Wojsko Polskie (
WP, or roughly translated as "Polish Military") is the national fighting defence force of
Poland. The name has been used since the early 19th century, but can also be applied to earlier periods. The Polish Armed Forces comprise the
Army (
Wojska Ladowe),
Navy (
Marynarka Wojenna),
Air Force (
Sily Powietrzne) and
Special Forces (
Wojska Specjalne) and are under the command of the Ministry of National Defense (
Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej).
The modern day "Wojsko" was created in 1918, from the three separate Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and Prussian armies and equipment left following World War I. The force expanded during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1922 to nearly 800,000 men, but then was reduced when peace was reestablished. During the Second World War, on September 1, 1939 the force was nearly one million men strong, but was defeated by a German attack in September 1939, which was followed on September 17, 1939 by a Soviet attack (see Polish September Campaign).
Some Polish forces escaped from their occupied, divided country, and joined Allied forces fighting in other theatres while those that remained in Poland splintered into guerilla units of the Home Army and partisan groups which fought in clandestine ways against the foreign occupiers of Poland.
After the war, the Soviets imposed their own structure and name (see Ludowe Wojsko Polskie) on the military, which was ultimately discarded after the fall of communism. Currently the military is being re-organized according to NATO standards. One of the major problems facing the Polish Army Forces is the transition from a draft-based to a contract-based army.
