Second Army (Poland)

Polish 2nd Army (Druga Armia)
Soldiers of the Polish Second Army in the area of Nysa Łużycka River after forcing it in April 1945.
Active	Aug 1944 - Aug 1945
Country	Poland
Allegiance	People's Army of Poland
Type	Field Army
Engagements	Bautzen
Commanders
Notable commanders	Karol Świerczewski Stanislav Poplavsky Florian Siwicki

The Polish Second Army (Polish: Druga Armia Wojska Polskiego, 2. AWP for short) was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944 as part of the People's Army of Poland. The organization begun in August under the command of generals Karol Świerczewski and Stanislav Poplavsky, and the formation under command of general Świerczewski entered active duty in January 1945. The Second Army suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Bautzen during April 22–26, 1945. Subsequently, the Second Army was part of the final great Soviet offensive of World War II in Europe, the drive on Prague. In August 1945 most of the formation was used to create the Poznań Military District.

In 1944, with the Soviet advance now enveloping increasing number of territories of the Second Polish Republic, occupied by Nazi Germany for the past several years, the Soviet high command saw the opportunity to recruit more Poles into the Soviet-controlled People's Army of Poland. The first plans called for formation of Polish Second Army and Polish Third Army, which were to be joined with the Polish First Army into a Polish Front (at that time the Polish forces were part of the 1st Belorussian Front). The early plans called for the Second Army to be ready for combat by the end of September.

However soon it became apparent that this plan was flawed, as there were not enough recruits to fill the ranks of officers. A significant number of pre-war Polish NCOs and officers either: