.-External links:...
, Flatow, Paaren and Nauen
Nauen
Nauen is a town in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 38 km west of Berlin and 26 km northwest of Potsdam.-History:...
. They ended their campaign by participating in the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
. The troops of the 1st Infantry Division
Polish 1st Tadeusz Kosciuszko Infantry Division
The Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was an infantry division in the Soviet-organized Polish armed forces formed in 1943 and named for the Polish and American revolutionary Tadeusz Kościuszko...
supported by the 2nd Howitzer Artillery Brigade and the 1st Independent Mortar Brigade, fought in Berlin
Battle in Berlin
The Battle in Berlin was an end phase of the Battle of Berlin. While the Battle of Berlin encompassed the attack by three Soviet Army Groups to capture not only Berlin but the territory of Germany east of the River Elbe still under German control, the Battle in Berlin details the fighting, and...
around the Technical University
Technical University of Berlin
The Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
and the southwestern side of the Tiergarten
Tiergarten
Tiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
close to the zoo.
The army was disbanded after the war on August 22, 1945. Its constituent units went on to serve in the armed forces of the newly created Polish People's Republic.
Organization
The 1st Polish Army was very similar in organisation to other standard general purpose armiesArmy (Soviet Army)
An army, besides the generalized meanings of ‘a country's armed forces’ or its ‘land forces’, is a type of formation in militaries of various countries, including the Soviet Union. This article serves a central point of reference for Soviet armies without individual articles, and explains some of...
making up the bulk of Red Army's order of battle. It had a good mix of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
units and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
together with other support arms. Its armor capability was considerably weaker, and consisted of only one organic
Organic (military)
In military terminology, organic refers to a military unit that is a permanent part of a larger unit and provides some specialized capability to that parent unit...
tank brigade. In manpower it was broadly equivalent to an American infantry corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
, having a strength of 74,530 men on May 1, 1945. At the end of the war in 1945, it consisted of the following large units (honorific
Honorific
An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...
names given in brackets)
Sources
- Czesław Grzelak and others, Armia Berlinga i Żymierskiego, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2002.
- G. F. Krivosheev, Soviet casualties and combat losses in the Twentieth Century, London: Greenhill Books, 1997.
- Steven J. Zaloga, The Polish Army 1939-45, Oxford: Osprey, 1998.