Małgorzata Grzegrzółka Territorial Defence Forces The change of security environment, including, inter alia, the Russia-Ukraine Conflict that evolves the nature of both military and non-military threats, as well as the changes in warfare, became an important reason to start a discussion and to make a number of decisions concerning strengthening Polish defence potential. Consequently, Warsaw Institute for Strategic Initiative (WISI) undertook the realisation of Programme for development of the Polish defence capabilities – the undertaking responding to the threats as well as challenges described above and having the aim to prepare recommendations in the context of the development of the key operational capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. One of the elements of the Programme was the debate organised by WISI on 19 June, entitled The Shape of Territorial Defence Forces (TDF),during which the concept of the Territorial Defence Forces was being presented and the discussion was held in three pannels that were devoted to: training, equipment and cooperation of Territorial Defence Forces with third parties 1 . The analysis that you have in front of you was inspired by the debate mentioned above and the conclusions from it. For this reason the structure of this document reflects, to some extent, the discussions that were led there. In addition to the conclusions of the WISI debate, the sources used to elaborate this document were primarily from Polish legal acts, the statemenents of Ministry of National Defence, and publications. At first, the current, intensively changing Polish security environment, which description was based primarily on the provisions of the Defence Concept of the Republic of Poland, was presented. Consequently, the review of proposed in the recent years concepts of forming territorial defence units was provided and the final model of the concept, developed by the Office for the Establishment of the Territorial Defence Forces,was presented. Directly from this model, two further absections were identified, namely the training and the Territorial Defence Forces equipment. The Republic of Poland leads a peaceful policy towards all its neighbours, however, its geopolitical position and historical experience justify the neccessitity of the constant care of the security of the state, also in the military aspect. Therefore, the art. 5 of the Polish Constitution states that “The Republic of Poalnd guards the independence and inviolability of its territory”, defining through this the attitude of our country 2 . In this context it is justified to refer to art. 26 of Constitution, i.e. “The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland serve to protect the independence of the state and the indivisibility of its territory, and to ensure the security and inviolability of its borders” 3 . It is not only the most important legal act that regulates the strenghtening of its own defence potential, but it is also an allied commitement resultic from art. 3 of the North Atlanctic Treaty, which states that: “In order to achieve the objectives of this Treaty more effectively, the Parties individually and jointly, through constant and effective self-help, and mutual assistance, shall maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed assault” 4 . The roots of modern understanding of defence of the state and the inviolability of its territory are to be found in the work “On War” written by Carl von Clausewitz, who devoted his whole sixth book to defence issues. The sixth chapter of this book focuses on the catalogue of defence measures, among which, as the first one, Clausewitz mentioned the national defence (Landwehr) that can be seen as protoplast of modern Formation of Territorial Defence. Fortresses, nations, national uprisings, mass mobilization and allies are placed, in turn, in successive positions.The
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Małgorzata Grzegrzółka
Territorial Defence Forces
The change of security environment, including, inter
alia, the Russia-Ukraine Conflict that evolves the
nature of both military and non-military threats, as
well as the changes in warfare, became an important
reason to start a discussion and to make a number of
decisions concerning strengthening Polish defence
potential.
Consequently, Warsaw Institute for Strategic
Initiative (WISI) undertook the realisation of
Programme for development of the Polish defence
capabilities – the undertaking responding to the
threats as well as challenges described above and
having the aim to prepare recommendations in the
context of the development of the key operational
capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Republic of
Poland. One of the elements of the Programme was
the debate organised by WISI on 19 June, entitled
The Shape of Territorial Defence Forces
(TDF),during which the concept of the Territorial
Defence Forces was being presented and the
discussion was held in three pannels that were
devoted to: training, equipment and cooperation of
Territorial Defence Forces with third parties1. The
analysis that you have in front of you was inspired
by the debate mentioned above and the conclusions
from it. For this reason the structure of this
document reflects, to some extent, the discussions
that were led there. In addition to the conclusions
of the WISI debate, the sources used to elaborate
this document were primarily from Polish legal
acts, the statemenents of Ministry of National
Defence, and publications.
At first, the current, intensively changing Polish
security environment, which description was based
primarily on the provisions of the Defence Concept of
the Republic of Poland, was presented. Consequently,
the review of proposed in the recent years concepts of
forming territorial defence units was provided and the
final model of the concept, developed by the Office
for the Establishment of the Territorial Defence
Forces,was presented. Directly from this model, two
further absections were identified, namely the training
and the Territorial Defence Forces equipment.
The Republic of Poland leads a peaceful policy
towards all its neighbours, however, its geopolitical
position and historical experience justify the
neccessitity of the constant care of the security of the
state, also in the military aspect. Therefore, the art. 5
of the Polish Constitution states that “The Republic of
Poalnd guards the independence and inviolability of
its territory”, defining through this the attitude of our
country2. In this context it is justified to refer to art. 26
of Constitution, i.e. “The Armed Forces of the
Republic of Poland serve to protect the independence
of the state and the indivisibility of its territory, and to
ensure the security and inviolability of its borders”3.
It is not only the most important legal act that
regulates the strenghtening of its own defence
potential, but it is also an allied commitement resultic
from art. 3 of the North Atlanctic Treaty, which states
that: “In order to achieve the objectives of this Treaty
more effectively, the Parties individually and jointly,
through constant and effective self-help, and mutual
assistance, shall maintain and develop their individual
and collective capacity to resist armed assault”4.
The roots of modern understanding of defence of the
state and the inviolability of its territory are to be
found in the work “On War” written by Carl von
Clausewitz, who devoted his whole sixth book to
defence issues. The sixth chapter of this book focuses
on the catalogue of defence measures, among which,
as the first one, Clausewitz mentioned the national
defence (Landwehr) that can be seen as protoplast of
modern Formation of Territorial Defence. Fortresses,
nations, national uprisings, mass mobilization and
allies are placed, in turn, in successive positions.The
Territorial Defence Forces
author emphasises here the different nature of the
national defence forces depending on the state and the
conflict, reffering to the example of Prussia, which
treated this type of armies as a part of the operational
armies - which is an equivalent of using it also to
attack the opponent. Simultaenously, the author
strongly emphasises the importance of national
defence that is not used as a part of operational armies
but as a voluntary formation that, in order to work
most effectively, should rely on “(…)Voluntary
cooperation of the entire mass of people with its
physical strengths, resources and moods during the
war (…)”5.
New threats and decisions resulting from them
In mid-2016, the Strategic Defense Review (SDR),
prepared by the Ministry of National Defence, was
inaugurated.It comprehensively approached the
analysis of the current state, needs, challenges as well
as the development of the Polish Armed Forces until
2032. This study, prepared by five research teams,
comes from examining the main threats and
challenges for Poland, which are based on the
proposed new model and directions for the
development of the Armed Forces of the Republic of
Poland.
The following that are listed below have a particularly
strong influence on the subject matter of the
publication:
1. The agressive policy of Russian Federation
(RF). RF continues to recognise NATO as a
fundamental threat to its security while focusing
on its primary objective, namely: the
establishment of a new international
order(through dismantling NATO as a military
alliance and limiting US influence upon
European security) and return to the position of
the global hegemon. This is especially
dangerous for Poland and other countries from
NATO’s Eastern Flank. This situation and
various forms of destructive activities of RF
diminishthe integrity of European Union, which
is strongly divided due to, very often, differtent
interests of particular member states.
2. Instability in NATO’s Eastern and Southern
Flank– the reason for the instability in the
Eastern neighborhood of the alliance is
primarily the policy of RF. The situation in
Ukraine, Belarus and also in Moldova remains
uncertain, especially in the context of thier
potential integration (Ukraine, Moldova) or
cooperation (Belarus) with the EU structures.
The Southern Caucasus is also listed as a
potential threat to NATO in connection with the
frozen conflicts and secretive actions of the
RFthat cause instability in the regional and
internal situation.Southern Flank countries, in
turn, face conflict and unstable situation in the
Middle East and North Africa.The migration
crisis resulting from this, which is variously
perceived by particular European countries, is
still far from being resolved.Implications for
Poland related to the instability in the Southern
Flank of NATO will be associated with the
further need for allied assistance, to which
Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland have
to be prepared better than it took place in the
past6.
Rys. 1:Main challenges and threats for the Republic of Poland and
the region, Source: Own study on The Defense Concpet of the
Republic of Poland, pp. 20 – 35.
On the basis of the challenges and threats mentioned
above, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland task
list (presented in Figure 2) was developed as well as
their model and directions of development.
Main Threats
and Challenges
Russian Federation
The istability of NATO's
eastern flank region
The istability of NATO's
western flank region
Terrorism
The evolution of Western integration structures
The economic and social
environment
Technological advances and
warfare
Territorial Defence Forces
•The dipsosing of an effective deterrence potential
•Possessing high-tech equipment, trained soldiers, and well-rehearsed procedures
•The introduction of a new command and control system during conflict and war time
The capacity to defend Poland
•Increasing the contribution towards NATO
•Activities to strengthen allied cooperation
•Readiness to participate in foreign operations
Strengthening allied
cooperation
•The support of crisis management operations both in Poland and in the territory of allied states
•Coordinating and training with non-military institutions
Interacting with other
services
Rys. 2:Task Directory AFRP, Source: Own study on.: Koncepcja
Obronna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, pp. 38 – 39.
The model of Polish Armed Forces presented in „The
Defence Concpet of the Republic of Poland" dates
until the year 2032 and contains plans for
development of all 5 types of armed forces. The main
assumptions of this model are shown in Figure 3.
Due to the subject of this publication, particular
emphasis will be placed on the role of the Territorial
Defense Force, which appears several times in The
Defence Concept. For the most important issue
authors of the Concept consider "the ability to
cooperate in joint operation, especially operational
troops with territorial defense troops"7. The number
of such troops is expected to increase to more than
50,000 soldiers until 2030, and their maintask, as the
light infantry, is to support operational troops.
Nevertheless, irregular activities and crisis
management will also be important.
Road to the formation of the Territorial Defence
Forces
The National Defence in 1937-1939 should be
considered as the first approach to the formation of
Lubelska Territorial Defence Brigadein Lublinie and
3. Podkarpacka Territorial Defence Brigade in
Rzeszowie. In May, in the current year the process
formation of successive three brigades has started, i.e.
4. Warmińsko-Mazurskiej Brigade of Territorial
Defence in Olsztyn, 5. MazowieckaBrigade of
Territorial Defence in Ciechanów i 6. Mazowiecka
Brigade of Territorial Defence in Radom.
In 2018 Territorial Defence Forces is supposed to
count around 35 thousands soldiers, whereas a year
later it is supposed to count 53 thousands - the process
of forming successive units was divided into four
stages.
In addition to soldiers serving in Territorial Military
Servicemode under six-year contracts, the Territorial
Defence Forces will also include professional soldiers
- their planned number is about 1/10 of the total
formation.
Institution Mission and objectives of TDF Service Command TDF units Armament and equipment
War Studies University *Defence and protection of certain villages, land borders and critical infrastructure; *Contribution to common civic education; *Support for civil authorities during natural disasters.
*Compulsory and voluntary military service – basic military training lasting 2-3 months; - service in reserve including one-day trainings on days off, not more often than once a month; -service in military unit after mobilisation in case of war or natural disaster or other calamity.
*The Minister of National Defence commands TDF through TDF inspectorate; *Operational command over TDF held by military district commands; *Tactical command held by Army Recruiting Command and Garrison Commands.
*Light general military units of brigade or battalion structure adjusted to operational targets and military support for civic authorities and the society.
*Small arms; *Light anti-tank weaponry; *Light anti-air weaponry; *Mine laying system; *Basic military and rescue equipment: - Vehicles: light off-road vehicles, light trucks, minibuses and motorcycles; - Machines and engineering equipment; - Pollution and infection recognition and removal; - Sanitary treatment kits; - Basic medic kits; - Basic ecological rescue equipment.
University of Lodz *Autonomous defence of the state borders; *Increase in deterrence potential.
*Such units should be based on businesses, parishes, hunting clubs, volunteer fire departments, pro-defence groups; *Draft of 700 thousand citizens into TDF; *150 thousand mobilisation groups.
*Command of the TDF should be supervised by a civic administration.
TDF units formed by the locals from the area where the unit is stationed.
*Small arms and personal weapons; *Man-portable anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons.
Organisation and Replenishment Directorate J-1
*TDF used for strictly military tasks and support of the local population; *Protection in time of natural disasters; *Protection of critical infrastructure; *Elimination of the enemy (location, encirclement, elimination).
*Two-day training every month, on weekend and once a year on a proving ground on a two-week exercise; *Creation of 380 companies, including: infantry, protection, manoeuvring, support and movement regulation.
The order will be given by the TDF command, adjusted to the nature of the threat. The command at the regional level, cooperating with the province governor, will have a certain degree of freedom.
The brigade need not be composed of battalions only, but can contain independent companies. Creation of two defence pillars: - Soldiers protecting critical infrastructure, elimination of enemy sabotage groups; - Soldiers engaged in combat with regular enemy forces.
Armaments adequate to company type: Infantry (carbine, grenade launchers, machine guns), support companies (anti-air guns, man-portable air-defence systems and anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades).
General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces
*Protection operations in time of natural disasters and support of the local population; *Military action in time of war or occupation.
*Two-day training every month, on weekend and once a year on a proving ground on a two-week exercise; *Creation of 380 companies, one in each county.
*Orders from TDF command adjusted to the threat; *Regional TDF command will be granted more freedom.
TDF composed of battalions and brigades.
Modern and older generation weapons adjusted to the needs of a company.
Obrona Narodowa.pl *Universal upbringing and
military training of the youth and reserve forces; *Immediate military support for local authorities and residents in crisis situations, during war and occupation; *Defence and protection of certain villages, land borders critical infrastructure, military infrastructure, forest areas etc.
*Drafting 80 thousand citizens; *Cyclical proving ground trainings; *Trainings in a weekend and vacation plan.
Chief command authority – National Defence Command –should have a lower level commanding positions – on regional level in provinces and on local level in counties and cities with county rights.
*Units formed in: platoons, companies and battalions; *Operating on three levels: -County; -Province; -Central.
*Number of weaponry dependent on the number of critical infrastructure, cities, road interchanges, airports and strategic resource deposits in the area; *Own equipment; *Own weaponry.
Office for the Creation of Territorial Defence
*Performing military action in cooperation with operational forces; *Protection of the civil population in time of natural disasters, property protection, search and rescue missions; *Protection of local population from destabilisation and disinformation; *Cooperation with state defence components, particularly with province governors and local government institutions.
*In companies on the county level the soldiers will go through training 30 days a year on average, once a month on weekend and once a year a few days on the proving ground; *Ultimately, 314 companies will be created. They will be grouped in 76 battalions (4-5 companies each) subordinate to province brigades (3-4 battalions). There will be 17 brigades. Two in Mazovian Voivodeiship, which is the most extensive province. Each brigade will consist of 1,5-2,5 soldiers.
*In each province: command of a TDF brigade; *In each city: a TDF battalion; *In each county: a TDF company.
*Equipment dependent on Permanent Area of Responsibility, e.g. maritime, mountainous, wooded environment; *Personal soldier equipment; *Shared soldier equipment.
Territorial Defence Forces
Rys. 5:TDF construction stages, Source: Own study
Stra
tegi
cal l
evel
(n
atio
nal
) General Staff
TDF Command
Tact
ical
leve
l (D
istr
ict)
76 TD Batallion Commands
314 TD Company in districts
Stage I(2016-2018)
•3 brigades in Podlaskie, Lubelskie, and Podkarpackie districts:
Stage II(2017-2019)
• 3 brigades in: Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Masovian districts
radiotelephone, older shooter and junior shooter. On
the brigade level, in turn, there are support
subdivisions, including:snipers, operators of anti-tank
missiles or mortars.
The first Territorial Defence Forces equipment
contracts have already been finalised, including man-
portable air-defence system (MANPADS), "Piorun"
(1300 missiles and 420 launchers), as well as
optoelectronic equipment or individual soldier
equipment. Assult rifles 5.56 mm BERYL (mini
BERYL) were purchased for TDF equipment. It is
also planned to purchase carbinesto the family of
Modular Weapon Systems 5,56mm caliber (MSBS-
5,56), as well as the PR-15 Ragun guns and the UKM-
2000P machine guns UKM-2000P.The public was
also informed about the planned armament of each
TDF company in 12.7 mm large-caliber sniper rifles
(in particular useful with the support of operational
armies due to the possibility of lifting live force at
distances of up to 2 km as well as lightly armored
vehicles and destroying sensitive external components
of the more advanced military equipment, mainly
optical). It is also planned to acquire light sniper
rifles.
The Armament Inspectorate (AI) is leading with ZM
Tarnow talks on the purchase of more than 600 LM-
60D mortars for the operational armies and Territorial
Defense Force.At the moment, there are no plans to
introduce mortars with a caliber greater than 60 mm in
to TDF. In February, AI also announced that it
intended to conduct a technical dialogue on a
Territorial Defence Forces
Reloadable shoulder-fired multipurpose support
weapon. From information provided by Ministry of
National Defence and the Command of Territorial
Defence Forces (DWOT) it can be concluded that the
procedure is also prepared for Territorial Defence
Forces, while paying special attention to it.
The purchase of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) is
also under consideration. In 2016, among others for
Territorial Defence Forces, as one of the priorities of
the Technical Modernisation Plan,‘Pustelnik’ Light
Anti-Tank Missile Program was accepted. Its launch
is scheduled for 2018. There are also analysis led on
the acquisition of anti-tank guided missile launchers
along with dedicated ammunition, codenamed
Karabela. This is where the misslies from the Spike or
Pirate ‘family’ are considered. The ability to combat
the equipment of the enemy is to be achieved through
the use of ATGM and large-caliber rifles as a key
element of supporting individual armaments of
Territorial Defence Forces soldiers.
A loitering munition designed for single use for
transferring cargo and destroying a target (small
combat drones) is also considered. Apart from these,
reconnaissancee will also be introduced (in the
Information Support Groups), which are expected to
acquire and confirm information obtained from other
sources.
Transport for TDF will be provided by Jelcz LLC,
with which a contract was signed for trucks of
medium capacity and high mobility Jelcz 442.32along
with logistic and training packages. Jelcz 442.32 are
to be delivered in the box version with benches and
mantle (tarpaulin). The agreement is to be
implemented in the years 2017-19. Mountain
subdivisions are supposed to be provided with quads
or snowmobiles –there is, however, no information in
what number.
It appears, by analysing the public information, that
Territorial Defence Forces equipment directs this
formation mainly to the support of operational troops.
It seems that the support of these troops to
theTerritorial Defence Forces is to be provided in a
targeted way within the framework of the Permanent
Responsibility Area.It also appears that Territorial
Defence Forces will primarily serve as a combat
support - at this point, information on equipment
already being implemented or being tested does not
show exactly how Territorial Defence Forces is going
to help local communities in crisis situations
(bypassing medical care and transportation). In this
aspect,Territorial Defence Forces will have to rely
heavily on cooperation with other militaryservices
operating in Poland.
Joint tenders for certain types of equipment, as well as
ongoing exercises, will undoubtedly facilitate future
Territorial Defence Forces activities with operational
troops.
1 W Warszawie o kształcie Wojsk Obrony Terytorialnej – konferencja Warszawskiego Instytutu Inicjatyw Strategicznych, Warsaw Institute for Strategical Initiative, http://wiis.org.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82:w-warszawie-o-ksztalcie-wojsk-obrony-terytorialnej-konferencja-warszawskiego-instytutu-inicjatyw-strategicznych&catid=11&lang=pl&Itemid=125. 2 Constitution of the Republic of Poland from April 2, 1997 (Dz.U. nr 78, poz. 483). 3 Ibidem. 4 North Atlantic Treaty made in Washington, April 4, 1949. (Dz.U. 2000 nr 87 poz. 970). 5 Carl von Clausewitz, O wojnie, tłum. Augustyn Cichowicz, Leon Koc, wydawnictwo Mireki, s. 281-282. 6 The Defense Concept of the Republic of Poland, Ministry of National Defense, Warsaw 2017, pp. 20 – 35. 7 The Defence Concept of the Republic of Poland, Ministry of National Defence, Warsaw 2017, p. 43. 8Uchwała KOK z dnia 14.05.1959 r. w sprawie stanu organizacyjnego Sił Zbrojnych na wypadek wojny oraz ich rozwoju w latach 1959-1965, CAW 1806/92/1, k. 11 i 13. 9 Jerzy Kajetanowicz, Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej Kraju w systemie bezpieczeństwa Polski w latach 1959-1989. „Poligon”. 2(37)/2013, s. 5, 2013. Magnum-X 10Jerzy Kajetanowicz. Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej Kraju w systemie bezpieczeństwa Polski w latach 1959-1989. „Poligon”. 2(37)/2013, s. 6-7, 2013. Magnum-X. 11Jerzy Kajetanowicz, Koncepcje i plany rozwoju Wojsk Obrony Terytorialnej w Polsce po 1945 roku, „Ante – Portas – Studia nad bezpieczeństwem” nr 2(7)/2016,
Territorial Defence Forces
12Ryszard Jakubczak, Współczesne wojska obrony terytorialnej, 13http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/Biuletyn.nsf/31a5e0f7750d0317c1256b2900339858/2746c11a125b6008c1256ffa0045ec45?OpenDocument 14http://militarium.net/wojska-obrony-terytorialnej-w-polsce-w-latach-1990-2008-czesc-i/ 15Myśląc Polska, Konwencja Programowa Prawa i Sprawiedliwości oraz zjednoczonej prawicy, Katowice 3-5 lipca 2015 r., Materiały konferencyjne, s. 96-97. 16Dr Grzegorz Kwaśniak, Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej w środowisku bezpieczeństwa polski, Debate on the shape of TD, Warsaw, Poland, June,2017. 17 The equipment and training of TDF units will be described in more detail in the latter part of this publication. 18 Decyzja Nr 141/MON Ministra Obrony Narodowej z 5 lipca 2017 r. w sprawie systemu pozyskiwania, eksploatacji i wycofywania sprzętu wojskowego Sił Zbrojnych Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Dz. Urz. MON 2017 poz. 149) 19Ibidem 20Ibidem, Attachment no. 1