72HM0016 POLISH CKM WZ 1930 WITH CREW SET#2 (3)

Based on the experiences of World War I, but also on the experiences of the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1919-1921, the command of the Polish army appreciated the role of machine weapons in the interwar period, but budget shortages made it difficult to saturate Polish infantry with machine weapons in on the eve of the September campaign. As a result, just before 1939, the Polish infantry division had 320 manual machine guns (km for short), 34 light km and 124 heavy km. These numbers were clearly lower than those of the German infantry division, where, together with submachine guns, there were - full time - 857 machine guns! It is worth noting that the Polish infantry platoon had a total of only 4 manual machine guns - one per infantry team (the platoon consisted of three teams) and one subordinate to the platoon command. The most frequently used manual machine gun in the Polish Army was the Browning wz.28, which was clearly inferior to the MG34 - especially when it comes to the rate of fire. The most frequently used machine gun was the Browning wz. 30, cal. 7.92 mm.Infantry was the most numerous and one of the most important formations in the Polish armed forces in the interwar period and during the September campaign. During the September campaign of 1939, the basic operational unit of the Polish infantry - as in almost every European army of that time - was a division, which, after mobilization, was to reach approx. 16,500 soldiers. Its basic strike force was three infantry regiments, supported by anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery (27 37 mm cannons in full time) and light and heavy artillery (24 or 12 75 mm cannons in full time, 12 or 24 100 mm cannons, 3 105 mm cannons and 3 howitzers 155 mm). It is worth adding that the Polish infantry division showed many shortcomings compared to the German division. First of all, it had fewer machine guns and, above all, light and heavy artillery. Moreover, in the case of the Wehrmacht, the latter were significantly better equipped with motor vehicles, which improved their mobility and had much better means of communication and communication. For example: the German infantry division had 938 full-time cars, while the Polish - only 76 motor vehicles! This translated into the effectiveness of both formations on the battlefield, as well as their firepower and mobility.