APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070031-4
Armed Forces
A. Defense establishment
Largest of the Warsaw Pact forces of Eastern Europe after those of the Soviet Union, the closely integrated armed forces of Poland consist of ground, naval, and air and air defense forces. These forces are subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense, as are the militarized security forces (less the Frontier Guard during peacetime) which operate under a territorial defense system that assigns them primary responsibility for the internal defense of the country. The strength of the ground, naval, and air forces is 291,000 men. About 210,000 are in the ground forces, 26,000 in the naval forces[1], and 55,000 in the air forces. Personnel for the Air Defense Command are drawn from the ground and air forces. Much the largest element in terms of personnel, the ground forces also dominate the high command and staff. (S)
Major combat elements include 15 ground forces divisions; four destroyer types, four submarines, 101 coastal patrol and 62 river/roadstead patrol types, 49 minesweepers, 38 amphibious ships and craft, 32 auxiliaries, 114 service craft, 66 naval combat aircraft, and more than 875 air forces aircraft. The Territorial Defense Forces have a strength of 73,500 men -- 25,000 are in the Internal Defense Forces, 20,000 in the Frontier Guard, and 28,500 in Territorial Defense Forces. (S)
The missions of the armed forces include territorial defense against foreign attack by land, sea, and air; internal defense against subversive or guerrilla forces; maintenance of border security and control; protection of Warsaw Pact lines of communication and augmentation of Pact forces in central Europe. (C)
Since 1965, Poland's armed forces and Ministry of National Defense have been reorganized, probably on Soviet initiative to facilitate the implementation of an operational and territorial defense force concept. Operational forces, consisting of ground, naval, and air elements, are earmarked to augment Warsaw Pact forces. The Territorial Defense Forces (Obrony Terytorium Kraju -- OT), which are exclusively responsible for the internal defense and security of Poland, consist of interior, frontier, and air defense elements. In the 1965 reorganization, the Frontier Guard (Wojsko Ochrony Pogranicza - WOP) and Internal Defense Forces (Wojsko Obrony Wewnetrnze - WOW) were transferred from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of National Defense, where they were assigned to the Main Inspectorate of the National Territorial Defense Forces. In 1971, however, the Frontier Guard was transferred from the Ministry of National Defense and resubordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Frontier Guard would probably revert to Ministry of Defense control in time of war. Air forces consist of two operational components. One has the primary mission of air defense and is operationally subordinate to the Air Defense Command. The other, consisting of tactical air units, is assigned an offensive role in support of ground troops but augments the air defense component, as required. Naval forces, including a small air component, are mainly a defensive force. However, the navy has an increasing amphibious capability and submarines sometimes operate outside the Baltic Sea. (S)
The armed forces are trained along Soviet lines and are primarily equipped with weapons of Soviet design or manufacture. They have acquired Soviet tactical nuclear delivery systems, though not nuclear warheads, and have adopted Soviet tactical concepts. The armed forces are capable of conducting both offensive and defensive operations either independently or as part of a combined force. In the latter role they could assume a major part in operations in the North German plain and Jutland. Large-scale, sustained operations, however, could not be maintained with Polish resources along but would require Soviet logistical support. (S)
Poland is astride the main natural route interconnecting the USSR and Western Europe. With respect to the line of contact between forces of the NATO nations and of the Warsaw Pact nations,
1
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070031-4
- ↑ Includes 2,600 Maritime Frontier Guard personnel.
