For the first time, the August 15 holiday will also feature a naval parade, with about 20 ships sailing off the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic Sea, officials said.
Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters during a rehearsal that this year’s events are being held under the motto "Thank you for your service,” honouring Polish servicemen and women.
"The main, completely new element is the large participation of the Polish Navy, which will parade here in Warsaw and—for the first time in history—take part in a naval parade on the Baltic Sea," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Poland's Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz speaks during a rehearsal ahead of the Armed Forces Day parade in Warsaw. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
Friday’s military parade in Warsaw will showcase weaponry including K2 and Abrams tanks, Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles and Baobab-K mine-laying vehicles, with F-16 jets and helicopters flying overhead, the defence ministry said.
A rehearsal ahead of the Armed Forces Day parade in Warsaw. Photo: Polish Ministry of Defence/gov.pl
Ships in the naval parade will include corvettes, frigates, minehunters and hydrographic and rescue vessels.
The holiday marks the 105th anniversary of Poland’s victory over Russian Bolsheviks at the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, known as the "Miracle on the Vistula."
The victory, led by Marshal Józef Piłsudski, halted the Red Army’s advance into Europe.
President Karol Nawrocki on Thursday appointed eight new generals.
In the evening, he joined Kosiniak-Kamysz and top military commanders in paying tribute to the battle’s heroes at Warsaw’s Powązki Military Cemetery.
"They said 'no' to Soviet barbarity and the anti-civilisation of cruelty and death," Nawrocki said.
In addition to the parades, military picnics and the official opening of the new Battle of Warsaw Museum in Ossów, near the Polish capital, are planned.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, during a visit to Ossów on Thursday, pledged to ensure "such dramatic events remain only in a museum and never become the experience of future generations."
The 1920 Battle of Warsaw has been listed among the most important battles that have decided the fate of the world.
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Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl
Click on the audio player above for a report by Marcin Matuszewski.