Allied 'Polish' Soldiers during WWII

I knew a man named S. Kolenski who was a Polish Jew who fought for the allies. He died about three years ago. I can't vouch for the rest of them.

The Polish airmen (especially the Spitfire pilots) were bloody madmen!

Any chance of bringing down a German plane, and they were up there, chucking it about and taking all sorts of risks, sometimes to the detriment of tactical "wing" teamwork.

They were regarded as a mix of being exceedingly brave or reckless. They hated the Germans with a vengeance, and nothing would get in their way to have a crack at them.
There is a big Polish War Memorial dedicated to them at Northolt (Northwest London), to the many who lost their lives.

As far as I am aware, many of them chose not to go back to Poland after the war, as it was under Russian control. Instead, they settled in the UK, Canada and the USA.

I knew one who lived near me for quite a few years. He was a tough old sod, who had hands like shovels and could work from sunrise to sunset, right up until he was into his seventies. A great character.

I've read two first-person accounts of Polish families during the war, with members who ultimately joined the Allied armies, and then settled in the West. These are "The Ice Road" and "Goodbye Tomorrow". You might find them worth reading.

In addition to the handful of Poles who served with the RAF, there were tens of thousands of Poles (more than 150,000 in total) who fought with the other four main combat formations which the Poles deployed on behalf of the United Nations. In North Africa, several Polish infantry brigades (don't have the designations at my fingertips) fought with English formations, and Polish motorized and amored formations were formed and fought with Eighth Army. By the time the Allies arrived in Italy, Polish formations had been greatly expanded. Those with experience in mechanized formations were formed into the Second Polish Armored Brigade (following English traditions of formation designation, the "First Polish Armored Brigade" never actually existed as a combat formation, but was a training formation). The infantry brigades with combat experience were expanded into six brigades, which, brigaded in larger formations, formed the Third Carpathian Infantry Division and the Fifth Kresowa Infantry Division. By 1945, the ranks of Polish forces with the United Nations had swelled with liberated and escaped prisoners of war until it reached a peak of 195,000 Poles in organized formations under United Nations command. This included about 20,000 airmen and pilots, and roughly another 3000 sailors, most of whom served in other navies, althought the largest submarine in the world in 1939 was Polish, and it served with the Royal Navy.

In the RAF, the 303 Polish Fighter Squadron had the highest number of kills of any allied squadron--although the 303rd did not join until August, 1940, they represented 5% of fighter pilots in the "Battle of Britain," but 12% of the kills. Eventually, the Polish Air Force contributed two bomber squadrons and two fighter squadrons who fought with the RAF (many polish pilots had fought with the French before the fall of France in 1940). Search for the 300th, 301st, 304th and 305th bomber squadrons, and the 302nd, 303rd, 306th, 307th, 308th, 309th, 315th, 316th, 317th and 318th fighter squadrons. Polish pilots had a much higher standing of training before the war than did the RAF or the French Air Force, and they had combat experience in Poland and in France before arriving in England.

Search also for "Anders Army," which refers to Polish POWs released by the Soviets in 1941, and formed into infantry formations in Syria, before joining the Eighth Army in Egypt. For the Polish Air Force in Tunisia in 1943, see "Skalski's Circus." Search for the First Independent Polish Parachute Brigade (participated in Montgomery's failed "Market-Garden" operation to seize a bridge over the Rhine). They were commanded by Stanislas Sosabowski. The Polish Navy contributed two cruisers, eight destroyers, three destroyer escorts and eight submarines to the Royal Navy, and participated in the battle of the Atlantic. The estimated number of Polish resistance fighters in Poland was from 200,000 to 300,000. As the Soviets approached Warsaw, 40,000 resistance fighters rose against the Germans. However, Stalin did not want an effective Polish state or military after the war, so the Red Army halted, and did not enter the city until after the Germans had crushed the Polish resistance.

Anyone of Polish descent who is interested in the Polish contribution to the Second World War should know that Poles fought in Poland, Russia, France, England, Egypt, Lybia, Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. The Polish contribution to the United Nations was large and significant.

Polish aircrew inspect the wreckage of one of their first kills in the Battle of Britain



Polish Paratroopers preparing for their jump into Holland.



Polish fighters in France, 1940.



The Polish Tenth Cavalry fighting Germans in France, 1940--the Polish 2nd Armored Brigade would be formed from veterans such as these.



A Cromwell Cruiser tank of the Polish Armored Brigade helping to liberate a camp in 1944.



The Polish Cruiser Conrad, which helped to take the port at Wilhelmshafen, 1945.

You guys forget that the USSR was one of the Allies in WW II as well. So what happened to those Poles who fought with the Allies? They founded the postwar Polish government!

Yes, those who were not murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn Forest.

Poles also fought in the Netherlands, most notably the First Polish armoured division liberated the town of Breda in 1944 and many of them formed relationships with Dutch girls and stayed on after the war. The town has a large Polish war cemetery and honours the Poles every year for their bravery.

Recently the other Poles who fought on Dutch soil (The 1st Independent Parachute Brigade) were finally honoured by awarding the highest Dutch military medal to the unit and a posthumous bravery medal to gen. Sosabowski. The award had been suggested immediately after the war, but was not given for diplomatic reasons (Sosabowski was an outspoken opponent of Montogomery and the Market Garden plan, honouring him might have displeased the British)

Of all the peoples involved in WWII the Poles suffered worst.