Ludowe Wojsko Polskie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The "Piast eagle" worn by LWP soldiers.

Ludowe Wojsko Polskie (Pronounced: [lu'dɔvɛ 'vɔjskɔ 'pɔlskʲe]; lit: Peoples' Army of Poland, LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East (1943-1945) and later the armed force (1945-1989) of the Polish communist government of Poland (since 1952, the People's Republic of Poland).

1 Name
2 History
- 2.1 Second World War
- 2.2 Post-war
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Name

The name Ludowe Wojsko Polskie (Peoples' Army of Poland) was commonly used by communist propaganda, although in fact the official name of those formations were: Armia Polska w ZSRR (Polish Army in USSR) from 1943-1944, Wojsko Polskie (Polish Army) and Siły Zbrojne Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej (Military Forces of Rzeczpospolita Polska) from 1944-1952 and since 1952 the official name of LWP in Polish was Siły Zbrojne Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej (Military Forces of Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa).

[edit] History

[edit] Second World War

During the Second World War its two major commands were the Polish First Army and the Polish Second Army. The Polish First Army participated in the seizure of Poland in 1944-45 by Soviets from Nazi forces and both armies took part in overrunning eastern Germany in 1945. LWP units were organized after the Soviet pattern. Until the fall of communism the army prestige continued to fall, as it was used by the communist government to suppress opposition.

[edit] Post-war

After the war the Polish Army was reorganized into six military districts. It was prepared to defend the country against a possible new invasion from the West (based on the plan by Stefan Mossor). In late 40s and early 50s the Polish Army was under the command of Soviet general Konstantin Rokossovsky and was increasingly tied into the Soviet structures. This process was however stopped in the aftermath of the Polish October in 1956.