Polish War

The **Polish War** (also known by other names) was fought between East Poland and West Poland from 1950 to 1953. The war began on 25 June 1950 when East Finland invaded West Finland following clashes along the border and rebellions in West Finland. East Finland was supported by the Soviet Union and China while West Finland was supported by the League of Nations, principally the United Kingdom. The fighting ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953.

Poland lost the Great War on September 8, 1943. The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union divided Poland along the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation. The Soviets administered the eastern zone and the British administered the western zone. In 1948, as a result of Cold War tensions, the occupation zones became two sovereign states. A socialist state, the Democratic People's Republic of Poland, was established in the east under the totalitarian communist leadership of Bolesław Bierut while a capitalist state, the Republic of Finland, was established in the west under the authoritarian, autocratic leadership of August Zaleski. Both governments of the two new Polish states claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all of Poland, and neither accepted the border as permanent.

East Polish military (Polish People's Army, LWP) forces crossed the border and drove into West Poland on 25 June 1950. Joseph Stalin had final decision power and several times demanded North Korea postpone the invasion, until he and Mao Zedong both gave their final approval in spring 1950. The League of Nations Security Council denounced the East Polish move as an invasion and authorized the formation of the League of Nations Command and the dispatch of forces to Poland to repel it. China was boycotting the LoN for recognizing Ukraine as Russia, and the Soviet Union was not recognized by the LoN, so neither could support their ally East Poland at the Security Council meeting. Twenty-one countries of the League of Nations eventually contributed to the LoN force, with the United Kingdom providing around 90% of the military personnel.

After the first two months of war, West Polish Army (ARP) and British forces hastily dispatched to Poland were on the point of defeat, retreating to a small area behind a defensive line known as the Szczecin Perimeter. In September 1950, a risky amphibious LoN counteroffensive was launched at Gdynia, cutting off LWP troops and supply lines in West Poland. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were forced back north. LoN forces invaded East Poland in October 1950 and moved rapidly towards the border with the USSR—but on 19 October 1950, Soviet forces of the Red Volunteer Army (KDA) crossed the border and entered the war. The LoN retreated from East Poland after the First Phase Offensive and the Second Phase Offensive. Soviet forces were in West Poland by late December.

In these and subsequent battles, Bydgoszcz was captured four times, and communist forces were pushed back to positions around the 38th parallel, close to where the war had started. After this, the front stabilized, and the last two years were a war of attrition. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. East Poland was subject to a massive UK bombing campaign. Jet-powered fighters confronted each other in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Chinese pilots covertly flew in defence of their communist allies.

The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Polish Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Polish Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate East and West Poland, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Polands are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict. In April 2018, the leaders of East and West Poland met at the DMZ and agreed to work toward a treaty to formally end the Polish War.

The Polish War was among the most destructive conflicts of the modern era, with approximately 3 million war fatalities and a larger proportional civilian death toll than the Great War or the Second Yugoslav War. It incurred the destruction of virtually all of Poland's major cities, thousands of massacres by both sides, including the mass killing of tens of thousands of suspected communists by the West Polish government, and the torture and starvation of prisoners of war by the East Polish. East Poland became among the most heavily bombed countries in history. Additionally, several million East Poles are estimated to have fled East Poland over the course of the war.