Celebrations of the Polish Armed Forces Day and the 106th anniversary of Poland's 1920 Battle of Warsaw victory took place across Poland on Saturday, August 15. The two main commemorative events were a military parade in Warsaw, and a naval parade in Gdynia.
During the ceremony in Warsaw, President Karol Nawrocki presented promotions to the rank of General to 21 Polish Army Officers representing a range of fields, from Cybersecurity to Armored Forces.
The Warsaw ceremony was highlighted by a gun salute and parachute jumps, during which military paratroopers unfurled large-scale flags over the Vistula River - including the Polish Armed Forces various branches' banners, as well as the flags of Poland, NATO, and the EU.
In addition to President Karol Nawrocki and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz - the attendees' list included all the most senior officers of the Polish Army, led by the Chief of the General Staff, as well as politicians and diplomats - and a number of allied countries' Defence Ministers.
The special guest of the ceremony was Andrzej Poczobut - a Polish national minority in Belarus activist, only recently rescued through Polish authorities' diplomatic efforts from a prison where he was held on trumped-up charges by the Belarusian regime.
Last but not least - thousands of spectators gathered on the Warsaw escarpment slopes, eager to get a close-up look at the state-of-the-art equipment of the Polish Army and the marching representatives of various military units.
During the official ceremonies already, the public had the opportunity to observe the first part of the parade - the Polish Air Force flyover. The formations flying over the Vistula River included AW149 and AH-64 Apache helicopters, various transport and training aircraft, as well as the Polish combat aviation mainstay F-16 - and finally the Air Force's newest addition, F-35, the first of which arrived in Poland in May.
Airmen from allied nations also participated in this year's airborne parade - with German Eurofighter Typhoon, Spanish and German A400M transport aircraft, and the French A330 MRTT aerial refueler among the sights. These last two of these are rumoured to soon be ordered for the Polish Air Force to fill capability gaps - and funding for these purchases will be provided by the EU SAFE program, under the name of which the Saturday's parade was held. President Nawrocki, however, presented a negative outlook on the European military funding scheme in his address - a stance which was later strongly countered by Poland's Defence Minister.
After the official speeches, the audience could finally watch the land portion of the parade - a column stretching several kilometers along Warsaw's Wisłostrada Shore Motorway, made of soldiers marching on foot and various military machinery following them.
As usual, the column began with soldiers from all branches of Poland's armed forces holding a large national flag, followed by representative companies of the individual branches of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. Behind them were representatives of the Military Police, Territorial Defense Forces, and Special Forces, whose soldiers, as in previous years, appeared in full combat gear, including balaclavas and glasses to prevent identification.
Along with the Polish soldiers, representatives of allied forces also marched through Warsaw - including Americans, British, Croatians, and Romanians, who are part of the NATO battle group stationed in Poland, as well as - this year for the first time - Canadian soldiers. Slightly behind the main column, French soldiers also appeared for the first time at the parade, represented by members of the Foreign Legion - separated a bit due to a different standard marching speed.
The walking portion of the parade was concluded by a cavalry squadron and a representation of uniformed school students who carried 106 Polish, NATO and EU flags - thus commemorating the 106th anniversary of Poland's victory in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw.
The "hardware" portion of the parade began with vehicles belonging to the Military Police - from patrol cars to special ramps for counterterrorist forces. Various reconnaissance vehicles, armored Special Forces transport vehicles, and reconnaissance vehicles were also on display.
As in previous years, a significant amount of heavy equipment also passed along the Wisłostrada motorway - Rosomak armored personnel carriers in various versions, the gradually introduced Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, Leopard 2Pl, K2, and Abrams tanks, as well as numerous pieces of artillery - the Langusta, Homar-K, and HIMARS launchers, and barrel artillery like the K9 and Krab gun-howitzers or the Rak self-propelled mortars.
The parade also featured anti-aircraft defense units - like the Patriot and Pilica+ launchers with Poprad carriers - as well as the Polish Navy units, including NSM missile launchers. The tow trucks followed, displaying underwater drones and mines used by the Polish military in the Baltic Sea.
This year's parade also featured a large representation of aerial drone systems displayed on launchers and tow trucks. Spectators were treated to drones such as Gladius, FlyEye, FT-5, and Warmate, as well as the Wizjer system designed by the Air Force Institute of Technology. The machinery parade concluded with vehicles from the Military Fire Service and Rosomaks in their medical evacuation vehicle configuration.
Parallel to the ceremonies in Warsaw, those gathered on the coast in Gdynia could watch a maritime parade of Polish Navy ships and aircraft. In the waters of the Bay of Gdańsk, the crowds of spectators could see the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates (currently awaiting replacement by cutting-edge vessels built under the Miecznik program; the first ship of this type was christened and launched this week), the corvette ORP Kaszub, Kormoran II-class minehunters, Lublin-class transport and minesweeping ships, the command ship ORP Kontradmirał Xawery Czernicki, the rescue ships ORP Piast and ORP Lech, as well as the hydrographic vessels ORP Heweliusz and ORP Arctowski.
A naval aviation parade also took place along the route of the naval parade. including Bryza aircraft and AW101 helicopters. Also on display was an AEW&C Saab 340 aircraft purchased for the Polish Army in Sweden, used for airspace monitoring.
The event in Gdynia was opened and attended by Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk - and also included a host of top civil and military officials, especially from the Baltic-Sea-oriented domains.
The two main parades were livestreamed online by the Polish Army's official youtube and social media channels - and tens of related smaller-scale events were simultaneously held across the country.
Polish Army Day is celebrated annually on August 15th and commemorates the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish troops successfully counterattacked and pushed back Bolshevik forces from Warsaw.
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Source: PAP, IAR