The Officer Corps of the Polish Army in the USSR and in the Polish People’s Army (Wojsko Polskie), 1943–1945

Abstract

Introduction. On the territory of the Soviet Union, Polish troops intended for joint struggle with Nazi Germany were formed twice. The first attempt was unsuccessful: the army of General V. Anders, after complex political maneuvers in which the Western Allies participated, was withdrawn to the territory of Iran in 1942. The second attempt, undertaken in the spring of 1943, was much more successful: in two years, over 300,000 Polish troops were deployed. Methods and materials. The method of historicism was used in the development of the article. The research is based on the materials declassified in recent years by Soviet state and military authorities, as well as materials from documentary publications and research literature. Analysis. The article analyzes the most acute problem associated with the reconstruction of the Polish Army – the staffing of military units with officers. The reasons for the chronic shortage of officers of Polish nationality and the main ways of their research are shown: training in specialized military educational institutions organized, mobilization of Polish officers in the liberated territories, secondment of Soviet officers to the Polish Army. The specific difficulties in this work are considered. Results. The re-establishment of the officer corps of the Polish army was the result of purposeful coordinated efforts of the highest authorities of the Soviet Union, the leadership of the People’s Commissariat of Defense and the command of the Polish Army, which allowed Poles to take part in joint operations with the Red Army in the final defeat of German Nazism.