Poles at Monte Cassino: The 2nd Corps' Journey and Battle of 1944

On the morning of May 18, 1944, the banner of the 12th Podolian Uhlan Regiment was raised over the ruins of the Benedictine abbey at Monte Cassino, and at noon a Polish soldier played the Hejnał Mariacki there. For thousands of soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps, this marked the end of a journey that began in Soviet prisons, labor camps, and exile, passing through Iran, Iraq, and Palestine, and ending on the slopes of the Italian mountains, which had been unsuccessfully fought over by soldiers of several Allied armies since January.

In this guide, we recount the origins of General Władysław Anders' army, why Monte Cassino was so important, how the Polish assaults on May 12 and 17, 1944 unfolded, the cost of victory, and who the people of this battle were. We separately describe the story of the bear Wojtek, who traveled with the soldiers from Iran to Scotland, as well as the history of the song 'Red Poppies on Monte Cassino', the fate of the soldiers after the war, the Polish cemetery under the monastery, and the memory of the battle, including among the Polish diaspora.

From Camps to the Army

Most of the soldiers who marched up Monte Cassino in May 1944 had, three years earlier, neither uniforms, nor rifles, nor even the certainty that they would survive the next winter. The journey of the 2nd Polish Corps to Italy did not begin in barracks, but in freight cars, in which the Soviet Union transported Polish citizens from the eastern territories of the Republic that were occupied in 1939.

Four Deportations

After September 17, 1939, the USSR occupied the eastern lands of Poland, inhabited by about 13 million people. The first mass deportation began on the night of February 9-10, 1940. According to NKVD data, it involved about 140,000 people, mainly military and civilian settlers and forestry workers with their families. They were mainly sent to forest settlements in northern Russia and Siberia.

In the second deportation, on April 13, 1940, about 61,000 people were taken, primarily families of officials, policemen, teachers, and landowners, many to Kazakhstan. In the third, at the end of June 1940, about 80,000 people were deported, mainly refugees from areas occupied by the Germans, two-thirds of whom were Jews. The fourth deportation took place in May and June 1941, just before the outbreak of the German-Soviet war.

People had from several dozen minutes to two hours to pack. They traveled for weeks in overcrowded cars, with about 50 people, a hole in the floor instead of a toilet, and an iron stove, in winter temperatures dropping to minus 40 degrees. Upon arrival, they worked in logging, in mines, and in collective farms, often for 10-14 hours a day, and food rations depended on the quotas they met. Children and the elderly died the fastest.

The number of people deported remains a subject of dispute to this day. Based on data from the Polish government in exile and the Polish embassy in the USSR during the war, it has long been said that about a million were deported. Contemporary historians, relying on NKVD documents, including Alexander Gurianov from the Memorial Society, speak of 320,000 to 340,000 people in four major deportations, while historians from the IPN estimate about 320,000 to 330,000. Soviet sources are reliable but incomplete, so these numbers remain estimates. Additionally, there were prisoners of war and detainees.

June 22, 1941, and the Sikorski–Majski Agreement

Everything changed on June 22, 1941, when the Germans attacked the Soviet Union. On July 30, 1941, in London, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief General Władysław Sikorski and Soviet Ambassador Ivan Maisky signed an agreement that restored diplomatic relations severed on September 17, 1939, declared the Soviet-German treaties of 1939 regarding territorial changes in Poland invalid, and provided for the establishment of a Polish army on Soviet territory. In an additional protocol, the Soviet government committed to an 'amnesty' for Polish citizens imprisoned, exiled, and held as prisoners of war.

The agreement did not explicitly confirm the border from the Riga Treaty and caused a crisis in London: ministers August Zaleski, Kazimierz Sosnkowski, and Marian Seyda resigned. The very word 'amnesty' was also criticized, as the deported and prisoners had committed no crime. Therefore, Polish historians often refer to it as the 'so-called amnesty'.

The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on amnesty was issued on August 12, 1941. According to data provided to Stalin by Beria, it was to cover 381,220 people, including 26,160 prisoners of war. On August 14, a Polish-Soviet military agreement was signed.

The General from Lubyanka

General Władysław Anders was chosen as the commander of the new army; in September 1939, he was the commander of the Nowogródek Cavalry Brigade. Wounded, he was captured by the Soviets on September 30, 1939, while trying to break through to Hungary. He was held in the Lviv Brygidki, and on February 29, 1940, the NKVD transported him to Moscow, to Lubyanka and Butyrka. He was released on August 4, 1941, after more than 22 months of captivity, and still in August became the commander of the Polish Armed Forces in the USSR and a division general. Sources provide various dates for this appointment, from August 4 to August 11, 1941.

Buzułuk, Tockoje, Tatiszczewo

Recruitment commissions began work in the NKVD camps on August 23, 1941, and by September 12 had accepted 24,828 prisoners and internees. The army's command was located in Buzułuk on the Samara River, and Anders himself was stationed in nearby Kołtubanka. In Tockoje, on the Samara River, the 6th Infantry Division under General Michał Tokarzewski-Karaszewicz was being formed, and in Tatiszczewo near Saratov, the 5th Infantry Division under General Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz.

About 15,000 people arrived in Tockoje at the beginning of September. When Anders visited the camp on September 14, he found shortages of everything, from food to medicine and water. Soldiers lived in canvas tents in the field and in the woods, and in November, temperatures dropped to around minus 40 degrees. People froze, were malnourished, and died from diseases, yet training continued nonetheless.

On December 3, 1941, Sikorski spoke with Stalin in the Kremlin. Sikorski then abandoned the plan to move the army to Iran, and Stalin agreed to expand the army to seven divisions, or 96,000 soldiers, and to move it from the Volga to warmer regions of Central Asia. On December 12, the Commander-in-Chief visited the soldiers in Tockoje.

Famine and Disease in the South

At the turn of January and February 1942, the units moved south to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and southern Kazakhstan. The command moved to Jangi-Jul near Tashkent, and the Organizational Center of the Army to Guzar.

The warmer climate did not bring relief. Typhus, dysentery, jaundice, and malaria took their toll among the exhausted people, and in Guzar, the main quarantine camp for typhus patients operated. According to the IPN, the mortality rate among the sick, especially children, exceeded 10 percent there. In the cemetery in Guzar, the largest Polish necropolis in Uzbekistan, 661 people who died in Guzar and nearby Karkin-Batasz are buried.

Additionally, there was famine. The Soviets tied food rations to the established strength of the army, and thousands of civilians flocked to the camps, sharing every portion with the soldiers. On March 6, 1942, the Soviet supply chief announced that starting March 20, the army of about 70,000 people would receive only 26,000 rations. After a conversation with Anders on March 18, Stalin raised this number to 44,000. The IPN estimates that around 10,000 soldiers and civilians died from malnutrition and diseases in the army formation areas.

Missing Officers

From the first weeks in Buzułuk, the command noticed that thousands of officers were missing, known to have been sent to camps in Kozielsk, Starobielsk, and Ostashkov in 1939 and 1940. They were sought by Lieutenant Józef Czapski, a painter and writer, himself a prisoner of Starobielsk and Griazowiec, at Anders' request. Until April 1942, he traveled through offices and inquired of former prisoners, without success.

The truth was revealed only by the Germans. On April 11, 1943, the German agency Transocean reported that mass graves had been discovered in the Katyn forest near Smolensk, and on April 13, Radio Berlin repeated the information. When the Polish government requested the International Red Cross to investigate the matter, the USSR severed diplomatic relations with it on the night of April 25-26, 1943. Anders' soldiers were searching for their comrades whom the NKVD had murdered in the spring of 1940. The victims of the Katyn massacre numbered at least 21,768. Czapski described his search in the book 'Inhuman Land', published in 1949.

Civilians, Children, Young Volunteers

The Anders Army was also unique because families followed the military. Women, the elderly, and children, often orphans whose parents died in exile, gathered around the camps. In February 1942, an orphanage was opened in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, through which over a thousand Polish children passed by July 1943. A significant role in its establishment was played by Hanka Ordonówna, a star of the pre-war Warsaw stage, with her husband Michał Tyszkiewicz. Anders ordered that volunteers of any age be accepted into the army. Thus, units of young volunteers were formed, which included about 3,000 boys and girls aged approximately 14-18 years.

The Soviets, in a note dated December 1, 1941, limited the 'amnesty' to persons of Polish nationality, which affected Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Jews from the borderlands. Nevertheless, according to historian Redlich's estimates, 5,000 to 7,000 Jews left the USSR with the army, including about 4,000 soldiers.

Through Iran to the Middle East

In the spring of 1942, it became clear that the Polish army in the USSR would not survive. The Soviets agreed to arm only one division, about 11,000 people, and in February proposed sending only the 5th Division to the front, although it was not yet ready for combat. Anders and Sikorski refused. Anders' meeting with Stalin on March 18, 1942, resulted in an agreement to evacuate part of the army to Iran.

Two Evacuations Across the Caspian Sea

The first evacuation began on March 24, 1942. Trains transported people to the Turkmen port of Krasnovodsk, and from there overcrowded ships sailed across the Caspian Sea to Pahlawi, today's Bandar-e Anzali. By early April, about 33,000 soldiers and 11,000 civilians had left.

In June, Anders proposed relocating the entire army to the Middle East. On June 30, Stalin presented this idea to Churchill, who passed it on to Sikorski's government. Sikorski agreed, setting several conditions, one of which Churchill supported: women and children accompanying the soldiers were to leave as well. The second evacuation took place in August 1942, again through Krasnovodsk, and some people also traveled overland from Ashgabat to Mashhad. By August 31, the USSR had been left by about 44,000 to 45,000 soldiers and 25,000 civilians.

Evacuation	Time	Soldiers	Civilians
First	March 24 – early April 1942	about 33,000	about 11,000
Second	August 1942	about 44,000 to 45,000	about 25,000
Total (including later groups)	by November 1942	about 77,000 to 79,000	about 37,000 to 43,000

The numbers vary depending on the source, and it is most difficult to count civilians, as no one registered all those who joined the transports. The IPN speaks of about 115,000 people in total, while the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions over 120,000, including about 77,000 soldiers and 43,000 civilians, of whom approximately 20,000 were children. Most Polish citizens deported to the USSR remained there, many forever.

Pahlawi, Tehran, Isfahan

Tents were set up on the beach in Pahlawi, and the children's camp stretched along the shore for about three kilometers. Arrivals were mass vaccinated and deloused, and their clothing was exchanged as much as possible. Despite the efforts of doctors, many people died already in freedom, from exhaustion and diseases brought from the USSR. In the Armenian cemetery in Pahlawi, 639 Poles are buried.

From the coast, the road led further, primarily to Tehran. On the streets of the Iranian capital, the Polish language was often heard. Refugees opened shops and cafes, and worked in Allied bases. In the Polish section of the Dulab cemetery in Tehran, there are 1,937 graves, 409 soldiers and 1,528 civilians. According to various data, between 2,800 and over 3,500 Poles died in Iran during the war.

The most famous Polish place in Iran became Isfahan, known as the city of Polish children. According to the IPN, about 2,600 Polish children lived there, in 21 care facilities scattered along the Chahar Bagh Avenue and south of the Zayandeh River. Other transports of children and civilians went further, to India, Africa, Mexico, and New Zealand.

In Iran, the story begins that we will tell more broadly in the following parts of the guide: in 1942, a small bear, later named Wojtek by the soldiers, joined the Polish transport company, which later became the 22nd Artillery Supply Company.

Iraq and Palestine

On September 12, 1942, Sikorski merged the soldiers evacuated from the USSR with the Polish Army in the Middle East into the Polish Army in the East under Anders' command. Its units were stationed in northern Iraq, including Kizil Ribat, Khanaqin, and near Mosul. The army was to protect the oil fields between Mosul and Kirkuk in case the Germans broke through the Caucasus.

In September 1942, the soldiers received their first weapons, mainly British and American, and by December 1, the army numbered 62,082 soldiers. Later, the army moved to Palestine, to camps near Gaza, including in Julis and Mughazi.

In Palestine, some soldiers of Jewish descent left the army to stay in the land they considered their own. According to various estimates, this was about 2,500 to 3,000 of over 4,000 Jewish soldiers in the army. The most famous among them, Corporal Menachem Begin, later Prime Minister of Israel, did not desert but received a formal discharge from service.

The Birth of the 2nd Corps

On July 21, 1943, following Sikorski's orders from June, the 2nd Polish Corps was separated from the Polish Army in the East. It was formed in northern Iraq, in the Kirkuk area, and in August and September moved to southern Palestine. It was commanded by Anders. On October 1, 1943, the corps numbered 52,688 people, including 3,099 officers and 559 volunteers from the Women's Auxiliary Service. Its core consisted of three major units:

• 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, formed in May 1942 in Palestine from the Independent Carpathian Brigade, veterans of the defense of Tobruk, and from the 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions that arrived from the USSR. It was commanded by General Bronisław Duch.
• 5th Kresowa Infantry Division, formed in March 1943 in Khanaqin, Iraq, from the 5th Vilnius and 6th Lwów Infantry Divisions. Its symbol was the bison, and it was commanded by General Nikodem Sulik.
• 2nd Armored Brigade, originating from the 2nd Tank Brigade organized in 1942, equipped with American Sherman tanks from September 1943. It was commanded by General Bronisław Rakowski. The brigade was only named 'Warsaw' in June 1945.

Additionally, there was the 2nd Artillery Group and corps units. In May 1944, the corps numbered about 48,000 people and became part of the British 8th Army in Italy.

The Death of Sikorski and the Road to Italy

In 1943, Sikorski visited the units in the Middle East for several weeks. On the way back, on July 4, 1943, around 11 PM, the British Liberator he was flying in crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Gibraltar. Sixteen people died, including Sikorski, his daughter Zofia Leśniowska, and Chief of Staff General Tadeusz Klimecki. Only Czech pilot Eduard Prchal survived. General Kazimierz Sosnkowski became the Commander-in-Chief, and Stanisław Mikołajczyk became the Prime Minister.

In November 1943, the corps began moving to Egypt. The first units of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division sailed in December from Suez on the ship 'Indrapoera' and reached Taranto on December 21, 1943. The transfer of the entire corps and its support lasted from December 1943 to April 1944. Polish soldiers were transported to Italy by the 'Batory', which made eleven trips with soldiers of the 2nd Corps from Egyptian ports to Taranto in 1944. From February 2, 1944, the Carpathians relieved the British 78th Infantry Division along the Sangro River. On the other side of the Apennines, the Allies had been unsuccessfully attacking Monte Cassino for several weeks.

The Gustav Line and the First Three Battles

Before the Poles stood at Monte Cassino, Americans, British, French with Moroccans and Algerians, Indians, Gurkhas, and New Zealanders, including Maoris, had already fought for this mountain. From January 17 to May 18, 1944, the Allies launched four major offensives. The first three, described in this section, ended in failure and cost tens of thousands of lives, with many killed, wounded, and missing.

Why Cassino?

After the landing in Sicily and southern Italy in 1943, the Allies advanced north towards Rome. Field Marshal Albert Kesselring decided to stop them at the narrowest point of the Apennine Peninsula, at the fortified Gustav Line. Its western part was anchored by the Rapido, Gari, and Garigliano rivers. It was defended by the German XIV Panzer Corps under General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin, part of the 10th Army commanded by General Heinrich von Vietinghoff.

The key was the Liri Valley. Road number 6, the old Via Casilina, ran through it, the shortest route from Naples to Rome, along which tanks and supply columns could pass. The entrance to the valley was closed by the town of Cassino, and above it stood a mountain with a monastery, from which every movement in the valley could be seen.

The Monastery of Saint Benedict

The abbey at the top of the mountain was founded around 529 by Saint Benedict of Nursia, on the site of an ancient temple of Apollo. Here, the Benedictine rule was established. It had been destroyed before: in the 6th century, it was plundered by the Lombards, in the 9th century, it was burned by the Saracens, and in 1349, it was damaged by an earthquake. Each time it was rebuilt.

In the autumn of 1943, two officers of the German "Hermann Göring" division, Lieutenant Colonel Julius Schlegel and Captain Maximilian Becker, organized the removal of treasures and artworks stored in the abbey, including paintings by Titian, El Greco, and Goya. Over a hundred trucks went to Rome. In December 1943, Kesselring assured the Vatican and the Allies that German troops would not use the monastery buildings for defense. Abbot Gregorio Diamare remained on the mountain with a few monks, while local residents sought refuge within the walls.

The First Battle: January and February 1944

Simultaneously, on January 22, 1944, the Allies landed at Anzio, behind the Gustav Line, and the attacks on Cassino were intended to divert German forces from this beachhead. On January 17, the British 10th Corps under General Richard McCreery crossed the lower Garigliano. The British secured beachheads but did not break through further, losing about 4,000 men. Polish commandos from the 6th Troop of the British 10th Inter-Allied Commando participated in this assault, capturing the slopes of the Monti Aurunci.

From January 20 to 22, the American 36th Infantry Division attempted to cross the Rapido. The river was swollen, the banks were mined, and the Germans had an excellent view of the crossings. According to an American military report, the division lost 1,681 killed, wounded, and missing; other sources mention about 2,100 men in 48 hours. Its 141st Infantry Regiment was practically wiped out.

From January 24, the American 34th Infantry Division advanced north of Cassino, with the French Expeditionary Corps under General Alphonse Juin on its right flank, largely composed of Moroccan and Algerian soldiers. The French captured Monte Belvedere and Colle Abate, paying a price of about 2,500 men, but lacked reserves to advance further. The Americans from the 34th Division penetrated the mountains behind the monastery and came very close to its walls, fighting for Hill 593, which the Poles would capture in May. By February 11, the division had lost about 2,200 men, roughly 80 percent of the strength of its infantry battalions, and had to be withdrawn.

February 15: Bombs on the Abbey

The exhausted Americans were replaced by the New Zealand Corps under General Bernard Freyberg, consisting of the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 4th Indian Division. The Indian commander, General Francis Tuker, was convinced that the monastery had to be destroyed before sending men to attack. Although he fell seriously ill on February 4, he persuaded Freyberg in a memorandum, and Freyberg requested the bombing. The commander of the American 5th Army, General Mark Clark, opposed it: he did not want to be responsible for the destruction of a historic site, knew that ruins could be a better defensive position than buildings, and remembered the civilians within the walls. The decision was made by their superior, General Harold Alexander, who deemed the bombing a military necessity.

On February 14, the Allies dropped leaflets warning of the air raid. On the morning of February 15, heavy B-17 bombers flew over the monastery, followed by medium B-25s and B-26s, with various sources reporting a total of about 230 to 256 aircraft. Reports also differ on the amount of bombs: from nearly 600 to over 1,100 tons. The monastery was reduced to rubble. Abbot Diamare and the monks survived in the crypts, but civilians seeking refuge in the abbey perished. Their number is also disputed: the American National WWII Museum in New Orleans states about 115 victims, while other sources mention 230, and yet others 280–300.

The debate over the justification for the bombing continues to this day. Abbot Diamare stated that there were no German soldiers or weapons in the monastery before the air raid. The British official history found no evidence of military use of the buildings, and the American army acknowledged in 1969 that the abbey was not occupied by the Germans. However, after the bombing, the Germans had no reason to stay away: paratroopers from the 1st Parachute Division occupied the ruins and turned the thick, surviving walls of the cellars into a fortress.

The Second Battle: February 15 to 18

The air raid was conducted a day earlier than planned due to improved weather, and the troops on the front line were not ready to immediately launch an attack. Soldiers from the 4th Indian Division attacked over the following nights towards Hill 593 and the ridges leading to the monastery. The British Royal Sussex battalion, fighting as part of this division, lost 12 of its 15 officers and 162 of its 313 soldiers over two nights. The Rajputana Rifles and Gurkha battalions also suffered heavy casualties.

At the foot of the mountain, the Maoris from the 28th New Zealand Battalion captured the railway station in Cassino on the night of February 17 to 18. They held it for only a few hours: on February 18, a German counterattack involving tanks forced them to retreat. That day, the offensive was halted.

The Third Battle: March 1944

Freyberg decided this time to attack the town itself. On March 15, 1944, in Operation "Dickens," hundreds of bombers dropped bombs on Cassino for about three and a half hours, and then 746 artillery pieces opened fire. Only a portion of the bombs fell near the target. The town was wiped off the map, but German paratroopers survived in the cellars and immediately occupied the ruins.

The New Zealanders captured most of the town and Castle Hill, and the 1/9 Gurkha Battalion reached Hill of the Hanged, point 435, about 250 yards from the monastery walls on March 17. Rubble and craters halted the tanks, rain flooded the craters, and German counterattacks shattered further attempts. On March 23, after a consultation with Alexander, Freyberg called off the offensive. The 4th Indian Division lost about 3,000 men in this battle, while the 2nd New Zealand Division lost about 1,600 killed, wounded, and missing.

Why It Failed

The three battles ended in failure not because the Allied soldiers lacked courage. The reasons were different. The terrain favored the defenders: mountains from which every movement could be seen, swollen rivers, and a muddy valley where tanks bogged down. The Germans, especially the paratroopers, defended themselves with great tenacity, and the ruins of the monastery and town, which were supposed to facilitate the attack, became ideal positions for them.

Additionally, individual divisions attacked sequentially, often without sufficient reconnaissance, allowing the Germans to shift reserves to where the threat was greatest. In the spring of 1944, Allied command drew conclusions from this. The fourth offensive was to be one powerful strike across the entire front, from the sea to the mountains, involving several corps simultaneously. One of them was the 2nd Polish Corps.

May 1944: A Task for the Poles

In the spring of 1944, the front in Italy had been stagnant for months. The German Gustav Line, cutting across the Apennine Peninsula roughly halfway between Naples and Rome, was anchored by the massif of Monte Cassino with the destroyed Benedictine monastery at its summit. The three previous offensives in January, February, and March had cost the Allies enormous losses. Americans, British, Indians, New Zealanders, and French with colonial troops fought there. No one had captured the monastery.

The fourth battle was to be entirely different. The Allies prepared a major offensive codenamed "Diadem." The British 8th Army moved from the Adriatic across the ridge of the Apennines to strike together with the American 5th Army along a front approximately 32 kilometers long, between Cassino and the sea. The British XIII Corps (with the 4th Infantry Division and the 8th Indian Division), the American II Corps, the French Expeditionary Corps under General Alphonse Juin, and the Polish 2nd Corps advanced simultaneously, while the Canadian I Corps waited in reserve to exploit the breakthrough.

General Leese's Proposal

The commander of the British 8th Army, General Oliver Leese, visited General Władysław Anders's headquarters in Vinchiaturo at the end of March 1944 and presented him with the plan for the offensive. The Polish corps was tasked with capturing the Monte Cassino hills in the first phase and then Piedimonte. Anders described this conversation in his memoirs "Without the Last Chapter." He wrote that the 2nd Corps was assigned the "most difficult task" and that after a brief reflection, he stated that he would undertake it.

The decision was not obvious. Anders, as the IPN reminds, feared great losses and that his soldiers would be used as "cannon fodder." He agreed quickly and without consulting the Supreme Commander, General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, who opposed frontal attacks on German fortifications and held a grudge against Anders for it. However, Anders saw this task primarily as a political opportunity. He believed that a victory where others had to retreat would remind the world of the Polish cause.

The Polish troops replaced the British 78th Division in the mountains. Two infantry divisions were primarily involved in the battle: the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division under General Bronisław Duch and the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division under General Nikodem Sulik. They were supported by the 2nd Independent Armored Brigade under General Bronisław Rakowski and the corps artillery. The journey of the 2nd Corps soldiers from Soviet camps through Iran and the Middle East is described in another part of the guide. On April 7, Anders viewed the massif from an aircraft, and on April 30, the Polish attack plan was finally accepted.

The Terrain: Hills with Numbers and Names

For the soldiers, Monte Cassino was not a single mountain but a labyrinth of ridges and peaks, each with a number from the map or a soldier's name. The Polish plan called for a concentrated attack along the axis Colle Maiola – Massa Albaneta. The goal was to break through the defense, seize the southwestern slopes, cut off the monastery, and then strike at it from the northeast.

• Hill 593, also known as Monte Calvario, was the key defensive position of the monastery hill and the main objective of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, along with the neighboring Hill 569.
• Phantom (in English sources Phantom Ridge) was the ridge that the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division was to capture.
• Colle Sant’Angelo with the neighboring Hill 575 formed the northern edge of the German defensive ring.
• Massa Albaneta marked, along with Colle Maiola, the axis of the main Polish assault.
• The Gorge is the Polish name for the depression between Monte Castellone and Massa Albaneta, where fierce fighting took place on the very first day.
• Monte Cairo and the Passo Corno pass were on the right flank. The plan called for neutralizing fire from Passo Corno, which was only occupied at the end of the battle.

On these slopes, the Poles faced bunkers, machine gun nests, minefields, and barbed wire. The Polish artillery was to prepare the attack, but as Polish studies note, the bombardment proved ineffective against the German bunkers.

The Opponent: German Paratroopers

The massif was defended by German paratroopers from the 1st Parachute Division (1. Fallschirmjäger-Division), commanded by General Richard Heidrich. On the hills themselves, the Poles primarily faced paratroopers under Colonel Ludwig Heilmann, commander of the 3rd Parachute Regiment. Polish sources also mention units from the 5th Mountain Infantry Division. The paratroopers occupied the ruins of the monastery after the Allied bombing on February 15, 1944, and had defended them tenaciously ever since. According to dzieje.pl, General Harold Alexander, commander of the Allied 15th Army Group, reportedly said about them after the March offensive: "Unfortunately, we are fighting the best soldiers in the world."

Two Assaults

On May 11, 1944, at 11:00 PM, artillery opened fire along the entire front from Cassino to the sea. On the sector of the 8th Army, 1,060 guns fired, while on the sector of the 5th Army, about 600. That day, Anders issued an order to the soldiers, announcing that the task assigned to them would glorify the name of the Polish soldier.

The First Assault, May 12

The Polish infantry began its advance around one o'clock in the night from May 11 to 12. From the start, many things went wrong. General Leese's order prohibited sending patrols to the front line early. As a result, the troops marched into unknown territory, straight into minefields and barbed wire.

The 2nd Carpathian Rifle Battalion captured Hill 593 and held it until morning, repelling four counterattacks. Its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Brzósko, was seriously wounded. According to Polish sources, by noon only 17 soldiers and one officer remained on the hill. The 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Edward Maślona, held the eastern slopes of the Gorge until the afternoon of May 13. The 13th and 15th Vilnius Rifle Battalions of the 5th Kresowa Division entered Phantom around three in the morning on the 13th, losing about 20 percent of their strength in the process.

Around 2:00 PM, the corps command ordered a withdrawal to the starting positions. The chronicle from dzieje.pl states that in the first assault, the Poles lost about 1,800 killed and wounded. One of the Polish studies mentions about 700 soldiers lost just from the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, mainly from the 1st and 2nd battalions. The assault did not yield any territorial gains. Studies point to unrecognized terrain, minefields, and barbed wire as causes, as well as the fact that the German bunkers survived the artillery bombardment.

At the same time below, the British were crossing the Rapido and Gari rivers, while the French were pushing through the Aurunci mountains. According to English-language sources citing General Mark Clark, the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division broke through the Gustav Line in less than two days, and on May 13, the French captured the Monte Maio massif. This French breakthrough was one of the decisive moments of the entire offensive.

The Second Assault, May 17

Anders halted the attacks for several days. On May 15, Polish artillery conducted a half-hour bombardment of Hills 593 and 569 to check if the Germans were still there. On the morning of May 16, Leese ordered the assault to be repeated the next day. According to Polish sources, the 16th Lviv Rifle Battalion entered Phantom on May 16 at 10:20 PM, while the chronicle from dzieje.pl states that the 5th Kresowa Division captured Phantom on May 17 at 7:00 AM.

May 17 was the heaviest day of the battle. The Germans counterattacked at Colle Sant’Angelo using heavy mortars. In the counterattack near San Angelo, Major Jan Żychoń, a pre-war intelligence officer, was killed, who according to the chronicle from dzieje.pl said before his death: "For Poland and for Poland." By the end of the day, the Poles held Phantom, Hill 593, Monte Castellone, and Massa Albaneta, and broke through the northern edge of the German ring at Colle Sant’Angelo. Meanwhile, the Allies' advances in the Liri Valley began to threaten German supply lines.

On the night of May 17 to 18, the Germans, under the orders of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, began to abandon the hills and retreat to the Hitler Line. According to Polish sources, about a hundred paratroopers descended south, preferring to surrender to the British rather than the Poles. In the early morning of May 18, the British 78th Division and the Polish 2nd Corps met in the Liri Valley about 3 kilometers west of the town of Cassino.

Morning of May 18: A Patrol of Podolian Uhlans

In the morning, a white flag was spotted over the ruins of the monastery. A patrol from the 12th Podolian Uhlan Regiment, led by Second Lieutenant Kazimierz Gurbiel, set out towards the ruins. The Uhlans crossed a minefield, according to Polish sources about 300 by 100 meters in size, and entered the ruins without losses. Inside, they found several severely wounded German soldiers with medics who could not retreat with the rest. Gurbiel later recalled that after all the fighting, the monastery was captured "without a single shot fired."

The first to hang over the ruins was the regimental banner of the 12th Podolian Uhlan Regiment. Sources differ on the time. The chronicle from dzieje.pl states 9:50 AM, while other sources from PAP and English-language reports mention 10:20 AM. According to Polish sources, the banner was sewn by Corporal Jan Donocik. Later, a white-red national flag was hoisted over the ruins. It was carried by soldiers from the 3rd Company of the 5th Carpathian Rifle Battalion, and the flag was carried in a backpack by Staff Sergeant Ryszard Stachurski. A few hours later, at Anders's order, the British flag was hung next to the Polish flag.

The Anthem on the Ruins

The most famous image of that day is the Hejnał Mariacki played on the ruins of the monastery. It was performed by Corporal Emil Czech from the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, a pre-war musician in a military orchestra in Kraków, who had played the Hejnał Mariacki many times before. According to his biography, to play at noon, he had to cover several kilometers of mountainous terrain under German fire in less than two hours. He reached the summit just before noon.

Most sources, including the IPN and the chronicle from dzieje.pl, state that the Hejnał sounded at noon on May 18. One of the PAP texts mentions it generally in the afternoon. The rank of the musician also differs: in some studies, he is referred to as a corporal, while in IPN materials, he is a lance corporal.

Piedimonte and the End of the Polish Battle

Capturing the monastery did not end the Polish task. On May 19, Hill 575 and Colle Sant’Angelo were cleared. Now it was necessary to break through the Hitler Line, of which the town of Piedimonte San Germano was an important point of resistance. The first Polish attacks on it began on May 20, the main offensive according to English-language sources on May 23, and by May 25, Piedimonte was in Polish hands. In the same days, between May 21 and 25, the 15th Poznań Uhlan Regiment occupied Passo Corno and Monte Cairo. On May 24, the Canadian 1st Infantry Division broke through the Hitler Line in the Liri Valley, and the Canadian 5th Armoured Division entered the breach.

One Polish study calculates that the battles of the 2nd Corps at Monte Cassino and Piedimonte lasted a total of 13 days and 20 hours. Rome fell into American hands on June 4, 1944, two days before the landing in Normandy.

Cost of Victory

The most commonly cited balance of Polish losses in the battle of Monte Cassino and Piedimonte is 923 killed, 2931 wounded, and 345 missing. These numbers are referenced by dzieje.pl and Polish historical studies. Some of the missing were later found in their units. One Polish study cites 251 in one place and 291 in another, so the exact number of permanently missing depends on the source. Other studies provide slightly different numbers, depending on the period of fighting they cover, which is why the IPN cautiously states over 900 killed and around 3000 wounded. Among the dead were many officers. A total of 1072 soldiers were buried at the Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino.

Losses of Other Armies

Polish losses must be viewed in the context of the entire campaign. The four battles of Monte Cassino, from January to May 1944, cost the Allies, according to the most frequently cited estimates, around 55,000 killed and wounded. The Germans lost about 20,000 soldiers. Broader estimates, including the fighting at Anzio and the march on Rome, reach over 105,000 Allied casualties. British historian James Holland cites 43,746 Allied casualties and 51,754 Axis casualties for the offensive "Diadem" from May 11 to June 6.

These numbers include Americans, among others from the Texas 36th Division, which attempted to cross the Rapido in January, Indians and New Zealanders from February and March, British, Canadians, as well as soldiers from the French Expeditionary Corps, including Moroccan goumiers, who achieved one of the most significant breakthroughs in May. Monte Cassino was a battle of many nations, and the victory in May 1944 was a victory for the entire coalition. The Poles had a distinct and painful role in it.

What Victory Brought

From a military perspective, the success of the "Diadem" offensive lay in breaking through the Gustav Line and the Hitler Line and opening the road to Rome. After the fall of Monte Cassino and the breakthrough in the Liri Valley, the Allies moved north, and the Americans under General Mark Clark entered Rome.

However, historians critically assess the entire campaign. On May 26, Clark changed the direction of the attack on Rome instead of cutting off the retreating German 10th Army, which allowed the Germans to escape north to the Gothic Line. British war correspondent Alan Whicker commented that if Clark had served in the German army, Hitler would have ordered him shot.

What the Commanders Said

On May 20, 1944, General Harold Alexander, commander of the 15th Army Group, thanked the soldiers of the 2nd Corps for their victory. His words are quoted in the dzieje.pl calendar. He said that if he could choose any soldiers to command, "I would choose you – the Poles."

Anders himself saw a political dimension in the battle from the beginning. His words, quoted in Polish studies, state: "If we capture Monte Cassino, and we must capture it, we will elevate the Polish cause." The bitter irony of history was that in February 1945 at Yalta, the leaders of the great powers decided on Poland's borders without the participation of Poles, and the Polish contribution to the victory in Italy, as noted by the IPN, was of no significance there.

British historian Norman Davies captured what this battle means for Poles with words quoted by dzieje.pl: "Monte Cassino stripped of courage, despair, patriotism, pain, and exaltation would not be Monte Cassino."

Monte Cassino Memorial Cross

By order of the Supreme Commander on November 20, 1944, the Monte Cassino Memorial Cross was established. It was awarded to soldiers of the 2nd Corps who fought at Monte Cassino, Piedimonte, and Passo Corno between May 12 and 31, 1944, as well as to those who were wounded on this battlefield from April 7 to May 11.

Sources differ on the number of awards. The most frequently cited figure is 48,335 recipients, while another listing mentions 48,608 awards, of which 27 were revoked. According to Polish studies, the cost of the cross was covered by the awarded soldier.

People of the Battle

Here are a few biographies of commanders, soldiers, artists, and a reporter whose paths crossed in May 1944 under the monastery and ended up in London, Chicago, Melbourne, or back in Poland.

Gen. Władysław Anders (1892–1970)

He was born on August 11, 1892, in Krośniewice-Błonie, about 96 kilometers west of Warsaw, in a family of long-polished Baltic Germans of the Evangelical faith. During World War I, he served as an officer in the Russian army, and in 1917 he joined the 1st Krechowiecki Uhlan Regiment in the Polish Corps, later serving in the Polish Army. In September 1939, he was wounded twice and by the end of the month was captured by the Soviets. He spent about 22 months in prisons in Lviv and Moscow, at Lubyanka and Butyrka.

Released on August 4, 1941, after the Sikorski-Maisky agreement, a few days later he took command of the Polish Armed Forces in the USSR. He led them through Iran to the Middle East, and as commander of the 2nd Corps, he was tasked with capturing Monte Cassino. On September 26, 1946, the Provisional Government of National Unity stripped him of his Polish citizenship and general rank. He remained in London, served as the General Inspector of the Armed Forces, and was a member of the emigration Council of Three. He died in London on May 12, 1970, on the 26th anniversary of the first assault, and according to his wishes, he was buried among the soldiers at the cemetery at Monte Cassino. The decision to revoke his citizenship was overturned in 1989. His memoirs were published in English in 1949 as "An Army in Exile."

Gen. Bolesław Bronisław Duch (1896–1980)

He was born on November 15, 1896, in Borszczów in Podolia. In 1914, he joined the Legions, fought at Rarańcza, and then in the Polish corps in Russia, reaching Great Britain via Murmansk in 1919, from where he returned to Poland.

In September 1939, he effectively commanded the 39th Reserve Infantry Division, avoided capture, and made his way to France, where he took command of the 1st Grenadier Division. From 1941 to 1942, he headed the Polish Military Mission in Canada, where he helped organize the recruitment of volunteers. On August 6, 1943, he took command of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division and led it through the entire Italian campaign, from Monte Cassino to the end of fighting in April 1945. After demobilization, he settled in London. In 1980, President Edward Raczyński appointed him General Inspector of the Armed Forces. He died in London on October 9 of that year. His ashes were placed under the monument of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division on Hill 593 at Monte Cassino, and he has a symbolic grave in the Polish cemetery.

Gen. Nikodem Sulik (1893–1954)

He was born on August 15, 1893, in Stara Kamienna in Grodno. In interwar Poland, he commanded units of the Border Protection Corps. In September 1939, he fought against the Red Army with the KOP "Sarny" regiment, and then refused to lay down his arms and went underground. He led the Vilnius District of the Union of Armed Struggle until he was arrested by the NKVD on April 13, 1941.

He regained his freedom in August 1941 thanks to the Sikorski-Maisky agreement and joined Anders' army. In 1943, he took command of the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division, which he led at Widmo and Colle Sant’Angelo. For Monte Cassino, he received the Gold Cross of Virtuti Militari. After the war, he remained in Great Britain. From 1953, he chaired the Polish Scouting Association outside the borders of the country. He died in London on January 14, 1954. In 1993, his remains and those of his wife Aniela were brought back to their hometown of Stara Kamienna.

2nd Lt. Kazimierz Gurbiel (1918–1992)

He was born in 1918 in Moscow and as a child escaped from Bolshevik Russia to reborn Poland. In September 1939, he was wounded. In Soviet-occupied Lviv, he tried to get to Romania but was arrested by the NKVD and, after a trial, ended up in a labor camp. Released under an amnesty in 1941, he joined the Polish army and went with it to the Middle East.

On May 18, 1944, as a second lieutenant of the 12th Podolian Uhlan Regiment, he led a patrol to the ruins of the monastery. According to his memories, there were thirteen uhlans. They captured wounded paratroopers along with a cadet and medics, who told them that about 200 Germans had left the monastery ten minutes earlier and surrendered to the British. After the patrol, an amaranth-blue banner of the regiment was hung on the ruins. The further campaign ended for him with an amputation of his lower leg due to injury. After the war, he lived in Great Britain, then in the United States. In 1975, he returned to Poland and settled in Przemyśl, where he died in 1992. In 1987, at the request of friends, he wrote his memoirs, later published as "My Way to Monte Cassino."

Private Emil Czech (1908–1978)

He was born on August 8, 1908, in Bobowa near Gorlice. Before the war, he worked as a clerk, and in the army, he played in the orchestra of the 1st Battalion of Railway Bridges in Kraków, with which he often performed the Hejnał Mariacki. In September 1939, he fought, among others, near Stryj, and on September 20, his unit crossed the Hungarian border, and Czech was interned. In 1940, he reached Palestine via Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, and Syria, and joined the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade. He traveled with it through Alexandria and Tobruk to Italy.

At noon on May 18, 1944, he played the Hejnał on the ruins of the monastery, in front of soldiers, photojournalists, and British and American war correspondents. He recalled that he was most afraid of making a mistake. In 1947, he returned from England to Poland and settled in Kłodzko. For over twenty years, he worked on the railway and told children in schools about the war. He died on March 26, 1978, and is buried in the municipal cemetery in Kłodzko.

Feliks Konarski "Ref-Ren" (1907–1991)

He was born in Kyiv on January 9, 1907. As a teenager, he came to Warsaw, where he even played football for Polonia Warsaw. In 1934, he moved to Lviv and founded a revue theater that toured all over Poland. After the Red Army's invasion, he performed with his theater in Soviet cities, and in 1941 he joined Anders' army and traveled with it through Persia, Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt, creating the "Polska Parada" theater along the way.

On the night of May 17-18, 1944, he wrote the first verses of "Red Poppies on Monte Cassino," and composer Alfred Schütz set them to music. Konarski himself recounted years later that the first lines came to him in a half-sleep, that he woke Schütz in the middle of the night, and the ensemble had its first rehearsal that night. This is the author's account from years ago, not a document from the era. Sources also differ on when the third verse was created, and the fourth was added in 1969. After the war, he settled in London. In 1965, he permanently moved to Chicago, hosted radio shows, and traveled twice a year to Polish communities. He died in Chicago on September 12, 1991, just days before his first visit to Poland since 1939. He is buried at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles near Chicago, next to his wife and comrades from Monte Cassino.

Gwidon Borucki (1912–2009)

He was born on September 2, 1912, in Kraków as Gwidon Alfred Gottlieb. In 1937, he joined the Warsaw cabaret "Cyrulik Warszawski," and during the Soviet occupation of the Kresy, he performed in Konarski's revue theater. He was a soldier in Anders' army and toured the front lines with the soldiers' theater, performing for the troops.

It was Borucki who first sang "Red Poppies on Monte Cassino." According to Polish studies, this happened on May 18, 1944, in Campobasso, during an improvised ceremony at General Anders' headquarters, with a 14-member orchestra from Schütz. After the war, he settled in London, adopted the name Guy Borucki, and performed on British radio and television. In 1959, he came to Australia with the musical "Grab Me a Gondola" and settled in Melbourne. Under the name Guido Lorraine, he acted in 28 films and organized revues for the Polish community. His first wife, singer Renata Bogdańska, later became General Anders' second wife. Borucki died in Melbourne on December 31, 2009, at the age of 97.

Melchior Wańkowicz (1892–1974)

He was born on January 10, 1892, in Kałużyce in Mińszczyzna. In September 1939, he left through Romania, then was in Cyprus and Palestine. With the help of Jerzy Giedroyc, he became a war correspondent with the 2nd Corps. He traveled with them from Iran through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt to Italy and became its unofficial chronicler.

He wrote a three-volume "Battle of Monte Cassino," which he created in Rome and Milan and which was published in Milan between 1945 and 1947. In 1949, he moved to the United States and settled on Long Island near New York City. In 1956, he obtained American citizenship. On May 27, 1958, he returned permanently to Poland. A shortened and censored version of his book, titled "Monte Cassino," was published in the country by the MON Publishing House in 1957, and a reprint appeared the following year. In 1964, after signing "Letter 34" against censorship, he was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison, but the sentence was not carried out. He died in Warsaw on September 10, 1974. Sources differ on when readers in the country received the uncensored text. According to some studies, the uncensored edition was published by PAX in 1978, while according to PAP, the full version without cuts was published by PAX in 1989.

Wojtek – The Bear Who Became a Soldier

Among the tens of thousands of people who traveled with General Władysław Anders' army from Iran through the Middle East to Italy, there was one "soldier" known today by children in Edinburgh, Kraków, and Chicago. He weighed several hundred kilograms at the end of his life, loved to wrestle, and rode in the cab of a truck. He was a Syrian bear, a subspecies of the brown bear, and was named Wojtek. His story is true, but over eighty years it has become surrounded by anecdotes, some of which are difficult to verify today. Therefore, below we separate what is confirmed by sources from what was told around the campfire and in the canteen.

A Boy with a Bear Cub. Iran, April 1942

In the spring of 1942, troops of the forming Anders' army were evacuated from the Soviet Union to Iran, along with thousands of civilians previously deported deep into the USSR. According to a report from the Institute of National Remembrance, on April 8, 1942, Polish soldiers marching with refugees from the port of Pahlewi towards Palestine encountered a Persian boy carrying a small bear cub. The animal's mother was most likely shot by hunters. The bear cub is usually said to have originated from the area around Hamadan in western Iran, although the accounts of the encounter differ in details. The historical group Kresy Family provides a different version: the meeting was said to have occurred on April 3, 1942, most likely near Qazvin, on the route from Pahlewi to Tehran.

The eighteen-year-old Irena Bokiewicz, known as Inka, a relative of General Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski, was enchanted by the bear cub. She persuaded 2nd Lt. Anatol Tarnowiecki to buy the animal from the boy. What exactly was paid depends on who tells the story. The Museum of Siberian Memory in Białystok lists canned goods, hardtack, a chocolate bar, a few coins, and a Swiss army knife. The British Library blog briefly mentions "a few cans of beef," while other accounts simply refer to a few cans of food. All versions agree on one point: it was a regular soldier's exchange, not an official purchase.

The bear cub was only a few months old at the time. One Polish study, based on Magdalena Lorenc's work, states that he was born in 1941. For about three months, he lived in the Polish refugee camp near Tehran, mainly under Inka's care. However, the transit camp proved to be a poor place to raise a mischievous wild animal. In August 1942, the bear cub was handed over to the military, to the 2nd Transport Company, later the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. There he was given the name Wojtek. Irena Bokiewicz later appeared in a documentary about the bear and said of him: "He felt everything almost like a human."

Milk from a Vodka Bottle

At first, Wojtek did not know how to eat. Soldiers fed him condensed milk diluted with water, given from a bottle to which a twisted cloth was tied instead of a nipple. According to some accounts, it was a vodka bottle. The IPN states that supposedly for this reason, the bear liked to drink from such a bottle for the rest of his life. As he grew, his favorite treats were fruits, sweet syrups, marmalade, and honey. For good behavior, he was given beer.

He ate with the soldiers and slept with them in the tent. As he grew, he got his own "bedroom" in a large wooden crate, transported on a truck. However, he did not like solitude and would come at night to cuddle with the sleeping soldiers. He enjoyed riding in military vehicles, sometimes in the cab, sometimes in the back, and wrestling with soldiers, whom he usually defeated. In the hot climate, he did not hibernate, but in the desert camps, he often overheated.

Many stories circulate around his habits, and not all are equally certain. According to various accounts, Wojtek took showers, and in one of the most famous anecdotes, he supposedly detected an Arab spy hiding in the bathhouse. Another story speaks of destroyed food supplies. Prof. Wojciech Narębski, who was the last living soldier of the 22nd Company until his death in 2023, told PAP that Wojtek once knocked down drying underwear from female soldiers of the 316th and 317th Auxiliary Women's Transport Companies and returned completely wrapped in it. For such antics, he was usually punished by being chained to his collar, often secretly from the officers. The story about the spy should be treated as a company legend: it is passed down in studies, but cannot be confirmed by documents today.

Caution is also required regarding stories about cigarettes and alcohol. Studies indicate that soldiers also fed Wojtek cigarettes, which he rather ate than smoked, and that he liked beer. On the other hand, Archibald Brown, a Brit who met Wojtek after the war in Scotland, claimed in a conversation quoted by the Kresy Family historical group that the bear "was not a drinking and smoking circus animal," and the beer bottles he drank from were sometimes filled with tea. Both versions may be partly true.

Company, Caretakers, and Military Rank

The 22nd Artillery Supply Company was part of the Supply and Transport Service of the 2nd Polish Corps. Its task was to deliver ammunition for the 2nd Artillery Group. The company's route, and thus Wojtek's, led through Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt to Italy. In 1944, the company was renamed the 22nd Transport Company, but in literature and on monuments, it still appears under its former name.

Wojtek had caretakers, but sources diverge on this matter. The most frequently and reliably mentioned is Piotr Prendys (also referred to as Prendysz in English sources). The British Library describes him as a corporal assigned as the bear's caretaker, and according to PAP, it was Prendys, with his hand on Wojtek's shoulder, just as he led him around the camp, who was depicted on the monument in Edinburgh. In some studies, Henryk Zacharewicz, Dymitr Szawługo, or Lew Worzowski also appear as caretakers, but this is not confirmed by sources.

The issue of military rank is the most well-known yet also the most convoluted element of this story. IPN and PAP state that Wojtek was listed as part of the personnel of the 22nd Company. According to Professor Narębski, the bear had his own service number, military booklet, and ration for cigarettes. In English-language studies, the number 253 appears, but without citing a source. The popular version claims that Wojtek was registered as a private because British transport regulations did not allow mascots and animals to be taken on a ship sailing from Egypt to Italy. The ship itself was Polish: according to Kresy Family, the company set sail from Alexandria on February 13, 1944, on the MS "Batory." Another practical reason is provided by Polish studies of the company's history: the bear grew so large that soldiers, giving him part of their own rations, could not feed him, so registering him in the records gave him a separate ration. According to Archibald Brown's account cited by Magdalena Lorenc, it was General Anders who appointed Wojtek as a corporal to officially place him on the personnel list.

The British Library exercises caution to the furthest extent: it states that the story of Wojtek being enlisted as a private with double rations is a legend, and the bear was a company mascot who sailed to Glasgow in 1946 as an officially registered passenger. Most Polish sources, including IPN and PAP, state that for his merits, Wojtek was promoted to the rank of corporal, and PAP in one text mentions that he was first a private, while in another, that the promotion was "symbolic." Kresy Family, citing documents from the Polish Institute and the General Sikorski Museum in London, claims that Wojtek did not receive either a military number or rank. Therefore, it is most honest to say this: Wojtek was called a corporal, but no document of his promotion is known.

To Italy and Monte Cassino

At the turn of 1943 and 1944, the 2nd Polish Corps was transferred from Egypt to Italy. According to the diary of the 22nd Company, referenced by Kresy Family, the "Batory" arrived with the company in Taranto on February 21, 1944. This stage is often associated with a frequently repeated anecdote: Archibald Brown was supposed to call out soldier Wojtek's name in Naples, and when no one responded, he saw a bear in a cage instead of a man. Kresy Family considers it untrue: the company did not arrive in Naples, and Brown met Wojtek only after the war in Scotland.

In May 1944, the company delivered ammunition for the Polish artillery fighting at Monte Cassino. According to Magdalena Lorenc's study, Wojtek initially struggled with the noise of shelling and bombings, and once he got used to it, he observed the fighting from nearby trees. Here we arrive at the most famous image: the bear carrying shells. IPN cites as one of the "stories about Wojtek" the tale that at Monte Cassino, he helped soldiers carry heavy crates of artillery ammunition and "never dropped a single one." Aileen Orr, the author of the most popular book about him, describes how, imitating the soldiers, he carried crates that normally required four people and stacked them on trucks. Alan Pollock, the author of a children's book about Wojtek, told Forces News in 2024 that there are "many eyewitness accounts" stating that during the battle, the bear indeed carried crates of ammunition.

There are also skeptical voices. One English-language study notes that the authenticity of this story is often disputed. The most interesting objection came from the company itself. When funds were being raised for the Krakow monument in 2013, Professor Wojciech Narębski stated, according to PAP, that the popular image of Wojtek holding a crate of ammunition or a shell is "inconsistent with historical truth." Kresy Family goes even further: according to this group, Wojtek was not on the battlefield at all, but at the company base in Venafro, about 30 kilometers from Cassino, and the story about the crates was made up by soldiers around the campfire and passed on to a war correspondent. It is therefore reasonable to assume that Wojtek was with the company in the rear of the front, and the image of the bear carrying ammunition during the fighting is largely a legend, disputed and unconfirmed by documents.

What is documented, however, is the emblem. The symbol of the 22nd Company became a bear with a shell in its paws. According to IPN, it was painted on military vehicles, placed on pennants, and worn on uniforms. The special badge of the company, described in the catalog by Sawicki and Wielechowski, was made of oxidized white metal and measured 31 millimeters: Wojtek against the backdrop of a steering wheel with a green-red triangle. It was worn on collars and berets. According to English-language studies, the image became the official emblem of the company, but sources do not provide an exact date. It is most often associated with the period after the battle of Monte Cassino.

By Monte Cassino, Wojtek weighed around 90 kilograms, according to the BBC program "Outlook." After the victory, he became an attraction for visiting Allied commanders and politicians.

Scotland: Winfield, Berwick, and Dancing

After the war, the 2nd Corps was moved to Great Britain. According to Magdalena Lorenc, the 22nd Company along with Wojtek arrived in Glasgow on September 26, 1946. Soldiers who did not want to return to communist-ruled Poland were taken in by the Polish Resettlement Corps. The company was accommodated at the former Winfield airfield, on the Sunwick farm near the village of Hutton in Berwickshire, not far from the border with England.

Here, Wojtek quickly became a local celebrity. The press took an interest in him, and the Polish-Scottish association made him an honorary member. Aileen Orr, now the most well-known popularizer of his story, describes in her book how the bear sniffed out sweets in guests' pockets and had a fondness for cake at village dances. He carried not only soldiers on his back but also local children, who often had candies with them. A few times, he also got into trouble with his companions after too merry evenings in nearby Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Edinburgh Zoo, 1947–1963

With the demobilization of the company, a decision had to be made about what to do with the bear. According to IPN and Forces News, on November 15, 1947, Wojtek was sent to the Edinburgh Zoo. He spent sixteen years there. He was one of the biggest attractions of the zoo, but life behind bars was not easy for him. Raised among humans, he could not find his place among other bears. He perked up when he heard Polish. He was visited by former comrades-in-arms, some even entered his enclosure, while others threw him cigarettes. He was also a frequent guest on television: one English-language study mentions his appearances on the BBC children's program "Blue Peter."

A lesser-known episode is the attempt to bring Wojtek back to Poland. At the end of 1958, the Poznań branch of the Society for the Care of Animals, supported by the Polish Zoological Society and ZBoWiD, intervened regarding the conditions in which the bear lived. In February 1959, as reported by "Głos Robotniczy," a representative of the zoo in Gdańsk-Oliwa traveled to Edinburgh to discuss Wojtek's relocation. The move did not happen. Wojtek remained in Scotland.

He died at the Edinburgh Zoo on December 2, 1963. Some sources, including the Polish edition of Aileen Orr's book, state the date as November 15, 1963. According to most studies, he was 21 years old, while others say 22. There is also no agreement on his dimensions: English-language studies based on Angelos Mansolas's book state that by the end of his life, he weighed nearly 500 kilograms and measured over 1.8 meters, while the producers of the documentary about Wojtek describe him as a bear weighing about 500 pounds, or approximately 230 kilograms. Shortly after his death, a memorial plaque was unveiled at his former enclosure, which was later removed. Today, the zoo has a plaque that calls him a Polish hero.

Monuments from Edinburgh to Cassino

The first sculpture of Wojtek was created in the early 1970s by Scottish artist David Harding. Its title is "Wojtek fails again to catch a chicken." It initially stood in a hotel restaurant near the Edinburgh Zoo, and in 1985 it was moved to the Polish Institute and the General Sikorski Museum in London, where it remains today. The Institute also organized the first exhibition dedicated to Wojtek in 2010. The Imperial War Museum has a plaque commemorating the bear in its collection.

The most famous monument stands in Edinburgh, in the western part of Princes Street Gardens. It is a life-sized bronze sculpture by Alan Beattie Herriot, depicting Wojtek walking alongside a Polish soldier, along with a bas-relief illustrating his wartime journey. The monument was funded by the Wojtek Memorial Trust, an organization founded by Aileen Orr (the British Library states the year as 2008, while other sources say 2009). The city authorities agreed to it in 2013, and it was unveiled on November 7, 2015.

In Poland, the first monument to Wojtek was erected on June 7, 2013, in Słowiański Square in Żagań, with Professor Wojciech Narębski in attendance. On September 17, 2013, on the World Siberian Day, a monument was unveiled in Szymbark in Kashubia. On May 18, 2014, on the 70th anniversary of the capture of the monastery at Monte Cassino, a bronze Wojtek by Wojciech Batka was erected in Jordan Park in Krakow. It stands 2.3 meters tall and points with its paw to a nearby monument of General Anders. It cost about 60,000 zlotys raised in a public collection, and one of the initiators was British resident Richard Lucas from Krakow.

In April 2016, Żagań gifted an identical sculpture to its Scottish partner town of Duns, located near the former camp in Winfield. Wojtek monuments and sculptures can also be found in Imola (2015) and in Cassino (May 15, 2019, made of marble from nearby Coreno Ausonio), in Szczecin (2019), in Sopot on Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street (since September 1, 2019), in Wrocław (2020), and in the new zoo in Poznań (2018). There is also a street named after Corporal Wojtek in Poznań. In Warsaw, on May 30, 2017, Kindergarten No. 99 on Siewierska Street was named after Wojtek the Bear, and a monument was unveiled in front of the building. In the same year, Poczta Polska issued a stamp featuring his image in a print run of 250,000 copies. On July 1, 2026, the district council of Śródmieście supported a resolution to build another Warsaw monument at Wojtek Bear Square at the intersection of Anders and Nowolipki Streets. Its investor is the Polish-Scottish Foundation named after Corporal Wojtek the Bear.

Wojtek also lives on in the military. Since March 4, 2014, the traditions of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company have been taken over by the Logistics Battalion of the 5th Lubusz Artillery Regiment in Sulechów.

Books, Films, and Theater

The first book about Wojtek was written by Wiesław Antoni Lasocki. "Wojtek spod Monte Cassino. Opowieść o niezwykłym niedźwiedziu" was published in 1968 in London by the émigré publishing house Gryf, and in 1970, co-authored with Geoffrey Morgan, it was released in English as "Soldier Bear." In People's Poland, there was little mention of the bear, although in 1979, Janusz Przymanowski published the book "Kanonier Wojtek." A true wave of interest was sparked only by Aileen Orr's book "Wojtek the Bear: Polish War Hero" in 2010, published in Polish as "Niedźwiedź Wojtek. Niezwykły żołnierz Armii Andersa." Later, titles such as "Private Wojtek: Soldier Bear" by Krystyna Mikuli-Deegan (2011) and "Wojtek album" (2013) were published.

The title "Wojtek – The Bear That Went to War" belongs not to a book but to a documentary film from 2011. It was directed by Will Hood and Adam Lavis, narrated by British actor Brian Blessed, and lasts 59 minutes. The film was produced in a British-Polish co-production, involving TVP, with support from BBC Scotland, the Polish Film Institute, and the German MDR. In Poland, TVP2 aired it in November 2011 as "Wojtek, the bear who went to war." Earlier, in 2008, a Polish documentary film by Maria Dłużewska about Wojtek was produced by Kalejdoscope Film Studio.

The latest production is the animation "A Bear Named Wojtek" directed by Iain Gardner, announced in Poland as "Niedźwiedź Wojtek" or "Kapral Wojtek." This 28-minute animated film is a Polish-British co-production by the Scottish company Illuminated Films and the Polish Filmograf. The British premiere took place on November 9, 2023, at the Aesthetica festival in York. In December 2024, the film made it to the shortlist of fifteen titles competing for an Oscar nomination in the short animated film category, although it ultimately did not make it to the final five. The director told Polish Radio: "For me, it's a story about refugees."

Wojtek also made it to the stage: in January 2025, the Silesian Theatre in Katowice staged the play "Niedźwiedź Wojtek," and in 2024, a play based on Alan Pollock's book "The Bear Who Went To War" was shown in Coventry. IPN released a board game for children about him (2018) and a short educational film (2020), and in 2022, it prepared a performance titled "The Story of Wojtek the Bear," which was viewed in October 2022 by children in Polish schools and kindergartens in Chicago and the surrounding areas as part of the "Trails of Hope. Odyssey of Freedom" project.

What is Documented and What is Legend

From such a colorful history, it is easy to create a fairy tale, so here is a brief summary. It is certain that Wojtek was a Syrian bear, purchased as a cub in Iran in April 1942, that from August 1942 he lived with the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, that he traveled with them through the Middle East and Italy, that he was with the company in Italy during the battle of Monte Cassino, that the bear with a shell became the emblem of the company, and that after the war he lived in Winfield, and from 1947 until his death in 1963 at the Edinburgh Zoo.

Less certain are the details: what exactly was paid to the boy, who formally and when granted him the rank of corporal, and above all, whether and how often he carried ammunition during battles. Authors of popular books and some witnesses are convinced of this, while one of the soldiers from his company, Professor Narębski, and researchers from Kresy Family were skeptical. Stories about a captured spy, about sailing to Italy as a "private," about the roll call in Naples, and about large amounts of beer belong to the realm of anecdotes. In none of the sources we checked is there any mention that Wojtek received any military decoration. His "honors" are a place in the history of the company, the rank by which he was called, the emblem on the uniforms of his comrades, and the memory that, after more than eighty years, still draws people to the monuments in Edinburgh, Krakow, and Cassino.

"Red Poppies on Monte Cassino" – a song that survived the battle

The lyrics were written by Feliks Konarski "Ref-Ren", the music by Alfred Schütz, a composer and conductor, as well as a soldier of the 2nd Corps. It was created on the night of May 17 to 18, 1944, just a few hours before a Polish patrol entered the ruins of the monastery. Few Polish songs have such a well-known birth date and so many versions of how this birth came about.

One night, several stories

The most commonly repeated story, recounted in Polish studies, goes like this: Konarski heard cannon fire in the distance, quickly wrote the lyrics, and woke Schütz, who composed the melody within a few hours. The text in "Rzeczpospolita" places the emphasis differently. According to it, Konarski wrote after a performance by the "Polska Parada" theater in Acquafondata, and the image of the poppies came to him on the way back. Two verses and the chorus were said to have been created in a matter of minutes, and Schütz, who had the first version of the melody ready in a few minutes, polished it until morning. In his memoirs, Konarski described the monastery: "I see it. A black mass thrusting into the sky. Inaccessible."

Both versions essentially come from the accounts of the authors themselves, recorded years later, and should be treated as such. The same applies to the poppies. The author of the text in "Rzeczpospolita" points out that only Schütz and Konarski mention the blooming poppies on the slopes in their memories, and ends with the question of whether the poppies were really there. However, Polish Radio also cites Melchior Wańkowicz, who stated that in May 1944, the Rapido valley "burned with the fire of poppies", and Konarski himself considered suggestions of poetic license to be absurd. The red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for the fallen was already known in Poland: according to Polish Radio, in 1938, the National Unity Camp recommended laying red poppies on soldiers' graves on All Souls' Day. One Polish study cautiously adds that Konarski might have known accounts from the Battle of the Somme during World War I and the poem "In Flanders Fields", in which red poppies grow among the crosses of the fallen. This is a hypothesis, not an established fact.

We mentioned the first performance in Campobasso above in the profile of Gwidon Borucki. According to an account cited by "Rzeczpospolita", everyone cried at that moment except for Borucki, who had to sing. In the biography of Irena Anders, then Borucki's wife, performing as Renata Bogdańska, another tradition appears: that she sang the song together with her husband on the monastery hill two days after the battle. The same note cautions that the first performance could have taken place near the battlefield or in nearby villages.

From the accounts of the authors, which Polish Radio cites, two more details about the first performance emerge. Borucki did not yet know the words by heart and sang from a sheet, and the chorus was painted on a large cardboard board so that the soldiers could sing along with him. Gen. Anders thanked the authors for the "beautiful song", but deemed it too difficult and that it "would not catch on". Schütz joked years later that the general "was not infallible".

The third and fourth verses

Originally, the song had two verses and a chorus. Konarski later added the third. According to "Rzeczpospolita", this happened on the same day he saw a bouquet of poppies on an unnamed soldier's grave. One Polish study mentions several hours. The fourth verse was added by the author in 1969, on the 25th anniversary of the battle. It is much less known than the others.

The text is not uniform. In the version most commonly sung today, the reference to the charge at Rokitna is replaced with Racławice, and there are also slight variations in wording. The sources we accessed do not clearly explain who and when made this change.

From Italian printing houses to the "second anthem"

In the autumn of 1944, the text and music were printed in Italy in several thousand copies, and the song appeared in "Tygodnik Polski". It was called the new "Rozmaryn". It was also published in translations into English, French, and Italian. The oldest known recording belongs to Adam Aston, and his performance was featured in Michał Waszyński's 1946 film "Wielka droga". In the country, the music was published in 1946 and 1947. A Swedish correspondent wrote in 1946 that when it was played in dance halls in Warsaw and Sopot, people stood up as if it were the "second national anthem".

In the PRL: indirectly banned, but unwelcome

One English-language study briefly states that the song was banned in communist Poland. The picture in the text of "Rzeczpospolita" is more complex. Public performances of "Czerwone maki" were to be suspended for eight years, until 1956, but it was probably not a formal ban. Konarski recounted a story about a young man arrested for singing it and a military invalid, an accordionist, who played it during a ceremony in Stalinist times. After 1956, the song returned, and its legend was reinforced by Andrzej Wajda's film "Popiół i diament" from 1958, in which it resonates in a memorable scene. Over time, it became a symbol of resistance against Soviet dominance.

Konarski himself hosted a radio program titled simply "Czerwone maki" for over twenty years. In the summer of 1982, Gwidon Borucki handed over the manuscript of the score and the original text to the Polish Institute and the General Sikorski Museum in London.

Grand performances

One of the most magnificent performances in recent years took place on November 10, 2018, at the National Stadium in Warsaw. During the "Concert for Independence", it was sung by the State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble "Mazowsze", and approximately 37,000 people listened.

After Monte Cassino: from Ancona to Bologna, from Yalta to emigration

The capture of the monastery and Piedimonte did not end the war for the 2nd Corps. The soldiers of Gen. Anders faced nearly a year of fighting in Italy, followed by decisions that proved to be more difficult for many of them than any assault.

Along the Adriatic: Ancona

On June 7, 1944, the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division relieved the 4th Indian Infantry Division and began the pursuit along the Adriatic coast on Route 16. On June 18, Polish troops occupied Pescara, and in early July, Loreto, Recanati, Castelfidardo, and Osimo. One English-language study distinguishes two battles for Ancona, the first from June 30 to July 9 and the second from July 17 to 19. On July 17, the main assault was initiated by the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division, and on July 18, exactly two months after the capture of the monastery, the Carpathian Uhlans and the 2nd Battalion of the Carpathian Riflemen entered Ancona. According to Polish studies, the battle for Ancona cost the Corps 39 officers and 338 soldiers killed and wounded. The total losses from all the fighting along the Adriatic, from June to September, are reported differently by sources: 1,358 soldiers and officers or 496 killed, 1,789 wounded, and 139 missing. The dead were buried in the Polish military cemetery in Loreto.

The Gothic Line and the Apennines

In the summer of 1944, the Corps participated in Operation "Olive", the assault on the Gothic Line, another German line of defense. Along the Adriatic coast, the Canadian Corps fought alongside the Poles. From August 19, the main burden of fighting on the Polish front lay with the 3rd Carpathian Division, and on August 31, Pesaro was occupied. From October 10, the Corps fought in the Emilia Apennines, and from mid-November to mid-December in the Faenza area. They spent the winter in positions along the Senio River.

Yalta: "A soldier asks me what the purpose of his fight should be"

Late in the evening of February 12, 1945, a communiqué from the Yalta conference was announced. The eastern border of Poland was to run essentially along the Curzon Line. For the soldiers of the 2nd Corps, most of whom came from the Kresy, this meant that their homeland, including Vilnius and Lviv, would be in the Soviet Union. A few hours later, Anders wrote to the British commander of the 8th Army, Gen. Richard McCreery: "A soldier asks me what the purpose of his fight should be." He requested the immediate relief of the Corps from the front line.

On February 17 in Caserta, Marshal Harold Alexander and Harold Macmillan persuaded Anders to maintain his sector until talks in London. On February 21, Anders met with Winston Churchill. The conversation lasted about two and a half hours. Churchill reportedly said: "You can take your divisions. We can do without them." The author of the text in "Rzeczpospolita" assesses these words as a bluff. On February 26, Anders became the acting Commander-in-Chief, and in his first order wrote: "In accordance with honor, we will return to Poland as soldiers with arms in hand." The Corps remained at the front. The next day, Churchill stated in the House of Commons that soldiers fighting under British command would be offered citizenship and freedom in the Empire, and that they would live among the British "as if they were people of our blood." According to "Rzeczpospolita", this promise was not agreed upon with the Foreign Office or the government.

Bologna, April 21, 1945

The last Allied offensive in Italy began on April 9, 1945. On April 21 at 6:05 AM, the 9th Battalion of the Carpathian Riflemen entered Bologna first and raised the Polish flag. At 8:00 AM, Americans from the 5th Army entered the city. Polish losses in this battle are reported differently by sources: from 234 to about 300 killed and from 600 to over 1,200 wounded. Polish studies report a total of about 1,470 to nearly 1,600 killed, wounded, and missing. Less than three weeks later, the war in Europe ended. However, the soldiers of Anders could not return to Poland, for which they fought, as they had dreamed.

To Great Britain and the Resettlement Corps

After the war, the Corps did not shrink but grew. On August 1, 1945, it numbered about 113,000 people. However, on July 5, 1945, the Western powers recognized the Temporary Government of National Unity in Warsaw, and in February 1946, the authorities in Warsaw demanded the immediate dissolution of Polish units in the West. In March 1946, the British government decided to transfer all Polish units to the Islands and dissolve them. On May 22, 1946, Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin announced the establishment of the Polish Resettlement Corps. On September 12, 1946, Anders instructed the soldiers to report to him.

The Resettlement Corps was a transitional organization. Soldiers signed up for two years, were subject to British discipline, received pay according to British rates, learned English, and trained for a profession. They had four options: return to Poland, emigrate, serve in the British army, or work in civilian jobs. On March 27, 1947, the British Polish Resettlement Act came into force, regulating, among other things, the accommodation of Poles in camps. The Resettlement Corps concluded its main activities in 1949.

To return or to stay

The Polish Armed Forces in the West numbered about 249,000 soldiers. How many of them returned to the country is reported differently, and the data should be treated as estimates. Historian Stefan Artymowski writes about over 114,000 returns between 1945 and 1948, while a text on the IPN website "Przystanek Historia" mentions about 120,000 until the dissolution of the Resettlement Corps in 1949. Approximately half of the soldiers chose emigration. The first large transport from the 2nd Corps and units from the Middle East arrived in December 1945: from December 3 to 25, 13 trains arrived in the country with 12,305 soldiers.

Returns were not easy. According to the IPN, about one-third of the officers found work in the military, while the others lived under constant surveillance by the security services. Those who returned to the Kresy, which were incorporated into the USSR, had it the worst. On the night of March 31 to April 1, 1951, Belarusian services arrested former soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces along with their families and deported them to the Irkutsk Oblast. Over 4,000 people were deported from present-day Lithuania and Belarus. Resolutions from September 26, 1946, which stripped Anders of his citizenship, affected a total of 76 officers. The communist authorities portrayed the general as a traitor. At the same time, there was hope in the country that the general would "arrive on a white horse" and liberate Poland.

Scattered around the world

The majority of soldiers remained in Great Britain. The 1951 census showed 162,339 people born in Poland, compared to 44,642 in 1931. Many settled in London and in industrial centers in northern England.

Canada agreed in 1946 to accept about 5,000 Polish veterans. The first group arrived in Halifax on November 11, 1946, on the ship "Sea Robin". The condition was a two-year work contract on a farm, regardless of education, and veterans often replaced German prisoners of war there. In the United States, the way was opened by an amendment to the resettlement act. Signing it on June 16, 1950, President Harry Truman noted that 18,000 veterans of the Polish army in exile, who had found a temporary home in England after the war, would be able to settle permanently in the USA.

About 20,000 Poles emigrated to Argentina in the first five years after the war, peaking in 1948-1949, with the core of this emigration consisting of demobilized soldiers from the 2nd Corps. Juan Perón's government agreed to accept them with their families, including wives who were Italians. In 1947, the Tasmanian state energy company Hydro offered Polish veterans two-year contracts. The first group consisted of 280 "Tobruk Rats", whose arrival was sponsored by an Australian veterans' association from Tobruk. They worked on the construction of hydroelectric plants, including in Tarraleah.

The general in exile

Anders remained in London. From February to May 1945, he served as the Commander-in-Chief, and from 1949 until his death, he chaired the Main Commission of the emigration National Treasure, and from 1950 to 1954, he was designated as the successor to the President of the Republic of Poland in exile. On May 16, 1954, he received the rank of general of the army. He died in London on May 12, 1970, and on May 23, 1970, he was buried in the cemetery at Monte Cassino.

The cemetery at Monte Cassino

Gen. Anders decided to build the cemetery during the battle. One Polish study gives the date of May 18, 1944, while the Polonika service speaks more generally about the summer of 1944. The site was symbolically chosen: a flat saddle between Monte Cassino and Hill 593, known during the fighting as the Valley of Death, where soldiers of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division fought.

Construction

The entire complex was designed by architects Wacław Hryniewicz and Jerzy Skolimowski. The earthworks and stonework were carried out by a platoon of Polish sappers and several hundred Italian workers under the direction of engineer Tadeusz Muszyński, with supervision by engineer Roman Wajda, a participant in the battle. The cemetery was ceremonially opened on September 1, 1945, on the sixth anniversary of the outbreak of the war, in the presence of representatives of the government of the Republic of Poland in exile and the command of Allied forces. Photos from the National Digital Archive, cited in Polish studies, also document the ceremony of consecrating the cemetery on November 1, 1945. Work continued for several more months, and the entire project was completed in 1946.

Two stone eagles with outstretched wings, carved from travertine by Italian artist Duilio Cambellotti, guard the entrances. The stone graves are arranged in an amphitheater on nine terraces. In the center stands the Virtuti Militari cross with an eternal flame, and on the slope towards Hill 593 stretches a hedge cross, whose arm measures 50 meters, with a stone relief of an eagle in the middle. Most graves have simple Latin crosses, but there are also Orthodox crosses and tombstones with the Star of David, as Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Jews also fought and died at Monte Cassino.

How many graves are there

It is most commonly stated that 1,072 soldiers rest in the cemetery. However, various studies cite different numbers, ranging from 1,054 to 1,075. A natural census conducted on May 18, 2009, by the author of an internet site about the cemetery and later supplemented counts 1,043 graves, of which 1,038 date from before the opening in 1945, and 5 were added between 1965 and 2011, including two symbolic ones. According to this census, 1,052 soldiers known by name and 23 unidentified rest there, totaling 1,075. Therefore, there are more buried than graves.

Inscriptions

On the floor, the words are engraved: "Passerby, tell Poland that we fell faithful in her service." This refers to the epitaph of Simonides for the Spartans who fell at Thermopylae. The second inscription reads: "For our and your freedom, we Polish soldiers gave our souls to God, our bodies to the Italian earth, and our hearts to Poland."

The general and his wife among the soldiers

The grave of Gen. Anders lies on the plateau above the eternal flame, in a central location in the cemetery. Earlier, on April 8, 1965, Archbishop Józef Gawlina was buried in the main avenue. The urn with the ashes of Gen. Bolesław Bronisław Duch, who died in 1980, was placed under the monument of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division on Hill 593, and he has a symbolic grave at the cemetery. Irena Anders died in London on November 29, 2010. After the mass at St. Andrew Bobola's Church on December 8, 2010, her body was cremated, and the urn was placed next to her husband on May 21, 2011.

Renovation

The cemetery was first renovated in 1962 through the efforts of the emigration. Later, it was cared for by the Council for the Protection of Memory of Struggles and Martyrdom. One Polish study describes the work from 2004 to 2009: the restoration of the reliefs and gravestones of Gen. Anders, Archbishop Gawlina, and Gen. Duch, renovation of the central square, cross, walls, and stairs, drainage, and restoration of all graves and crosses. According to PAP, a general renovation of the cemetery and its surrounding greenery continued into the fall of 2011 and was expected to be completed by the end of November.

Popes and the abbey

On May 18, 1979, on the 35th anniversary of the battle, Polish cemetery was visited by John Paul II. He prayed for the fallen soldiers of various nations, races, and religions and appealed: "Do not kill." On May 24, 2009, on the 65th anniversary, Benedict XVI prayed at the cemetery. He prayed for "those who fell in every war that stained the earth with blood."

The abbey, destroyed in February 1944, was rebuilt after the war, and in the early 1950s, the reconstruction was strongly supported by the President of Italy, Luigi Einaudi. On October 24, 1964, Pope Paul VI reconsecrated the rebuilt church of the abbey. On the same day, he declared St. Benedict the principal patron of Europe.

Memory

The most important day remains May 18. Every year, a mass is held at the cemetery, the Roll of the Fallen is read, and delegations from Poland, Italy, and the Polish diaspora lay wreaths. In 2023, Italian MP Gianluca Vinci from the Brothers of Italy party submitted a bill for May 18 to become the Day of the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy. The bill was referred to the Chamber of Deputies committee.

Round Anniversaries

The celebrations for the 75th anniversary lasted from May 16 to May 19, 2019. The main ceremony on May 18 was attended by President Andrzej Duda and President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, as well as veterans of the Anders Army. On May 19, flowers were also laid in San Vittore del Lazio, at the monument marking the site of the first temporary burial of the fallen, whose remains were transferred to the cemetery under the monastery in 1945.

The 80th anniversary was celebrated from May 17 to May 21, 2024. At the cemetery on May 18, former presidents Duda and Mattarella, Anna Maria Anders, Senate Marshal Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, Head of the Office for Veterans and Repressed Persons Lech Parell, and Field Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz, who officiated the mass, were present, along with the last veterans of the 2nd Corps and their families. About 2,000 scouts participated in the ceremony. On May 19 in Cassino, a monument to Gen. Anders was unveiled at Largo Dante. An extraordinary convoy also arrived from Kraków: eight Fiat 126p cars that traveled about 1,700 kilometers, led by 94-year-old rally driver Sobiesław Zasada.

On May 18, 2026, during the 82nd anniversary, President Karol Nawrocki attended the cemetery with his wife Marta. The Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta was awarded posthumously to Major Władysław Antoni Dąbrowski, a soldier of the 2nd Corps, who fought throughout the entire campaign with Gen. Anders.

The Last Soldiers

In June 2024, Major Stosław Kowalski, born in 1922 and a soldier of the 2nd Corps, passed away in Buenos Aires. He had participated in the 80th anniversary celebrations in Poland and Italy just that May. In August 2026, at the age of 102, 2nd Lieutenant Józef Kowalczyk from the 12th Podolian Uhlans, born in 1924 in Lubomierz near Limanowa, died. He was referred to as the last living participant of the Battle of Monte Cassino in Poland. He was posthumously promoted to captain and was buried on August 21, 2026, in Orawka. Colonel Ryszard Wietrzychowski from the 12th Podolian Uhlans stated that only two participants of the battle who served in this regiment were still alive, both over a hundred years old and residing in the United States, in Washington and El Paso, Texas.

Polonia in North America

In Canada, the memory of the 2nd Corps was upheld by the Polish Veterans Association (SPK), whose first Canadian circle was established on October 3, 1946, still in Italy, at the camp in Falconara near Ancona, before the veterans sailed across the ocean. At its peak, the SPK had 22 branches in Canada, from Victoria to Montreal. In May 2016, the Italian and Polish communities of Ontario prepared a replica of the exhibition commemorating the battle from the Monte Cassino hill, consisting of 12 panels in English, Polish, and Italian. The displays were planned at Toronto City Hall, Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and the Ontario Parliament.

In the United States, a particularly significant place is Chicago, where Feliks Konarski lived, buried in suburban Niles. The Polish Museum of America on Milwaukee Avenue commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the battle on its website on May 18, 2026, stating that it would preserve the memory of the fallen in its collections and archives. At the cemetery near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, known as American Częstochowa, are the graves of members of the Polish Veterans of World War II association.

Monuments, Books, Films

In Warsaw, on the square between Anders Street and the gate of the Krasiński Garden, stands the Monument to the Battle of Monte Cassino. It was unveiled by Irena Anders on May 30, 1999. This 12-meter headless Nike, showing signs of battle and wounds, is made of reinforced concrete covered with white Carrara marble, designed by sculptor Gustaw Zemła and architect Wojciech Zabłocki. It was created from contributions from the veterans of the 2nd Corps and grants from many institutions.

A cornerstone of literature on the battle remains the three-volume "Battle of Monte Cassino" by Melchior Wańkowicz, mentioned above. In 1969, the author revisited the topic in "Sketches from Monte Cassino." The battle and the song returned to cinema: "The Great Road" by Michał Waszyński from 1946, "Ashes and Diamonds" by Wajda from 1958, and on April 5, 2024, "Red Poppies" by Krzysztof Łukaszewicz was released, touted as the first Polish feature film about this battle.

Participants of the battle wore the Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross, as mentioned above. It did not enter the official system of decorations during the PRL. Only the law of October 16, 1992, recognized it as a military decoration.

Curiosities

• The copyright to "Red Poppies" after the death of Alfred Schütz's widow in 2004 was transferred, by a German court ruling on March 17, 2011, to Bavaria. Royalties were collected by the German organization GEMA. Journalist Janusz R. Kowalczyk pointed out the paradox: among the performers whose appearances generated royalties for Germany was the Alexandrov Ensemble, which sang "Red Poppies" in Polish during their tour in Poland. Only an agreement on September 15, 2015, made Poland the sole owner of the rights.
• The Sopot promenade "Monciak," or Heroes of Monte Cassino Street, was named after Marshal Konstanty Rokossowski, a Soviet commander and later Minister of Defense of the PRL, from 1945 to 1956.
• For Bologna, the 9th Carpathian Rifle Battalion was named "Boloński," 17 Polish commanders were granted honorary citizenship of the city, and the Senate of Bologna awarded Polish soldiers 215 medals.
• Captain Adolf Dziekiewicz has a symbolic grave at the cemetery under Monte Cassino, but he is actually buried in Detroit.
• The ashes of General Klemens Rudnicki were not buried but scattered on Hill 575.
• The Polish cemetery is the closest to the monastery of all the Allied cemeteries in the area. It is separated from the abbey by a few hundred meters and is clearly visible from the walls of the monastery.
• The Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross is shaped like the cross of St. Benedict, the patron of the abbey over which the battle took place. A version of it in the form of a commemorative plaque can be seen in the basilica in Katowice-Panewniki.
• Sobiesław Zasada, who led the convoy of small Fiats to Monte Cassino in 2024, drove a Fiat 126p from Poland to Monte Carlo in 1975.
• In 1969, a brochure about the battle by Kazimierz Wiwatowski was published in Spanish in Buenos Aires, released for its 25th anniversary.
• Antoni "Tony" Rozmaryniewicz, one of the first 280 "Rats of Tobruk" who arrived in Tasmania for a two-year contract, worked for 38 years at the local energy company Hydro.
• Composer of "Red Poppies" Alfred Schütz did not stay in England after the war. He moved to Brazil and then to Munich, where he collaborated with Radio Free Europe.