Free Poland

The Anchor Flag, or Kotwica, a symbol of the Polish Home Army of World War II, is now used as a flag by Free Polish forces

### Military Strength

2,000 troops plus numerous partisans and militia scattered around Poland

### Allies

NATO, Free City of Krakow

> *Za naszą i waszą wolność!*
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> *For your freedom, and ours!*
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- Joakim Lelewel

Even before the Red Army entered Poland in World War II, resistance to Soviet domination and communism had strong roots in Poland. Most recently, the *Solidarnosc* movement in the early 1980s tried to push the communist government towards internal reform through nonviolent activism and strikes. Although they had some success in forcing the removal of individual corrupt officials, the imposition of martial law in 1981 turned many Polish democracy activists towards the path of direct action. As tensions in Europe began to mount, American, British and West German intelligence agencies stepped up their contacts with anti-Soviet Polish groups both inside Poland and in the expat communities in North America and Western Europe, notably including the Polish government in exile in London.

Before NATO troops even entered Poland, various groups of anti-communist saboteurs and partisans had begun a guerilla war against the Polish state and its Soviet allies. Some were disgruntled members of *Solidarnosc*, some were deserters from the armed forces, and some were even members of the Polish diaspora who had smuggled themselves into the country, sensing that the time to create a democratic Poland had finally come. Many of them claimed allegiance to the underground *Solidarnosc* organisation or to the London exiles, but in practice they acted almost entirely on their own initiative.

When NATO forces entered Poland, Free Polish soldiers acted as translators, guides and civilian liasons, in addition to fighting in battalion-sized units on several occasions. NATO intelligence and special forces soldiers infiltrated behind Soviet and Polish lines to assist anti-government and anti-Soviet partisans. However, NATO forces were not always welcomed as liberators. Many ordinary Poles, while not loyal to the USSR or to communism, had lost friends or family to NATO nuclear bombs or conventional attacks, and sought revenge on American soldier. Others were simply weary of war and hardship and did not see democracy as worth the price. Others still remembered the atrocities committed by Germans during World War II and were not keen to see German armies enter Poland again, even if they claimed to do so under the banner of democracy. Even when Poles were friendly to NATO's overall goals, many local Polish partisan units disagreed with NATO forces on military strategy, preferring to defend their own home areas from marauders or government units than to assist NATO in its own attacks.

Despite the fragmentation of NATO forces in Poland, "Free Poland" remains a powerful idea. The Free Polish government set up by NATO troops has managed to survive and take control of an area of south-eastern Poland, mostly with the aid of the Polish 4th Division, which went over to Free Polish forces early in the NATO invasion. Scattered communities across Poland fly the distinctive "Anchor flag" of the Free Polish government, although often they have little contact with organised Free Polish forces. The Free Polish government's forces are generally friendly to former NATO forces, but not unreservedly so - many of the communities they control have had problems with NATO deserters forming Marauder bands. Despite their rallying cries of democracy and liberalism, the free Polish government is not notably democratic, justifying military law and authoritarian measures as a wartime necessities despite their professed commitment to democracy, although few believe that this measure will be abandoned any time soon given the dire state of what remains of Poland. Many of the government's senior members were communist military or political officials until very recently, and some claim that they are simply opportunists who changed sides because they believed the tide is turning.

Although free Poland formally uses the same Polish flag as the Polish People's Republic, the World War II era *Kotwica* symbol was widely used as a symbol of resistance during the war, and is used in practice by groups that want to proclaim their allegiance to Free Poland and distinguish themselves from loyalists.

The Pomeranian Democratic Defense Zone considers itself a regional entity of the Free Polish government, although it is effectively independent due to its distance from any other significant Free Polish areas.