First Polish Army (1944–1945)
Polish field army
The Polish First Army (Polish: Pierwsza Armia Wojska Polskiego, 1 AWP for short, also known as Berling's Army) was an army unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the East. It was formed in the Soviet Union in 1944, from the previously existing Polish I Corps in the Soviet Union, as part of the People's Army of Poland (LWP). The First Army fought westward, subordinated to the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front, during the offensive against Nazi Germany that led to the capture of Warsaw in January 1945 and the capture of Berlin in May 1945.
Formation
The First Army was formed in the Soviet Union in 1944, from the previously existing Polish I Corps as part of the People's Army of Poland (LWP). On 10 August 1943, the Soviets gave permission for enlarging the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division into a Corps (Polish I Corps). The new formation was to be composed of two infantry divisions, one artillery and one armor brigade, one support and one air regiment, four independent battalions, and support units. On 29 July 1944 the Polish units were reorganized into the 1st Polish Army. From October 12 to 14, 1943, the First Polish Infantry Division made an assault on Lenino near
Smolensk and sustained twenty-five percent losses. Later, the 1st Kosciuszko Infantry Division fought in Berlin around the Reich Chancellery and the Reichstag. At this stage of the war, the Polish role in the Soviet drive westward was fairly substantial,
contributing 200,000 troops; this was approximately ten percent of the force taking part in Zhukov's and Konev's drive on Berlin.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “First Polish Army (1944–1945)” is polish field army. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through First, Polish and Army, not as a finished interpretation.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2659023. VIAF identifies the subject as 5124156012384249700000. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1944, 1945 and 1943.
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