Polish General Staff, formally known as the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces ( Polish: ''Sztab Generalny Wojska Polskiego'') is the highest professional body within the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

. Organizationally, it is an integral part of the Ministry of National Defence and the Chief of the General Staff is the highest ranking military officer at the Ministry. It was created in 1918, and was renamed the Main Staff (''Sztab Główny'') in 1928 before being reverted back to General Staff (''Sztab Generalny'') in 1945 by the Soviet backed Communist Government. Currently General

Wiesław Kukuła Wiesław Marian Kukuła (born 16 March 1972) is a Polish General of the branch (Poland), general, serving as Polish General Staff, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces. Education He is a graduate of the Higher Officer School of ...

holds the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (''Szef Sztabu Generalnego Wojska Polskiego'').

History and structure

On 25 October 1918, a decision was made to establish the directorate of the chief of staff 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 ...

. On 22 December 1928 the General Staff was renamed to the Main Staff (''Sztab Główny''). In September 1939, during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, all the institutions of the Main Staff ceased to function and were transferred to joint German and Soviet control. On 8 August 1944, the Main Staff of the Polish Army was created by the Polish Committee of National Liberation and on 10 July 1945, the Provisional Government of National Unity reverted its name back to the General Staff of the Polish Army, the head of which was appointed Soviet-Polish General Vladislav Korchits. The

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

kept the previous name until the positions dissolution. The General Staff consists of the following command personnel and organizational units at the Ministry of National Defence (MON): Command personnel (''Kadra kierownicza''): * Chief of the General Staff (Szef Sztabu Generalnego WP) - Generał Wiesław Kukuła * First Deputy Chief of the General Staff (''I Zastępca szefa Sztabu Generalnego WP'') - Generał dywizji Karol Dymanowski * Deputy Chief of Staff (''Zastępca szefa Sztabu Generalnego WP'') - Generał broni Stanisław Czosnek * Director of the Chief of the GS's Secretariat (''Szef Sekretariatu Szefa SG WP'') - Col. Arkadiusz Rubajczyk * Director of the Legal Department (''Szef Zespołu Prasowego - rzecznik prasowy SG WP'') - Col. Joanna Klejszmit * Director of the Coordination Center (''Szef Centrum Koordynacyjnego'') - Col. Adam Górecki * Chief NCO (''Starszy podoficer SG WP'') - Starszy chorąży sztabowy Piotr Smuga General Staff Directorates (''Zarządy Sztabu Generalnego WP''): *Organization and Manpower Complement Directorate (Zarząd Organizacji i Zasobów Osobowych - P1) - Colonel Bogdan Sowa * Intelligence and Reconnaissance Analysis Directorate (Zarząd Analiz Wywiadowczych i Rozpoznawczych - P2) -

Generał brygady Brigadier general ( Polish: ''generał brygady'' , abbreviated ''gen. bryg.'') is the lowest grade for generals in the Polish Army (both in the land forces and in the Polish Air Force). Depending on the context, it is equivalent to both the moder ...

Mieczysław Bieniek * Armed Forces Application Planning and Training Directorate (''Zarząd Planowania Operacyjnego - P3'') -

Mirosław Polakow * Logistics Directorate (''Zarząd Logistyki - P4'') -

Mariusz Skulimowski * Armed Forces Development Planning and Programming Directorate (''Zarząd Planowania i Programowania Rozwoju Sił Zbrojnych - P5'') -

Rafał Ostrowski * Management and Command Directorate (''Zarząd Kierowania i Dowodzenia - P6'') - Colonel Piotr Chodowiec * Training Directorate (''Zarząd Szkolenia - P7'') -

Rafał Miernik * Material Planning Directorate (''Zarząd Planowania Rzeczowego - P8'') -

Krzysztof Zielski

List of Chiefs

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
(1917–1918)

;Head of the Inspectorate ;Chief of Staff

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
(1918−1939)

;Chief of the General Staff ;Chief of the Main Staff

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...
(1939−1946)

Republic of Poland /
People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
(1945−1989)

Third Polish Republic (1990−present)

Notes

References

External links

* {{Chief of military by country 1918 establishments in Poland Military of Poland

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

History and structure

List of Chiefs

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ... (1917–1918)

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ... (1918−1939)

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ... (1939−1946)