It was created on the order of the Soviet-backed State National Council to fight against Nazi Germany and support the Red Army against the German forces in Poland.

In 1943, following revelations about the Katyn massacre and the Polish government-in-exile's insistence on investigation, the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations and intended to establish a competing government for Poland.

In 1942, the communist Polish Workers' Party (PPR) created the Gwardia Ludowa (GL, "People's Guard") as a paramilitary force.

Whatever its exact size, the Armia Ludowa was much smaller than the Home Army, though it much better armed as a result of Soviet air drops; it might have even had a surplus of weaponry.

[9] The commander of the Armia Ludowa was General Michał Rola-Żymierski,[4] and the chief of staff was a member of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers' Party, Colonel Franciszek Jóźwiak.

[5] The Armia Ludowa took part in the Warsaw Uprising, with official claims holding that some 1,800 of its soldiers fought there, but modern research suggests the actual number to have been about 500.

Soviet air drops did not supply foodstuffs, often leading partisans to resort to forced requisitions, which is described by modern historians as "banditry".

[15][16] [17] In one of its most secret and controversial actions, agents of the Armia Ludowa on 17 February 1944 seized an important document archive of the Polish Underground State.

[18] On 21 July 1944, seven months after it came into existence, the Armia Ludowa was integrated into the Polish Military in the USSR and formed the new People's Army of Poland (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie, LWP).

State media exaggerated its size and role during the war, typically at the expense of the Home Army, who involvement was minimised and criticised.