Poland in WWII

[dragoon500ly]

I know its dated, but is intresting just how big a role Poland played in WWII in spite of being conquered in 1939....

Following the surrender, those Polish soldiers who did not intern themselves in Hungary and Romania made their way to France. From this, and with the enlistment of Polish citizens already living outside the country, they rebuilt the Polish Army.

The first unit to be organized was a Mountain Brigade (1st Independent Highland Brigade) intended to join the Allied forces being sent to aid Finland. When the Finns stuck a bargain with the Russians, the brigade was diverted to join the Norwegian campaign and served mostly around Narvik in 1940.

At the outbreak of the German Offensive in May, 1940, two Polish Infantry Divisions (1st and 2nd) were serving at the front and two additional Infantry Divisions (the 3rd and 4th) were in the process of being equipped by the French. A Cavalry Brigade (the 10th) was also being formed.

The 1st Polish Grenadier Division was badly cut up serving as the rearguard for French forces retreating from the Saar region. The 2nd Polish Rifle Division retreated into Switzerland with other French troops and was interned there. The 3rd Polish Rifle Divison and 10th Polish Mechanized Cavalry Brigade were destroyed in the Battle of France and the 4th Polish Rifle Divison managed to make it to a port for evacuation to England.

The fall of France meant that those Polish troops escaping from internment in Hungary and Romania had nowhere to go. The escape route they used ran through the French-controlled territories of Syria and Lebanon and a Polish formation was established in Lebanon. With the fall of France, this unit (the Carpathian Brigade) made its way into Palestine and came under British control. It was retrained and requipped as a British infantry brigade and served with the Eighth Army from Operation Crusader on. As additional Polish troops, newly released from captivity in the Soviet Union, the brigade was withdrawn and used to help form the II Polish Corps.

As plans were made to release Polish POWs captured by the Russians, the Germans released the news that the Soviets had murdered Polish officers at Katyn. In outrage over the Soviet program to behead the Polish people by the murders of the military and political leadership, the Free Polish Government-in-exile (in London) cut all ties with the Soviet Union and ordered all troops in Russia to leave.

The Soviets quickly responded by setting up their own Polish Government-in-exile and formed its own Polish Army. The Polish POWs still under Russian control were given the choice of fighting for the Russians or remain in the POW camps until the end of the war. The Russians fielded:

First Army
1st Infantry Division
2nd Infantry Division
3rd Infantry Division
4th Infantry Division
6th Infantry Divison
1st Armored Brigade
13th Tank Destroyer Regiment
4th Heavy Tank Regiment
13th Armored Artillery Regiment
2nd Howitzer Brigade
1st Mortar Brigade
25th SP Artillery Regiment
1st Independent Cavalry Brigade

Second Army
5th Infantry Division
7th Infantry Division
8th Infantry Division
9th Infantry Division
10th Infantry Division
16th Armored Brigade
24th Tan Destroyer Regiment
26th Antiaircraft Regiment

While Soviets were busy organizing their Polish Army, the II Polish Corps, reequipped by the British, were committed to action in Italy.

II Polish Corps
3rd Carpathian Infantry Divsion
5th Kresowa Infantry Division
2nd Independent Armored Brigade (later the 2nd Armored Division)
Carpathian Lancers (recce regiment)
2nd Polish Commando
7th Horse Artillery Regiment
9th Field Artillery Regiment
10th Medium Artillery Regiment
11th Medium Artillery Regiment
7th Antitank Regiment (SP)

The Polish forces which fled to England in 1940 soon found themselves reorganzied into two new formations, the 1st Armored Division and the 1st Parachute Brigade. The 1st Polish Armored Division fought with the First Canadian Army. The 1st Polish Airborne Brigade had been raised for a proposed airdrop on Warsaw, which was never carried out. It found its moment of glory during its participation in Operation Market Garden.

Not too shabby for a country that 'gave up' in 1939!

[Mohoender]

You forget about navy and air force. The Poles were operating several naval units, including a cruiser and destroyers.

In addition, they were extremely active in the air force, first with the French and then with the British after the capitulation of France.

In France the Polish air force numbered 7990 men with the "Varsovie Group" quickly becoming operationnal and destroying 56 ennemy aircrafts. Further squadrons were constituted beofre june 1940. As a matter of fact, one of these squadrons was located at Fayence (3 miles from my place), using Caudron C-714.

When France capitulated in June, 6000 of these 8000 men left France for Britain through Spain and Gibraltar (as a point of comparison, only 400 out of the 10.000 Frenchmen evacuated at Dunkirk chose to remain in UK).

At first, the British were reluctant to use them but by August 1940 they had constituted 6 squadrons: 4 bombers and 2 fighters (302 "Poznan") and (303 "Kosziusco"). During the battle of England they will destroy 201 aircrafts out of the 1733 lost by the Luftwaffe (135 for the sole 303 "Kosziusco"). All over the war, Polish pilots will have destroyed no less than 1120 aircrafts (including these destroyed over Poland and France).

A last point, the Czech were quite involved as well.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

A last point, the Czech were quite involved as well.

The film Dark Blue World was about Czech pilots flying for the British during WWII. The main character ends up in prison in Czechoslovakia after the war because of his wartime service with the RAF (the Communist regime deemed him to have been corrupted by western ideology). Good film IMO.

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by Targan

The film Dark Blue World was about Czech pilots flying for the British during WWII. The main character ends up in prison in Czechoslovakia after the war because of his wartime service with the RAF (the Communist regime deemed him to have been corrupted by western ideology). Good film IMO.

I haven't seen it but I'll try to find it. I think that the same occurs to the Poles and that partly explains the large importance of Polish/Czech community in France. My first wife was of Polish descent with her family coming to France in 1948, a member of our government is a Kosciuzco, and the same can be said about our president (also he is Hungarian).

[dragoon500ly]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

You forget about navy and air force. The Poles were operating several naval units, including a cruiser and destroyers.

In addition, they were extremely active in the air force, first with the French and then with the British after the capitulation of France.

In France the Polish air force numbered 7990 men with the "Varsovie Group" quickly becoming operationnal and destroying 56 ennemy aircrafts. Further squadrons were constituted beofre june 1940. As a matter of fact, one of these squadrons was located at Fayence (3 miles from my place), using Caudron C-714.

When France capitulated in June, 6000 of these 8000 men left France for Britain through Spain and Gibraltar (as a point of comparison, only 400 out of the 10.000 Frenchmen evacuated at Dunkirk chose to remain in UK).

At first, the British were reluctant to use them but by August 1940 they had constituted 6 squadrons: 4 bombers and 2 fighters (302 "Poznan") and (303 "Kosziusco"). During the battle of England they will destroy 201 aircrafts out of the 1733 lost by the Luftwaffe (135 for the sole 303 "Kosziusco"). All over the war, Polish pilots will have destroyed no less than 1120 aircrafts (including these destroyed over Poland and France).

A last point, the Czech were quite involved as well.

Actually, I didn't forget about the Polish Air Force and Navy, I simply didn't have firm details when I first posted. I'm a former ground pounder so my focus is on the services I know best...narrow minded I know, but what the hay!

When the Poles first arrived in England, the British Army was scrambling to requip its own forces following the Dunkirk evacuation, so most of the Poles were posted as garrison troops in Scotland. Since a lot of the Poles who fought for the Western Allies remained in the west, if you flip through the Scottish phone directories....you will see a lot of names starting with 'Mac' and a lot of names ending in 'ski'...

[Legbreaker]

After the war though the Poles were generally treated like a second unwelcome class. Many Poles returned to Poland, not because they felt they had a bright future back home, nor any real ties to the land, but more from frustration that they simply weren't being given a fair go in Britain.
I can't say what percentage went back and how many stayed to suffer through the insults and general indifference though.

[dragoon500ly]

All too true, but a lot of the Poles that went back suffered at the hands of the communist party...

So basically it sucked to be in the West AND East...

And please don't get me started on the British treatment of the Cossacks!

[Legbreaker]

It's this poor treatment by the west that I can really see the Communists playing on to turn the population against them. Yes there were the various uprisings prior to the outbreak of WWIII, however once hostilities commenced, I can really see the eastern propaganda machine really ramping up and using issues like this to keep the Poles (and Czechs, etc) from defecting.

[simonmark6]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

After the war though the Poles were generally treated like a second unwelcome class. Many Poles returned to Poland, not because they felt they had a bright future back home, nor any real ties to the land, but more from frustration that they simply weren't being given a fair go in Britain.
I can't say what percentage went back and how many stayed to suffer through the insults and general indifference though.

Interestingly enough, this wasn't the experience of my family or the ex-Polish community in my town. At the end of the war there were seventy Polish servicemen billeted in the village, my maternal grandfather was one of them. The local community insisted that the men that had helped defend their country had a home here and indeed they raised the money to bring over as many of the polish families as they could once it became clear that the Soviets weren't going to move out of Poland.

In fact, the local Catholic Church still employs at least one Polish speaking priest to serve the needs of the older members of the community. True, our village may be atypical, it certainly was in WW1 but not all Poles were treated as second class citizens.

[Rainbow Six]

Probably also worth mentioning the Polish Home Army, which fought against the Germans in occupied Poland, and was considered to be an official part of the Polish Armed Forces (and even acknowledged as such by the Germans after the 1944 Warsaw Rising). Several sources quote its strength as being somewhere around the 400,000 mark and credit it with tieing down several German Divisions.