Polish Army
From the past to the future
For Poland, all of it history the army was the subject of vigilant concern. Having restored their independence after the First World War, the Poles did not reach the superpower, but they were able to create a strong army:
by the morning of September 1, 1939, Poland deployed 24 infantry divisions, 3 mountain infantry, 8 cavalry and 1 armored brigades, more than 1 million people in total.
This was complemented by good by the standards of a second-rate country fleet and a powerful border guard corps. It did not help, and could not help, but the Germans suffered losses, and the Poles somehow held out for a month, which in those conditions was a success. The greatest possible success.
The current Polish Army began to form in 1943 in the Selets camps near Ryazan. First, the 1 Kosciuszko Infantry Division, then the army. In total, two armies were formed, there were plans to create a Polish front. The Poles took an active part in the battles of the final stage of the Second World War, being the largest army of the allies of the USSR in Eastern Europe.
They did not suffer as part of the Department of Internal Affairs, by the time of its collapse, the Polish People's Army was 300 thousand military personnel, 3 tanks, 3 aviation divisions, powerful air defense, armed with S-200 and S-125 systems, a good fleet and a personnel reserve. In principle, the Polish army in all respects was inferior only to the army of the GDR and was numerically comparable to the armies of the European members of NATO.
In the 90s, all this power began to fade, because the supply of Soviet weapons ceased, but, having their own military-industrial complex and claiming to be the main force of the alliance in Eastern Europe, the Poles managed to maintain a strong army.
Contemporaneity
Poland is constantly increasing the size of the army, now it is 155 thousand people (together with the defense), it is planned to increase it to 300 thousand people. Technique is pretty good too.
- 985 tanks, including 250 Leopards. It is planned to purchase 250 "Abrams". At the same time, the Poles produce their own licensed version of the T-72;
– 1 BMPs, mostly Soviet BMP-300s;
- up to 900 wheeled AFVs;
- 431 self-propelled howitzers;
- 180 MLRS;
- 28 Mi-24 helicopters, at least 24 Bayraktar UAVs;
- 48 F-16 fighter-bombers and an unclear number of serviceable Soviet aircraft (Su-22 and MiG-29). There are plans to purchase the F-35.
The Poles also have a good fleet - three old submarines, two frigates (USA), two corvettes and three missile boats.
Of course, not everything is so simple, for example, according to Soviet aircraft, there is a version that they could not be transferred to Ukraine due to their technical condition, but for tanks:
As for the T-72M1s currently in the possession of the Polish Army, four tank battalions are equipped with them and it is planned to form another of the stocks of equipment (144 T-72M / M1 tanks are used as training tanks or are in storage, in addition, there are 210 tanks in long-term storage T-72 of various modifications). A number of experts claim that of all combat vehicles of this type, only 270 units are on the move.
Having them in general and having combat-ready ones are two different things. The weak point of Poland and air defense, but it is strengthened by Britain and the United States. In general, the Poles have a small but well-trained army, capable of doubling its size through mobilization.
Prospects
I won’t talk about drawing NATO into the conflict, this is unscientific fiction, but the actions of Poland separately ...
In theory, without caring about the Belarusian border, which will be covered by the alliance troops stationed in Poland, and those that can be quickly transferred there from Germany, the Polish Army can occupy Western Ukraine in a matter of days, since there is no one to resist there, the Armed Forces of Ukraine in that region have two or three brigades and up to a dozen combat aircraft. Yes, and they will not resist in the current situation, in fact, a mirror golden September will come out, when the Poles fought with the Wehrmacht, but surrendered to the Red Army, with rare exceptions.
Another issue is the risk of a collision with the RF Armed Forces, and the possible counter-operation of Minsk in Volyn, which will inevitably lead to a clash between the Polish Army and the Russian-Belarusian forces. Moreover, the behavior of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this situation is also unpredictable, up to a truce with us in the Zhytomyr-Kyiv region and the transfer of a number of brigades to the West.
This kind of operation carries two risks for the Poles:
- the likelihood of a full-scale war with Russia, with strikes on Polish territory from the Kaliningrad region, which will put NATO as a whole in an uncomfortable position;
- with the resistance of the Ukrainians, all this will turn from a peacekeeping operation into a division of Ukraine, where for the West, which is a prisoner of their propaganda, the Poles will act as aggressors.
It is impossible to underestimate the enemy, the Poles have a quite powerful and professional army, but not enough to intervene in conflicts of this magnitude alone, and the political factor plays against their aspirations. Again, it will be difficult to annex the occupied territories, so Polish dreams are Polish dreams, and the real probability of their implementation tends to zero. Will there be a reliable guarantee that Russia will not respond?
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