Poland's artillery was made up of mainly World War I equipment, much of it French in origin. Virtually all of these guns were horse drawn. Only a few had the strengthened axles and rubber tires necessary for towing by motor vehicles. But, in truth, this was the situation of every European army at the time, except the British. What was remarkable about Poland's artillery was the relatively small number of guns it possessed for an army that size.

During the years immediately before the war, the Poles spent a significant amount of their limited defense budget on antitank and antiaircraft weapons. It was thought these would compensate for the small size of Poland's tank and air forces. The major types of artillery on hand as of September 1939 were:

Polish Designation	No. In Service	Type
Field and Heavy Artillery
Armata 75 wz 97	1,374	French 75
Armata 75 wz 02/26	466	Russian 76.2 Model 02 relined to fire 75mm ammo.
Haubica 100 14/19	900	Czech 100mm howitzer, also produced in Poland.
Armata 105 wz 13/29	254	French 105 M13 gun, some license-built in Poland.
Armata 120 wz 98/3	43	French 120 M98 gun, modernized for truck towing.
Haubica 155 wz 1917	341	French 155 0917 howitzer, some license-built in Poland.
Mozdzierze 220mm	27	Czech mod 32 heavy mortar.
Antitank Guns
Dziala ppanc 37	c. 1200	License produced Swedish Bofors 37mm antitank gun.
Antiaircraft Guns
Dziala plot 40 wz 36	c. 306	License produced Swedish Bofors 40mm antiaircraft gun.
Dziala plot 75 wz 14	112	French 75 mod 17/34
Dziala plot 75 wz 36	44	Polish 75 model 1936

As the above list shows, the Poles did have a limited capacity for artillery production. The 40mm Bofors AA gun and the 37mm antitank gun were the bright spots in its production picture. Poland produced about 100 guns each a month, but exported part of that number of 40mm AA guns to friendly countries, sending guns to Great Britain and Holland, ammunition to Holland and France. One might ask why Poland, so desperate for arms, would export even a portion of what little it had.

Poland 1939

Introduction
Infantry
Cavalry
Artillery
Armor
Air Force
Navy
Campaign Overview