The Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. (Other Polish forces were raised within Soviet territories; the Polish Armed Forces in the East).
The formations, loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, were first formed in France and its Middle East territories following the defeat and occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939. After the fall of France, in June 1940, the formations were recreated in the United Kingdom. Making a large contribution to the war effort, the Polish Armed Forces in the West was composed of army, air and naval forces. The Poles soon became shock troops in Allied service, most notably in the Battle of Monte Cassino, during the Italian Campaign, where the Polish flag was raised on the ruined abbey on May 18, 1944. The Polish Armed Forces in the West were finally disbanded, after the war, in 1947, with many former servicemen choosing to remain in exile rather than to return to communist-controlled Poland
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