Polish Army in France

	Polish Army in France

The plan to re-create Polish Armed Forces, developed by the Supreme Commander's staff, assumed that two infantry corps, one armoured division and 15 - 20 air force squadrons were to be established in France.

Polish Armed Forces were to be re-created based on recruitment among the Polish diaspora in France, numbering 750,000 people (of which around 500,000 had retained Polish citizenship), as well as a mong Polish soldiers interned after the September campaign in Romania - approximatedy 30,000, in Hungary - 41,000, Lithuania - 13,000 and Latvia - 1500. The transfer of these soldiers was to be carried out in an organized way by the Polish military attachés in these countries. By May 1940 it was possible for around 44,000 officers and soldiers to be transferred, mostly to western Europe. Around 4000 were transfered to the Middle East.

With the available human resources it was possible to form 4 infantry divisions (of which two only partially), the Detached Brigade of Podhale' Marksmen and the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade. In Syria the Brigade of Carpathian Marksmen (Brygada Strzelców Karpackich) was formed. These units were supplemented by the Polish Fighter Squadron (1/145 - "Warsaw Squadron") and around 100 fighter pilots were organized into the so-called "V" formations, assigned to the French squadrons, or as independent formations assigned for the defence of French cities and industrial centres.

Apart from line units, a system of military schools was re-created in France, and the Military Geographical Institute was reactivated, too.

The Supreme Commander's staff developed a memorandum entitled "The most important conclusions and experiences from the September Campaign", based on reports by around 3000 officers, characterizing the German use of tank units, air force and sabotage tactics, as well as methods of combating them. This memorandum, however, was not used, nor even analysed by the French command.

The conclusions from the September campaign were, on the other hand, immediately applied by the Supreme Commander's staff during the development of the "Directives for the training of commanders". This regulation, based on the conclusions from 1939, was then the most up-to-date military regulation and the most appropriate from the point of view of conditions on a contemporary battlefield.

The "independent" anti-tank units, formed in France on the basis of the Polish infantry divisions assigned to French units took part in the initial phase of the war. After the Germans broke the front at Somme and Aisne, large Polish formations also entered the combat. A battle group formed from the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, filling the gap left by the withdrawing French armies - the 4th and 6th, which carried out a series of local counterattacks. The 1st Grenadiers' Division, commanded by Gen. Bronisław Duch, a part of the French 20th Corps, took a combat route from Altwilletr-Lening, through Dieuze-Lagarde, the Marne-Rhine channel, and ended up in Baccarat. On the day before signing the cease-fire between France and Germany (April 21) the commander of the division has dissolved the troops subordinated to him.
 

The 2nd Division of Pedestrian Marksmen, commanded by Gen. Bronisław Prugar-Ketling, a part of the French 45th Corps, fought near Belfort, then at the river Doubs, near Maiche and along the river Saone. Eventually it crossed the border with Switzerland where its soldiers have been interned.
 

The Detached Brigade of Podhale Marksmen, evacuated from Norway, fought alongside the battle group formed from the Polish training camps in the defence of the Bretogne Redoubt.

Polish fighter pilots taking part in combat shot down 54 German planes, but in so doing lost 11 of their own pilots.

 

General Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (1881-1943) During the First World War he served in the Polish Legions, and in the Polish-Bolshevik war (1919-1920) he commanded an army. In the inter-war period he served, among other posts, as the Chief of the General Staff, Prime Minister, Minister of Military Affairs. He was also a military theoretician, the author of a work entitled "Future War", which was translated into many languages. From 30 Sept. 1939 he performed the duty of the Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile and from 7 Nov. 1939 - of the Supreme Commander. He was nominated to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1940. On 4 July 1943 he died in an air crash near Gibraltar. He was decorated, amongst others, with the 2nd and 5th class Virtuti Militari, French Honorable League - 1st class, and the Norwegian War Cross. He was awarded honoris causa doctorates of St. Andrews University and Liverpool University.

 

Polish Army in France
Date	Number of soldiers
20 Oct. 1939 r.	1 900
10 Jan. 1940 r.	31 409
27 April 1940 r.	68 423
15 June 1940 r.	84 461

 

Poles in the French campaign

The following Polish ground and air forces took part in the allied operations in France: - 4 infantry divisions (of which 2 were incomplete), - 1 infantry brigade, - 1 armoured cavalry brigade, - 12 independent anti-tank units, - 1 fighter squadron. Polish Army suffered losses amounting to approx. 6000 killed and wounded. Because of the late start of the evacuation to Great Britain only just over 20,000 fficers and soldiers managed to be transferred, and around 13,000 Polish soldiers became interned in Switzerland.