Rys historyczny myśli wojskowej na temat wykorzystania kolarzy w Wojsku Polskim II Rzeczypospolitej

Abstract

The issue of functioning of cyclists in the military forces of the II Commonwealth has not been researched properly so far. This paper aims at presentation of the development of military thought pertaining to their organization, shape and tactic usage. At the beginning cyclists were hardly present in the Polish Army, their small groups, used for small, specific tasks, did not have much tactical impact. During the interwar period it was pondered how to form them into small tactical units capable of fulfilling a wide range of tasks. Squadrons in cavalry units and platoons in infantry proved to be a good solution. That is how they were organized at the outbreak of World War II, in September 1939. The discussion conducted in the years 1923–1939 in specialist press, presented in this article, is not to be neglected as functioning of these units was not included in any military regulations or instructions. It was only in 1935 that the first works on the preliminary instruction on their tactical usage appeared. Engagement of cyclists for infantry, cavalry and armoured motorized weapons was pondered then.