Armia Ludowa

People's Army
Armia Ludowa
People's Army eagle insignia
Active	1 January 1944 - 29 July 1944 (transformed into Polish People's Army)
Country	Poland
Allegiance	Polish Workers' Party
Role	Armed forces of the Polish Workers' Party
March	Marsz Gwardii Ludowej
Engagements	World War II Battle of Porytowe Wzgórze Republic of Pińczów Warsaw Uprising Sandomierz bridgehead
Commanders
Notable commanders	Michał Rola-Żymierski Franciszek Jóźwiak Jan Czechowski

Armia Ludowa (AL, pronounced [ˈarmja luˈdɔva]; English: the People's Army) was a communist partisan force set up by the communist Polish Workers' Party (PPR) during World War II. It was created by order of the Polish State National Council on 1 January 1944. Its aims were to fight against Nazi Germans in occupied Poland, support the Soviet military against the German forces and to aid in the creation of a pro-Soviet Union communist government in Poland.

Along with the National Armed Forces, it was one of the military resistance organizations that refused to join the structures of the Polish Underground State or its military arm, the Home Army. The People's Army was much smaller than the Home Army, but propaganda in communist Poland espoused the myth that the reverse was the case.

In 1939, 17 days after the German invasion, the Soviet Union also invaded Poland. There was no formal declaration of war by either side. The Polish Government fled to London, and maintained contacts with its representatives in occupied Poland, the Polish Underground State. In 1943, the Soviet Union broke off the diplomatic relations with the London Polish government-in-exile.