Polish People's Army

Polish People's Army
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie
Emblem worn by LWP soldiers
ActiveMay 1943 – December 1989
Country Polish People's Republic
(1947–1989)
Allegiance Polish People's Republic
BranchAir Force of the Polish Army
(1943–1947)
Polish Air Force
(1947–1989)
Polish Air Defence Force
(1962–1989)
Polish Land Forces
Polish Navy
Size200,000
(1945)
HeadquartersSeltsy, RSFSR, Soviet Union
(1943–1945)
Warsaw, Polish People's Republic
(1945–1989)
PatronTadeusz Kościuszko
EngagementsWorld War II - Eastern Front

Aftermath of World War II

Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Battle honours For Warsaw
For Battle of Berlin
Commanders
First SecretaryMieczysław Rakowski (last)
Prime MinisterTadeusz Mazowiecki (last)
Minister of National DefenceFlorian Siwicki (last)
Chief of the General StaffJózef Użycki (last)

The Polish People's Army (Polish: Ludowe Wojsko Polskie, pronounced [luˈdɔvɛ ˈvɔjskɔ ˈpɔlskʲɛ]; LWP)[1] constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state (from 1952, the Polish People's Republic), ruled by the Polish Workers' Party and then the Polish United Workers' Party. The communist-led Polish armed forces, allowed and facilitated by Joseph Stalin, were the result of efforts made in the early 1940s in the Soviet Union by Wanda Wasilewska and Zygmunt Berling.

The official name of those formations were: Armia Polska w ZSRR (Polish Army in the USSR) from 1943 to 1944, Wojsko Polskie (Polish Troops) and Siły Zbrojne Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej (Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland) from 1944 to 1952 and from 1952 Siły Zbrojne Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej (Armed Forces of the Polish People's Republic). On 7 October 1950, the anniversary of the Battle of Lenino was declared the official "Day of the Polish People's Army" by the authorities of the People's Republic.

  1. ^ Popularna Encyklopedia Powszechna Wydawnictwa Fogra (2016). "Pierwsza Armia Wojska Polskiego". Encyklopedia WIEM. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)