Poland's armed forces and their NATO allies marched at a parade in Warsaw in a show of force as part of Armed Forces Day celebrations in the country Tuesday, August 15, months ahead of the country's general election.
Miracle on the Vistula
Historically, Poland was a key eastern European power, owing to its might in the medieval and early modern periods with famed military victories such as the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and the relief of the siege of Vienna in 1683.
The day commemorated the Battle of Warsaw, when Polish troops repelled the Soviet Red Army in 1920, which became a turning point for the Polish-Soviet War. Before the victory, Soviet troops rapidly gained territory within Poland, with Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky hoping to reach Berlin "over Poland's dead body" and start a worldwide revolution, DW reported.
Thanks to a crack team of Polish radio operators who deciphered Soviet radio messages, and perhaps the intervention of the Virgin Mary - as the day of the victory coincided with the feast of her assumption in the Catholic Church - the Poles managed to encircle the Soviet forces. Eventually, the victory was called the "Miracle on the Vistula," named after the river where Warsaw was established.
The Soviets eventually reached Berlin during the Second World War, and they placed a satellite government in Poland. But with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Poles successfully repelled communism once more. In 1992 Poland made August 15 a national holiday dedicated to its armed forces.
A Show of Force Against Moscow
While parades have been held on the streets of Warsaw since its independence from Soviet influence, this year's parade paled all of the previous ones combined in comparison, making it the largest in its modern history.
Crowds gathered to watch 2,000 soldiers and 200 military vehicles, including US-made M1A1 Abrams, German Leopard, and South Korean K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers, F-16 and FA-50 fighter jets, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot missile systems, and HIMARS rocket launchers.
Some of the Korean hardware Poland purchased were showcased in the parade for the very first time, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Specifically noted was the KAI FA-50PL, the Polish light combat variant of its T-50 lead-in fighter trainer jet that is also owned by the air forces of ASEAN powerhouses Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
NATO troops, including US and French contingents, also marched past and saluted Polish President Andrzej Duda and Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, both of whom were adamant about keeping Poland free from Russian influence in the aftermath of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
"August 15 is not only an opportunity to pay homage to the heroes of the victorious Battle of Warsaw and to thank contemporary soldiers for defending our homeland," Blaszczak said in his speech before the parade. "It is also a perfect day to show our strength, to show that we have built powerful armed forces that will effectively defend our borders without hesitation."
Poland on Supporting Kyiv, Warning Minsk
Since the war in Ukraine, the Polish government launched a massive program to modernize its armed forces as quickly as possible, with the country's defense ministry saying it would spend almost PLN 140 billion ($34 billion) on weaponry in 2023 alone. At the same time, it would continue to provide support to Ukraine by handing them older military equipment the Ukrainians might need to repel Russian forces.
Blaszczak was also reported to state that he envisioned the Polish military to be the largest in Europe, owing to its historical significance of blocking Bolshevik and Russian influence from its western neighbors. He recently announced the country has more than 175,000 soldiers under arms, with experts estimating 125,000 of them in active duty and the remainder of it reservists of its Territorial Defense Force and other volunteer formations.
Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski stressed Monday (August 14) the importance of a large military force, hoping that its manpower would increase to 300,000 troops. He also reportedly quoted the Latin adage "If you seek peace, prepare for war."
"We have to buy very large amounts of weapons," he added.
Another consideration officials in Warsaw have to deal with is the problem of Belarus and its harboring of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group. As a response to the development, Poland announced it was sending 10,000 soldiers to the Polish-Belarusian border to prevent another incident of border incursions like what Wagner did a few weeks ago.
