Massive military parade in Warsaw
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
15.08.2018 11:00
More than 100 airplanes and helicopters, 200-plus military vehicles and over 1,500 troops were expected to take part in an annual military parade in Warsaw as Poland marked Armed Forces Day on Wednesday.
President Andrzej Duda (standing in car, left) inspects troops. Photo: PAP/Jacek Turczyk
This year’s parade was particularly important because it also commemorated the centenary of Poland regaining independence.
Last year, the Warsaw parade featured aircraft such as Hercules and Bryza transport airplanes and F-16, MiG-29 and Su-22 fighter jets. Long lines of military vehicles thundered through the centre of the Polish capital, including self-propelled howitzers, battle tanks and missile launchers.
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.
(pk)