The 1st "Warsaw" Mechanised Division () was a

mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps). As defined by the United States Army, me ...

formation of the

Polish Land Forces The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...

that existed from 1955 until September 1, 2011. During this entire period, the division was headquartered in

Legionowo Legionowo is a city in Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland, seat of the Legionowo County. Location Legionowo is located to the north-east of the center of Warsaw and only to the south of Zegrze Reservoir ( or ), near the Warsaw-Gda ...

. The unit stood down in 2011 as a result of reorganizations in the Polish Army. The division was formed in 1955 on the basis of the 1st Infantry Division of the

Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the Polish communist state (1945–1989 ...

. This precursor division had existed since 1943 and saw service on the Eastern Front of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a Soviet-controlled allied formation, part of the Polish Armed Forces in the East.

Structure

The 1955 reorganization equipped the division with armored personnel carriers and medium tanks. The division was initially structured and quartered as: After the fall of communism in Poland, the units of the army were organized to reflect NATO practice. Thus, by 2009, the division was structured and quartered as: The division provided cadres for rotations V and IX for the Polish component of Multi-National Division Central South. Notably, under the 2009 organization, the units of the division were geographically much farther from one another than the original deployments of 1955. For most of this period, the division was subordinated to the

Warsaw Military District The Warsaw Military District () was one of three military districts in Poland, the other two being the Pomeranian Military District and the Silesian Military District. It was the regional executive body of the Ministry of National Defense of Pol ...

. As part of ongoing reorganization of the Polish Army, the 1st Mechanised Division stood down on September 1, 2011.

References

Sources

* Jerzy Kajetanowicz, ''Wojsko Polskie w Układzie Warszawskim 1955-1985'', 7 November 2009. On-lin
here
''This article is based on the Polish Wikipedia article of the same name as it existed on October 30, 2011.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:1st Mechanised Division (Poland) Mechanised divisions of Poland Military units and formations established in 1955 Military units and formations disestablished in 2011 1955 establishments in Poland