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Poland’s infantry are a peculiar case of
extremes. As a former satellite state of
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the Soviet Union, its roots
are in Warsaw Pact equipment,
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and they weren’t operating the best the Eastern
Bloc had to offer by its collapse in 1989.
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But on the other hand, Poland has been a member
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of NATO since 1999. Upgraded Leopard
2PLs ride alongside ancient BMP-1s;
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and new heavy equipment built on western
design principles is around the corner.
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Today I’m breaking down Poland’s mechanized and
motorized infantry units from squad to division,
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covering current and new equipment, and
their plans for an ambitious expansion.
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First, there are two main types of armored
infantry squad: mechanized and motorized.
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The Mechanized Squad is currently mounted
on the BWP-1 infantry fighting vehicle,
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the Polish designation for the Soviet BMP-1
first introduced in the 1960s. Its main armament
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is a 73mm Grom low-pressure smoothbore gun,
which fires the same munitions as the SPG-9
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recoilless gun. It also has a coaxial PKT
machine gun and Malyutka anti-tank missiles.
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The BMP-1 can hold a max of 3 crew members, and
8 in the passenger compartment. Although this
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doesn’t directly translate to 3 plus 8 squads to
accommodate Platoon HQ personnel. The BMP-1 also
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only has a 1-man turret, so the vehicle commander
- sat behind the driver - usually dismounts.
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This platform’s obsolescence is fairly
obvious. Much like East Germany,
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Poland only received a few BMP-2s before the
fall of communism, which were sold off after
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about a decade. Since then, Poland has failed
to field a modernized version of the BMP-1,
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which it attempted to do with the Puma program
in the 2000s. The BMP-1’s hopeful successor is
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the Borsuk or Badger, which is anticipated
to finish qualification trials some time in
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mid-2023 and be issued to the 16th Mechanized
Division alongside K2 main battle tanks.
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As for the squad itself, they usually have
eight personnel. They’re split into a dismounted
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infantry element, called a Fire Team, and a
vehicle crew. The Squad Leader is also the
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leader of the Fire Team, and on the dismount they
pass command of the vehicle to the Crew Leader,
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who also acts as a Gunner-Operator on the
BMP. Doctrinally, both are meant to be NCOs.
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The crew further consists of
a Driver, and the most common
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weapon for BMP crews is the mini-Beryl — a
sub-carbine variant of Poland’s modernized
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AK chambered in 5.56 NATO. The Squad
Leader has the larger rifle variant.
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The dismounted element also has
a machine gunner armed with a
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UKM-2000P — essentially a PKM converted
to fire 7.62 NATO — an assistant machine
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gunner, an RPG-7 gunner and their
assistant gunner, and a rifleman.
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It’s possible that the Rifleman is doctrinally
meant to carry a GPBO-40 underbarrel grenade
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launcher. But based on my conversations with
Polish servicemembers and after combing through
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photos of Polish exercises, it seems
to be inconsistent or unit dependent.
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The Poles also haven’t adopted a grenade launcher
for the MSBS Grot yet. So units like the 7th
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Coastal Defense Brigade that have started the
transition are empty handed in that regard.
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In addition to these previous gen weapons,
the Polish are gradually transitioning to
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new or upgraded weapons. The most famous is
the MSBS Grot, which is replacing the Beryl,
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although it currently doesn’t have a sub-carbine
variant or adopted grenade launcher. Additionally,
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the UKM-2000P is getting modifications
that include a new stock and a picatinny
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rail for mounting optics. The most common
of which is the Eotech holographic sight.
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Further, there is talk that the RPG-7
will eventually be replaced by the M72
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EC Mk.1. Although since the M72 is a single
munition, and the RPG-7 is a reusable system,
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it is questionable whether they’ll be able
to fully phase out the RPG-7 anytime soon
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or if the weapons allocation will be changed up.
Like spreading out multiple M72s across a squad.
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Three of these squads make up the core of a
platoon. They’re accompanied by a Support Squad,
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which is commanded by the Assistant Platoon Leader
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typically ranking Junior Warrant
Officer. The squad has 8 personnel,
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and serves an LM-60 60mm mortar and a GSBO-40
standalone grenade launcher, plus a Combat Medic.
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Meanwhile, in 1st Squad’s vehicle, the
Platoon Leader acts as vehicle commander
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and also has a Radio Operator to
accompany them on the dismount.
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Three platoons form the close combat
element of the mechanized or motorized
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company. Company leadership, including
the company commander and their deputy,
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ride in their own individual combat
vehicles with 10 people between them.
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The Company Chief, equivalent to a first
sergeant or company sergeant major,
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leads the 6-man logistics team. They set
up company logistics resupply points,
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like for ammo, fuel and water, and
are equipped with two off-road trucks.
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The Company Technician meanwhile leads
an armored recovery squad, tasked with
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recovering stuck vehicles and performing
limited maintenance work. In BMP units,
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they’re doctrinally meant to have an armored
recovery variant of the MT-LB called the WPT,
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while motorized units are meant to have the
technical reconnaissance variant of the Rosomak.
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Motorized Infantry Platoons are similar.
Although equipped with the wheeled KTO Rosomak,
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armed with a 30mm autocannon and the option for
SPIKE missiles. They ironically have a superior
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IFV in almost every way to the mechanized troops.
However, doctrinally, their squads lose the last
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rifleman and instead have a dedicated vehicle
commander in addition to the gunner. This is
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enabled by the Rosomak’s 2-man turret, and is a
departure from the old Soviet way of IFV crewing.
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One assumes that when the Borsuk replaces
the BMP-1, they’ll adopt a similar approach.
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Additionally at the platoon-level, the
Support Squad serves a tripod-mounted Mk
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19 automatic grenade launcher rather than
the stand-alone single-shot launcher. But
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otherwise they doctrinally still
have a 60mm mortar and medic.
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Four companies form the core
of an infantry battalion,
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led and supported by a Command Company that
includes command and logistics elements,
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traffic control, a recon platoon and a sniper
squad with 4x .50 caliber sniper rifles.
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Battalions include a Support Company,
whose 2 mortar platoons ideally provide
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the battalion with a total of 8x M120
Rak 120mm self-propelled mortars,
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and whose anti-tank platoon provides
6 SPIKE anti-tank guided missiles.
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They further have a Logistics Company,
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providing supply and maintenance
support, plus a medical section.
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In total, each battalion would ideally have 56
BMPs or Rosomaks and in the area of 760 soldiers,
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although during wartime mass mobilization might
see the filling out of understrength units.
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But at the brigade-level there is more variation.
Each brigade generally had 3 maneuver battalions
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before 2022. Armored Cavalry Brigades and
Armored Brigades, which are tank heavy, had
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2 tank battalions and 1 mechanized battalion on
BMP-1, while depending on the context, mechanized
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brigades could 2 mechanized and 1 tank battalion,
or 3 mechanized or motorized battalions, or more.
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However, there is a plan to bring brigades to
a 4 battalion standard and some brigades have
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already made the transition. Based on comments
made by the Polish defense ministry in the past,
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this could mean 4 motorized battalions for lighter
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brigades and 2 tank and 2 mechanized
infantry battalions for heavier brigades.
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But regardless, brigades are supported by
a Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion, like
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in other countries to the east literally called a
“division”. Their three batteries each serve eight
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2S1 122mm SPGs, for a total of 24 tubes in the
battalion. Mechanized Brigades with mainly wheeled
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Rosomak battalions, like the 17th Mechanized
Brigade, have Dana 152mm wheeled SPGs in lieu.
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And then there’s an Air Defense Battalion,
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with a minimum of 24 Grom man-portable
air defense systems or MANPADS.
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Armored brigades also have 12 Biała self-propelled
anti-aircraft guns, while mechanized brigades
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have 24 truck-mounted combo systems that
include 23mm cannons and Grom AA missiles.
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Rounding it out, brigades
have a reconnaissance company,
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engineer battalion and logistics battalion.
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At the highest level, three maneuver brigades
generally make-up a division, although in the
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future it is planned for divisions to be based on
4 maneuver brigades of 4 maneuver battalions each.
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Poland’s four maneuver divisions were its
largest tactical units before 2023. The
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11th Armoured Cavalry Division in the southwest,
the 12th Mechanised Division in the northwest,
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the 16th Mechanized Division in the
northeast near the border with Kaliningrad,
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and the 18th Mechanized Division in the
east and southeast. The 18th Mechanized
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was the newest division, formed in 2018
to fill the gap left by the disbandment
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of the 1st Mechanized in 2011. It just
reached operational capability in 2021,
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so its units are underdeveloped. In response to
the ongoing conflict, Poland announced its plan
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to form two new divisions as well. One will be the
1st Legions Infantry Division in the northeast,
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partially formed from units of the 16th Division.
It will cover the area between the 16th and 18th.
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In the future, the goal is for the 18th Mechanized
to operate the M1A2 Abrams and the 16th Mechanized
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to operate the K2PL. The 16th Mechanized
currently operates PT-91 Twardy battalions,
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which are likely subjects of weapons transfer in
the future. The 1st Legions Infantry meanwhile
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will operate a mix of K2s and Abrams, while the
Leopard 2A5s that were in the 18th Mechanized
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will be shifted to the 11th Armored Cavalry
Division near the border with Germany. This
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division already operates Leopard 2PLs and Leopard
2A4s waiting to be upgraded to the 2PL standard.
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I should mention that in my Polish
tank video I made a while back,
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I erroneously stated that the
12th Mechanized Division had
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a PT-91 battalion. They actually had a
battalion of T-72M1Rs, which are now gone.
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Polish maneuver brigades are currently
supported by a divisional Artillery
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Regiment. Artillery Regiments generally have 4
artillery battalions, sporting a mix of 152mm
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howitzers like the Dana and or 155mm like the
Krab, as well as rocket artillery battalions.
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Also in the division is an Anti-Aircraft
Regiment, featuring Osa, Kub and more
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Grom surface-to-air missiles; as well as a
Logistics Regiment and Command Battalion.
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Before closing out I just want to thank
my Patrons. My videos haven’t been doing
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too hot recently and Patreon gives me an
added layer of financial stability. And
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now that you have an idea of Poland’s infantry
units, check out this earlier video where we
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cover Poland’s tank unit structure from the
platoon to brigade. We’ll see you over there.
