The Insignia of the Polish II Corps.

Polish II Corps (Polish Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego, 1943-1947), was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and by 1945 it grew to well over 75,000 soldiers. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Poland: First to Fight (poster, 1939). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Władysław Anders Lt. ...

History

The Polish II Corps was created in 1943 from various units fighting alongside the Allies on all theatres of war. The 3rd Carpathian Division was formed in Middle East from smaller Polish units fighting in Egypt and Tobruk, as well as the Polish Army in the East that was evacuated from the USSR through the Persian Corridor. Its creation was based on British Army Act of 1940 that allowed the allied units of the exiled government of Poland to be grouped on one theatre of war. However, the British command never agreed to incorporate the Polish exiled Air force to be joined with the Corps. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... The Persian Corridor is the name for a supply route through Iran into Soviet Azerbaijan by which British aid and American Lend-Lease supplies were transferred to the Soviet Union during World War II. Map of Iran & Borders with former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan // Background Note: The... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... The Government of the Polish Republic in exile was the government of Poland after the German occupation of Poland in September 1939. ...

Polish infantry charging up the Phantom Hill (Monte Cassino)

In 1944 the Corps was transferred from Egypt to Italy, where it became an independent part of the British Eighth Army under General Oliver Leese. During 1944-1945 the Corps fought on the Italian front, most notably during the Battle of Monte Cassino and the battles of Ancona and Bologna. The forces of the Polish II Corps were crucial in breaking the Gustav Line and the Gothic Line. Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... The restored Abbey Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about eighty miles (130 km) south of Rome, Italy, a mile to the west of the town of Cassino (the Roman Cassinum having been on the hill) and about 1700 ft (520 m) altitude. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations in World War II, fighting in the campaigns in North Africa and Italy. ... Oliver Leese (right) with Sir Henry Maitland Wilson. ... Combatants Allies (Free French, Italy, India, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, USA, UK, Canada) Nazi Germany Commanders Harold Alexander Albert Kesselring Frido von Senger Richard Heidrich Strength ? ? Casualties 54,000 20,000 The strategic position of Monte Cassino has made it the repeated scene of battles and sieges from antiquity. ... The Winter Line was a series of German military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt. ... The Gothic Line, also known as Linea Gotica, formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselrings last line of defence along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of Nazi Germanys forces from Italy in the final stages of World War II. The Gothic Line developed as a result...

In 1944 it numbered about 50,000 soldiers. During the three subsequent battles the Corps suffered heavy losses (in the final stage of the Battle of Monte Cassino even the support units were mobilised and used in combat) and Gen. Anders was proposed to withdraw his units. However, since the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government and no Poles were allowed out of the USSR, Anders believed that the only source of recruits was ahead - in German POW camps and concentration camps. 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...

By 1945 new units were added composed mostly from freed POWs and Poles forced to join the Wehrmacht, increasing the amount of soldiers to approximately 75,000; approximately 20,000 of them were transferred to other Polish units fighting in the West. After the war the divisions of the Corps were used in Italy until 1946, when they were transported to Britain and demobilised. The majority of soldiers remained in exile. 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Polish Defensive War of 1939 Wehrmacht (help· info) (Defence force) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ...

Polish flag flew over the ruins of the Monte Cassino monastery. The road to Rome was open.

Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... The restored Abbey Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about eighty miles (130 km) south of Rome, Italy, a mile to the west of the town of Cassino (the Roman Cassinum having been on the hill) and about 1700 ft (520 m) altitude. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC (mythical), early 1st millennium BC (archaeological) Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ...

Composition

In May 1945 the Corps consisted of 55,780 men and approximately 1,500 women from auxiliary services. The majority of the forces were composed mostly of Polish citizens who were deported by the NKVD to the Soviet Gulags during the annexation of Eastern Poland (Kresy Wschodnie) in 1939 by the Soviet Union. Following the Operation Barbarossa and the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement many of them were released and allowed to join the Polish Army in the East being formed in Southern Russia and Kazakhstan. Due to political reasons the Soviet Union soon withdrew support for the creation of Polish Army on its territory and lowered the supply rate, which forced general Władysław Anders to withdraw his troops to British-held Persia and Iraq. From there the troops were moved to British Mandate of Palestine, where they joined forces with the 3rd Carpathian Division which was composed mostly of Polish soldiers who had managed to escape to French Lebanon through Romania and Hungary after the Polish Defence War of 1939. 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... The NKVD (Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del )(Russian: НКВД, Народный комиссариат внутренних дел) or Peoples Commisariat for Internal Affairs was a government department which handled a number of the Soviet Unions affairs of state. ... State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Soviet republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... Gulag ( , Russian: ) is an acronym for Главное Управление Исправительно—Трудовых Лагерей и колоний, Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey i kolonii, The Chief Directorate [or Administration] of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies of the NKVD. Anne Applebaum, in her book Gulag: A History, explains: Literally, the word GULAG is an acronym, meaning Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei, or Main Camp... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Axis Powers Soviet Union Commanders Supreme commander: Adolf Hitler Supreme commander: Josef Stalin Strength ~ 3. ... The Sikorski-Mayski Agreement was a treaty between Soviet Union and Poland signed in London on August 17, 1941. ... Władysław Anders Lt. ... Motto: Persian: Esteqlāl, āzādÄ«, jomhÅ«rÄ«-ye eslāmÄ« (English: Independence, freedom, (the) Islamic Republic) Anthem: SorÅ«d-e MellÄ«-e Īrān Capital Tehran Largest city Tehran Official language(s) Persian Government Supreme Leader President Islamic republic Ali Khamenei Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Revolution Declared Overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Polish Defence War of 1939 Conflict World War II Date 1 September - 6 October 1939 Place Poland Result Decisive German and Soviet victory The Polish September Campaign (alternatively refered to as the German plan Fall Weiss) refers to the conquest of Poland by the armies of Nazi Germany and the...

The main bulk of the soldiers were from the eastern voivodships of pre-war Poland. Although the majority of them were ethnic Poles, there were also members of other nationalities who joined the units of II Corps, most notably Jews, Belarusans and Ukrainians. After being relocated to Palestine, the Corps faced the problem of increased rate of desertions of soldiers of Jewish nationality, most of whom defected en masse to the Haganah. The most noted among them was Menachem Begin, the future Prime Minister of Israel. General Anders decided not to prosecute the deserters. A Voivodship (also voivodeship, Romanian: voievodat, Polish: województwo, Serbian: vojvodstvo or vojvodina) was a feudal state in medieval Romania, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Serbia (see Vojvodina), ruled by a Voivod (voivode). ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Desertion is the act of abandoning or withdrawing support from an entity to which one has given. ... Jews (Hebrew: יהודים, Yehudim) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and converts who joined their religion. ... Haganah Logo (1940s) The Haganah (Hebrew: The Defense, ההגנה) was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948. ... Menachem Wolfovitch Begin (August 16, 1913 – March 9, 1992) ( name in Hebrew: ) head of the Irgun (1944 to 1948), an underground group whose fight against British rule was one of the main reasons for their withdrawal from Palestine[1]. Begin became the 6th Prime Minister of Israel in May 1977...

A Polish soldier plays the Hejnał Mariacki in the Monte Cassino monastery ruins.

The armament was as follows: Download high resolution version (562x750, 143 KB)Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Download high resolution version (562x750, 143 KB)Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Bugler playing the Hejnał Hejnał mariacki ( listen) is a traditional Polish melody, closely tied to the history and traditions of the city of Kraków. ... The restored Abbey Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about eighty miles (130 km) south of Rome, Italy, a mile to the west of the town of Cassino (the Roman Cassinum having been on the hill) and about 1700 ft (520 m) altitude. ...

• 248 pieces of artillery
• 288 anti-tank guns
• 234 anti-air guns
• 264 tanks
• 1,241 APCs
• 440 armoured cars
• 12,064 cars, Bren carriers and trucks

Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... The M113, one of the most common tracked APCs, on duty during the Vietnam War. ... Military armored cars A French VBL reconnaissance vehicle. ... General characteristics Length 12. ...

Losses

During the Italian Campaign the Polish II Corps lost 11,379 men. Among them were 2,301 KIA, 8,543 WIA and 535 MIA. The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war. ... Militaries use the term killed in action (KIA) as a casualty classification. ... WIA is a three letter abbreviation meaning Wounded in action. ... MIA is a three-letter acronym that is most commonly used to designate a combatant who is Missing In Action, and has not yet returned or otherwise been accounted for as either dead (KIA) or a prisoner of war (POW). ...

Order Of Battle (ORBAT)

• Polish 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division CO: Maj.Gen. Bronisław Duch
  • 1st Carpathian Rifle Brigade
  • 2nd Carpathian Rifle Brigade
  • 3rd Carpathian Rifle Brigade (added in 1945)
  • 12th Podolian Uhlan Regiment
  • smaller divisional units
• Polish 5th Kresowa Infantry Division CO: Brig.Gen. Nikodem Sulik
  • 5th Wilno Infantry Brigade
  • 6th Lwow Infantry Brigade
  • 7th Wolyn Infantry Brigade (added in 1945)
  • 15th Poznan Uhlan Regiment
  • smaller divisional units
• Polish 2nd Armoured Brigade (became Polish 2nd Warsaw Armoured Division in 1945). CO: Brig.Gen. Bronisław Rakowski
  

  

  Polish Tanks greeted by cheering crowds, enter the liberated Italian city of Bologna.
  • 4th Armoured Regiment
  • 6th Armoured Regiment
  • 1st Krechowiecki Uhlan Regiment
  • 14th Wielkopolska Armoured Regiment (added in 1945)
• II Corps Artillery Group CO: Brig.Gen. Roman Odzierzyński
  • 9th Medium Artillery Regiment
  • 10th Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • 7th Horse Artillery Regiment
  • 7th Anti-tank Regiment
  • 7th Light Anti-air Regiment
  • 8th Heavy Anti-air Regiment
• Other Corps-level units
  • 1st Independent Polish Commando Company
  • Independent Carpathian Uhlan Regiment (Corps Recce)
  • Logistics,Medical and other general support and reserve Corps-level units

Polish and American soldiers meet in the streets of Bologna.

Division Patch The Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division (Polish 3 Dywizja Strzelców Karpackich, sometimes translated as 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division) was an Allied unit fighting during the World War II on the Italian Front. ... CO can stand for: Carbon monoxide, molecular formula Central office, in telecommunications and telephony Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Colombia, in various country codes Colorado, U.S. postal abbreviation Commanding officer, military Conscientious objector, military Continental Airlines, IATA airline designator Collaborative Browsing Chinese Orchestra Correctional Officer, Correctional Officer Co can stand... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... BronisÅ‚aw Duch (1885-1980) was a Polish Brigadier General. ... The Carpathian Convention is a framework type convention pursuing a comprehensive policy and cooperating in the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians. ... Historical arms of Podolia The region of Podolia (Ukrainian: Podillya, Polish: Podole) lies in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine that correspond to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. ... Volunteer Representative Squadron of City of Poznan in uniforms of 15th Poznan Uhlans Regiment Polish Cavalry (Polish kawaleria) can trace its origins back to the days of Mediæval mounted knights. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes Vilna; Polish Wilno, Belarusian Вільня, Russian Вильнюс, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital city of Lithuania. ... Lviv ( Львів in Ukrainian; Львов, Lvov in Russian; Lwów in Polish; Leopolis in Latin; Lemberg in German—see also cities alternative names) is a city in western Ukraine with 830,000 inhabitants (an additional 200,000 commute daily from suburbs). ... The Poznan is also a breed of horse. ... Volunteer Representative Squadron of City of Poznan in uniforms of 15th Poznan Uhlans Regiment Polish Cavalry (Polish kawaleria) can trace its origins back to the days of Mediæval mounted knights. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Bologna (pronounced , from Latin Bononia, BulÃ¥ggna in the local dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, between the Po River and the Apennines. ... Volunteer Representative Squadron of City of Poznan in uniforms of 15th Poznan Uhlans Regiment Polish Cavalry (Polish kawaleria) can trace its origins back to the days of Mediæval mounted knights. ... Greater Poland (also Great Poland; Polish: Wielkopolska, German: Grosspolen, Latin: Polonia Maior) is one of the historical regions of Poland. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... The French Navy commando Jaubert storm the Alcyon in a mock assault. ... Volunteer Representative Squadron of City of Poznan in uniforms of 15th Poznan Uhlans Regiment Polish Cavalry (Polish kawaleria) can trace its origins back to the days of Mediæval mounted knights. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... Look up Logistics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... See drugs, medication, and pharmacology for substances that are used to treat patients. ... Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum This work is copyrighted. ... Bologna (pronounced , from Latin Bononia, BulÃ¥ggna in the local dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, between the Po River and the Apennines. ...

See also

• Polish contribution to World War II
• Polish government in exile
• Sikorski-Mayski Agreement
• Polish I Corps
• Polish First Army
• Polish Second Army
• Piotra Sych

Poland: First to Fight (poster, 1939). ... The Government of the Polish Republic in exile was the government of Poland after the German occupation of Poland in September 1939. ... The Sikorski-Mayski Agreement was a treaty between Soviet Union and Poland signed in London on August 17, 1941. ... Polish 1st Corps was the name of several tactical units of the Polish Army, in particular the following. ... The Polish First Army (Polish Pierwsza Armia Wojska Polskiego, 1 AWP for short) was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944, from previously existing Polish I Corps. ... Piotra Sych (Belarusian: Пятро Сыч or Пётра Сыч) (January 18, 1912 - June 20, 1963), a Belarusian writer and journalist, born in Baturyna, Western Belarus, near Vileyka. ...

External links

• The Polish Soldier
• An Illustrated History of the Polish II Corps. Mieczyslaw Kuczynski.