Ludowe Wojsko Polskie w walce ze zbrojnym polskim podziemiem niepodległościowym (lata 1946 i 1947)

Military units intended to fight with the Polish underground movement were introduced on a large scale just after the end of the war. However, the People’s Army of Poland began to play a particularly significant role in the years 1946 and 1947, when the National Security Commission was established and the general staff received the task of determining and coordinating the actions against guerrilla fighters. Commission meetings were irregular, but there were three periods when the meetings were organized with a particularly great intensity. Twice this was related to the increased involvement of the Army in the fights with the Polish underground movement – in the spring of 1946 before the Referendum of 30 June, then before the elections in January 1947. The third time was connected to the organization and implementation of the “Wisła” operation. In the autumn of 1947, the Communists decided that the large-scale pacification action against the Polish society brought the expected results, allowing them to control the situation in the country. Powerful security authorities were now able to take responsibility for actions against the resistance movement, the Army could be included in such actions only to a limited extent. This article tries to describe the dynamics of the events and outline the problems, related to the involvement of the People’s Army of Poland in the fight against the Polish underground movement in the period of its greatest intensity, namely before the referendum and elections, mainly on the basis of the documents created by the general staff, other military institutions and the National Security Commission.