Origins & Organization of
Polish Troops
In Italian Campaign

This page provides general details of the organization of the Polish units that served with the British in Italy.  The intent of my website limits a full review of all the units and organization during the entire period.  Hopefully, this will explain their organization.  An interesting aspect of the Polish units is that they were allowed to recruit replacement troops from Poles who had served in the German Army.

British 8th Army Commanding Generals:
      Gen Bernard "Monty" Montgomery commanded during Sicily and landings in Italy.
      Lt.-Gen Sir Oliver Leese-   31 Dec 1943 -  1 Oct 1944.
      Gen Sir Richard L. McCreery-  from 1 Oct 1944 - end of war.
    
Polish Commanders:  Lt..-General Wladyslaw Anders.  He was also from the Russian PW camp.
     Other commanders included:
              Corps Deputy Commander – Lt. Gen Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko
               Chief of Staff   –   Col. Kazimerz Wisniowski
                    3rd Division Commander – Maj-General Bronislaw Duch
                      1st Brigade Commander – Col. Walenty Peszek
                      2nd Brigade Commander – Col Roman Szymanski
                  5th Division Commander –   Maj-General Nikodem Sulik
                      5th Brigade Commander  – Col. Wincenty Kurek
                      6th Brigade Commander – Col. Witold Nowina-Sawicki
                  2nd Armoured Brigade Commander  – Maj-General Bronislaw Rakowski
                  2nd Artillery Group Commander – Col. Ludwik Zabkowski

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Polish Corps    The Polish soliders traveled a long, hard road to get to the Italian Campaign.  They demonstrated they were willing to fight the Germans in any location to get their country back.   Poland was the first country attacked by Germany and their dubious ally, Russia.  The Polish prisoners were placed in Russian camps.  When the Germans turned against the Russians, the British convinced the Russians to release the Poles so they could help fight their common enemy.  The Polish troops were outfitted by the British and sent to the 8th Army.     The first year of the war, the British were desperate for manpower as the US had not joined the Allies.  There was concern was for the security of the oil fields in Iran and Iraq.   On July 30, 1941, the leader of the Polish Government in exile, General Wladyslaw Sikorski reached an agreement with the Russian government.  Paragraph 3 stated that the Poles residing on Russian soil after September 1939 were allowed to join the Polish Armed Forces.     In April 1942, Russia released 26,000 Polish veterans that organized the first two Polish divisions in Uzbekistan.  The Poles were moved to Iraq for further training and equipping.  By August 1942, an additional 44,000 soldiers and 26,000 civilians joined them.  The training ended in June 1943.  At the Quebec conference in August, Rooservelt & Churchill decided to send the Polish Corps to Italy.   After reviewing his troops, General Sikorski was returning to England when his plane crashed on take-off from Gibraltar.      Prior to arriving in Italy, the Corps totaled 45,000 men.  The 3rd Division had 13,200; the 5th Division 12,900; and the 2nd Armoured Brigade 3,400.  There was concern as to how they would recieve replacement troops.  The British High Command wanted to use the Polish Corps as a replacment pool.  This would deplete their organization and they would loose their identity.   The Polish command was able to convince the Allies to recruit from soldiers who had been forced to serve in the German Army.  They were allowed to fight as a unit.   After arriving in Italy, the Polish Corps swelled to a force of 110,000.   The Poles were to prove their bravery in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Strength of Polish Corps       (Upon arrival in Italy in July 1943) Heavy Equipment Light Arms   660 cannons   170 tanks   180 armoured cars   400 carriers   5,300 trucks   2,000 special cars   1,300 light cars   600 tractors   80 armoured transporters   2,500 motor cycles   12,500 vehicles (excluding arms for tanks &    armoured cars) 500 infantry mortars 950 anti-tank rifles 100 heavy MG 1,650 light MG (Bren type) 400 coupled Brens 22,000 rifles 17,000 automatic pistols 4,000 revolvers Task Force Rud or Rudforce was named after General Klemens Rudnicki, who commanded it.  It was formed in the Spring of 1945 and consisted primarily of the 3rd Carpthian Rifle Brigade of the 3rd Carpthian Division and the 4th Wolyn Infantry Brigade of the 5th Frontier Infantry Division.   Task Force Rud drove up Highway 9 and entered Bologna on 21 April, 1945.           Reference:  "Poles in the Italian Campaign" by Olgierd Terlecki, Printed in Warsaw in 1972.  Badge for one of the Polish units; the 3rd Division's assault group.    Some sources say this is an unofficial badge for service at Cassino.

After release from Russian PW camps, the Polish soldiers were equipped by the British using British uniforms, weapons and equipment.  However for the most part, the Poles retained their rank and insignias.  The various infantry units were designated by either a patch or a badge or both.  In addition, many wore special collar devices to designate units, which were commonly called "swallow tails"  as they were shaped like pointed triangles or double triangles similar to guidons.

The Polish badges are very ornate and many were quite colorful.  Below are some examples of Polish badges that were worn on the front breast pocket.  Note that many depict the shield and cross of the British 8th Army.  The British authorized the Polish 2nd Corps to wear the 8th Army patch after their outstanding performance at the Battle of Cassino.  The mermaid with a sword & shield was the symbol of the 2nd Corps.

2nd Army Corps	2nd Artillery Group of 2nd Corps
3rd Carparthian Infantry Division     attached to breast pocket	3rd Sileisan Lancer Regiment

This is included just case you find a few Polish words in your research.  Some of the unit badges are identified with
these words or their abbreviation.

Dywizji = Division   Korpus = Corps   Putk = Regiment   Brygudy =  Brigade   Grupa = Group   Batilion = Battalion   Szwadron = Squadron   Kompania = Company   Strzelcow = Rifle   Piechoty  = Infantry   Pancerna = Armor   Ulanow = Lancers   Saperow = Engineers   Zandarmeria = Military Police   Laczwosci = Signals   Komej = Horse   Artylerii = Artillery   Zdrowia = Medical   Materialowa = Ordnance (material)   Georgraficzna = Geographic   Sprawiedliwosci = Legal

Examples of Compound Terms    Dywizji Strzelcow == Rifle Division    Sayerow Kolejowych  ==  Railway Engineer    Warsztatowo-Naprawcza == Electrical/Mechanical    Komandosow Zmotoryzowanpch == Motorized Commando    Artylerii Przeciwpnancerej   ==   Anti-Tank Artillery    Artylerii Przeciwlotniczej Lekkiej == Light Anti-Aircraft Artillery    Artylerii Przeciwlotniczej Ciezkiej == Mediuim Anti-Aircraft Artillery

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