WAR AND SOLDIERS
FREE POLISH TROOPS
The four-month battle of Monte Cassino
was the bloodiest battle took place in Italy.
The Allies attacked there three times a year at the beginning of 1944.
The Germans repulsed each attack.
Monte Cassino was captured in May 1944.
At the top of the mountain monastery hoisted the Polish flag was raised.
Cassino Poles had traveled far since then
when Germany and the Soviet Union invaded their country in 1939.
Loss of the war began to restore the honor and independence.
Part was traversing thousands of kilometers to continue the fight
Siberian prison camps through the Caucasus and the Persian in the Middle East.
Some escaped through Hungary and Romania.
They strive to France to continue the fight against the Nazis.
There, they founded the Polish army allies to help.
Fighting continued in Great Britain when France surrendered.
They participated in North Africa and the Western European major battles.
The free Polish forces in the story is the most impressive military history
but only a few knows it.
The Polish communist leadership tried for 50 years to forget them.
Poland's fighting spirit has been strengthened wars over the centuries.
It became independent in 1918,
after 150 years of the Russian, Prussian and Austrian subjugation.
The young Republic was forced almost immediately to war against Russia.
Outnumbered the Poles were given a decisive victory in Warsaw in 1920.
Behind Poland's eastern border was a vengeful Soviet Union.
Polish Corridor, which separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany
angered Poland's western frontier neighbors as much.
Poland was therefore a strong army between the two world wars
but it was not able to produce enough modern equipment.
When Hitler then invaded 1 September 1939
Polish Air Force were beyond its control Luftwaffe fighters.
The Navy realized that he was powerless against the German Baltic fleet.
Three of its four fighter was transferred to the pre-war Britain.
The rest of the warships either immersed in or they were not the enemy.
Two Polish submarines reached Britain.
Other crew impartial interned in Sweden.
Poland became a fight delay
hoping that its allies would attack Western Europe.
Germans did not stop there.
The cavalry attacked hullunrohkeasti against German armor ...
... And directly to his death.
Poland's last hope went 17 September
when the Soviet Union invaded from the east
In accordance with its agreement with the German.
Management and the board of Polish armed forces fled to Romania
where they were interned German insistence.
The Polish armed forces of permanent resistance ended 6.10.
Germany and the Soviet Union divided the land.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were taken to the Conquerors of prison camps.
But the rout of all not beaten Poland's fighting spirit.
Thousands of soldiers were determined to continue the fight.
There were, as well as professional soldiers
that the threat of war on civilians provided the service.
Some were still young boys.
Some of them were foreigners, who knew the rest of the world very little.
But everyone wanted to continue to fight at any cost.
The state of emergency lifted now one man up.
Gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski was the 20th century Polish Prime Minister
but retired after the 1926 coup.
Sikorski set up a government in exile in France
around which his countrymen gathered.
They were helped secretly to earth via Romania, Hungary and Italy.
Interveners journeyed on foot for hundreds of miles with very little food.
Countries of transit persecuted them as unauthorized land in the proceedings.
All who reach of France in the new units.
French Air Force became the Polish pilots.
They quickly learn to fly with French machines.
Army soldiers were centralized in Angers in Western France.
They were trained and organized in two divisions
armor and infantry brigade.
They were subjected to the French Army command.
General Sikorski tried to keep the whole winter 1939 men's mood above.
He knew that they could get as soon as the battle against the Nazis hated.
The free Polish forces were forced to fight in a surprising direction.
Germany invaded 9 April 1940 Denmark and Norway.
The Allies tried to stop the German invasion in progress.
One of the countries increases the units was a Polish Podhalanska brigade.
It was exported far to the north, Narvik.
It invaded by the Germans were forced to retreat
but the Luftwaffe air superiority made life very fraught.
One of embedded ships was a Polish destroyer Grom.
It supported the Narvik battles, but the bomber sank to 5.5.
Most of the men survived
and came to Britain to continue the struggle for a free Poland.
The Allies withdrew from the beginning of June.
The Poles returned to France, but was threatened with complete loss.
10.5. The German started the attack had hit the French army scattered.
In France, there were two Polish divisions and one armored brigade.
2nd Infantry Division was pushed Alsace Swiss border.
Army Corps commander ordered his men to escape from the Swiss side.
The Poles interned, and their war ended it.
Armoured Division was encircled in Northern France
and its commander ordered his men to flee and seek to Great Britain.
The Polish pilots fought the Luftwaffe in the air against
many for the second time.
The battle was uneven, and a dozen pilots died.
Sikorski wanted to continue the fight and took the government in exile in London.
Also, 24,000 of his men escaped.
The Poles were sent to Scotland to pick up the new equipment.
They were already in the third uniform during the same war
and did sotilaallisuudellaan and excitement impression on everyone.
The Scots took the Poles with open arms
and a piece of the game to live there after the war.
Britain had become the Polish pilots as early as December 1939
in accordance with the Agreement with the Government of the contract.
They fled to France and served in the British Air Force.
The RAF was founded by Sikorski requirement of two completely Polish squadrons.
Squadrons were 302 Poznan and 303. Kosciuszko.
All the Polish pilots took part in the battle from England.
They were included because of their desire to destroy the enemy without feeling mercy.
17 enemy dropped Witold Urbanowicz was the best of them.
Antoni Glowacki dropped during the same day five German.
303. The flotilla gathered 125 drop in just 5 weeks of fighting,
and therefore was the RAF's best fighter.
The battle took part 144 Poles, of whom 29 died.
RAF was also a Polish Bombard fleets.
They took part in the four years of German bombing.
Britain adopted a liberal Polish fleet by seven fighter
two submarine and cruiser.
Polish vessels were fighting in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea
where the submarines came to be called "kauhukaksikoksi".
All fled to the Poles did not make it to Britain.
Some fled through the Balkans French colony of Syria
where they were assembled in the Carpathian infantry brigade.
French capitulation, it was transferred to the service of the British in Palestine.
It re-equipped with Gen. Stanislaw Kopanskin command.
The brigade was sent in August 1941, Libya Tobruk city
by General Erwin Rommel's forces were besieging since April.
The Poles defended Tobruk until the end of the siege.
General Sikorski went to greet that have achieved the battle ground forces.
When Tobruk was released in early December
Poles attacked the British involved against Rommel.
The brigade was supplemented, and it soon was joined by more Poles.
Every soldier knew the free Polish forces
how to their homeland suffer in the hands of the occupiers.
The Soviet Union did not want Poland to become independent longer
and gave the Polish soldiers and civilians to labor camps in Siberia.
The Polish resistance could not be stopped.
Sikorski was founded at the behest of an underground army
which was passed in London.
Poland's position changed completely on 22 June 1941.
Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, and Stalin became the Allied side.
Sikorski called for Moscow to release Polish prisoners
so that they able to enter to fight against the Nazis.
He signed in July 1941 with the Ambassador of the agreement
Polish Army establishment of the Soviet Union.
Gen. Wladyslaw Anders, senior officer in the Soviet Union had
was released from prison to command the army.
Anders headquarters was Buzuluk, 965 km away from Moscow.
He had a great difficulty to gather around the country disseminated husband
nor from Soviet just did not help.
The Poles lived in Russia increasingly harsh conditions when winter came.
In December 1941, when the German attack came to a halt at Moscow
Sikorski traveled there to meet Andersia and Stalin.
They agreed on the Polish delegation milder Central Asia.
For Polish authorities have still given, for example, enough to eat.
Sikorski wanted the Poles would fight alongside the Red Army
and would help to release the polish.
Stalin's paranoia felt by Anders had a different view.
He believed that men would be more useful in the Mediterranean.
The Russians agreed to release part of the Poles in the Middle East.
Remember collected 1. The Polish army, which was attached to the Red Army.
The first Poles went to Russia in the spring of 1942.
They journeyed more than 3200 km across the Caspian Sea and Iran to crack.
Eventually, they reached Iraq, the British set up camps.
The arrival of the second group in Iraq had 115,000 soldiers and civilians.
They and Tobruk veterans were 2nd Polish Army Church.
The Army Board was unusual military, the bear cub Voytek.
A maintenance company had taken the orphan animal hoiviinsa.
Voytek kept the men members of the family.
It grew rapidly and was soon a familiar sight komppanian camp.
It will be happy to wrestle with every brave enough.
The war continued in the Middle East, while the free Polish forces were strengthened.
The British defeated Rommel El Alamein in autumn 1942
and pursued him across Libya to Tunisia.
The Allies rose in November to countries France Northwest Africa
and proceeded to Tunisia threat to Rommel my back.
The Allies spent the enemy forces in Tunisia
and the Poles already keen to get to the fighting.
It seemed that they had forgotten
even though the Poles ships repulsed Hitler's submarines in the Atlantic
and the protection of convoys sailed Polish ships.
The Poles have fighter, and was enough to Bombard fleets work.
Bombardment was continued and the flights were added.
A group of experienced Polish fighter pilots went to Tunisia
15 aircraft dropped the Stanislaw Skalski command.
Department soon got the reputation and the nickname "Skalski flight circus".
It knocked down 25 enemy planes within 6 weeks.
Tunisia, the fighting already paused in April 1943 dropped the bomb
which threatened the freedom of Poland and the Soviet Union relations.
The Germans discovered the Polish officers at mass grave
Katyn forest near Smolensk in Western Russia.
Sikorski knew that thousands of Polish officers had disappeared
and was confident that Moscow was behind it all.
London Poles sought in vain to Stalin explanation.
Stalin cut off contact with the London Poles
and appointed his own Polish nukkehallituksensa the Soviet Union.
The British government did not want to antagonize allies
and refused to support the government of Sikorski refugee.
Turmoil continued even when Sikorski visited the Middle East.
Idleness and the Katyn forest unveiling eroded the fighting spirit.
Poland suffered Sikorski's visit at the end of the evil of loss.
Sikorski went to 4.7. bomber perched on the Gibraltar to England.
The machine crashed into the sea immediately after take-off.
Sikorski and his daughter died.
The pilot survived and told me that the machine control had not worked.
Sikorski's body was brought to England a Polish fighter
and was buried in the Polish air force cemetery in Newark.
Sikorski's death was officially accident
but it happened in the Soviet Union in terms of a suspicious appropriately.
Stanislaw Mikolajczyk became the new Prime Minister
and freedom of the Polish troops training continued.
They were able to quickly re-battles.
The Allies made landings in Italy in September 1943.
Progress rebounded in November on strong German Gustav line
in the mountains south of Rome. Breakthrough attempts failed.
Gen. Anders' Army Corps was transferred from Iraq to Italy
British 8th Army to confirm.
War Bear Voytek did not agree to stay in the camp.
It increased maintenance komppanian involved in the transport vessel.
It's got a military rank and grade book, and it was noted Reese.
The free Polish forces were able to finally fight in earnest.
Italian winter was totally different than in the Middle East weather
but they were given time to get used to.
In the meantime, the Allies decided to circumvent the Gustav line.
Anzioon, 50 km from Rome, it was decided to make the landing.
It was 22.01.1944.
The troops did not go ahead immediately after the easy landing
German and additional forces have a chance to encircle the bridgehead position.
Failure meant that the Gustav line was forced to get through.
Line the most important point was the city of Cassino.
It is guarded by Lirin valley, through which passed the road leading to Rome.
The town is dominated by the mountain-top monastery.
The Americans tried in vain to take over in January of Monte Cassino.
The monastery is thought to tähystysasemaksi and it was bombed.
German parachute troops got their teeth into rubble even harder.
They rejected the February and March attacks
although the latter came to the city.
Italian army commander, General Sir Harold Alexander
decided to wait, that the earth would dry spring.
In the meantime, he ordered to bomb roads and railways.
2nd Polish Corps now organized into Monte Cassino at the foot.
Its mission was to conquer the mountain.
The Poles attacked at night 11.5.
They fought bravely
but were forced to withdraw two days later.
The free French troops were able to advance on the south side of the valley.
After three days Marshal Albert Kesselring
told me to leave the Gustav line in stages.
The first went to the Americans to fight the troops.
But the parachute troops remained to defend Cassino
in the certainty that they would be able to keep the Allies gone.
The Poles attacked while 17.5. and after hard fighting
12 Podolski regiment approached the next morning the monastery.
Lieutenant Jurek Kowalski proceeded to attack the cutting edge.
I went to the monastery at 10, after
Carpathian division with the tip of the troops.
The building was only 17 German
who surrendered to Lieutenant Gurbiel Kazimierczille.
Part of the building was intact
but who was lying on the side of the military equipment and punk.
We have not encountered the Germans after Tobruk
and we were waiting for this moment for two years.
Exult Poles raised his flag waving over the ruins.
After one hour the 8th Army Commander Gen. Oliver Leese
kohotteli profit plates Anders' command post.
This achievement was brilliant but not enough to Polish.
They proceeded to the bitter Lirin the north side of the valley.
But the losses became more and more.
During Kahdn week fell and wounded a total of 3800 men.
Therefore, the Polish Army Corps was withdrawn from the front.
Multi-value guest went in the days following congratulate Polish
among others, General Alexander and King George VI.
The men of General Anders were the now famous.
Also Voytekia praised for its tranquility in the battle
and to assist in the collection of cartridges.
It became a department official logo.
The Allies drove to Rome on 5 June 1944.
The Poles went back to the front, when the progress of the north continued.
They added in July curricula vitae of the occupation of Ancona.
The Allies clashed again at the end of the 1944 German stations
Gotenstellungiin the Apennines, north of Florence.
The Poles have had an important role in the April 1945 attack.
Their war ended with the capture of the city of Bologna.
Left Britain followed with pride companions antics.
They, too, were eager to continue the fight.
Two important points prepared for the release of Western Europe.
The second was the 1st Polish armored division.
The second was a separate parachute brigade in Poland.
The Polish troops were not involved in the Normandy battles.
But the coast was of Polish vessels landing date.
In addition, the Polish pilots fought in Normandy above.
One of them was Eugeniusz Horbaczewski
which had belonged to the "Skalski flight to the circus."
He led the Mustang lentänyttä 315. squadrons really skillfully.
Horbaczewski was killed in a large air battle
Focke Wulf 190 against the 18 August.
His squadron knocked down 16 enemy planes and lost only three.
1st Polish armored division was already in France
and served as the Canadian 1st Army as part of the. It was soon picked up for battle.
When US troops broke in July Normandy
a large proportion of Germans remained Falaise area.
German hacking away at massive air attacks.
Canadians were told to close the Falaise encirclement.
Proceeded to attack the forefront of the Polish armored division.
They drove for the first time to fight but act like veterans.
Motti was closed three days
and more than 50,000 typertynyttä Germans surrendered.
Germany was no longer able to attempt to retreat in good order.
Polish carriages rolled over three weeks across Northern France
Through Abbeville and Ypres in Belgium.
They liberated the Dutch town of Breda
and got a memorable reception.
Difficulty in servicing stopped as soon as the Allied progression.
Polish parachute men waited more anxiously baptism of fire.
Everyone involved knew the progression Polish
that their homeland took place in a fierce battle.
Soviet counter-attack had pushed the Germans in Poland
and approached Warsaw.
Polish underground army had been waiting for just this moment.
Warsaw started 1.8. rebellion against the hated Nazi occupiers.
But the Red Army had stopped the previous night.
London immediately set off the Poles in Moscow
ask Stalin to continue the attack, but he refused.
He was appointed by the Government of Poland in Lublin
and told Londoners that the two refugees the government can be.
He also did not let the Western Allies machines fields
which should be maintained in the resistance army.
Battle of Warsaw continued
but the Polish position began to be hopeless.
The Polish resistance army fought throughout August and September.
The Germans were able to defeat the resistance until October.
Polish parachute men were begging
that they would jump to Warsaw to assist their fellow countrymen.
The request was denied, partly because it would have meant suicide
and because of that brigade was intended finally to send into battle.
It took part in operation "Market Garden"
which Gen. Montgomery was going to take over from Holland bridges
and rotate through them shaped by the great natural barrier of the Rhine.
The Poles had to jump over Arnhem British troops to supplement.
Polish general Stanislaw Sosabowski was opposed to the plan.
48 hours between the British and the Poles had jumps of him too.
Sosabowskia not heeded
because the machines would not be able to transport troops quickly.
The operation began on Sunday, 17 September 1944.
The British ran into Arnhem in two Waffen SS divisions
nor received over the Rhine bridge leading over.
To make matters worse the fog hampered Polish
and they reached the scene only after four days.
In the meantime, the Germans had received reinforcements
and the British were hard pressed lightly equipped.
The Poles ended up at the southern shore of the Rhine
and only 250 men could get across the river to help the British.
The British found the next day the men Sosabowskin
but the situation of Arnhem was too late to affect.
Some of the parachute troops came back across the river ...
... But the majority was forced to surrender to the Germans.
Arnhem failure meant
that war from the end of the 1944 season.
1st Polish armored division spent the autumn Maas river.
It took part in the winter battles, which have opened the way for the Rhine.
The Poles took part in the last attack
and the 1st armored division, the war ended in Wilhelmshaven.
It was still 560 km away from the Polish border
but the free Polish forces could not get it closer to the homeland.
The end of the war aroused mixed feelings in them.
They had hoped that it will ensure the independence struggle country
but the wish was not realized.
The Western Allies gave Poland the Soviet sphere of influence.
When Soviet forces liberated the country
Stalin raised the Council unanimously Lublin government came to power
and the country was placed in the Red Army troops.
Freedom of the Polish men were disappointed
and they had to consider what they would do.
Half of the West who fought the Poles decided to return
survivors of loved ones in the war creates.
When the Polish communist power was strengthened
many of them were arrested, killed or deported to the Soviet Union.
The rest remained in the West, mostly to Great Britain
build their lives all over again.
One of them was the war bear Voytek.
It was taken to Edinburgh Zoo, where it is still remembered.
It lived there to the end of his life, until the age of 22.
The Poles hoped for throughout the Cold War liberated their country.
Their wish was finally realized in 1989
Lech Walesa, the Solidarity Party won the elections the Communists.
After the Soviet Union broke up, and the troops left Poland.
In September 1993,
General Sikorski's mortal remains went to Newark
and they were reburied in Krakow
where the ancient kings of Poland had been sitting.
The free Polish forces wish was finally realized.
All antaneilla and low treated with forces have a number of monuments
two of which stand out from the crowd.
One of them is the Polish Air Forces Memorial Northholtissa.
The second is the statue of General Sikorski
which was erected in 2000 in front of the Polish embassy in London.
Inscription commemorates addition to him,
all soldiers to leave the Polish troops and the resistance movement.
They were fighters
who were ready to give everything for his country.
Translated by: Kai Laine www.sdi media.com