Polish Armed Forces in the East

The Polish Armed Forces in the East (Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Wschodzie), also called Polish Army in the USSR, were the Polish military forces established in the Soviet Union during World War II. Two armies were formed separately and at different times. Anders' Army, created in the second half of 1941, was loyal to the Polish government-in-exile. After Operation Barbarossa and the consequent Polish-Soviet Sikorski–Mayski agreement, an amnesty for Polish citizens in the Soviet Union was declared, which made the formation of Polish military units possible. In 1942, Anders' Army was evacuated to Iran and transferred to the command of the Western Allies. It became known as the Polish II Corps and went on to fight Nazi German forces in the Italian Campaign, including the Battle of Monte Cassino. From Poles who remained in the Soviet Union, the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was formed in May 1943. It was enlarged and reorganised into the Polish First Army (Berling's Army) and the Polish Second Army. Together they constituted the Polish People's Army (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie, LWP); it fought on the Eastern Front under Soviet command all the way to the Battle of Berlin. Like other communist-led Polish institutions, the People's Army operated in opposition to the Polish government-in-exile. After the war, the Polish People's Army became the military of communist-ruled Poland. At the outset of the Soviet invasion of Poland (17 September 1939), the Soviets declared that the Polish state and government—as a result of the German invasion of Poland that began on 1 September 1939—no longer existed and proclaimed any treaty or diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Poland invalid. Diplomatic relations were re-established in 1941 after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, when the British government allied itself with the attacked Soviet Union and pressured the Polish government to act accordingly.

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Related concepts (10)

Polish Armed Forces in the West

The Polish Armed Forces in the West (Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Zachodzie) refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; these were the Polish Armed Forces in the East. The formations, loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, were first formed in France and its Middle East territories following the defeat and occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939.

Polish Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated SZ RP; popularly called Wojsko Polskie in Poland, abbreviated WP—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of the Republic of Poland. The name has been used since the early 19th century, but can also be applied to earlier periods.

Anders' Army

Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understanding between the British, Polish, and Soviets, it was evacuated from the Soviet Union and made its way through Iran to Palestine. There it passed under British command and provided the bulk of the units and troops of the Polish II Corps (member of the Polish Armed Forces in the West), which fought in the Italian Campaign.