1.
10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade (Poland)
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The 10th Cavalry Brigade was a Polish military unit in World War II. It was the fully operational Polish motorized infantry unit during the Invasion of Poland. Commanded by Colonel, later General Stanisław Maczek, it is considered one of few Polish World War II military units not to have been defeated in 1939. Another was General Franciszek Kleebergs Independent Operational Group Polesie, the unit was organized in February 1937, partly as an experiment. It was to be a hybrid between a standard motorized infantry brigade and the French concept of Division legere, as Polish cavalry generals still had some doubts about the value of mechanized forces, there was some opposition against reforming standard cavalry units into motorized units. Testing of the new unit was held in a specially created training ground near Kielce, the brigade was conceived as an emergency unit in the Commander-in-Chief’s reserve. Its task was to screen the areas of concentration of Polish troops, to close gaps made by enemy forces in Polish lines, the brigades first exercise in offensive action in 1939 was considered a failure. It proved to be equipped in anti-tank ordnance to counter enemy armoured units successfully. It was also considered insufficiently versatile, especially compared with a standard cavalry unit. Because of that, several changes were introduced which were later copied during the formation of the Warsaw Armoured Cavalry Brigade. The commanding officer of the unit was Colonel Stanisław Maczek and the chief of his staff was Major Franciszek Skibiński and it is to be noted that, despite being fully motorized, the brigade was still officially named the 10th Cavalry Brigade. However, most printed sources refer to it as Motorized in order to distinguish the unit from its predecessors, during the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, the brigade was attached to the Kraków Army defending Lesser Poland and Silesia. Equipped with only light tanks and tankettes and without one artillery battery, after the Battle of Jordanów Maczeks unit faced the entire German XVIII Corps of General Eugen Beyer and successfully shielded the southern flank of the Polish forces along the Beskides. Supported by several battalions of Border Guards and National Defence forces, for five days Maczek’s brigade effectively slowed the German advance. Despite numerical and technical superiority, the German units daily gain was no more than 10 kilometres, Polish soldiers took advantage of difficult, mountainous terrain, stopping German attacks and occasionally counter-attacking. However, after the front of the Kraków Army was broken to the north of brigades position, the brigade then fought as a screening unit, defending the bridges and fords in Lesser Poland, until it arrived in Lwów and joined the city’s defenders. The unit was to be formed into a reserve during the battle for Lwów to facilitate the withdrawal of other Polish units towards the Romanian Bridgehead. However, the plan was made obsolete by the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union on September 17, after two days, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Marshal of Poland ordered the brigade to cross the Hungarian border
2.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
3.
Polish Land Forces
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The Land Forces are a military branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. They currently contain some 65,000 active personnel and form many components of European Union, Polands recorded military history stretches back for hundreds of years – since the 10th century, but Polands modern army was formed after 1918. When Poland regained independence in 1918, it recreated its military which participated in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1921, the Polish land forces as readied for the Polish-Soviet War was made up of soldiers who had formerly served in the various partitioning empires, supported by some international volunteers. There appear to have been a total of around 30 Polish divisions involved, boris Savinkov was at the head of an army of 20,000 to 30,000 largely Russian POWs, and was accompanied by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius. The Polish forces grew from approximately 100,000 in 1918 to over 500,000 in early 1920, in August 1920, the Polish army had reached a total strength of 737,767 people, half of that was on the frontline. Given Soviet losses, there was rough numerical parity between the two armies, and by the time of the battle of Warsaw Poles might have even had an advantage in numbers. Among the major formations involved on the Polish side were a number of Fronts, including the Lithuanian-Belarusian Front, the German invasion of Poland began on 1 September 1939, and the Wehrmacht seized half the country quickly despite heavy Polish resistance. Among the erroneous myths generated by this campaign were accounts of Polish cavalry charging German tanks, in the east, the Red Army took the other half of the country in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Following the countrys fall, Polish soldiers began regrouping in what was to become the Polish Army in France. Both the Polish Armed Forces in the West and the Polish Armed Forces in the East, as well as interior forces, while the forces fighting under the Allied banner were supported by the Polish air force and navy, the partisan forces were an exclusive land formation. However the army today has its roots in the surrogate force formed in support of Soviet interests during the establishment of the Peoples Republic of Poland after the Second World War. Two Polish armies, the First Army and the Second Army fought with the Red Army on the Eastern Front, the formation of a Third Army was begun but not completed. The end of the war found the Polish Army in the midst of intense organisational development, although the implementation of the Polish Front concept was abandoned, new tactical unit and troop types were created. As a result of mobilisation, troop numbers in May 1945 reached 370,000 soldiers, Military districts were organised in liberated areas. The districts exercised direct authority over the units stationed on the territory administered by them, the southern border, from Jelenia Gora to the Użok railway station was occupied by the First Army. Its headquarters staff formed the basis of the Silesian Military District, in mid-1945, after the end of World War II, the Polish Army, as part of the overall armed forces, the Peoples Army of Poland, was divided into six districts. In June 1945 the 1st, 3rd and 8th Infantry Divisions were assigned internal security duties, the rule was that military units were used primarily against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, while the Internal Security Corps was used to fight the armed underground independence. Often however army units fought the underground resistance, and vice versa, the culmination of the UPA suppression operation was the so-called Wisła Action which took place in 1947
4.
10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade (Poland)
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The Polish 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade was an armoured formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the West. Led by General Stanisław Maczek, it took part in the Battle of France in May 1940 and it was later reformed in Great Britain as a part of the 1st Armoured Division. Under the terms of the Franco-Polish Military Alliance, France and Poland were allies in the lead-up to World War II. After Poland was defeated by Germany in September 1939, many Polish soldiers made their way to France where a new Polish Army in France was created to continue the fight against the Germans. These forces were commanded by General Władysław Sikorski, who was also Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile, French generals were not, however, interested in Polish information about the German tactics of Blitzkrieg displayed in the campaign in Poland. There was a belief among the French High Command that the Polish armed forces jad been incompetent. When General Maczek and his veterans tried to create a Polish mechanized division, they were not able to procure the equipment necessary for rapid training and this state of affairs changed when Germany invaded the Low Countries in 1940, out-flanking the French fortifications. General Maczeks unit suddenly received all the equipment they had asked for on condition and this proved impossible because many Polish soldiers were unfamiliar with their new equipment and there was no time for training. General Maczek decided to lead a force of his best trained men. That small force, comprising veterans of the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade, was now renamed the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, on June 6, the brigade had one tank battalion, two strong motorized cavalry squadrons, one anti-tank battery and one anti-aircraft battery. The brigade was attached to the French Fourth Army near Reims, however, Maczeks unit was much too weak to hold back full German armoured divisions successfully. Polish soldiers managed to only one retreating French infantry division by attacking German forces in Champaubert-Montgivroux. Later, the brigade had to withdraw along with French troops, on June 16 the brigade attacked by night the town of Montbard over the Burgundy Canal. Maczeks soldiers completely surprised the Germans and took many prisoners, the brigade was by this time fighting alone, with the French units on both flanks either routed or in retreat. There were no French forces to exploit its victory and the decimated Polish unit found itself surrounded y the enemy, on June 18, General Maczek decided to destroy most of his equipment and withdraw on foot. Later that day he split the remnants of his brigade into small groups, the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade was a small formation, but with an excellent fighting spirit. Most of its soldiers, after reaching Britain, formed part of General Maczeks 1st Armoured Division created in February 1942, the brigade fought as part of the 1st Armoured Division in north-west Europe in 1944-45, but was disbanded after the war. However it was reformed in 1995 and later equipped with Leopard 2 tanks purchased from Germany and it is now part of the 11th Armoured Cavalry Division headquartered at Żagań
5.
Polish Armed Forces in the West
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The Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. After the fall of France, in June 1940, the formations were recreated in the United Kingdom, making a large contribution to the war effort, the Polish Armed Forces in the West was composed of army, air and naval forces. The Poles soon became shock troops in Allied service, most notably in the Battle of Monte Cassino, during the Italian Campaign, where the Polish flag was raised on the ruined abbey on May 18,1944. The Polish Armed Forces in the West were finally disbanded, after the war, in 1947, after Polands defeat in September-October 1939, the Polish government-in-exile quickly organized in France a new fighting force originally of about 80,000 men. Their units were subordinate to the French Army, in early 1940 a Polish Independent Highland Brigade took part in the Battles of Narvik in Norway. A Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade was formed in the French Mandate of Syria, the Polish Air Force in France comprised 86 aircraft in four squadrons, one and a half of the squadrons being fully operational while the rest were in various stages of training. Two Polish divisions took part in the defence of France, while a Polish motorized brigade, at the capitulation of France, General Władysław Sikorski was able to evacuate many Polish troops—probably over 20, 000—to the United Kingdom. I Corps was under the command of Scottish Command of the British Army. While in this area the Corps was reorganised and expanded, meanwhile, Polish fliers had an important role in the Battle of Britain. From these a 75, 000-strong army was formed in the Soviet Union under General Władysław Anders and this army, successively gathered in Bouzoulouk, Samarkand, was later ferried from Krasnovodsk across the Caspian Sea to the Middle East where Polish II Corps was formed. By the end of the Second World War, they were 195,000 strong, after the German Instrument of Surrender,1945, Polish troops took part in occupation duties in the Western Allied Occupation Zones in Germany. A Polish town was created, it was first named Lwow, Polish troops were incorporated into the 1945 top secret contingency plan, Operation Unthinkable, the hypothetical attack on the Soviet Union that would have led to an independent Poland. By 1945, there was growing sentiment in Britain, particularly among the trade unions which feared competition for jobs from Polish immigrants. At the same time, there was British and American concern about a state being built in Poland. Argentina and Brazil were also reported ready to offer them homes, Anders argued that he could not advise the soldiers to return to Poland unless the Polish Government promised elections this spring. Bevin, too, wanted immediate Polish elections, but both men knew that the chances were becoming slimmer, in Poland the split between the Communist-Socialist groups and shrewd Stanislaw Mikolajczyks Polish Peasant Party was deepening. Security Police raids on Peasant Party headquarters were reported last week, nevertheless, Bevin argued that, elections or no, the Poles in Anders army should go home. In January 1946 Bevin protested against killings by the Polish provisional government, in February 1946, Time reported Britains Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin told a tense House of Commons last week that terror had become an instrument of national policy in the new Poland
6.
Military organization
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Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer military capability required by the national defense policy. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in an armed forces. Armed forces that are not a part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often mimic military organizations, the use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army. These in turn manage Armed Services that themselves command combat, combat support and combat support formations. Within each departmental agency will be found administrative branches responsible for further agency business specialization work, in most countries the armed forces are divided into three or four Armed services, army, navy, and air force. Many countries have a variation on the model of three or four basic Armed Services. Some nations also organize their marines, special forces or strategic missile forces as independent armed services, a nations coast guard may also be an independent military branch of its military, although in many nations the coast guard is a law enforcement or civil agency. A number of countries have no navy, for geographical reasons, most smaller countries have a single organization that encompasses all armed forces employed by the country in question. Third-world armies tend to consist primarily of infantry, while first-world armies tend to have larger units manning expensive equipment and it is worthwhile to make mention of the term joint. In western militaries, a joint force is defined as a unit or formation comprising representation of power from two or more branches of the military. It is common, at least in the European and North American militaries, to refer to the blocks of a military as commands, formations. In a military context, a command is a collection of units and it is not uncommon for a nations services to each consist of their own command, but this does not preclude the existence of commands which are not service-based. A formation is defined by the US Department of Defense as two or more aircraft, ships, or units proceeding together under a commander. The formations only differ in their ability to achieve different scales of application of force to achieve different strategic, operational and tactical goals and it is a composite military organization that includes a mixture of integrated and operationally attached sub-units, and is usually combat-capable. Example of formations include, divisions, brigades, battalions, wings, formation may also refer to tactical formation, the physical arrangement or disposition of troops and weapons. Examples of formation in such usage include, pakfront, panzerkeil, testudo formation, any unit subordinate to another unit is considered its sub-unit or minor unit. It is not uncommon for unit and formation to be used synonymously in the United States, in Commonwealth practice, formation is not used for smaller organizations like battalions which are instead called units, and their constituent platoons or companies are referred to as sub-units. In the Commonwealth, formations are divisions, brigades, etc, different armed forces, and even different branches of service of the armed forces, may use the same name to denote different types of organizations
