Armies of the Russo-Polish War 1919

(Note: > = ‘subsequently under command of’; / = ‘later redesignated or re-formed as’)

Volhynian Front (30 Mar–2 June 1919): 3 Leg Inf Div (V Leg Inf Bde – 7, 8 Leg Inf Regts; VI Leg Inf Bde – 9 Leg Inf, 23 Inf Regts); Bug Group; Chelm Group. > Galician-Volhynian Front.

Galician-Volhynian Front (29 May–27 July 1919): 3 Leg Inf Div; 4 Inf Div (VII Leg Inf Bde – 10, 14 Inf Regts; VIII Inf Bde – 18, 37 Inf Regts); 5 Inf Div (IX Inf Bde – 38, 39 Inf Regts; X Inf Bde – 19, 40 Inf Regts); 10 Inf Div (XIX Inf Bde – 30, 31 Inf Regts; XX Inf Bde – 28, 29 Inf Regts); Sikorski Combined Inf Div; Bug Group; III Air Group (6, 7 Sqns). > Galician Front & Volhynian Front.

Galician Front (27 July 1919–2 Jan 1920): 3 Leg, 5 & 10 Inf Divs; 6 Polish Rifle Div (9–12 Polish Rifle Regts); 12 Inf Div (XXIII Inf Bde – 51, 52 Borderland Rifles Regts; XXIV Inf Bde – 53, 54 Borderland Rifles Regts); 3 Cav Bde – 2, 14 Lancer Regts; III Air Group (5–7 Squadrons). > Podolian Front.

Podolian Front (2 Jan–23 Mar 1920): 5, 12 Inf Divs; 18 Inf Div (XXXV Inf Bde – 42, 49 Inf Regts; XXXVI Inf Bde – 144,145 Inf Regts); III Air Group (5, 6 Sqns). > Sixth Army.

Volhynian Front (27 July 1919–23 Mar 1920): 4 Inf Div; 1 Polish Rifle Div (1–3, 8 Polish Rifle Regts) / 13 Borderland Inf Div (XXV Inf Bde – 43, 44 Inf Regts; XXVI Inf Bde – 45, 50 Inf Regts); Bug Group; 4 Cav Bde – 8, 9 Lancer Regts; 5 Cav Bde – 1 Lt Horse, 9 Lancer Regts; II Air Group – 581 Salmson, 2, 9 Sqns. > Second Army.

Podlesian Group (5 Jan 1919–9 June 1920): 9 Inf Div (XVII Inf Bde – 15, 22 Inf Regts; XVIII Inf Bde – 34, 35 Inf Regts); Pomeranian Rifle Div (Toruń, Grudziadz, Starogard, Kashubian Rifle Regts) / 16 Pomeranian Inf Div (XXXI Inf Bde – 63 Toruń, 64 Grudziadz Inf Regts; XXXII Inf Bde – 65 Starogard, 66 Kashubian Inf Regts); Mountain Div (1 Mtn Bde – 1, 2 Highland Rifle Regts; 2 Mtn Bde – 3, 4 Highland Rifle Regts); 2 Cav Bde – 3, 4, 10 Lancer Regiments. > Polesian Front.

Polesian Front (9 June–6 Aug 1920): 9, 16 Mtn Divisions. > Fourth Army.

Lithuanian-Belarusian Front (15 May 1919–23 Mar 1920): 1 Leg Inf Div (I Leg Inf Bde – 1, 5 Leg Inf Regts; III Leg Inf Bde – 6 Leg Inf, 41 Inf Regts); 2 Leg Inf Div (II Leg Inf Bde – 2, 3 Leg Inf Regts; IV Leg Inf Bde – 4 Leg Inf, 24 Inf Regts); 3 Leg Inf Div; 6 Inf Div (XI Inf Bde – 12, 16 Inf Regts; XII Inf Bde – 17, 20 Inf Regts); 8 Inf Div (XV Inf Bde – 13, 21 Inf Regts; XVI Inf Bde – 33, 36 Inf Regts); 9 Inf Div;

1 GP Rifle Div (1 GP Rifle Bde – 1, 2 GP Rifle Regts; 2 GP Rifle Bde – 3, 4 GP Rifle Regts) / 14 Inf Div (XXVII Inf Bde – 55, 56 GP Inf Regts; XXVIII Bde – 57, 58 GP Inf Regts); 1 LB Div (32 Inf Regt; I LB Bde – Białystok, Lida Rifle Regts; II LB Bde – Kaunas, Grodno Rifle Regts; III LB Bde – Wilno, Minsk Rifle Regts); 2 LB Div (III LB Bde – Lida, Kaunas Rifle Regts; IV LB Bde – Slutsk, Białystok Rifle Regts); 1 Cav Bde – 1 Lt Horse, 7, 11 Lancer Regts; 2 Cav Bde – 3, 4 & 10 Lancer Regts); 1 Tank Regt; I Air Group – 582 Salmson, 4, 8 Sqns; 1, 2 GP Squadrons. > First & Seventh Armies.

Anti-German Front (22 May 1919–23 Mar 1920): LB, Mazovian, GP, Silesian, South-Western and Pomeranian Fronts:

Lithuanian-Belarusian Front (15 May 1919–23 Mar 1920): 1 Leg Inf Div.

Mazovian Front (22 May–19 Oct 1919): 3 Polish Rifle Div (3 Training, 20, 21 Polish Rifle Regts); 8, 12 Inf Divs; Training Div; IV Air Group – 3, 11 Sqns; I GP Air Group – 3 GP, 66 Breguet Squadrons.

Greater Poland Front (22 May 1919–23 Mar 1920): 1 GP Rifle / 14 GP Inf Div; 2 GP Rifle Div (3 GP Rifle Bde – 5, 6 GP Rifle Regts; 4 GP Rifle Bde – 7, 8 GP Rifle Regts) / 15 GP Inf Div (XXIX Inf Bde – 59, 60 GP Inf Regts; XXX Inf Bde – 61, 62 GP Inf Regts); 3 GP Rifle Div (5 GP Rifle Bde – 9, 10 GP Rifle Regts; 6 GP Rifle Bde – 11, 12 GP Rifle Regts); 17 GP Inf Div (XXXIII Inf Bde – 67, 68 GP Inf Regts; XXXIV Inf Bde – 69, 70 GP Inf Regts); Pomeranian Rifle / 16 Pomeranian Rifle Div; I GP Air Group – 3 GP, 66 Breguet Squadrons.

Pomeranian Front (19 Oct 1919–23 Mar 1920): 2 Polish Rifle Div (3 Training, 4–6 Polish Rifle Regts) / 11 Carpathian Inf Div (XXI Inf Bde – 46, 47 Inf Regts; XXII Inf Bde – 48, 49 Inf Regts); 2 GP Rifle / 15 Inf Div; Pomeranian Rifle / 16 Pomeranian Inf Div; Pruszyński Group; 5 Cavalry Bde – 1, 9 Lancer Regiments.

Silesian Front (22 May–15 June 1919): 1 Bitom Rifle Regiment. > South-Western Front.

Cieszyn Front (22 May–15 June 1919): 6 Inf Div. > South-Western Front.

South-Western Front (15 June 1919–23 Mar 1920): 1 Polish Rifle / 13 Borderland Inf Div; 2 Polish Rifle / 11 Carpathian Inf Div; 6 Inf Div; 7 Inf Div (XIII Inf Bde – 25, 26 Inf Regts; XIV Inf Bde – 11, 27 Inf Regts); 1 Bitom Rifle Regt; V Air Group – 3, 39, 59 Squadrons.

A Polish cavalry MG crew practise firing a US M1895/14 Colt 6mm ‘potato digger’ at Miłosna, August 1920, while a second crew await their turn; each regiment had a machine-gun squadron. This weapon was used by the Tsarist Russian Army in the Great War, and the uniforms suggest troops from the Polish Corps in Russia. Details visible under magnification include M1919 dark red cavalry collar patches with single-zigzag braid, and M1919 khaki field caps; the staff sergeant holding the ammo box has a Polish cap eagle, and M1917 PSZ shoulder straps with silver rank braid and a red regimental numeral ‘1’. (Author’s collection)

9 of Mounted Rifles: ex-French Army (1 (ex-4), 2 (ex-1), 4 (ex-2), 6); ex-Polish Corps in Russia (4, 8); Greater Poland (7 (ex-5); ex-LB Self-Defence Force (3 (ex-210 Vol); and of mixed origins, 5 & 9.

Cavalry (2nd line) 10 cavalry regiments: 2 Res (108 & 115); 8 Vol (Lt Horse: 201; Lancers: 203, 208, 209, 211, 212, 214 & 215).

The 10 Cavalry Bdes, each with 2 or 3 regiments, were designated I–IX and Volunteer. They were supplemented by 4 temporary brigades: Jaworski, Dziewicki and East Lithuania Brigades, and Lower Vistula Group.

1 Legion (ex-1 Leg Art), 2 Leg (ex-7, 10), 3 Leg (ex-2, 9), 4 (ex-3, 11), 5 (ex-4), 6 (ex-1, 2 Mtn Art), 7, 8–11, 12–13 (ex-French 6, 1), 14 & 15 GP (ex-3, 1 GP), 16 Pomeranian, 17 GP (ex-2 GP), 18 (ex-French 7, ex-113 Res), 19–20 (ex-1 & 2 LB), 21, 22 (ex-French 2), 23 (ex-214 Vol), 29 (ex-216 Vol), 201 & 205 Vol, 1 Mtn (21).

17 heavy regiments totalling 24 battalions: 1–10, 12–18. Later, 19 bns: I/2 Legion, 3, I/4, 5, I/6, 7, 8, I/9, II/9, 10–12, I/14 (ex-1 GP), 14, II/15 (ex-2 GP), 16–18, 21.

There were 21 Artillery Bdes, allocated to infantry divisions and carrying their numbers: I–III Leg, IV–XIII, XIV, XV (ex-I, II GP), XVI, XVII (ex-III GP), XVIII–XXI.

Armour 1st Tank Regt; Railway Troops (armd trains numbered 1–26 in Dec 1920); 6 armd car bns (1, 3–5, 8 & 9).

Air Service 21 squadrons (1–11; 12–15 (1–4 GP); 39, 59 & 66 Breguet; 580–582 Salmson). These formed 6 Air Groups, numbered I–V & I GP. From 13 Apr 1920 there were 20 sqns: 7, 13, 15 & 19 Fighter; 21 Ground-Attack; 1–6, 8–12, 14, 16–18 Recce. These formed 6 Air Wings, numbered I–V & VII.

Engineers 23 sapper battalions, numbered I–XXI, Vol, XXIII, allocated to infantry divisions and carrying their numbers. 9 bns were grouped administratively into 2 Engineer (1920, Sapper) Regts: 1 (I, II, VII & XVIII Bns, later VIII, XVIII & XXVIII); 2 (III, XIII & XVII Bns). 2 Railway Eng Bns (5 & 10).

Signals Telegraph and heavy telegraph companies allocated to infantry divisions carried the divisional number.

Military Border Guard (WSG) 6 regts (1–6) and 2 independent bns (1 & 3). Disbanded 1920, replaced by Border Rifles (SG).

Renault FT-17 light tanks of the Polish 1st Tank Regiment. The crews wear French M1919 tank-crew helmets with a brown leather pad replacing the front peak, and motor transport drivers’ black leather coats with black cloth collars; they also had dark blue berets. The officer at right belongs to the French Army cadre. (Author’s collection)

The Kościusko Squadron was formed in December 1919 from the Polish 7th Air Sqn, with nine US volunteer pilots plus Polish personnel. Named after Tadeusz Kościusko, the legendary patriot who served in the American Continental Army 1776–83 before leading Poland’s doomed anti-Russian uprising in November 1794, it took as its insignia his red cap on crossed scythes, on American red and white stripes and blue stars. The squadron fought over Kyiv in April 1920, and Lviv, Warsaw and Komarów that August. In all, 21 American pilots served with the unit; here, Capt Merian C. Cooper (left) and the squadron commander, Maj Cedric Fauntleroy, pose beside an Albatros D.III fighter. (Author’s collection)

Divisions

The units were grouped into 22 infantry divisions (month formed; / = redesignated):

1 Legion, 2 Leg (both formed Feb 1919); 3 Leg, 4, Lwów (all Apr 1919); 5, 6, 7, 8 Inf Divs, (all May 1919); 9 (June 1919); 4 Polish Rifle (Russia) (Dec 1917–May 1918 / 10 Inf, June 1919); 2 Polish Rifle (France) (Apr 1919 / 11 Inf, Sept 1919); 6 Polish Rifle (France) (Feb 1919 / 12 Inf, Sept 1919); 1 Polish Rifle (France) (June 1919 / 13 Borderland Inf, Dec 1919); 1 Greater Poland Rifle (Feb 1919 / 14 GP Inf, Dec 1919); 2 GP Rifle (Apr 1919 / 15 GP Inf, Feb 1920); 4 GP Rifle (July 1919 / Pomeranian Rifle, Aug 1919 / 16 Pomn Inf, Mar 1920); 3 GP Rifle (June 1919 / 17 GP Inf, Feb 1920); 3 Polish Rifle (France) (1919 / 18 Inf, Jan 1920); 1 Lithuanian–Belarusian (Nov 1918), 2 LB (July 1919); Mountain Div (Feb 1920 / 21 Inf, Aug 1920); Volunteer (Feb–Nov 1920). The 27th Div, formed in October 1920, did not see combat.

There were 2 cavalry divisions: Cavalry (Apr–June 1920 / 1 Cav, July 1920); and Northern Cavalry (July 1920 / 2 Cav, Sept 1920). The East Lithuania Cav Div (Oct 1920) was formed too late to see combat.

The Central Lithuanian Army (Wojska Litwy Środkowej) comprised the 1st and 2nd Lithuanian-Belarusian Inf Divs and the Cavalry Division.

Divisional and unit composition

A Polish infantry division comprised an HQ; HQ troops (HQ company, HQ cavalry platoon, cav recce sqn); 2 inf bdes (each 2 regts); artillery bde (field regt and heavy bn); sapper bn, signal co, and transport. Average divisional strength in 1919 was as low as 2,000, but the authorized level of 20,000 was often attained in mid-1920.

An infantry regiment was 3,259 strong, with an HQ; an 89-man MG company, a 208-strong technical (sapper) co; a 124-man signals ptn; and three rifle bns: I (1st–4th Rifle Cos, 1st MG Co); II (5th–8th Rifle, 2nd MG Cos); and III (9th–12th Rifle, 3rd MG Companies). A rifle company had three platoons, each with four sections. Within a 990-strong artillery brigade the field regt had 3 bns, each with 3 six-gun batteries. A heavy artillery regt had 1–3 bns, each with 2 howitzer and 1 cannon batteries.

A cavalry division had an HQ; HQ troops including 3–4 horse art btys; and 2–3 cavalry bdes, each with 2–3 cav regts and a horse art bn (1–4 batteries). A cavalry regt had an HQ; MG, technical and bicycle sqns (cos) and a signals ptn; and 1st–4th Cav Sqns, each with three platoons.

POLISH MILITARY ORGANIZATION

Branches, units and brigades

Table 1: Polish Army selected battle order, 5 January 1919–23 March 1920

Divisions

Divisional and unit composition

Table 2: Polish Army selected battle order, 23 March–12 October 1920

Fronts and armies