Polish Uniform Portraits and ID

[PolAntek]

and one more for good measure...

[sylvieK4]

Thanks for the new photos, Antoni! The more the merrier!

About the story I have been working on: Yes, it is fiction; an historical novel set in Poland during the 1930s and 1940s. A few of the characters serve in the Polish army in 1939, and accurate descriptions are a must.

Here are a few more photos.

A good example showing the collar insignia. From: http://www.beckyskids.com/Ruchel-Isaac/ ... leibe2.htm
...

This one shows a group of soldiers in fatigues. According to the web page http://www.ushmm.org/ the photo was taken in 1937.


A nice portrait with good detail of the woolen uniform: http://www.ushmm.org


Another nice portrait, this one with detail of the cap, and note the rank insignia collar tab and the hook latch on his overcoat. http://www.ushmm.org



This last one shows a few officers who fled to Hungary in September 1939. http://www.archiwa.gov.pl/

[PolAntek]

Thanks for the photos Sylvie. The question that always comes to mind whenever I see these pre-war Polish photos capturing happy moments in time is ‘what happened to these people after the German and Soviet invasions shattered their lives?’ I guess we’ll never know.

Attached is a photo of a lieutenant colonel dated 1939 with wz.36 pattern uniform and good detail of officer issue collar “patki”.

PS (please excuse me for being an opportunist) I am looking to purchase an original shoulder strap such as the one pictured, and shoulderboard officer stars. Anyone out there have any for sale?

[sylvieK4]

Here is a photo from ebay.com. The caption states that this group picture was taken in 1921. Didn't the Polish Army introduce the style cap the men are wearing, later than 1921?

[Musashi]

Here is a photo from ebay.com. The caption states that this group picture was taken in 1921. Didn't the Polish Army introduce the style cap the men are wearing, later than 1921?

Yes, the cap was introduced later than in 1921.

[Ogorek]

No, could be 1921, after hostilities. The rogotywka with the soft top was part of the 1919 uniform regulations..... The stiff-topped dress rogatywka came in around 1934

[PolAntek]

Ogorek is correct. During the II Polish Republic, the army officer 'czapka rogatywka' underwent three primary revisions - the wz. 1919, the wz. 1927, and then the wz. 1935.

[sylvieK4]

Thanks for the information about the uniform caps. Here are a few more photos. Not the best quality, but interesting to see.

From: http://mops.uci.agh.edu.pl/~rzepinsk/19 ... taczan.jpg
...

[sylvieK4]

A link to a uniform thumbnail gallery was posted in another thread. It has some great pictures of 1939-era uniforms and kits (Polish - infantry and cavalry - German, American, etc.). Here is one of the full-size pictures showing the uniform and equipment of Polish infantryman. Very nice. (It may take a moment to load, but it is worth the wait.)

For the thumbnail gallery: http://wilk.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/galer_mund_index.htm

[PolAntek]

Great link Sylvie. Thanks.

[sylvieK4]

Does anyone have a clearer, head-on, image of a cloth cap like the one pictured below?

What is the proper Polish name for this type of fatigue cap?

Any photos of them in wear? (Portraits or in the field)

[Musashi]

What is the proper Polish name for this type of fatigue cap?

Why fatigue? Do you mean the condition of the cap or its name? Its name is rogatywka polowa.

[sylvieK4]

Why fatigue? Do you mean the condition of the cap or its name? Its name is rogatywka polowa

The all-cloth cap worn in the field, rather than the leather-brimmed cap worn for dress/ parade.

Any period photos of it in wear?

This web page below has photos of reenactors who seem to be wearing the cloth cap of the type I am looking for. (I tried to remote link the photo, but they don't allow it.)

http://www.grh.friko.pl/gdansk03.htm

[sylvieK4]

Here, a Chaplain reenactor is wearing the cloth style field cap. Any clearer / vintage images of this type cap? Also, while some of these caps appear to have metal buckles, others do not. What was standard issue, buckle or no buckle?

Thanks.

http://www.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~bolas/main/klub/klub.htm

[Ogorek]

Sylvie....

The field cap was known as the "Polowka"

See : http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,779099,00.html - last photo....

The metal buckle was much more common.

The man to the right of Wojtyla is the late Zbigniew Ziemski.... after being a company commander in the Independent Parachute Brigade, Ziemski joined the French Foreign Legion, serving in 1 BEP, fought in Indochina and Algeria, awarded the Legion of Honor personally by Salan.

There is a famous photo of him in books about the Legion as Standard Bearer for the Legion Veterans Association, wearing his combat Polish Parachute Badge.

Cheers,

Ogorek