It is widely known that World War II was won by three powers - 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,” and numerous partisan detachments operating in occupied Poland, but also in the troops of the Western powers. About it last fact in our country for many years they preferred not to speak. 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 Polish army almost completely ceased to exist as a single organism. Scattered units retreated to the east in panic. 17 days after German attack the threat came from this side too. 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 the 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. In different ways they decided to make their way to Warsaw's allied France. 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. In a few months new army Almost 82 thousand people joined. 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, who had undergone an accelerated retraining course, was to join 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 war 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. He then passed through 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. Command military unit appointed the former captain of the General Staff of the Russian Imperial Army, and later the commander of the Polish Novogrudok cavalry brigade, Wladislav 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 in Once again began the assault on the Gustav Line - defensive fortifications Wehrmacht 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 advance 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. Just a few days later she took part in tank battle near Caen, and soon near Falaise, where it 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.
Polish legions and the formation of units on a territorial basis. As a result of the implementation of this idea, in March 1915, the 1st Polish Legion and two squadrons of Polish lancers were sent to the Western Front. In September 1916, the Polish Rifle Brigade was formed from officers and soldiers of the Russian Army of Polish origin, which in January - February 1917 was deployed into the 1st Polish Rifle Division, the Uhlan squadrons were united into the Polish Uhlan Division (from May 1917 - the Polish Uhlan regiment).1919-1938
In February 1919, Polish troops began war against Soviet Russia, a war that was officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Riga on March 18, 1921.
In the autumn of 1920, Polish troops fought against Lithuania, as a result of which the Vilna region was annexed and included in Poland.
In November 1923, units of the Polish army, together with the police, took part in the suppression of the Krakow Uprising.
On March 31, 1939, the British government provided Poland with guarantees of the integrity of its territory.
1939-1945
The Polish armed forces participated in World War II from September 1, 1939 until the end of hostilities in Europe. After the defeat of Poland by Germany, Polish formations continued to serve both in the armies of the Western Allies and in the Red Army of the USSR Armed Forces.
In September - October 1939, after the escape of the Polish government, some of the Polish troops and forces retreated to the territory of Hungary, Romania (84,600 Polish troops crossed the Polish-Romanian border alone) and the USSR. The authorities of these states have adopted various solutions, having initially placed them in special camps, some allowed Polish military personnel to travel privately to France and the Middle East.
The Polish government, located in the city of Angers, in France, agreed on September 30, 1939 with the French government on the formation of 4 infantry divisions as part of the French Armed Forces. In October 1939, Polish formations in the French Armed Forces numbered 1,900 personnel, and by mid-June 1940 - about 84,500 people. Polish soldiers were armed with French weapons and dressed in French uniforms, with Polish insignia (cockades, chevrons, etc.).
From October 1944, the post of commander of the Polish Army Air Force was occupied by F. P. Polynin, and from December 1950 to November 1956 - Colonel General of Aviation Turkel Ivan Lukich, remaining in the cadres of the USSR Air Force.
In 1954, the study of judo began in Poland (first in the section of the Polish Weightlifting Union, in 1957 the Polish Judo Union was created). Training of judo instructors began at the Warsaw and Krakow Institutes physical culture, judo training was included in the training program for border guards and military personnel airborne units Polish army.
In 1968, troops of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army ( 2 Armia Wojska Polskiego) under the command of a division general
IN Lately a lot is said and written about NATO’s expansion to the east and the creation of the bloc’s infrastructure in Eastern Europe, whose states with tenacity worthy best use, turn into “front-line”. A particularly tense situation is developing in the Baltic region, which is already beginning to be called the modern “powder keg” of Europe (by analogy with the Balkans at the beginning of the last century, where the First World War). Poland and the three Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) were at the epicenter of events here. In this regard, we offer a series of articles devoted to the Polish armed forces and Baltic states, the formation of NATO infrastructure on their territory and the extent to which NATO activities in Eastern Europe threaten Russia and what steps can be taken in response to it. Now we bring to your attention the first article devoted to the Polish armed forces.
NATO pledge not to expand
In 1990, when the issue of German unification was being decided, Western leaders assured USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and USSR Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze that NATO would not expand eastward. The promises, however, were made rather vague, and the Soviet leaders of that time, for still unknown reasons, did not bother to at least try to translate these words into binding international agreements.
It is not surprising that after the collapse of the USSR and global geopolitical shifts in Central and Eastern Europe, the West immediately abandoned these promises and, moreover, does not recognize their existence at all. For example, the American private intelligence and analytical company Stratfor, which is sometimes called the “shadow CIA,” stated in 2014 that “no promises were broken because no one made them.” And this is not the only statement of this kind.
One way or another, since 1999, twelve countries from Central and Eastern Europe have joined NATO.
Among these states are Poland, which became a member of the North Atlantic Alliance on March 12, 1999, and the three Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), which joined NATO on March 29, 2004. The admission of these countries to NATO has implications for Russia special meaning- they all directly border it, and the Baltic countries were part of the Soviet Union. Thus, having accepted them into its membership, the North Atlantic Alliance entered post-Soviet territory for the first time and clearly
Quantitative characteristics of the Polish army
After Poland and the Baltic countries joined NATO, their armed forces and the military infrastructure belonging to them were at the disposal of NATO, which is often forgotten when by NATO forces in Central and Eastern Europe they mean only US troops, as well as Western European members of the Alliance.
And if the armed forces of the Baltic countries have quite a symbolic value for NATO and are rather in need themselves, then the armed forces of Poland, at least in quantitative terms, look different.
Of course, they were significantly reduced compared to the Polish army during its membership in the Organization Warsaw Pact. But reductions in the armed forces took place in the rest as well. European countries NATO. The US armed forces in Europe have also been significantly reduced. So, against their background, the Polish army, which has become completely professional since 2009, looks quite good numerically.
For example, the Polish army now has more than three times more tanks than the German army. She is superior German army and in the number of armored combat vehicles (1.1 times) and artillery pieces, jet systems volley fire and mortars (almost 3.5 times). There are as many submarines in the Polish fleet as in the German one.
Data on the size of the Polish armed forces according to authoritative English reference book The Military Balance 2016 is given in the table.
The number of armed forces and weapons of Poland
|
Number of armed forces, thousand people. |
|
|
Connections ground forces |
1 armored cavalry (armored) division, 2 mechanized divisions, 1 mechanized brigade, 1 air assault brigade, 1 air cavalry brigade (airmobile) |
|
971: 142 Leopard 2A4, 91 Leopard 2A5 (German); 233 PT-91Tawdry (T-72 tanks modernized in Poland); 505 T-72/T-72M1D/T-72M1 (produced in Poland under Soviet license) |
|
|
Infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) |
1838 (1268 Soviet BMP-1, 570 Polish Rosomak) |
|
Armored personnel carriers (APC) |
|
|
Combat reconnaissance vehicles (BRM) |
|
|
Self-propelled artillery installations(self-propelled guns) |
403 (292 Soviet 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika, 111 Czechoslovak 152 mm M-77 Dana) |
|
Jet systems multiple rocket launcher (MLRS) |
180 (75 Soviet BM-21 Grad, 30 Czechoslovak RM-70, 75 Polish WR-40 Langusta) |
|
Mortars |
|
|
Submarines |
5 (1 Soviet-built Project 877, 4 former Norwegian Type-207 German built) |
|
2 (former American type Oliver Hazard Perry |
|
|
1 (Polish-built Kaszub) |
|
|
Small rocket ships |
3 (type Orkan built in the GDR) |
|
5 (Polish-built Lublin type) |
|
|
Mine minesweepers |
|
|
Anti-submarine helicopters |
11 (7 Mi-14PL, 4 SH-2G Super Seasprite) |
|
Fighters |
32 (26 MiG-29A, 6 MiG-29UB) |
|
Fighter-bombers |
66 (36 F-16C Block 52+ Fighting Falcon, 12 F-16D Block 52+ Fighting Falcon, 12 Su-22M-4, 6 Su-22UM3K) |
|
Medium transport aircraft |
5 C-130E Hercules |
|
Light transport aircraft |
39 (16 C-295M, 23 M-28 Bryza TD) |
|
Anti-tank helicopters |
|
|
Multi-role helicopters |
70 (2 Mi-8, 7 Mi-8MT, 3 Mi-17, 1 Mi-17AE (medical), 8 Mi-17, 5 Mi-17-1V, 16 PZL Mi-2URP, 24 PZL W-3W/WA Sokol; 4 PZL W-3PL Gluszec) |
|
Transport helicopters |
108 (9 Mi-8, 7 Mi-8T, 45 PZL Mi-2, 11 PZL W-3 Sokol, 10 PZL W-3WA Sokol (VIP), 2 PZL W-3AE Sokol (medical), 24 SW-4 Puszczyk (educational)) |
|
Self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems(SAM) |
101 (17 C-125 "Neva-SC", 20 2K12 "Cube" (SA-6 Gainful), 64 9K33 "Osa-AK" (SA-8 Gecko)) |
|
Stationary anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) |
1 C-200VE "Vega-E" |
Qualitative characteristics of the Polish armed forces
However, if we look at the qualitative state of the Polish army, the picture does not look so rosy. In this respect, it is inferior to the leading armies of NATO countries, such as the USA, Great Britain, Germany, and France.
A significant part of the weapons and equipment is still Soviet-made. Thus, the bulk of the tank fleet consists of T-72 tanks, produced under Soviet license in the 1980s. The main infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) is the first Soviet BMP-1, which was put into service in the USSR back in 1966. The 122-mm self-propelled howitzer "Gvozdika" was put into service in the USSR in 1971, and the 152-mm self-propelled howitzer the Dana howitzer gun is also a weapon from the 1970s.
Self-propelled gun-howitzer vz.77 “Dana”. Source: tumblr.com
Multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) "Grad" and RM-70 belong to the systems of the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s. Polish MiG-29A and UB fighters are machines of the first series, built in the 1980s, which are inferior latest modifications this plane. Su-22M4 fighter-bombers are outdated (their Russian analogues Su-17M4 were withdrawn from service in the mid-1990s).
Poland does not have modern system The air defense and Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) in service (including those that have undergone modernization in Poland) do not meet modern requirements.
After Poland joined NATO, weapons began to flow into the country from other countries of the Alliance (primarily “used”). So, in 2002-2003. Poland received 128 Leopard 2A4 tanks, previously in service with the Bundeswehr, almost free of charge. In 2014-2015 The troops received another 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks and 91 Leopard 2A5 tanks (all of them were also previously in service with the German ground forces).
In 2004, Germany transferred to Poland (at a symbolic price of one euro per aircraft) 22 MiG-29 fighters, which the Bundesluftwaffe received from former GDR after the reunification of Germany. The Polish Navy received in 2002-2004. from Norway four German-built Kobben submarines from the 1960s. last century and in 2000 and 2002. from the USA two frigates of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, built in 1980.
The largest purchase new technology 48 American F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter-bombers became one of the last series received by the Polish Air Force in 2006-2008.
F-16 Fighting Falcon. Source: f-16.net.
The national government also made a certain contribution to rearmament. defense industry. It's about mainly about modified Soviet models of equipment and weapons, or about production under foreign licenses. On the base Polish version Soviet assault rifle AK-74 (wz.88 Tantal) was developed and put into service in 1997 assault rifle wz.96 Beryl (already chambered for 5.56 mm NATO cartridge).
In 1995-2002 the main battle tank PT-91 Twardy was produced (a deep modernization of the Soviet T-72). In 2004, wheeled multi-purpose armored vehicles began to be produced under a Finnish license. combat vehicles(AFV) Rosomak. An anti-tank weapon is produced under Israeli license. missile system Spike. Based on the Soviet MLRS BM-21 Grad, the WR-40 Langusta was developed and put into production.
WR-40 Langusta. Source: wikimedia.org
Based on the modernized chassis of the T-72 tank, using the license-produced turret of the British AS-90 self-propelled howitzer, the 155-mm Krab self-propelled howitzer was created. However, due to problems with the engine and chassis, only eight self-propelled guns were delivered (in 2012), which, according to the British directory The Military Balance 2016, are no longer listed in the Polish armed forces. All subsequent vehicles of this type, the production of which will resume in 2016 after modifications, will use the chassis of the South Korean K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer.
Modernization of the Polish Armed Forces
The current modernization of the Polish armed forces is carried out on the basis of two documents approved by the Ministry national defense December 11, 2012 This is “The Plan technical modernization" and "Armed Forces Development Program for 2013-2022." Total for the purchase and modernization of weapons and military equipment it is planned to spend about $43 billion.
In particular, starting from 2017, it is planned to upgrade all Leopard 2A4 tanks to the new Leopard 2PL standard. Deliveries of Rosomak wheeled armored fighting vehicles will continue, incl. in new versions. Production of 120 mm begins in 2016 self-propelled mortars Rak caliber 120 mm on a wheeled chassis. New vehicles are being developed on a universal modular tracked chassis (UMPG) - a heavy Gepard fire support vehicle with a 120 mm cannon (to replace the PT-91 and T-72 tanks) and a light Borsuk (to replace the BMP-1). It is planned to purchase 7 batteries of 155-mm Kryl wheeled self-propelled howitzers (from 2017). Artillerymen will also receive new WR-300 Homar MLRS with a firing range of up to 300 km (60 units should be purchased by 2022).
Self-propelled mortar Rak. Source: armyman.info.
Under the Kruk rearmament program, 24 American AH-64 Apache combat helicopters will be purchased and built under license (to replace the Mi-24). It was planned to purchase 50 H225M Caracal helicopters from Airbus as multi-purpose helicopters, but on October 4, 2016, negotiations on their acquisition were interrupted. Now the only real contender for the purchase remains the S-70i helicopter, which is assembled in Poland at the PZL-Mielec plant owned by the American company Sikorsky Aircraft. Unmanned aerial vehicles will also be purchased aircrafts(UAV), incl. drums.
For the Air Force, it is planned to buy 64 fifth-generation fighters with deliveries of the first in 2021. The modernization plan does not mention their specific type, but, given the fact that no other options are being considered, these will be the American F-35A Lightning II. Polish F-16 fighter-bombers will be armed with American cruise missiles AGM-158 JASSM with a flight range of 370 km. It is expected that the first copies of the missiles will arrive in 2017. In the future, it is planned to purchase AGM-158B JASSM-ER missiles with an increased flight range (925 km).
F-35A Lightning II.
24.04.2016 14:30
The other day we wrote about the Polish army. The fact is that the Poles decided to increase their ground forces by 50% and called their country “front-line”.
We decided to be curious about how things are going with the “front-line” army. And they found Polish military affairs somewhat neglected.
The article resonated with readers, in particular we received the following comment:
Well, we respect the offended feelings of our Slavic brother. Indeed, we look from our high bell tower and may not be objective. It is obviously incorrect to consider the Polish army in comparison with the Russian one.
It's like talking about the fighting capacity of some Gallic tribe, comparing it with a Roman legion.
But let's put jokes aside.
Let's compare the Polish army with its neighbor. Let’s take a country that is not very large, but also not small, also from the Warsaw bloc or from the USSR.
Ukraine disappears - it doesn’t have an army there, but some kind of misunderstanding that has been shedding blood for years in cauldrons cooked by miners.
Hungary is a small country, the Czech Republic is also not suitable.
Oh, Belarus will do. Its territory, of course, is smaller than Poland’s, it has no access to the sea, but oh well. Let's give the Poles a head start.
The population of Belarus is 9.5 million people.
The population of Poland is four times larger - 38.1 million people, which is also a plus for the country. More people, more taxes, more conscripts.
Accordingly, the size of the Belarusian army is 65,000 people. Military budget - 746 million dollars.
The size of the Polish army is 2 times larger - 120,000 people. And the budget is 9,650 million dollars, which is 12 times more budget Belarus. And this seems to hint.
Let's take a closer look at ground forces countries
Their number among Belarusians is 64,932 people.
The Poles have 60 thousand people.
Oops, the ground forces are equal in numbers.
Let's look at the technical equipment.
The Poles have a tank core of six hundred T-72M1s. An excellent Soviet tank of the second generation. True, even steel spares no time; 40 years of service is, of course, a lot.
In addition, there are 232 PT-91 “Hard” ones. It is a modernized version of the T-72M1, only new - it was produced in Poland from 1995 to 2002. These tanks are more competitive, have active and dynamic protection, and improved optics.
Plus, Germany received 128 Leopard 2A4s, but they were already old - they were 30 years old.
In total, 900 ancient, obsolete tanks, of which only 232 PT-91 are anything serious, and that’s a stretch.
Let's look at the Belarusians.
They have 1446 T-72B shock steel fists.
T-72B - seems to be the same ruins as the T-72M1, but not quite. This is already a third generation tank due to the Kontakt dynamic protection, plus a gun stabilizer for firing on the move, and the complex guided weapons 9K120 "Svir". This whole thing has been going on since 1985. This means that these tanks are younger than the Polish T-72M1, they are over 30 years old. And in principle they are comparable to Leopard 2A4.
And the Belarusians have almost one and a half thousand of this stuff.
Plus, there are 69 T-80Bs.
Let's see what these armies have with infantry motorization.
Let's start again with the Poles.
BMP-1 is an ancient piece of junk. Produced from 1966 to 1979, these tracked coffins are now between 50 and 37 years old and are starting to deteriorate. Every year, several vehicles leave the army's inventory and are sent for scrap. But for now there are still 1,300 of them.
The Poles have new Finnish armored personnel carriers; the contract for 690 Rosomaks is currently being fulfilled.
There are also American Cougars, International MaxxPro, 70 in total, and 200 HMMWVs.
Polish intelligence has 237 BRDM-2. The vehicle has good cross-country ability, but poor security, developed in the late 60s, and is still produced under license in Poland.
What do Belarusians have?
BMP-2, which is a completely different story. Produced since 1980, which means they are now no more than 36 years old. In terms of quantity - 875. And something tells me that among them, if anything, there will be more capable of moving after preparation than among the Polish 1300 BMP-1s.
Plus, a hundred BMD-1s and 136 BRM-1Ks.
Of the armored personnel carriers, the Belarusians have 133 BTR-80 and 111 units of all kinds of junk such as BTR-70, MT-LB, BTR-D.
But there is a contract for the supply of 32 BTR-82A. This, of course, is 690 new Finnish armored personnel carriers, but still something.
Plus, Belarusians have their own TMPC “Mule”, which indicates the presence of their own developments and production capacities.
I propose to leave artillery for later, but for now we can draw a preliminary conclusion.
The Belarusian tank fist is significantly superior to the Polish one, both in quantity and quality.
The Belarusians lack armored personnel carriers, but they have superiority in infantry fighting vehicles.
Here is an example of how, with a small military budget, you can take care of the Soviet heritage while preserving equipment.
It’s frankly not clear to me where the Poles spend 9 billion dollars every year.
Although there is an assumption: the Yankees are milking their satellites. Who knows how much the Poles actually had to pay for the Cougars?
Although, on the other hand, the Poles are now undergoing military reforms. Maybe in 5-10 years their army will be different.
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 a characteristic change in motivation from patriotic to financial. However, having a common border with Russia and Belarus and suffering from a strong form of 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 strong army to NATO (naturally, after the USA and Turkey and without taking into account nuclear potentials 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 "Legiionary" 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, 2 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" 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 soon will be written off. 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 (up to 12 more in storage) 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).
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