Territorial Defense Forces in Poland After the Second World War

Abstract

ObjectivesThe aim of the research was to solve the research problem contained in the question: What is the origin of the Territorial Defence Forces, what transformations accompanied this formation in the past and how is this type of troops prepared to combat military, paramilitary, non-military and hybrid threats?MethodsThe methods adopted in the research process include, above all, a critical analysis of a wide range of source materials, including monographs, scientific articles, legal acts, competence documents and information materials of the TDF Command. The theoretical methods characteristic of the security sciences, i.e. analysis, synthesis, comparison, inference and abstraction, were supplemented by participatory observation.ResultsThe research results confirmed the relationship between the state's defence strategy and the shape of the territorial defence formation. Financial conditions are of great importance in the creation of territorial defence but the need for an adequate response to new threats, including hybrid threats, is becoming an absolutely key determinant.ConclusionsThe conclusions from the research clearly indicate the legitimacy of keeping the Territorial Defence Forces within the state security system. The establishment of the Territorial Defence Forces in Poland after World War II was associated with the involvement of operational troops in the structures of the former Warsaw Pact. After the political transformation, the units of Territorial Defence Forces were significantly reduced until their complete decommissioning. The emergence of new threats, including hybrid threats from the Russian Federation, implied the need to rebuild the Territorial Defence Forces.