Wotjek - The Soldier Bear. Wojtek - dubbed the "Soldier Bear" - was adopted by Polish troops and helped them carry ammunition at the Battle of Monte Cassino. After the war he lived in Scotland at Hutton in Berwickshire, before ending his days in Edinburgh Zoo.
TIL in WW2 the Polish army had a bear soldier named Wojtek that was enlisted as a Private and at the wars end he was a corporal. He stood on 2 legs and carried 100 lbs of shells to artillery positions during the battle of Monte Cassino. He was known for drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.
Meet Wojtek, a bear that accompanied Polish soldiers through Italy during WW2. During the Battle of Monte Cassino he was seen carrying ammunition crates and by the end of the war earned the rank of corporal. He's also the profile pic for the subreddit.
Corporal Wojtek, The Soldier Bear. Officially Enlisted In 22nd Artillery Supply Company Of The Polish Army. Helped Move Crates Of Ammunition During Battle of Monte Cassino. 1944. [581 × 800]
TIL Polish soldiers used a bear named Wojtek to help them carry ammunition during the battle of Monte Cassino. He was also officially enlisted as a soldier with the rank of Private, and subsequently became a Corporal.
Here's an article about a soldier who served in the Polish army. He weighed 500 pounds, helped move ammunition at the battle of Monte Cassino, and enjoyed eating cigarettes. Also, he was a motherfucking brown bear.
TIL that an officially enlisted bear, by the name of Wojtek, existed in the Polish Army during WWII. He even carried crates of ammunition for soldiers during the Battle of Monte Cassino. He was often rewarded with beer which was his favorite drink.
TIL during WWII Polish troops trained a bear to move ammunition during the battle of Monte Cassino. Wojtek the soldier bear also enjoyed smoking, drinking beer and wrestling.
In all, 923 Polish soldiers were killed in the fighting, with 2,931 wounded and 345 reported missing. In 1945, a Polish war cemetery was opened at Monte Cassino, where 1,072 Polish soldiers were laid to rest. In 1970, General Władyslaw Anders was buried alongside his soldiers. The Anders Army was formed in 1941 in the Soviet Union. During the battles for Monte Cassino, the Poles had almost 4,000 casualties, nearly half of the men involved. Atop Mount Calvary (Hill 593), the last German position to fall, a monument dedicated to the memory of the 1,100 Polish soldiers lying in the Polish cemetery reads, We polish soldiers For our freedom and yours Have given our souls to God The Polish Corps, advancing on Monte Cassino in a difficult mountainous terrain defended by numerous bunkers and minefields, suffered heavy losses. Although the first companies were decimated in bloody battles and had to withdraw, they engaged the main German forces which enabled the British troops to cross the Liri and Rapido rivers. Polish soldiers who fought at Monte Cassino were no ordinary conscripts, drafted and sent to Italy. Most had been forcibly removed from their homes by the Russians, sent to Siberia to labour camps, endured near starvation and escaped on foot to Iran to join the Free Polish Forces as part of the Allied effort. Polish athlete Bogusław Mamiński is one of the initiators of the construction of the monument and the organiser of the “Monte Cassino Run”. He expressed his hope that it will broaden awareness about the Polish soldiers who fought in Italy. Polish soldiers assault Monastery Hill in May 1944. They had the honor of being the first Allied troops to occupy the abbey in the wake of the German retreat. On the right, the final battle for the prize of Monte Cassino fell to Anders’ Polish Corps. These men had escaped Poland as it fell to the Germans and Russians in 1939. Photo about Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino - a necropolis of Polish soldiers who died in the battle of Monte Cassino from 11 to 19 May 1944. Italy. Image of cloister, history, lazio - 134266355 Cassino War Cemetery lies in the Commune of Cassino, Province of Frosinone, 139 kilometres south-east of Rome. Take the autostrada A1 from Rome to Naples and leave it at the Cassino exit. Take the roundabout and take the third exit and follow the road signs to Cassino. I hiked the summit of the mountain adjacent to Monte Cassino with members of my unit, and later on with my family. The hike trail begins next to a beautiful and serene Polish cemetery, a tribute to honor Polish soldiers who bravely fought there, and who gave their lives in that battle fighting for liberty. It is a short, yet, very steep hike. As a Pole I salute your father and all of his colleagues for what they did at the Monte Cassino Battle. Poles were the only soldiers who kicked the Germans out of the monastery -- though there were many casualties. This was indeed a great pre-war Polish generation. You won't find such Poles anywhere now...
Polish military cemetery at Monte Cassino - Cmentarz ...
James teams up with Second World War Polish history aficionado Simon Rees to explore the battle of Monte Cassino. Together they investigate the story of the ... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Heaths-History-Page/173472422695696The Polish military cemetery at Monte Cassino overlooks the abbey and is below Hill 59... Monte Cassino, Italy.Road to Monte Cassino. American troops shelling a monastery on top of a hill. More shots of the shelled hills over the town - thick smok... The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four assaults by the Allies against the Winter Line in Italy held by Axis forces during the Italian Campai... Footage of Commonwealth and Polish Troops at the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944.This footage shows New Zealanders, Indian Gurkhas, Canadian/British armour a... In the final allied assault on Mnte Cassino Polish regiments took particularly heavy casualties. Over 1000 Polish soldiers are buried close to where they fel... The final Part of the Battle in WW 2 around - Monte Cassino - and how it looks Inside - Today
![18 May 1944: [Photo] Polish soldiers inside the ruins of Monte Cassino monastery](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/eLAjVlTyt0vQy1x8NW25hmTtH3o_uNQhIokjgzW1tzs.jpg "18 May 1944: [Photo] Polish soldiers inside the ruins of Monte Cassino monastery")
![Polish soldiers serving as part of the British Army patrol the ruined halls within the monastery of Monte Cassino (Italy - 1944) [1200 x 810]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/nwd2nGlTu5_I-tyQR60GZWuJnRKwnCr4xaE_lLUfGMc.jpg "Polish soldiers serving as part of the British Army patrol the ruined halls within the monastery of Monte Cassino (Italy - 1944) [1200 x 810]")
![Polish soldiers posing in the ruins of Monte Cassino, 1944. [1024x768]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/zEfqEFRV1SRzMr-mTxjkyCdgyXCqwYpzzJTm1UGwfzo.jpg "Polish soldiers posing in the ruins of Monte Cassino, 1944. [1024x768]")
![Corporal Wojtek, The Soldier Bear. Officially Enlisted In 22nd Artillery Supply Company Of The Polish Army. Helped Move Crates Of Ammunition During Battle of Monte Cassino. 1944. [581 × 800]](https://a.thumbs.redditmedia.com/7t4RJGDxgD0JscuSkI8tEcESQzRksCFY8nO43UuwKH0.jpg "Corporal Wojtek, The Soldier Bear. Officially Enlisted In 22nd Artillery Supply Company Of The Polish Army. Helped Move Crates Of Ammunition During Battle of Monte Cassino. 1944. [581 × 800]")
