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Generał (pronounced[ɡɛˈnɛraw]) is the genericPolish language term for the rank ofgeneral. In narrow sense it is used to denote the rank of afour-star general introduced on August 15, 2002 (formerlygenerał armii - general of the army). The highest rank of thePolish Army,Marshal of Poland, is not used in peacetime, leavinggenerał as the highest rank.[1] The symbols of the rank are thewężyk generalski (pronounced[ˈvɛ̃ʐɨkɡɛnɛˈralskʲi]), or "general's wavy line", and four stars, present on therogatywka cap, sleeves of the uniform, and above the breast pocket of a field uniform.
In Polish military traditions the highest rank was always the rank ofMarshal of Poland, with three general's grades below. However, the system differed significantly from other systems of rank insignia used in both armies of theWarsaw Pact and theNATO. Because of lack of the rank of four-star general, the Polish ranks were usually a grade higher than their name suggested. Thus the rank ofgenerał brygady was an equivalent ofMajor General rather thanBrigadier General as the name suggested.
In 1954, during the integration of the Polish Army with the structures of theWarsaw Pact (and, more precisely, of theRed Army), a new rank ofgenerał armii (General of an Army) was introduced, as a direct copy of the Soviet rank ofGeneral of the Army (Russian:Генерал армии). However, after thedeath ofJoseph Stalin and the end ofStalinism in Poland, the general officers rank structure returned to the pre-war pattern. In 1981 Gen.Wojciech Jaruzelski (being at this time the 1st Secretary of thePolish United Workers' Party, the Prime Minister and theMinister of the National Defense) introduced again the rank of general of the army. As the only person to hold the newly introduced rank, he was thought of as anersatz-Marshal, as he could not promote himself to the rank of Marshal of Poland after the death ofMarian Spychalski. In 1995 the rank was yet again abolished; the last pre-NATOgenerałs were Jaruzelski and Gen.Florian Siwicki, who both died in the early 2010s.
However, with Poland's entry into the structures of NATO in 1999 a need arose to unify the Polish rank system with that of English-speaking countries (and more precisely, the US). Hence the rank ofgenerał was re-introduced. The rank of Marshal of Poland remains as the "wartime" rank, given to the chief of general staff in case of war or a successful military commander after a victorious campaign.
