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Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross
The Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross ( pl, Krzyż Pamiątkowy Monte Cassino) is a commemorative medal awarded to all soldiers of the Polish II Corps who fought in the battle of Monte Cassino and the battles for Piedimonte and Passo Corno. After the capture of Monte Cassino in May 1944, the Polish government-in-exile (in London) created a campaign cross to commemorate the role of the Polish II Corps (often known as ''Anders Army'') in capturing this strategic point, which had long blocked the Allied advance up the Italian peninsula. A consignment of 50,000 crosses was ordered from a manufacturer in Tel Aviv, then part of British-ruled Palestine, where the Polish forces had spent part of 1942 and almost all of 1943 in training. A total of 48,498 crosses (serial numbers 1 to 48,498) were awarded with accompanying award documents issued in the field to each soldier who took part in the battle. Although it is commonly believed that no master record exists to indicate which serial n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Polish Corps
The Polish II Corps ( pl, 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 fought with distinction in the Italian Campaign, in particular at the Battle of Monte Cassino. By the end of 1945, the corps had grown to well over 100,000 soldiers. History Victims of Soviet deportations from occupied Poland in 1939–40 had been processed by the NKVD and sent to prison or exile in Siberia. The Nazi-Soviet pact of August 1939 effectively ended on 22 June 1941 when the German Wehrmacht invaded the USSR. The release of many thousands of former citizens of Poland (including Ukrainians and Belorussians) from the Soviet Gulags, following the signing of the Polish-Russian Military Agreement on 14 August 1941, allowed for the creation of a Polish Army on Soviet soil. Its first commander, General Michał Tokarzewski, began the task of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melchior Wańkowicz
Melchior Wańkowicz (10 January 1892 – 10 September 1974) was a Polish army officer, popular writer, political journalist and publisher. He is most famous for his reporting for the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II and writing a book about the battle of Monte Cassino. Biography Melchior Wańkowicz was born on 10 January 1892 in Kalużyce in the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire, now Kolyuzhitsa, Byerazino Raion, Minsk Region, Belarus. He attended school in Warsaw, then the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, which he graduated from in 1922. An activist in the Polish independence movement, he was an officer in the Riflemen Union (Związek Strzelecki). During the First World War he fought in the Polish I Corps in Russia under General Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki. After the war he worked as a journalist, for a time working as a chief of the press department in the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1926 he founded a publishing agency, "Rój". He also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Odzierzyński
Roman Władysław Odzierzyński (28 February 1892, Lviv – 9 July 1975, London) was the 35th Prime Minister of Poland and 5th prime minister in the Polish Government in Exile from 1950 until 1953. Following the Invasion of Poland, he fled with the army through Romania to France. He served as an artillery commander with the Polish Army in the East and the Polish II Corps, rising to the rank of brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t .... External links Generals.dk 1892 births 1975 deaths Politicians from Lviv Odzierzynski, Roman Interior ministers of Poland Rada Trzech Military personnel from Lviv Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish generals {{poland-politician-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Armoured Brigade (Poland)
The 2nd (Warsaw) Armoured Brigade (Polish: '' 2 Warszawska Brygada Pancerna'') was an armoured brigade of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II that existed from 1942 to 1945. From 1945 to 1947 it was redesignated as the 2nd Warsaw Armoured Division. The unit was the armoured wing of the 2nd (Polish) Corps. The state of the brigade in the Italian campaign was: 222 officers and 3362 serial. There were 160 medium tanks, 33 light tanks and 13 special tanks. Headquarters General officer commanding: Brig. General Gustaw Paszkiewicz then Brig. General Bronisław Rakowski''. Following the upgrade to Division, Rakowski became GOC 2nd Warsaw Armoured Division. Colonel Ziemowit Grabowski became CO 2 Armoured Brigade. 1945 Upgrade to Division In 1945 the Brigade was upgraded to Division strength and it stood as follows: *Polish 2nd Warsaw Armoured Division. CO: Brig. Gen. Bronisław Rakowski **Carpathian Uhlan/Lancer Regiment (Divisional Recce) **2nd Warsaw Armoured Bri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronisław Rakowski
Bronisław Stanisław Rakowski (20 June 1895 in Szczucin – 28 December 1950 in Buenos Aires) was a Polish general. He fought in the Polish legions during World War I and was imprisoned by the Soviet NKVD during Soviet invasion of Poland. During World War II, he fought in the Anders Army and Polish Armed Forces in the West. * 1931–1936: Commanding Officer 12th Ulan Regiment * 1936–1939: Head of Army Historical Bureau * 1939–1941: Prisoner of War, Soviet Union * 1941–1942: General Officer Commanding 8th Division * 1942: General Officer Commanding 5th Division * 1942–1943: Chief of Staff Polish Forces in Soviet Union * 1943–1945: General Officer Commanding 2nd Armoured Brigade * 1945–1947: General Officer Commanding 2nd Armoured Division (2 Warszawska Dywizja Pancerna) Honours and awards * Gold Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari (previously awarded the Silver Cross) * Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta * Cross of Independence * Cross of Valour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5th Kresowa Infantry Division (Poland)
The Polish 5th Kresowa Infantry Division ( pl, 5 Kresowa Dywizja Piechoty) was an infantry division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Formed in March 1943, it fought in the Italian Campaign as part of Lieutenant general Władysław Anders' Polish II Corps, affiliated with the Western Allies, under command of the British Eighth Army. History The division was formed in the Middle East in March 1943. Stefan Orzechowski: n PolishHistoria walk 5 Kresowej Dywizji Piechoty (History of fights of 5th Kresowa Infantry Division), Warszawa 1998, ed. by Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen – Dom Wydawniczy Bellona, ( Bellona Publ.), pp.19–23 Fighting in Italy The division landed in southern Italy in February 1944 and entered the line in March, as part of Polish II Corps, destined to fight in the Italian Campaign. In May it took part in the fourth and final Battle of Monte Cassino, in which it suffered a 15% casualty rate. In June/July the division participated in the Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikodem Sulik
Nikodem Sulik-Sarnowski (August 15, 1893 – January 14, 1954; noms de guerre Jodko, Jod, Karol, and Sarnowski) was an officer of the Russian Imperial Army, and Generał brygady of the Polish Army. Biography Born August 15, 1893 in the village of Kamienna Stara near Sokółka, Sulik began his military career in the Russian Army, as the part of Poland where he was born belonged to the Russian Empire. In 1918, he became a member of Samoobrona Grodzienska, a Polish organization for Grodnian self-defence; on January 22, 1919, he was named commandant of the Białystok Rifle Regiment of the 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division. Sulik fought in the Polish-Soviet War, and took part in the Żeligowski's Mutiny, which resulted in capturing Wilno in September 1920. In the 1920s, Sulik served in the Polish Army and was frequently transferred between several infantry divisions. In the period September 1927 - February 1929, he was director of the Central School of the Border Guard. Transfer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division
The 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division ( pl, 3 Dywizja Strzelców Karpackich, sometimes translated as ''3rd Carpathian Infantry Division''), also commonly known as ''Christmas Tree Division'' due to the characteristic emblem of a cedar of Lebanon superimposed upon the Polish flag, was an infantry division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West that fought during World War II on the Italian Front. It was formed in 1942 of the Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade and the forces of Lieutenant-General Władysław Anders' Polish 2nd Corps evacuated from the Soviet Union. The division participated in the North African and the Italian Campaigns (1941–1945) as part of the British Eighth Army. The division fought in some of the most difficult battles during the Italian campaigns of 1943-1944 and distinguished itself in numerous actions most notably the Battle of Monte Cassino, the dash for Ancona and Bologna. The Immediate Post War Period After the cessation of hostilities in May 1945 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolesław Bronisław Duch
Bolesław Bronisław Duch (1885–1980) was a Polish Major General and General Inspector of the Armed Forces. Life Duch served during World War I, 1914–18, in the Polish Legions. After Poland regained independence, he served in the Polish Army. In 1935-1938 he commanded the 73rd Infantry Regiment. At the outbreak of World War II, the commander of the 39th Reserve Infantry Division General Bruno Olbrycht was ill and the division was ''de facto'' commanded by Duch. After Poland was overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939, Duch managed to evade capture and served in western Europe, becoming commander successively of the Polish 1st Grenadier Division in France (1940), 1st Rifle Brigade of the 1st Polish Corps in Scotland (1942–43), and of the 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division of the 2nd Polish Corps (1943–46). In 1947, Duch settled in London and became chairman of the Council of the World Polish Veterans' Association. He was the last General Inspector ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Józef Gawlina
Józef Feliks Gawlina, born in 1892 in Strzybnik (Racibórz County) in Silesia - died 1964 in Rome was a Divisional general in the Polish Armed Forces. He was an ordained priest, Doctor of Theology and from 1933, Catholic bishop in the Military Ordinariate of Poland. After the Second world war, cardinal Hlond gave him the brief to provide pastoral care to the Polish diaspora. In the words of Pope John Paul II, Gawlina was a "bishop - Nomad". He was raised to the rank of Archbishop in 1957. Following his death, the Secretary General of the Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ... described him as a "real pastor". References Bibliography * A. K. Kunert, ed. (2002)."Józef Feliks Gawlina Biskup Polowy Polskich Sił Zbrojnych" in ''Emigracyjna Rzecz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko
Zygmunt Piotr Bohusz-Szyszko (1893 in Chełm – 1982 in London) was a Polish general. During World War I he served in the Imperial Russian army. In 1940, he was Commanding Officer Polish Independent Highland Brigade (''Samodzielna Brygada Strzelcow Podhalanskich'') during the Battle of Narvik in the Norwegian campaign. The forces under his command succeeded in capturing the Ankenes peninsula during May 1940. Career * -1931 Commanding Officer 58th Regiment * 1931-1934 Commanding Border Defence Regiment Głębokie * 1934-1938 Deputy General Officer Commanding Border Defence Corps * 1938-1939 Commanding Officer Infantry 1st Division * 1939 Commanding Officer Infantry 16th Division * 1939-1940 Commanding Officer 1st Mountain Brigade, Norway * 1941-1942 Head Polish Military Mission Moscow * 1941-1943 Chief of Staff Polish Forces in Soviet Union * 1942 General Officer Commanding 5th Division, Soviet Union * 1943-1945 Deputy General Officer Commanding II Polish Corps, Italy * 1945-19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
