The Polish cavalry units have been using sabres rather than
broadswords at least since the 16th century. In the 18th century Poland ceased to exist as a sovereign nation in the effect of the
partitions of Poland, but the Polish sabre, or szabla, remained in use. First as a weapon of various Polish units serving in the armies of other powers, and then its use spread to practically all
light cavalry units in Europe and elsewhere. The British
Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre was perhaps the best-known clone of the sabre used by
Polish hussars.
World War I When Poland regained its independence in 1918, the renascent
Polish Army inherited a wide variety of swords from the armies of
German Empire,
Russian Empire, and
Austria-Hungary, as well as France, Italy, and many other states from where weapons were being imported during the
Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920. Experiences in the war shaped Polish Army organizational and operational doctrine. Unlike the
trench warfare of
World War I, the Polish-Soviet War was a conflict in which the
cavalry's mobility played a decisive role. Poland acknowledged the benefits of mechanization but was unable to invest heavily in many of the expensive, unproven inventions since then. In spite of this,
Polish cavalry brigades were used as a mobile
mounted infantry, but also continued to be trained in fencing for a possible
sabre charge. Because of that a need arose to create a new, standard weapon to be issued to all cavalry units of the Polish Army. In April 1921 the Ministry of Military Matters introduced the Szabla wz. 1921, a new design combining the features of various swords used by the Polish Army until that date. Resembling the original 17th-century sabres, the new 1921 pattern was based primarily on the sabres produced during
World War I in small numbers for the
Polnische Wehrmacht (retroactively designated "Szabla wz. 1917
"). The new sabre served as both a combat and ceremonial weapon of the Polish Army. This made the 1921 design not ideal for either cutting or thrusting, as compromises had to be made and the curvature was not the best suited for cavalry combat. In 1934 the Warsaw-based
Technical Institute of Armaments designed a new standard combat sabre for all mounted units of the Polish Army.
World War II Unlike many contemporary designs such as the American
Model 1913 Cavalry Saber or the British
Pattern 1908 and 1912 cavalry swords, the Polish Szabla wz. 34 was used in actual combat on numerous occasions after the First World War. Even by the late 1930s the
Polish cavalry was primarily a formation of
mounted infantry and was not supposed to be used as typical Napoleonic-era
cavalry, during the German and Soviet
Invasion of Poland of 1939 there were 16 confirmed
cavalry charges in which the Polish units used the sabres against enemy soldiers. Contrary to a
widespread yet counter-factual myth, most of them were successful. The new weapon entered production in 1936 and immediately entered service as a standard sword of all mounted units of the army. By 1939 roughly 40,000 pieces have been delivered in four identical series of 9999 pieces each. On 1 July 1938 the Polish Army had 39,564 Pattern 1934 sabres in its stores and in first-line units.
Post-World Wars While
World War II put an end to the combat use of swords, the sabre remained a ceremonial weapon even in the Soviet-controlled army of the
People's Republic of Poland. Soviet
shashkas were initially used before being replaced by the Szabla wz. 1976. In 2002, the Polish Army's Cavalry Squadron (), an all-cavalry
honor guard unit, adopted the modernised Szabla wz. 1934/2002 sabre as the main ceremonial weapon. == Design ==