The "Piast eagle" worn by LWP soldiers. Piast dynasty is the name used since the 17th century for Polish Royal Dynasty that ruled Poland from its beginnings as Duchy ruled by Mieszko

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). Polish Armed Forces in the East (Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Wschodzie (or Polish Army in USSR) refers to military units composed of Poles created in the Soviet Polish communists can trace their origins to early 1800s as is the case in nearby countries The People's Republic of Poland or Polish People's Republic ( Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL Russian

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). The Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland (also known as July Constitution or Constitution of 1952 was passed on 22 July 1952 Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. The People's Republic of Poland or Polish People's Republic ( Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL Russian

History

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 (Pierwsza Armia Wojska Polskiego 1 AWP for short was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944 from previously existing Polish I Corps The Polish Second Army ( Polish: Druga Armia Wojska Polskiego, 2 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. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Until the fall of communism the army prestige continued to fall, as it was used by the communist government to suppress opposition. "Fall of Communism" redirects here For the fall of the Soviet Union itself see History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991.

Post-war

After the war the Polish Army was reorganized into six military districts. Military districts are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army which are responsible for a certain area of territory It was prepared to defend the country against a possible new invasion from the West (based on the plan by Stefan Mossor). Stefan Mossor (1896 - 1957 was a Polish general Member of the Polish Legions. 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. Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy (Рокоссо́вский Константи́н Константи́нович Konstanty Ksawerowicz Rokossowski ( &ndash August 3 1968 was This process was however stopped in the aftermath of the Polish October in 1956. Polish October, also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka thaw, refers to the change in the Polish internal political scene in

See also

• Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego or PKWN) - 1944/45
• Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej or RTRP) - 1945
• Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej or TRJN)- 1945/47
• People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa or PRL) - 1944/52 (unofficial), 1952/89 (official)
• Polish government-in-exile
• Air Force of the Polish Army
• Battle of Bautzen (1945)
• Battle of Kolberg
• Battle of Lenino

External links

• Polish Army in the East 1943-1945