Szabla wz. 34

Szabla wz. 34 (literally "1934 Pattern Szabla") was the last service sword issued to the Polish cavalry and other mounted units of the Polish Army. One of the finest weapons in a long list of Polish sabres reaching back to the early 16th century, although ironically its introduction occurred as swords finally became obsolete as military weapons, it was successfully used in combat during the 1939 Invasion of Poland and remains in service (as szabla wz. 1934/2002) as a ceremonial weapon.

The Polish cavalry units have been using sabres rather than broadswords at least since the 16th century. In the 18th century Poland ceased to exist as a sovereign nation in the effect of the partitions of Poland, but the Polish sabre, or szabla, remained in use. First as a weapon of various Polish units serving in the armies of other powers, and then its use spread to practically all light cavalry units in Europe and elsewhere. The British Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre was perhaps the best-known clone of the sabre used by Polish hussars.

When Poland finally regained its independence in 1918, the renascent Polish Army inherited a wide variety of swords from the armies of German Empire, Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary, as well as France, Italy and many other states from where weapons were being imported during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920. Experiences in the war shaped Polish Army organizational and operational doctrine. Unlike the trench warfare of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War was a conflict in which the cavalry's mobility played a decisive role. Poland acknowledged the benefits of mechanization but was unable to invest heavily in many of the expensive, unproven inventions since then. In spite of this, Polish cavalry brigades were used as a mobile mounted infantry, but also continued to be trained in fencing for a possible sabre charge.

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