Armia Ludowa

(literally People’s Army), Polish military organization active in 1944 in Poland during the occupation by the German fascists; created by the order of the Krajowa Rada Narodowa (KRN) on Jan. 1, 1944, based on the People’s Guard.

Armia Ludowa was composed of the radical part of the Peasant Battalions (the military organization formed in late 1940-early 1941 whose main cadres were members of the peasant youth organization Wici); detachments of the peoples’ militia; many soldiers and separate detachments of Armia Krajowa. The commander of the People’s Army was General M. Zymierski (Rola), and the chief of staff was the member of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party, F. Juźwiak (Witold). In 1944 the People’s Army fought in 120 major battles (in the Lasco Lipskie, in the area of Gruszka, in the area of Ewina, and so forth), and annihilated more than 19,000 Hitlerites. Under the law of the KRN of July 21, 1944, the People’s Army was merged with the First Polish Army into a single Polish Army.