People's Guard (1942–1944)

People's Guard
Gwardia Ludowa
Eagle of GL
Active6 January 1942 – 1 January 1944 (transformed into People's Army)
CountryPoland
AllegiancePolish Workers' Party
TypePartisan
RoleGuerrilla warfare
HUMINT
Patrolling
PSYWAR
Raiding
Reconnaissance
MarchMarsz Gwardii Ludowej
EngagementsWorld War II
Zamość Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Bolesław Mołojec
Marian Spychalski
Franciszek Jóźwiak
Insignia
Identification
symbol

The People's Guard (GL; Polish: Gwardia Ludowa; Polish pronunciation: [ˈɡvardja luˈdɔva]) was a communist partisan force of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) active in Occupied Poland during World War II from 1942 to 1944.

The Gwardia Ludowa was established with sponsorship from the Soviet Union to support the Red Army and Polish communists against Nazi Germany. It became the largest partisan force in Poland which refused to join the structures of the Polish Underground State loyal to the London-based Polish government-in-exile. The Gwardia Ludowa was incorporated into the larger Armia Ludowa in January 1944.