Women in the Polish Army participated in many battles throughout modern history. The greatest participation of women in combat occurred during World War II within the Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK), particularly during the Warsaw Uprising. The Germans were compelled to establish special prisoner-of-war camps for women from the Home Army.
The Period of the First Polish Republic
During the Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676), the wife of the Polish military commander, Anna Dorota Chrzanowska, gained fame for rallying the Polish garrison during the Battle of Trembowla. The Poles put up fierce resistance against the Turks and repelled every assault by the Ottoman army, while Chrzanowska became a heroine of patriotic literature. She was also commemorated by a monument in Trembowla, which was destroyed after World War II and reconstructed in 2012.
The November Uprising
During the November Uprising (1830–1831), Polish women established organizations that provided auxiliary support to the insurgents. Members of the Union of Patriotic Charity of Warsaw Women tended to the wounded and, at night, stood guard over field hospitals in a manner modeled after military protocol. Józefa Rostkowska served as a senior surgeon in the 10th Line Infantry Regiment of the Congress Kingdom. While tending to the wounded on the battlefield, she sustained a leg injury. For her meritorious service, she was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari. Another medical assistant decorated with the Order of Virtuti Militari for tending to the wounded during the uprising was Anna Okęszyc. In their memoirs, participants in the fighting also described Polish women who took part in combat with weapons in hand. The first such instance was recorded as early as 29 November during the fighting near the Royal Arsenal, where an unidentified young woman—brandishing a saber—marched alongside the 4th Line Infantry Regiment of the Congress Kingdom (known as the Czwartacy). The widow of a Colonel Dembiński became a legendary figure; fighting rifle in hand within the ranks of the volunteers, she engaged Russian troops in the Wola district. Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska also participated in the fighting, having been accepted as a cadet into the 1st Augustów Cavalry Regiment. Czarnowska rejected suggestions from fellow soldiers—who, citing her gender, proposed she remain at headquarters—and instead took an active part in the battles fought in Warsaw. In the autumn of 1831, she participated in the Battle of Sierpc, following which she was promoted to non-commissioned officer and awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari. The most famous woman to participate in the November Uprising was Emilia Plater, who—together with her friend Maria Prószyńska—cut off her long hair, donned men's attire, and, armed with pistols and a dagger, recruited a unit in the town of Dusetos in Lithuania consisting of 280 riflemen armed with double-barreled guns, 60 cavalrymen, and several hundred scythe-bearers. This unit—which went down in history as "Countess Plater's Detachment"—captured the Daugailiai station on 30 March 30 1831, and on 2 April, fought a victorious skirmish against a Russian reconnaissance patrol near Uciana. Emilia and Cezary Plater commanded the unit, while Maria Prószyńska served as her friend's adjutant. On 30 April, the unit joined the insurgent forces under the command of Karol Załuski. Plater took part in the Battle of Prystowiany. Following a defeat, the riflemen returned to their home district and, on 17 May, captured Wiłkomierz. There, Emilia met another woman fighting in the uprising—Maria Raszanowiczówna—who from that moment on became her inseparable companion. Together with Maria, Emilia fought in the partisan units of Konstanty Parczewski near Mejszagoła.
The interwar period
Women took part in the struggles for Poland's borders, including the Polish–Ukrainian War and the Polish–Soviet War. Many women participated in combat as soldiers. Separate women's squads existed within the Polish Military Organisation. Among the most renowned female soldiers were Aleksandra Zagórska, organizer and commander of the Voluntary Legion of Women; Janina Łada-Walicka, a non-commissioned officer in the Polish Army and a uhlan; and Stefania Wojtulanis-Karpińska (nom de guerre "Barbara")—a captain-pilot in the Polish Air Forces and a sports pilot. Following the restoration of independence in the Second Polish Republic, an Act of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland passed in April 1938 regarding universal military service established women's right to perform auxiliary military service, encompassing anti-aircraft, guard, communications duties, and other areas.
World War II In 1928, the Organizacja Przysposobienia Wojskowego Kobiet do Obrony Kraju [Organization for Women's Military Training for National Defense] (OPKdOK) was established. In March 1939, it was reformed and adopted the name Przysposobienie Wojskowe Kobiet [Women's Military Training] (PWK). The Supreme Commander of the PWK was Maria Wittek. That same year, on 11 February, a decree was issued granting the PWK organization the status of an association of public utility (the PWK Organization Statute). On 27 March, the PWK Main Social Council established the PWK Social Emergency Service. The task of the PWK Social Emergency Service was to coordinate and intensify social preparations in the fields of healthcare, childcare, public information, and the recruitment of auxiliary forces for the military and administration, in preparation for national defense and for providing assistance to the civilian population in the event of a war.
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