World War III: Polish Unit Cards

Polish
The Polish People's Army (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie or LWP) was initially formed from displaced Poles during the Second World War and fought alongside the Soviet Army during their drive to Berlin. After the surrender of Germany, Poland fell under the control of the Soviets and had a communist government installed by Moscow.

During the mid-1980s the LWP had about 205,000 men under arms with two-thirds of them being made up of conscripts who had to serve at least two years in the military. This force was backed up by Soviet units stationed in Poland during the entire Cold War. In the event of a major conflict with NATO, the Polish forces would mobilize and prepare for combat while the Soviet forces would move into East Germany and Czechoslovakia to lead the attack into the west. 

Formed under the Soviet model, the LWP looked like other Warsaw Pact armies and was equipped much the same way. During the mid-1980s the Polish People's Army had around 15 divisions in various states of readiness. These featured armored, mechanized, air assault, and naval infantry divisions along with all of the usual support elements found in the armies of the Warsaw Pact. The Poles also had their own indigenous arms industry and produced much of their own weapons, equipment, and vehicles, though based on Soviet designs.