(Darius von Guttner – The Strategist) Planning a massive expansion of its armed forces by 2039, Poland is deliberately building a national capacity for sustained high-intensity war. The country is treating large-scale conflict no longer as hypothetical but as a baseline assumption shaping force structure, training and investment.This shift draws directly on lessons from Ukraine and signals a recalibration of NATO’s eastern defence, where national mobilisation and endurance are increasingly emphasised over alliance reassurance alone. Poland’s approach combines three elements rarely pursued together in contemporary Europe: numerical expansion; universal or near-universal military training; and the rapid integration of advanced strike, drone and AI-enabled systems.
Poland’s mass-army turn is reshaping NATO’s eastern flank | The Strategist
