Territorial Defence Force (Poland)

Polish Territorial Defence Forces
Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej
Military eagle
Founded1 January 2017
Country Poland
AllegiancePolish Armed Forces
Typelight infantry
Size40,000+ (2023)[1]
Motto(s)Always ready, always close
Commanders
Commander of Territorial Defence Forcesgen. bryg Krzysztof Stańczyk[2]
Insignia
Flag[3]

The Territorial Defence Force – TDF (Polish: Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej – WOT) is the fifth military branch of the Polish Armed Forces, following Land Forces, Air Force, Navy and Special Forces.[4] The force is made up of professional and part-time volunteer soldiers, forming part of the country's defence and deterrence system. Formed in 2016, it had reached 24,000 personnel by July 2019,[5][6] and was slated to reach a size of around 53,000 personnel in 17 light infantry brigades by 2021.[7] The creation of the Polish TDF relates to the reforms in the Baltic states' Territorial Defence Forces to provide response during the early stages of a hybrid conflict.[8]

  1. ^ "Nowe bataliony. WOT liczy już ponad 24 tys. (New TDF battalions. Number of military personnel more than 24 000)". 9 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Gen. Kukuła już nie dowodzi WOT. Znamy następcę". 5 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Ustawa z dnia 19 lutego 1993 r. o znakach Sił Zbrojnych Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej" [Act of 19 February 1993 on the symbols of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland] (PDF). isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Internet System of Legal Acts. pp. 24–28. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. ^ Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland (10 May 2017). "Territorial Defence Forces". Official website of the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Nowe bataliony WOT (New TDF battalions) - MilMag.pl". 6 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Trzeci rok szkolenia 3. Podkarpackiej Brygady WOT - Defence24". 22 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Rośnie stan osobowy Wojsk Obrony Terytorialnej - Defence24". 6 October 2018.
  8. ^ Piotr, Szymański (20 March 2015). "The Baltic states' Territorial Defence Forces in the face of hybrid threats". The Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW). Retrieved 6 July 2017.