Editing Polish Workers' Party (section)

==Communist-led war effort==

The leftist, Soviet-allied [[Polish People's Army|Polish armed forces]], placed under the authority of the PKWN and then the Provisional Government, were rapidly expanded, ultimately to about 400,000 people in two armies. In the summer of 1944, the First Polish Army established [[bridgehead]]s on the Vistula'a left bank south of Warsaw and in August its [[1st Armoured Brigade (Poland)|1st Armoured Brigade]] fought the Germans at the [[Battle of Studzianki]].<ref name="Czubiński historia Polski 218-220"/>

Many diversionary military actions and other combat operations were undertaken by Armia Ludowa and the [[Soviet partisans]] in September and October 1944, especially, but not only, in the [[Kielce]] province. At the end of October, led by the AL commander [[Mieczysław Moczar]], most units broke through the front lines to the Soviet-Polish side.<ref name="Brzoza 387–396"/>

The Soviet offensive was resumed on 12 January 1945. On 17 January the First Polish Army led by General [[Stanislav Poplavsky|Stanisław Popławski]] entered the destroyed Warsaw. It fought on the [[1st Belorussian Front]] and during the following month participated in overcoming strongly fortified German defenses at the [[Pomeranian Wall]], losing 6,500 soldiers; in March it [[Battle of Kolberg (1945)|took Kolberg]]. The 1st Armoured Brigade fought within the [[2nd Belorussian Front]] and contributed to the liberation of [[Gdańsk]] and [[Gdynia]]. The First Army forced its way across the [[Oder River]] on 16–17 April and reached the [[Elbe]] near [[Spandau]] on 3 May. Its [[Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division|1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division]] and other Polish formations participated in the final [[Battle of Berlin]]. The [[Second Army (Poland)|Second Polish Army]], led by General [[Karol Świerczewski]], operated with the [[1st Ukrainian Front]]. It crossed the [[Lusatian Neisse]] on 16 April and heading for [[Dresden]] suffered heavy losses at the [[Battle of Bautzen (1945)|Battle of Bautzen]], due to poor command. However, a German rescue force heading for [[Berlin]] was stopped. Helping to defeat [[Nazi Germany]] in Poland, the two Polish armies suffered losses equal to the Polish military losses encountered during the [[Invasion of Poland|September Campaign]] of 1939—66,000 soldiers killed (according to [[Antoni Czubiński]]).<ref name="Czubiński historia Polski 218-220"/><ref name="Brzoza 387–396"/>