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Plan Wschód (Plan East) was a Polish defensive military plan, created in case of war with the Soviet Union. Unlike Plan Zachod (Plan West), it was being prepared during the whole interbellum period, as the government of the Second Polish Republic treated the Soviet Union as the main enemy, capable of starting a full-scale war. However, Plan East has not been preserved to this day; what is known are only some loose documents.

Introduction

Since its first days, the Second Polish Republic was involved in wars and conflicts with almost all its neighbors (see: Polish-Soviet War, Polish-Ukrainian War, Polish-Lithuanian War, Great Poland Uprising, Silesian Uprisings, Border conflicts between Poland and Czechoslovakia). However, of all these countries, two were rightfully regarded as possible aggressors — Germany and the Soviet Union.

Rulers of the 1920s and 1930s Poland were obsessed with the threat from the East. Fresh were memories of the Polish-Soviet War and the Miracle at the Vistula, which saved both Poland and Europe from Bolshevik aggression. Both the Polish Army and the government in Warsaw were sure that another war with the Soviets was inevitable, thus preparations for it were far more advanced than preparation for armed conflict with Germany. Only after 1935, when Nazi anti-Polish propaganda increased, Army planners started to draw Plan West, as threats from Poland’s western neighbor became visible.

Polish-Soviet border in the interbellum

Poland’s borderline with the Soviet Union was 1,412 kilometers long (by comparison, the border with Germany and its province of East Prussia was 1,912 km long). Like the border with Germany, it lacked any major geographical obstacles, so defence of this sprawling line was very difficult.

In the north there was a flat, plain land, with huge forests (e.g. Puszcza Nalibocka — the Wilderness of Naliboki). Also, in the north there was a major rail route connecting Moscow to Western Europe. The major city in this area was Wilno, located in the northeast corner of interbellum Poland.

In the middle there was a huge, sparsely populated swamp known as Polesie. This land had no roads and few rail lines, however its strategic importance was huge, as its landscape made it possible to organize a long-lasting defence. In Polesie as well as in adjacent Volhynia, there were no major urban centers.

The south, which had formerly belonged to the Austrian Empire as the eastern part of the province of Galicia, was the best developed, with high rail density, growing industry (e.g., oil fields in Boryslaw), and the well-developed agriculture of Podolia. One of the major urban centers of interbellum Poland, Lwow, was located there. Also, the borderline with the Soviet Union was marked by a natural obstacle—the Zbrucz river.

It should be mentioned that basically all Polish industrial and urban centers were located in the West. This made long-lasting defence possible, as Soviets’ reaching of Upper Silesia, Warsaw, Krakow or Poznan would possibly have taken weeks. Also, Polish planners counted on the cooperation of Romania, which was Poland’s main ally in the East.

Border conflicts in the East

Soviet government from the very beginning undermined validity of the Riga Peace Treaty, the same treaty that had been signed by Moscow in 1921. In the early 1920s the Soviets on several occasions organized guerilla attacks on Polish towns and villages located near the border. The most famous was the attack on Stolpce, which took place on the night of August 3-4 1924. This event resulted in creation of Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza (Border Protection Corps). Such attacks were numerous in the 1920s, however in the 1930s the situation improved.

Plan East and its idea

Unfortunately, no copy of the Plan has been preserved. All that is known are some basic ideas, but restoring the whole Plan is impossible. Work on the document was completed on February 4, 1939. The Plan was based on the notions of Jozef Pilsudski, who until his death in 1935 was sure that the war would start in the East. Thus most army maneuvers and field fortifications were held in the east, while Poland's western border was to a large extent neglected.

Polish planners were well aware of the fact that the Red Army was in all elements superior. Therefore, the main idea was to organize a so-called “resistance in motion’’, and to try to split Soviet forces south and north of the Polesie swamps. Frontline armies, located in the vicinity of the border, were going to try to stop advance of the aggressors and to bleed them, while reserves, located mostly in the area of Brzesc nad Bugiem, were supposed to enter the conflict in later stages.

Structure of the Polish Army in the East

According to Polish historian Rajmund Szubanski, in case of war in the East, the bulk of the Polish Army was supposed to have been concentrated both in the north and south, with middle part of the borderline left to a large extent unguarded.

Front-line units

In the extreme north-east, around the rail nexus of Molodeczno, there was Armia Wilno, with possibly consisted of three Infantry Divisions (1st “Legionnaire” I.D., 19th I.D., 29th I.D.), two Cavalry Brigades (Wilenska BK, Suwalska BK), and the 5th Lida Air Corps.

South to it there was Armia Baranowicze, probably consisting of four Infantry Divisions (9th I.D., 20th I.D., 18th I.D., 28th I.D.), two Cavalry Brigades (Nowogrodzka BK, Podlaska BK) and the 4th Torun Air Corps.

In the middle there was Armia Polesie (also called Independent Operational Group Polesie). It possibly consisted of three Infantry Divisions (8th I.D., 27th I.D., 30th I.D.), one Cavalry Brigade (Mazowiecka BK), Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy and the 3rd Poznan Air Corps.

To the south there was Armia Wolyn - three Infantry Divisions (2nd “Legionnaire” I.D., 3rd “Legionnaire” I.D., 13th I.D.), one Cavalry Brigade (Wolynska BK) and the 2nd Krakow Air Corps.

In the extreme south there was Armia Podole - five Infantry Divisions (5th I.D., 11th I.D., 12th I.D., 22nd I.D., 24th I.D.), two Cavalry Brigades (Podolska BK, Kresowa BK) and the 6th Lwow Air Corps.

Apart from these units, in all armies there were Border-Area Defence Corps units and garrisons of the main cities.

Reserve forces

Behind Armia Wilno and Armia Baranowicze there was Armia Lida, consisting of three Infantry Divisions.

Behind Armia Podole and Armia Wolyn there was Armia Lwow, consisting of two Infantry Divisions and a Cavalry Brigade (Krakowska BK).

Deep in the rear, around the city of Brzesc, there was the main reserve, probably consisting of six IDs, two Cavalry Brigades (Wielkopolska BK, Pomorska BK), an Armored Brigade and the 1st Warsaw Air Corps.

The Red Army and its units along the Polish border

In the mid-1930s, the Soviet government started an immense armament program, which resulted in a fast increase of units. Number of tanks and airplanes grew significantly, and the Soviets enjoyed superiority in all elements. Polish planners anticipated that the Soviets had three times as many soldiers.Their superiority in tanks and airplanes was not estimated, but the disproportion was immense. Probably, in August 1939 along the Polish border there were as many as 173 Infantry Divisions of the Red Army (see: Soviet order of battle for invasion of Poland in 1939).

September 1939

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland (see: Invasion of Poland (1939)). Consequently, Plan East became void. On September 17, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviets, breaking the Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact, invaded Poland (see: Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)). Red Army met little resistance, as Polish Army was concentrated in the West, finghting the Germans. Thus, the Soviets quickly managed to occupy Polish Kresy.

References

Rajmund Szubański, Plan operacyjny "Wschód", Warszawa 1994, ISBN 83-11-08313-4

External links

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