Yes, although they were less popular than swords in the army. It was only in 1920 that daggers started to gain recognition as part of Polish military men’s equipment. Their first acceptance as standard side arms was with the Navy. At this stage the daggers used were very much influenced by the Austrian design.sylvieK4 wrote:Were daggers issued to members of the Polish Army?
In 1924 a new Polish design was introduced. It was meant for use by officers of both the air forces and armored forces. As with the swords, the Borowski factory produced that largest quantity. Other makers also produced these daggers, however the names of most of these firms have been lost in the mists of time. All adhered to the basic pattern, however, there were minor differences in the embellishments.
Navy daggers typically had gold colored metal fittings, whereas the Army daggers were required to have silver colored metal fittings.
It was a tradition in the Polish Army to award the best students of officer’s schools an honorary dagger with an appropriate dedication engraved on the pommel.
The following dagger from my collection has no maker’s mark and was likely privately commissioned by an officer from a firm that is unknown to us.
The blade has the very faint inscription “Honor i Ojczyzna” (Honor and Fatherland)
