This morning, President Andrzej Duda laid a wreath at the monument of Marshal Józef Piłsudski near the Belweder Palace in Warsaw, commemorating Polish Armed Forces Day. The president was accompanied by National Security Bureau Chief Jacek Siewiera and Minister Wojciech Kolarski from the Presidential Chancellery.
Religious Service and State Ceremonies
As part of the day’s events, President Duda, along with First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, will attend a mass at 10 a.m. in the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army. The mass is dedicated to the homeland and Polish soldiers. At noon, an official changing of the guard ceremony will take place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square, with the participation of top state officials.
The central celebration will culminate in a military parade on Warsaw’s Wisłostrada at 2 p.m. August 15 marks the anniversary of Poland’s victory in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, a pivotal moment that secured Poland’s independence and halted the spread of Bolshevik revolution to Western Europe.
Celebrated since 1923, Polish Armed Forces Day has been a significant national event, reinstated in 1992 after a hiatus during the communist era.