Warsaw readies for massive military parade
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
12.08.2018 12:00
More than 100 airplanes and helicopters, 200-plus military vehicles and over 1,500 troops are expected to take part in an annual military parade in Warsaw as Poland prepares to mark Armed Forces Day on Wednesday.
Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak (centre) speaks during a rehearsal ahead of the Armed Forces Day parade in Warsaw. Photo: twitter.com/MON_GOV_PL
This year’s parade on August 15 will be particularly important because it will also commemorate the centenary of Poland regaining independence, the country’s defence minister has said.
Some 900 reenactors wearing uniforms from different eras will join this year’s parade, Mariusz Błaszczak told public broadcaster Polish Radio.
Last year, the Warsaw parade featured aircraft such as Hercules and Bryza transport airplanes and F-16, MiG-29 and Su-22 fighter jets, in addition to SW-4 Puszczyk, W-3 Sokół, Mi-8, and Mi-24 helicopters. Long lines of military vehicles thundered through the centre of the Polish capital, including self-propelled howitzers, battle tanks and missile launchers.
Troops from other NATO countries joined last year's parade, among them American, Canadian, British and Romanian units that have been deployed to help strengthen the Western military alliance’s eastern flank.
The August 15 celebration marks Poland’s landmark victory against the Russian Bolsheviks in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish troops led by Marshal Józef Piłsudski defeated an advancing Red Army.
Poland regained independence on November 11, 1918, the day World War I ended, after 123 years of partition by Russia, Austria and Prussia.
(gs/pk)
Source: Polish Radio, PAP, mon.gov.pl