Polish cavalry brigade order of battle in 1939

The following is a standard order of battle of the Polish cavalry brigade in 1939.

Chain of command

Polish Cavalry Brigade - chain of command

	Sub-unit	C/O	squadron-sized	platoon-sized	smaller units
commanding officer	Staff and headquarters	deputy commanding officer chief military judge chaplain
		chief of staff	operational officer intelligence officer	military police platoon
		chief communications officer	communication squadron
		chief commander of the tabors	tabor's workshop 2 commands of march columns	3 columns each
		quartermaster	transport officer armament officer chief steward officer chief doctor chief veterinarian	artillery park unit steward park unit medical platoon veterinary platoon
	Headquarters commander		staff squadron
	Commander's units		bicycle squadron (recce/liaison) engineering squadron	HMG platoon
	cavalry regiment 3 or 4 in each brigade	regiment commander	line squadrons - 4 in each regiment	cavalry platoon - 3 in each squadron	3 sections (6 soldiers each) LMG section (5 soldiers) squadron commanders troop
					LMG section administration unit
			HMG squadron maintenance squadron	3 HMG platoons	4 HMG each
				AT platoon bicycle platoon communications platoon	engineering squad
	Mounted Artillery Unit (DAK)	DAK commander		munitions supply column	75 mm artillery battery 3 or 4 guns each
				communications platoon
	Organic Armoured Unit	commander		tankette squadron armoured car squadron
	Organic Rifle Battalion		Rifles battalion

Composition and armament

The following is a list of all equipment, armament, men and means of transport in use by a cavalry regiment and a cavalry brigade of the Polish Army, as of 1939. The figures for brigades are based on official Polish Army instructions prepared in late 1930s. The numbers in brackets give the figures for a four-regiment brigade, as opposed to the standard three-regiment one. The figures for the regiments are given after the actual mobilisation report of September 1, 1939, of the 25th Greater Polish Uhlans Regiment. Note that the numbers for other units may vary, mostly due to different mobilisation schedules and other problems.

Polish Cavalry Brigade and Regiment - equipment

	Regiment	Brigade
General
officers	36	232 (373)
privates and NCOs	838	5 911 (6 911)
horses    Cavalry horses    Pack horses    Cart-horses    Total	616 43 221 920	5 194 (6 291)
Vehicles
cars	1	65 (66)
motorcycles	1
field kitchens	6
tabor carts	86
chaplains cart	1	4
taczanka wz.28 or wz.36	13
bicycles	36
Armament
Vis pistols	133
wz. 34 sabres	616
lances	108
rifles Mannlicher 1888, Kbk wz. 1929, Kb wz. 98a, Mosin wz. 91/98/25, Kbk wz. 91/98/23 or Steyr-Mannlicher M1895	740	5000
7,92 mm karabin ppanc. wz 35 AT rifle	12	51 (64)
rkm Browning wz. 28 LMG	18	89 (107)
Maxim 08/15 and lkm wz. 08/18 MGs		10 (12)
Ckm wz.30 HMG	12	52 (64)
Organic artillery
grenade launchers wz. 1930 and wz. 1936		9 (9)
81mm mortar wz. 31		2
75 mm Armata 75 mm wz.02/26 field gun		12 (16)
40 mm armata plot. wz. 36 AA gun		2 (2)
37 mm Armata ppanc. wz. 36 AT gun	4	14 (18)
Organic armoured unit
wz. 34 or wz.29 armoured car		8
reconnaissance tankette TKS or TK-3		13

Polish cavalry brigades in 1939

Cavalry

• Kraków Cavalry Brigade (Kraków) - under Brigadier General Zygmunt Piasecki
• Kresowa Cavalry Brigade (Brody) - under Colonel Stefan Hanka-Kulesza
• Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade (Warsaw) under Colonel Jan Karcz
• Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade (Baranowicze) under Brigadier General Władysław Anders
• Podlaska Cavalry Brigade (Białystok) under Brigadier General Ludwik Kmicic-Skrzyński
• Podolska Cavalry Brigade (Stanisławów) under Colonel Leon Strzelecki
• Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade (Bydgoszcz) under Colonel Adam Zakrzewski
• Suwalska Cavalry Brigade (Suwałki) under Brigadier General Zygmunt Podhorski
• Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade (Poznań) under Brigadier General Roman Abraham
• Wileńska Cavalry Brigade (Wilno) under Colonel Konstanty Drucki-Lubecki
• Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade (Równe) under Colonel Julian Filipowicz

Armoured-Motorised Brigades

Different armament and structure

• 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade (Poland) (Rzeszów) - dowódca: płk dypl. Stanisław Maczek
• Warszawska Brygada Pancerno-Motorowa (Warsaw) - dowódca: płk dypl. Stefan Rowecki

See also

• Polish cavalry
• Polish army
• Polish Defensive War of 1939