Podhale Rifles or Podhale Riflemen (, nicknamed "Podhalańczycy") is the traditional name of the
mountain infantry units of the
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the Army, 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 histor ...
. Formed in 1918 out of volunteers of the region of
Podhale, in 1919 the smaller detachments of Podhale Rifles were pressed into two mountain infantry divisions, the
21st Mountain Infantry and
22nd Mountain Infantry Divisions, as well as into three brigades of mountain infantry and were considered
elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...
units of the Polish Army.
After the Polish defeat in the
Polish September Campaign, the Podhale units were recreated in France as
Polish Independent Highland Brigade, fought at the
Battle of Narvik, and later fought in the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
and retreated into
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
upon the French defeat. Some units were also created in the underground as part of the partisan forces of the
Armia Krajowa
The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
. The traditions of the Podhale Rifles are continued by the modern
21st Podhale Rifle Brigade.
The traditional symbols of the Podhale Rifles include the
edelweiss
''Leontopodium nivale'', commonly called edelweiss () ( ; or ), is a mountain flower belonging to the daisy or sunflower family Asteraceae. The plant prefers rocky limestone places at about altitude. It is a non-toxic plant. Its leaves and f ...
flower and the Mountain Cross, a
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...
symbol (not related to
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
) popular in folk culture of the Polish mountainous regions. The units of Podhale Rifles, both historical and modern, are notable for their high morale and distinctive uniforms. Prior to
World War II
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 ...
the mountain units were one of only two infantry units wearing non-standard uniforms based on Mountaineer folk garment rather than military uniforms. This tradition is continued in units such as the Representative Honor Guard Unit of the
Polish Border Guard.
Units and their badges
The table below shows the allegiance of the regiments of Podhale Rifles as of September 1, 1939.
The swastikas which appear in unit's logos have no relation whatsoever to the swastikas used by German Nazi movement. Swastika was a common geometric ornament in the folk culture of Tatra mountains and for that reason it was adopted by highlander units of Polish army. The usage of swastikas by highlander regiments of the Wojsko Polskie is an ancient slavic symbol which predates the rise of the NSDAP in Germany.
See also
*
List of mountain warfare forces
*
Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz
*
Tadeusz Klimecki
References
External links
*
Army units and formations of Poland
Military units and formations established in 1918
Mountain infantry brigades
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