Polish People's Army

The **Polish People's Army** was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state, the Polish People's Republic.  It was under the command of the Polish Workers' Party and then the Polish United Workers' Party. The communist-led Polish armed forces, allowed by Joseph Stalin, were the result of efforts made in the early 1940s in the Soviet Union by Wanda Wasilewska and Zygmunt Berling.

During World War II, two armies of the Polish Army were formed, which included 10 infantry divisions, 5 armored brigades, a cavalry brigade, 2 sappers' brigades, 3 divisions and several artillery brigades and smaller units, as well as 4 aviation divisions. At the end of 1944, there were about 180,000. people.

After the war the Polish Army was reorganized into six (later seven) military districts. These were the Warsaw Military District, the Lublin Military District,  the Kraków Military District, the Łódź Military District, the Poznań Military District,  the Pomeranian Military District, HQ in Toruń, and the Silesian Military District, HQ in Katowice.

On 7 October 1950, the anniversary of the Battle of Lenino was declared the official "Day of the Polish People's Army" by the authorities of the People's Republic.

In 1955, Poland joined the Warsaw Pact military alliance , which was created in response to the inclusion of the Federal Republic of Germany in the NATO alliance. The agreement was signed on May 14, 1955 in Warsaw.

## Infobox (military unit)

- **unit name**: Polish People's Army
- **image**: Emblem of the Polish People's Army land forces (1972).jpg
- **caption**: Emblem worn by LWP soldiers
- **size**: 200,000
 <small>(1945)</small>
- **garrison**: Seltsy, Ryazan Oblast, Seltsy, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, RSFSR, Soviet Union
<small>(1943-1945)</small>
Warsaw, Polish People's Republic
<small>(1945-1989)</small>
- **garrison label**: Headquarters
- **patron**: Tadeusz Kościuszko
- **battles**: Eastern Front (World War II), World War II - Eastern Front
*Battle of Lenino
*Operation Bagration
*Lublin-Brest Offensive
*Warsaw Uprising
*Battle of Studzianki
*Vistula–Oder Offensive
*Battle of Poznań (1945), Battle of Poznań
*East Pomeranian Offensive
*Battle of Kolberg (1945), Battle of Kolberg
*Battle of Berlin
*Battle of the Seelow Heights
*Battle of Bautzen (1945), Battle of Bautzen
*Prague Offensive
Aftermath of World War II
*Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1953), Anti-Communist Insurgency
*Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Guerilla War in Ukraine
*Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts, Czechoslovak Border Conflicts
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Invasion of Czechoslovakia
- **battle honours**:  Medal for Warsaw 1939–1945, For Warsaw
  Medal for Participation in the Battle of Berlin, For Battle of Berlin
- **commander1**: Mieczysław Rakowski <small>(last)</small>
- **commander1 label**: List of heads of state of Poland, First Secretary
- **commander2**: Tadeusz Mazowiecki <small>(last)</small>
- **commander2 label**: List of prime ministers of Poland, Prime Minister
- **commander3**: Florian Siwicki <small>(last)</small>
- **commander3 label**: Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence
- **commander4**: Józef Użycki <small>(last)</small>
- **commander4 label**: Polish General Staff, Chief of the General Staff
- **dates**: May 1943 - December 1989
- **country**: Polish People's Republic
<small>(1947–1989)</small>
- **allegiance**: Polish People's Republic
- **branch**: Air Force of the Polish Army
<small>(1943–1947)</small>
Polish Air Force
<small>(1947-1989)</small>
Polish Air Defence Force
<small>(1962-1989)</small>
Polish Land Forces
Polish Navy