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The 1st Polish Army ( Polish ''Pierwsza Armia Wojska Polskiego'', 1 AWP for short) was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944 , from previously existing 1st Polish Corps . , commander of the 1st Polish Army]] It operated under the auspices of the Red Army . It first entered combat in the summer of 1944 as part of the 1st Belorussian Front on the right wing of the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation , fighting in the battles during the Soviet crossing of the river Vistula around Dęblin and Puławy . In September 1944 it was involved in fighting around Warsaw in an attempt to support the Warsaw Uprising . However, those efforts received minimal Soviet support and ended in failure. In the winter of 1945 the army fought in Pomerania, breaking through the ''Pommernstellung'' fortified line and capturing Kolobrzeg . In the Spring of 1945 the army, now numbering 78,556 soldiers, was shifted to the front on the river Oder in preparation for the final Soviet offensive of the war in Europe. The 2nd Polish Army also entered the line of battle at this time, and together the two armies contributed about 10% of the total forces involved in the operation. During the offensive it crossed the river on April 16 and joined the Battle Of Berlin . In it, among other actions, the Polish units of the 1st army crossed the Hohenzollern Canal and advanced on Kremmen, Flatow, Paaren and Nauen. They ended their campaign by participating in the capture of the Brandenburg Gate . The army was disbanded after the war, on 22 August , 1945 . Its constituent units went on to serve in the armed forces of the newly created Polish People's Republic . COMPOSITION The lower ranks primarily consisted of Poles who were deported deep into the USSR after its takeover of Eastern Poland following the in 1940 . Poles viewed them as simply Russians who wore Polish uniforms. Even at the time of formation of those units Soviets arrested hundreds of Polish soldiers for singing "improper" patriotic songs, or talking about "enemy propaganda". Special political officers made completely out of of Soviets had overseen Polish soldiers, as Poles weren't trusted. ORGANISATION The 1st Polish Army was very similar in organisation to other standard general purpose Armies making up the bulk of Red Army's order of battle. It had a good mix of Infantry units and Artillery together with other support arms. Its armor capability was considerably weaker, and consisted of only one Organic tank brigade. In manpower it was broadly equivalent to an American infantry Corps . At the end of the war in 1945, it consisted of the following large units ( Honorific names given in brackets)
on the Eastern Front .]]
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Image:Polish Howitzer Brigade BerlinjpgPolish II Howitzer Brigade Passing The
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