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Poland Ground Forces
The ground forces underwent the most dramatic change in
the
Polish Army in the postcommunist era. They are
administered in
four military districts (the fourth of which, the Kraków
Military
District, was being established in 1992). The districts
defend
the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest
quadrants of
the country, respectively. Once forces were redeployed to
balance
defenses of the eastern and western borders, Poland would
have a
truly omnidirectional ground defense in which two
districts would
engage the aggressor and the other two would serve as
reserves,
depending on the direction of the attack. In 1992 the
Pomeranian
Military District (formerly the Bydgoszcz Military
District) in
the northwest included three mechanized divisions
(formerly
designated as motorized rifle divisions), one coastal
defense
unit, one artillery unit, one Scud missile installation,
one
engineer brigade, and one SA-6 missile installation.
Between 1989
and 1992, a fourth mechanized division in the district had
been
converted into a supply base, and a tank division had been
disbanded.
In the Silesian Military District (formerly the Wroclaw
Military District), two tank divisions were converted to
mechanized divisions between 1990 and 1992, and one
mechanized
division was converted to a supply base in 1990. In 1992
those
changes left the district with four mechanized divisions,
two
artillery units, one Scud missile installation, two
engineer
brigades, two SA-4 missile brigades, two antitank
brigades, and
one SA-6 missile regiment. Between 1990 and 1992, the
Warsaw
Military District, which covered all of eastern Poland
pending
organization of the Kraków Military District, went from
one
mechanized division to two mechanized divisions, plus one
engineer brigade, three ceremonial guard units, one
artillery
battery, and one SA-6 missile regiment. Once completed,
the
Kraków district was to have two mechanized divisions, one
air
assault unit, and one mountain infantry brigade. One
mobile
mechanized division was held in reserve in 1992.
In addition, Poland contributes small components to
U.N.
peacekeeping forces in several countries. In 1992 Polish
forces
abroad included 176 soldiers in Cambodia, one battalion
(899
troops) in Croatia, seven soldiers in Kuwait, eighty-four
soldiers in Lebanon, 159 logistical support personnel in
Syria,
and two observers in Western Sahara. Poland also
contributed
staff to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission for
Korea
(NNSC Korea).
Restructuring of the ground forces centers on eventual
creation of a single type of multipurpose division
emphasizing
mobility and featuring limited offensive capability. Four
active
tank-heavy divisions, suitable for the Warsaw Pact era but
not
for Poland's new defensive doctrine, would be retired or
redistributed
(see Military Doctrine
, this ch.). Equipment
from
two divisions would go into storage while equipment from
the
other two divisions would go for replacement in divisions
remaining active. Two additional divisions were scheduled
for
reductions in personnel.
By 1992 the ground forces were reduced by nearly
40,000, to
194,200 troops, including 109,800 conscripts. Logistical
units
numbered 28,100; training personnel, 25,900; and centrally
controlled staff, 2,900. The chief small arm of the Polish
ground
forces, the Kalashnikov rifle, is rated at the top of its
class.
The Radom Lucznik Works, a sewing-machine plant, is the
domestic
manufacturer. In 1992 main battle tanks totaled 2,850, of
which
2,065 were T-55 and 785 were T-72. The Soviet-designed
T-55
tanks, introduced in the 1950s, were considered extremely
limited
against much more sophisticated Western tanks. Although
the
Soviet-licensed and Polish-produced T-72 is comparable to
top
Western tanks in maneuverability and traction, its
effective
range is less than that of the best German and United
States
tanks, and night vision is inferior. Poland's last
fifty-eight
light amphibious PT-76 tanks were eliminated as obsolete
in 1992.
Some 685 amphibious reconnaissance vehicles were in use
in
1992. Two types, the Hungarian-designed FUG and the
Sovietdesigned BRDM-2, were included in that inventory; Poland
began
using the FUG in 1966 and the BRDM-2 around 1981. In 1991
Poland
had 1,409 fully amphibious BMP-1 armored personnel
carriers and
62 BMP-2 carriers. The BMPs were considered the only
world-class
armored vehicles in the Polish Army (although the BMP-1
had been
in service since the early 1960s). Some 928 SKOT wheeled
armored
personnel carriers, a joint Polish and Czechoslovak design
of
1959, remained in use in 1992. Many of these vehicles had
been
refitted as specialized command and communications
vehicles,
although the class was considered obsolete.
In 1992 the Polish ground forces had a total of 2,316
artillery pieces. Of that number, 883 were towed,
including 715
M-1938 howitzers (122mm), 166 D-20 gun-howitzers (152mm),
and 2
D-1 howitzers (152 mm). Another 617 artillery pieces were
selfpropelled , including 498 of the 2S1 model (122mm), 111 of
the
Dana (M-77, 152 mm), and eight of the 2S7 (203-mm)
variety. The
Soviet-built M-1938 howitzer had been upgraded and
replaced
several times in the Soviet arsenal since its introduction
in
1938. The D-20 was designed shortly after World War II,
and the
D-1 was first used in 1943. The Dana (M-77) was the most
modern
self-propelled gun in use in 1992.
The artillery arsenal in 1992 also included 262
multiple
rocket launchers, of which 232 were BM-21 and thirty RM-70
(both
models 122mm). The BM-21 had been in Warsaw Pact arsenals
since
at least 1964; the RM-70 was added in the late 1980s to
replace
the older BM-14. Some 554 Soviet-designed 120mm mortars
were also
in service in 1992. In the surface-to-surface missile
category,
Poland had forty FROG and twenty-five Scud B launchers.
Four
types of antitank guided weapons were in use in 1992.
There were
271 AT-3s, 115 AT-4 Spigots, eighteen AT-5 Spandrels, and
seven
AT-6 Spirals. In the 85mm antitank gun class, Poland had
722 D-44
guns, which were of World War II vintage. .
In 1992 Poland had 945 antiaircraft guns in the 23mm
and 57mm
classes. The former were ZU-23-2 and ZSU-23-4 SP, the
latter S60 , which were introduced in 1950. Some 260 surface-to-air
missile launchers were of the SA-6, SA-7, SA-8, SA-9, and
SA-13
types.
Data as of October 1992
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