Poland is Still Free
A Guide to the Polish Army
1940-1945

Northwest Europe 1944-1945

by Greg Novak

The Polish forces which fled to England in 1940 found themselves far from welcomed. The losses suffered in France meant that the British Army was badly in need, and little was left over for groups like the Poles. The fact that a sizable minority of the Polish manpower were officers did not help matters. The British solution was to send the Poles to Scotland to serve as garrison troops there. (The success of this move can be best seen today in Highland Phone Books, where names ending in "ski" are often as common as those starting with "Mac.")

Polish officers were asked to volunteer for service with African formations, and 264 did so, serving in Burma with the 11th and 12th Infantry Divisions against the Japanese. In England, two formations were established, the 1st Armored Division and the 1st Parachute Brigade. It should be noted that until after D-Day, the Polish troops in England were cut off from any additional sources of manpower. After the return to France in 1944, an additional infantry division (the 4th) was raised in England, but the war ended before it went into action.

The Polish parachute brigade was raised for a proposed drop on Warsaw which was never carried out. Its most famous moment was its participation in the Market Garden Operation. The 1st Armored Division served with the 1st Canadian Army, while the 1st Polish Corps never saw active service.

Ist Polish Corps


All units Experienced, Morale: 9 unless otherwise noted

1st Light Horse (Corps Recon Regiment, 1945)

1st Armored Division
organize as 1944-45 British Armored Division

    10th Armored Brigade
      1st Armored Regiment-Shermans
      2nd Armored Regiment-Shermans
      24th Lancers-Shermans
      10th Dragoons (Motor Rifle Battalion)

    3rd Rifle Brigade

      Podolian Light Infantry
      8th Light Infantry
      9th Light Infantry
      1st Independent Machinegun Squadron

    10th Mounted Rifle Regiment (Recon-Cromwells)
    1st Motorized Artillery Regiment
    2nd Motorized Artillery Regiment
    1st Antitank Regiment
    1st Lt AA Regiment

1st Polish Parachute Brigade
Veteran, Morale: 10

Brigade Headquarters, with:

    1 command stand 1 jeep
    1 infantry stand
    1 staff radio light truck

Brigade Service Troops, with:

    1 light ammo truck with trailer
    1 command stand
    1 support stand
    1 jeep
    2 light general supply trucks

Brigade Workshop Company, with:

    1 command stand
    1 support stand
    1 porter stand
    1 light general supply truck

1st Parachute Battalion, with: Battalion Headquarters, with:

    1 command stand
    1 recon SMG motorcycle stand
    1 engineer stand
    1 MMG stand
    13 "mortar stand
    1 porter stand

3 Parachute Infantry Companies, each with:

    1 infantry command stand
    2 infantry stands

2nd Parachute Battalion as 1st Battalion

3rd Parachute Battalion as 1st Battalion

1st Airlanding Antitank Battery, with:

    1 command stand
    4 gun crew stands
    4 6# AT guns 5 jeeps
    4 jeeps with trailers

1st Airlanding Artillery Battery, with:

    1 command stand
    1 FO stand
    2 jeeps
    2 gun crew stands (ds)
    2 75mm howitzers
    2 light trucks
    1 light ammo truck with trailer

1st Engineer Squadron, with:

    1 command engineer stand
    2 engineer stands

Glider Pilot Company (Attached), with:

    1 command infantry stand
    2 infantry stands

Poland is Still Free A Guide to the Polish Army 1940-1945

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© Copyright 1994 by Greg Novak.
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