Women in the Polish Army

Women in the Polish Army participated in many battles throughout modern history. The greatest participation of women in combat occurred during World War II within the Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK), particularly during the Warsaw Uprising. The Germans were compelled to establish special prisoner-of-war camps for women from the Home Army.

The Period of the First Polish Republic

During the Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676), the wife of the Polish military commander, Anna Dorota Chrzanowska,[a] gained fame for rallying the Polish garrison during the Battle of Trembowla.[2] The Poles put up fierce resistance against the Turks and repelled every assault by the Ottoman army, while Chrzanowska became a heroine of patriotic literature. She was also commemorated by a monument in Trembowla,[1] which was destroyed after World War II and reconstructed in 2012.[3]

The November Uprising

  • A monument honoring several November Uprising heroines.
  • Georg Benedikt Wunder (mid 19th c), Emilia Plater in November Uprising 1831, with a female companion
  • Jan Rosen (late 19th c), Emilia Plater conducting Polish scythemen
  • Maria Raszanowicz

During the November Uprising (1830–1831), Polish women established organizations that provided auxiliary support to the insurgents. Members of the Union of Patriotic Charity of Warsaw Women tended to the wounded and, at night, stood guard over field hospitals in a manner modeled after military protocol.[4] Józefa Rostkowska served as a senior surgeon in the 10th Line Infantry Regiment of the Congress Kingdom. While tending to the wounded on the battlefield, she sustained a leg injury. For her meritorious service, she was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari.[5] Another medical assistant decorated with the Order of Virtuti Militari for tending to the wounded during the uprising was Anna Okęszyc.

In their memoirs, participants in the fighting also described Polish women who took part in combat with weapons in hand. The first such instance was recorded as early as 29 November during the fighting near the Royal Arsenal, where an unidentified young woman—brandishing a saber—marched alongside the 4th Line Infantry Regiment of the Congress Kingdom (known as the Czwartacy). The widow of a Colonel Dembiński became a legendary figure; fighting rifle in hand within the ranks of the volunteers, she engaged Russian troops in the Wola district.[6] Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska also participated in the fighting, having been accepted as a cadet into the 1st Augustów Cavalry Regiment. Czarnowska rejected suggestions from fellow soldiers—who, citing her gender, proposed she remain at headquarters—and instead took an active part in the battles fought in Warsaw. In the autumn of 1831, she participated in the Battle of Sierpc, following which she was promoted to non-commissioned officer and awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari.

The most famous woman to participate in the November Uprising was Emilia Plater, who—together with her friend Maria Prószyńska—cut off her long hair, donned men's attire, and, armed with pistols and a dagger, recruited a unit in the town of Dusetos in Lithuania consisting of 280 riflemen armed with double-barreled guns, 60 cavalrymen, and several hundred scythe-bearers. This unit—which went down in history as "Countess Plater's Detachment"—captured the Daugailiai station on 30 March 30 1831, and on 2 April, fought a victorious skirmish against a Russian reconnaissance patrol near Uciana. Emilia and Cezary Plater commanded the unit, while Maria Prószyńska served as her friend's adjutant. On 30 April, the unit joined the insurgent forces under the command of Karol Załuski. Plater took part in the Battle of Prystowiany. Following a defeat, the riflemen returned to their home district and, on 17 May, captured Wiłkomierz. There, Emilia met another woman fighting in the uprising—Maria Raszanowiczówna—who from that moment on became her inseparable companion. Together with Maria, Emilia fought in the partisan units of Konstanty Parczewski near Mejszagoła.

The interwar period

Main articles: Voluntary Legion of Women and Przysposobienie Wojskowe Kobiet

Women took part in the struggles for Poland's borders, including the Polish–Ukrainian War and the Polish–Soviet War. Many women participated in combat as soldiers. Separate women's squads existed within the Polish Military Organisation. Among the most renowned female soldiers were Aleksandra Zagórska, organizer and commander of the Voluntary Legion of Women;[8] Janina Łada-Walicka, a non-commissioned officer in the Polish Army and a uhlan; and Stefania Wojtulanis-Karpińska (nom de guerre "Barbara")—a captain-pilot in the Polish Air Forces and a sports pilot.

Following the restoration of independence in the Second Polish Republic, an Act of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland passed in April 1938 regarding universal military service established women's right to perform auxiliary military service, encompassing anti-aircraft, guard, communications duties, and other areas.

World War II

In 1928, the Organizacja Przysposobienia Wojskowego Kobiet do Obrony Kraju [Organization for Women's Military Training for National Defense] (OPKdOK) was established. In March 1939, it was reformed and adopted the name Przysposobienie Wojskowe Kobiet [Women's Military Training] (PWK). The Supreme Commander of the PWK was Maria Wittek. That same year, on 11 February, a decree was issued granting the PWK organization the status of an association of public utility (the PWK Organization Statute). On 27 March, the PWK Main Social Council established the PWK Social Emergency Service. The task of the PWK Social Emergency Service was to coordinate and intensify social preparations in the fields of healthcare, childcare, public information, and the recruitment of auxiliary forces for the military and administration, in preparation for national defense and for providing assistance to the civilian population in the event of a war.

Women participated in large numbers in the Polish resistance movement. Within the ranks of the Home Army (AK), there even existed all-female units that actively engaged in diversionary operations, and even carried out assassinations and executed death sentences against informants and agents. In 1943, during Operation "C", the Polish underground carried out its first assassination in which only women participated. The target was a Gestapo informant identified as "Ch.," who had been placed on a list of individuals to be eliminated. Two women from the "Dysc" Branch, an all-female diversion and sabotage unit of the Kedyw (Directorate of Diversion) of the AK Headquarters, were assigned to carry out her elimination. The operation involved the commander of "Dysk," Wanda Gertz (nom de guerre "Lena"), and the commander of the unit's demolition squad, and Maria Jankowska (nom de guerre "Margenta").[9][10]

In the 21st Century

A Regulation of the Council of Ministers dated 6 April 2004, stipulates that women studying at schools providing education in the nursing or veterinary professions are required to report for conscription for service in medical roles.[11] The Act, which has been in effect since 1 July 2004, grants women the right to hold positions in all personnel corps: the professional enlisted, non-commissioned officer, and officer corps.[12]

In 2016, a woman assumed command of a warship of the Polish Navy for the first time.[13]

As of March 2024, there were 17,334 women in the Polish Army, about 13 percent of the personnel. Women served as solidiers as well as command, technical, medical, and educational roles.[14]

The representative body for female soldiers within the Ministry of National Defence is the Council for Women. Its responsibilities include presenting opinions and analyses to the Minister of National Defence regarding matters concerning women's military service, as well as providing assistance in official matters. The Council is democratically elected by women serving in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland.[15]

Notable Polish Women Fighters

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Starting in the 19th century, she also became known as Zofię Chrzanowską.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Kril, Mariana; Kozłowski, Tomasz Kuba (29 February 2020). "Zofia Chrzanowska. Kresowy symbol odwagi" [Zofia Chrzanowska: A Borderland Symbol of Courage]. Jedynka - Polskie Radio (in Polish). Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  2. ^ Polski Słownik Biograficzny [Polish Biographical Dictionary] (in Polish). Warszawa ; Kraków: IH PAN: Wydaw. Towarzystwa Naukowego Societas Vistulana. 2007. p. 458. ISBN 978-83-86301-01-0. OCLC 831308048.
  3. ^ "Інформаційно-розважальний портал м. Теребовля". terebovlya.org.ua. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  4. ^ Wawrzykowska-Wierciochowa 1982, p. 40.
  5. ^ Wawrzykowska-Wierciochowa 1982, p. 71.
  6. ^ Dembowski, Leon (1898). Moje wspomnienia [My Memories] (in Polish). Petersburg: K. Grendyszyński. OCLC 876644818 – via HathiTrust.
  7. ^ Łada-Walicka, Janina; Mączyński, Czesław (2020). "Plate 1". "Ułani! ułani! malowane dzieci...": przyczynek do dziejów armii ochotniczej (in Polish). Lwów: Spółka Nakładowa "Odrodzenie". OCLC 9812028227, 723515463. Reprinted in 2020: ISBN 978-83-8098-374-8
  8. ^ Cieślikowa, Agnieszka (1998). Ochotnicza Legia Kobiet: 1918-1922 (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-08878-8. OCLC 45422321.
  9. ^ Śląski 1990
  10. ^ Strzembosz, Tomasz (1983) [1978]. Akcje zbrojne podziemnej Warszawy 1939-1944 [Armed Actions of Underground Warsaw, 1939–1944] (in Polish). Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. ISBN 978-83-06-00717-6. OCLC 1150476683.
  11. ^ "Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 6 kwietnia 2004 r. w sprawie poddania kobiet obowiązkowi stawienia się do poboru" [Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 6 April 2004 regarding the subjection of women to the obligation to report for conscription.]. Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych (in Polish). 28 April 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Ustawa z dnia 11 września 2003 r. o służbie wojskowej żołnierzy zawodowych" [Act of 11 September 2003, on the Military Service of Professional Soldiers]. Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych (in Polish). 20 October 2003. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  13. ^ Maraszek, Joanna (30 November 2018). "Świnoujście: Pierwsza kobieta dowódca okrętu" [Świnoujście: First Female Ship Commander]. Głos Szczeciński (in Polish). Szczecin: Szczecińskie Wydawnictwo Prasowe RSW "Prasa". ISSN 0137-9178. OCLC 12529811.
  14. ^ "Kobiety w armii. To już ponad 17 tysięcy żołnierzy zawodowych" [Women in the Army: Now Over 17,000 Professional Soldiers]. Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej (in Polish). 19 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Dumni z postawy kobiet w Wojsku Polskim" [Pride in the Stance of Women in the Polish Armed Forces]. Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej (in Polish). 8 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  16. ^ Liszewski, Ewa; Liszewski, Bogumił (21 July 2014). "Polka w brytyjskim lotnictwie" [A Polish Woman in the British Air Force]. Gazeta Polska Codziennie. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016.
  17. ^ Chmiel, Marek (14 February 2005). "Stefania Karpińska nie żyje" [Stefania Karpińska Has Died]. air-news.info (in Polish). Warsaw: International Air News. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009.

Sources

  • Wawrzykowska-Wierciochowa, Dioniza (1982). Sercem i orężem Ojczyźnie służyły: Emilia Plater i inne uczestniczki powstania listopadowego, 1830-1831 [They served their Homeland with heart and arms: Emilia Plater and other participants of the November Uprising, 1830–1831.] (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. ISBN 978-83-11-06734-9. OCLC 830308055.
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