Armia Ludowa (AL, pronounced [ˈarmja luˈdɔva]; English People's Army) was a communist partisan force set up by the Polish Workers' Party during World War II. Its aims were to support the military of the Soviet Union against German forces and aid the creation of a Soviet-controlled communist regime in Poland.[1] It was the largest military organization which refused to join the structures of the Polish Underground State.
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Details
Resistance movement
On January 1, 1944, the Krajowa Rada Narodowa (KRN) – National Council of the Country replaced the Gwardia Ludowa (GL) – People's Guard with the AL. The KRN intended to gain volunteers from other groups. Upon its establishment the organization comprised around 10,000 members, by the end of July 1944 (when much of Poland was occupied by the Red Army) there were circa 30,000 members, with 6,000 of them being active full-time partisans.[1]
Army
Seven months after it came into existence, on July 21, 1944, AL was integrated into the Polish Military in the USSR and renamed the Ludowe Wojsko Polskie (LWP) – Polish People's Army. After the Red Army and the Soviet-controlled 1st Polish Army entered Poland in 1944 and early 1945, most of the AL members joined the latter. After the war many of its members joined the ranks of Ministry of Public Security in Communist Poland[1][2]
References
- ^ a b c (Polish) Armia Ludowa in Encyklopedia PWN
- ^ (Polish) Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego in Encyklopedia PWN
See also
External links
- (Polish) Gwardia Ludowa, Armia Ludowa on the pages of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance
Further reading
- Steven J Zaloga (1982). "The Polish People's Army". Polish Army, 1939-1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-417-4. http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&id=AAdYFeW2fnoC&dq=first+polish+army&lpg=PA27&pg=PA26&sig=WN1KQpOlr7_qConUSBptg32zoaE.
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