Above is a very Standard Polish Infantryman.
The Polish Uniform, like the French and Italian, are not variations on what we collectively have for 1944 games, but whole new uniforms. As such I do not expect this guide to be of much use for anyone wanting to transform what they have already got, but I will outline briefly what the uniform consists of.
The basis of the uniform is the 4 Pocket High collared Tunic, Trousers, Puttees and 4 cornered cap. These coupled with a basic brown leather belt and a bread bag are all that is required as the most basic of Polish Uniforms.
*The Tunic pictured is a reproduction, as is the cap and trousers, however I will allow any suitable high collared khaki tunic as a sustitute. I say 'any suitable' as I have yet to find any suitable stand-in outside of reproductions for other nations (which are as expensive, if not more so). If you would like to use something as a stand in for Polish, and think you have an idea, then feel free to run it by me.
In addition to the basic the uniform you will notice the distinctive backpack and blanket roll (actually quite common across Europe in the late 30s). The back pack is the wz.33/50 - manufactured in Poland after the war, and is also all but identical to the wz.33 used during the war. There are no reproductions of this item but they do come up in militaria sales.
The Breadbag is a reproduction - and carries the water bottle. Reproductions can be had for not too much, but a Czech Breadbag is perfectly acceptable.
The pouches in the picture are Mosin Nagant pouches. The Polish army issue was Brown Leather Mauser pouches (but I do not have any yet). As these pouches are only available as re-productions, and are not in-expensive, we will be allowing any suitable pouches - or non at all.
The Helmet shown is a fiberglass reproduction, original helmets go for absolutely silly money.
Copenhagen Requirements
If you are going 'Polish' for these games then you are almost certainly doing so because you want the uniform. If you have an idea for a counts as version, then please discuss it with us.
The Polish forces wear the standard Wz.36 Uniform (as pictured above). Infantrymen wear long trousers and boots, Cavalrymen (no, you do not get a horse) wear breeches and 'jack boots'.
The hat is the 4 cornered cap (rogatywka) and/or either a Wz.31 Helmet (pictured) for infantry or an Adrien Helmet for cavalry.
You should have at least a brown leather belt, and if you wish to have a breadbag then either a re-production one, or a Czech breadbag is perfectly fine.
Note - one type of Polish uniform can probably be fairly easily converted from German one. The 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, or the "Black Brigade":
Kitwhore files: S&S Lee Enfield No. 4, AGM Sten Mk. II, Tanaka Kar 98k, WE Luger P08
Wishlist: AGM Stg44, possible LE No. 4 gas project
it's hard to tell from the photo's exact colour's , how close in colour are they to Canadian bd , i was thinking the Canadian officers jacket and trousers are quite close in colour if not exact style and are often cheaper that the rest as the colour is wrong, might be an option , it could be Greek bd i'm thinking of but its a lot darker and greener than Brit bd and the officers jacket could be modded ?
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
The problem with any BD is that it is cut off at the waist. The Polish jacket has a "skirt".
In actual fact a WWI British tunic is not far off a Polish Tunic. (the colour is a bit off)
Yes, as Yith said Battledress is distinctly different.
I comes down to what I call "the French School". French Military influence was strong in several countries, and when you look at their uniforms the basic 'design' is very similar - similar enough for a counts as amongst any of them in my mind. The Problem is they are all nations which are just as 'minor'. Thus a Greek, Romanian, French or Polish tunic are all 'similar' to one another, but quite distinct from other nations. The WWI British uniform, as mentioned by Rich, is also pretty close.
The Black Brigade is interesting - although I suspect the funky Black Coats would be as much as a standard wz.36 Uniform to get, I have never seen any anywhere.
I am placing an order for some Polish Uniforms in Feb', if anyone else would like anything then the info is here [link]http://www.ww2airsoft.org.uk/php/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=245&t=17683&p=241779#p241779[/link]
Back when we chatting about early war uniforms before I picked up a Soviet M69 jacket to convert into the earlier Polish jacket ( Wz. 17?? the one without breast pockets and with flap side pockets anyway). Main thing I need for it are to make some epaulettes and some Polish buttons as I suspect hammer & sickle sov ones wouldn't go down too well
I thought with BD trousers and a Polish hat it might not look too bad, but I never got around to doing anything with it.
Cheers
Martin
"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" Helmuth von Moltke
Toys: AGM MP40, Cyma M1A1, TM M14/G43/SVT40, TM VSR/K98, SnS No. 4, ASG Sten, Ppsh.
Arnhem3,Gumrak,Campoleone
The Wz.19.
I would have to see it really I suppose, in principle it could well work, but the material might look odd (they were cotton not wool right?).
The Wz.19 was worn with Breeches-i-like and high puttees. (see the French influence again)
The cotton khaki Obr69 tunic wouldn't look right but the winter weight brown one might look ok.
Yes it is cotton, but those too chaps are wearing wool, so I guess it wouldn't work. Liking the knee high puttees though!
Looks like BEF or Jerries for me then.
Cheers
Martin
"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" Helmuth von Moltke
Toys: AGM MP40, Cyma M1A1, TM M14/G43/SVT40, TM VSR/K98, SnS No. 4, ASG Sten, Ppsh.
Arnhem3,Gumrak,Campoleone
I came across the link for this Yugoslav wool uniform a while back, could it pass as Polish maybe with some dylon ?
Not sure on the price though as these are a trade surplus supplier (maybe cheap)http://www.xarmy.co.uk/uniform-suit---xa01005-592-p.asp
edit: here`s what I believe to be the same uniform on ebay with better pictures on design and colour http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STUNNING-AND-UNUSUAL-COLD-WAR-ERA-YUGOSLAVIAN-ARMY-HEAVY-WOOL-SERVICE-UNIFORM/131116502749?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222006%26algo%3DSIC.FITP%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107083358%26meid%3D5068350068438581001%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D20140107083358%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D141159862126
Yugo M77 tunics are reasonable match for a Wz36 I'd say. The main things that stand out as wrong are the pocket pleats and the lower number of buttons. Both fixable although the pockets would be tricky.
They can be found pretty cheap from former Yugoslav countries- around the £30 posted mark.
Pardon me for the intrusion, but I've been watching this thread with interest and was wondering whether this suggestion is valid for a "looks-like" if the ability to source a true Polish jacket and trousers is impractical/impossible.
British 1902 jacket and trousers, if possible it could be dyed a darker brown to match the Poles nice shade and the buttons replaced with a "silver" equivalent if I'm correct in guessing the buttons are silver/steel/shiny shiny white like colour, maybe German pebble buttons?
But of course, this is just me trying to cobble it together and I'm more than happy to have this shot down in flames.
Weapons:
King Arms M1928 Thompson Submachine Gun
AGM Sten Mk.II
CYMA M1911 EAP
A British WWI tunic would be acceptable without the need to dye or change buttons, any high collared brown khaki woolen tunic would be fine.
However the tunics are available with a simple bit of google translate. Of these links below I have used both of the Allegro sellers without any incident. Both have been reliable, quick and polite.
http://allegro.pl/mundur-wz-36-polowy-p ... 87631.html
http://allegro.pl/mundur-sukienny-i4371431068.html
http://www.munduryczarnecki.pl/mundur_z ... a-102.html
After quite a while scratching our heads about how to make an acceptable counts-as for the Polish, or French or Italian in games we came upon this plan. There are British and Germans too, so for those who do not want to get a Polish (etc) uniform, there are these options. Being British at the game is not 'second best', they are just as involved in the game/story as any other (There will be a British officer one day too).
May there be a solely 'polish' game at some point in the distant future, where only one of the two sides would be required? Maybe, who knows, but not in the foreseeable future. So by all means get a WWI British tunic as it can be used as a counts-as for many of the belligerents we will encounter in this little oddity, but don't feel you have to as there are other options for those who want 'use from a uniform' type stuff.