Every able-bodied Polish subject is, according to the law of of May 23, 1924, liable to serve in the army between the ages of 21 and 50. The duration of service is twenty-nine years, Service in the active army is for two years. The men then pass to the reserve, in which they remain for 18 years, At the age of forty they join the territorial army, in which they remain for 10 years.
In times of peace the Chief Command of the armed forces is exercised by the President of the Repub-lie through the Minister of Military Affairs. The permanent collaborator of the latter is, in conformity with the Law of August 6, 1926, the Ins-sector General of the armed forces, who in case of war takes over the Chief Command. General questions relating to preparations for the defence of the country are examined by the committee of National Defence, which, in virtue of the Law 4 of October 25, 1926, is presided over by the President of the Republic.
The country is divided into 10 General Military districts: Warsaw, Lublin, Torun, Lodz, Cracow, Lwow, Poznan, Grodno, Brzese, and Przemys. The strength of the army is in peace time 328,000; on a war basis it is 3,600,000, with 1,850 aeroplanes.
The defence estimates for 1937-38 amounted to 800,000,000 zlotys,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.