General Józef Haller in front of the troops

Blue Army or Haller's Army are informal names for the Polish Army formed in France during the later stages of World War I. The army was created in June 1917 as part of the Polish units allied to the Entente. After the Great War ended, the units were transferred to Poland, where they took part in the Polish-Ukrainian War and the Polish-Bolshevik War. The earlier name comes from the French blue uniforms worn by the soldiers, while the latter was coined after the army's commander, General Józef Haller de Hallenburg. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Józef Haller Józef Haller de Hallenburg (August 13, 1873 - June 4, 1960) was a Polish general and politician. ... The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima (pron. ... St. ... Polish Army (Polish Wojsko Polskie) is the name applied to the military forces of Poland. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Poland West Ukrainian Peoples Republic The Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of Poland and West Ukrainian Peoples Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. ... Polish-Bolshevik War Conflict Polish-Bolshevik War Date 1919–1921 Place Central and Eastern Europe Result Polish victory The Polish-Soviet War (also known as the Polish-Bolshevik War or the Polish-Russian War) was the war (February 1919 – March 1921) that determined the borders between the Russian... Józef Haller Józef Haller de Hallenburg (August 13, 1873 - June 4, 1960) was a Polish general and politician. ...

History

The first units started to be formed after the 1917 alliance signed between the president of France Raymond Poincaré and the Polish statesman and renowned pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The recruits for the new unit came from all over the world. The main bulk of the recruits were Poles serving in the French army and former prisoners of war of the German and Austro-Hungarian armies (approximately 35 000 men). Additional 22 000 were Polish Americans. Another notable source of recruits was the former Russian Expeditionary Force in France and the Polish diaspora in Brazil (more than 300 men). Raymond Poincaré, President of the French Republic during the Great War. ... Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (November 6, 1860 – June 29, 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat and politician, the third Prime Minister of Poland. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Polish-American refers to American citizens of Polish descent. ... The Russian Expeditionary Force was a World War I military force sent to France by the Russian Empire. ...

The army was initially under French political control and military command of General Louis Archinard. However, on February 23, 1918, the political sovereignty was granted to the Polish National Committee and soon other Polish units were formed, most notably the 4th and 5th Rifle Divisions in Russia. On September 28 it signed an alliance with the Entente, which accepted the Polish units in France as the only, independent, allied and co-belligerent Polish army. On October 4, 1918 the National Committee appointed General Józef Haller de Hallenburg as the new commander. February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Polish National Committee (Komitet Narodowy Polski) can refer to several Polish organizations: Historical: Polish National Committee (1831-1832) - in Paris Polish National Committee (1848) - during the Spring of Nations Polish National Committee (1834-1838) - in USA Polish National Committee (1914-1917) - pro-Russian Polish National Committee (1917-1919) - in Paris... Polish 4th Rifle Division (Polish: ) was a Polish military unit, forming, together with the Polish 5th Rifle Division of the Blue Army, the only part of the Polish military which took part in the Russian Civil War. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

The first unit to enter combat on the Western Front was the 1st Rifle Regiment (1 pułk strzelców), fighting from July 1918 in Champagne and the Vosges mountains. By October the entire 1st Rifle Division joined the fight in the area of Rambervillers and Raon-l'Étape. For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the United Kingdom, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ... Location of the Champagne province in France Champagne is one of the most traditional provinces of France, a region of France that is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the regions name. ... The Vosges mountains are range of mountains in central-western Europe, stretching along the west side of the Rhine valley in a NNE direction, from Basel to Mainz, for a distance of 250 km (150 miles). ... Rambervillers is a commune of the Vosges département, in France. ... Raon-lÉtape is a commune of the Vosges département, in northeastern France. ...

The Great War ended on November 11, 1918, but the army continued to gather new recruits, many of them from among ethnic Poles who, while serving in the Austrian army, had been taken prisoners by the Allies. In early 1919 it already had 68 500 soldiers, fully-equipped by the French government and highly-trained. After attempting to gain permission to send the force to Poland via the port of the Baltic city of Danzig (present-day Gdańsk) and being denied by the Germans, tranport was arranged via train. Between April and June of that year it was transported together with all the heavy equipment to the newly-reborn Poland across Germany in sealed train cars. Weapons were secured in separate train cars and kept under guard to appease the German concerns about a foreign army traveling across it. Immediately after its arrival, the army was integrated into the general Polish Army and transported to the fronts of the Polish-Ukrainian War for the control over eastern Galicia. Its elements fought bravely in eastern Lesser Poland and in Volhynia, and the arrival of the Haller's army allowed the Poles to repel the Ukrainians and establish a demarcation line at the river Zbruch. November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... GdaÅ„sk ( ; IPA: ), also known by its German name Danzig ( ) and several other names, is the sixth-largest city in Poland and is Polands principal seaport and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. ... Coat-of-arms of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Galicia (Ukrainian: , Polish: , Russian: , German: , Hungarian: , Czech: , Yiddish: , Turkish: , Romanian: ) is an historical region in East Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine. ... Kraków Katowice WrocÅ‚aw Łódź PoznaÅ„ Bydgoszcz Lublin BiaÅ‚ystok GdaÅ„sk Szczecin Warsaw M A S O V I A S I L E S I A G R E A T E R P O L A N D L E S S E R P O... Volhynia (Ukrainian: , Polish: , Russian: ; also called Volynia) comprises the historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Western Bug -- to the north of Galicia and of Podolia. ... Zbruch River (Ukrainian: Збруч) is a river in Western Ukraine (length: 247 km, basin: 3330 sq. ...

Polish FT-17 tanks during the Battle of Dyneburg

In July 1919 the Blue Army was transferred to the border with Germany, where it prepared defences against possible German invasion. Finally, in September of that year it was completely incorporated into the Polish Army. The well-trained and highly-motivated troops of the Blue Army, as well as their aeroplanes and excellent FT-17 tanks formed the core of the Polish forces. Image File history File links Polish FT-17 tanks of the Polish 1st Tank Regiment during the Battle of Dyneburg Author unknown, picture published without a copyright notice in a number of books, including PociÄ…g pancerny ÅšmiaÅ‚y w trzech wojnach by Janusz Magnuski Reproduction uploaded from [1], with... Image File history File links Polish FT-17 tanks of the Polish 1st Tank Regiment during the Battle of Dyneburg Author unknown, picture published without a copyright notice in a number of books, including PociÄ…g pancerny ÅšmiaÅ‚y w trzech wojnach by Janusz Magnuski Reproduction uploaded from [1], with... Battle of Daugavpils (otherwise known as the Battle of Dyneburg) was the final battle of the joint Polish and Latvian Operation Winter against the Red Army. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... The Renault FT-17 (Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917) was the French light tank. ...

As most of the history related to the Polish-Soviet War, the information on the Blue Army was censored and repressed by the Soviets, especially in the communist dominated time of the People's Republic of Poland (1945-1989). Censorship is the removal and withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body. ... Soviet redirects here. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Capital Warsaw Language(s) Polish Government Socialist republic President  - 1947-1952 BolesÅ‚aw Bierut  - 1983-1989 Wojciech Jaruzelski Prime minister  - 1944-1947 E. Osóbka-Morawski  - 1947-1952 and 1954-1970 Józef Cyrankiewicz  - 1952-1954 BolesÅ‚aw Bierut  - 1970-1980 Piotr Jaroszewicz  - 1980 Edward Babiuch  - 1980-1981 Józef...

Order of battle

• I Polish Corps
  • 1st Rifle Division
  • 2nd Rifle Division
  • 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment
• II Polish Corps - formed in Russia
  • 4th Rifle Division
  • 5th Rifle Division
• III Polish Corps
  • 3rd Rifle Division
  • 6th Rifle Division
  • 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment
• Independent Units
  • 7th Rifle Division
  • Training Division - cadre
  • 1st Tank Regiment

General Józef Haller in front of the troops This article is about the army in Polish history. ... Polish 4th Rifle Division (Polish: ) was a Polish military unit, forming, together with the Polish 5th Rifle Division of the Blue Army, the only part of the Polish military which took part in the Russian Civil War. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• French Military Mission to Poland

The French Military Mission to Poland was an effort by France to aid the nascent Second Polish Republic after it achieved its independence in November, 1918, at the end of the First World War. ...

External links

• Haller Army Website
• Józef Haller and the Blue Army