II Corps (Poland)

This article is about a Second World War formation. For

the First World War formation, see Polish II Corps in
Russia. For the Polish Army in the First World War, see
Blue Army (Poland).
Polish II Corps (Polish: Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskie-

signing of the Polish-Russian Military Agreement on August 14, 1941, allowed for the creation of a Polish Army
on Soviet soil.[5][6] Its rst commander, General Micha
Tokarzewski, began the task of forming this army in the
Soviet town of Totskoye on August 17. The commander
ultimately chosen by General Wadysaw Sikorski to lead
the new army, General Wadysaw Anders, had just been
released from the Lubyanka prison in Moscow, on August 4, and did not issue his rst orders or announce his
appointment as commander until August 22.
This army would grow over the following two years and
provide the bulk of the units and troops of the Polish II
Corps.
The Polish II Corps was created in 1943 from various
units ghting alongside the Allies in all theatres of war.
The 3rd Carpathian Division was formed in the Middle
East from smaller Polish units ghting 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 the British Allied Forces Act 1940
which allowed the allied units of the exiled government of
Poland to be grouped in one theatre of war. However, the
British Command never agreed to incorporate the exiled
Polish Air Force into the Corps. 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 with
distinction in the Italian campaign, most notably during
the fourth and nal Battle of Monte Cassino, the Battle of
Ancona during Operation Olive (the ghting on the Gothic
Line in September 1944) and the Battle of Bologna during the Allies nal oensive in Italy in March 1945.

General Wadysaw Anders, commander of the Polish II Corps

in Italy

In 1944 the Corps numbered about 50,000 soldiers. During three subsequent battles it suered heavy losses (in
the nal stage of the Battle of Monte Cassino even the
support units were mobilised and used in combat) and
it was suggested to General Anders that he withdraw
his units. However, since the Soviet Union broke o
diplomatic relations with the Polish government and no
Poles were allowed out of the USSR, Anders believed that
the only source of recruits lay ahead - in German POW
camps and concentration camps.

go), 19431947, 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 Wadysaw
Anders and by the end of 1945 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 concentration camps, labour camps or penal exile
in Siberia.[1] The Nazi-Soviet pact of August 1939[2][3]
eectively ended on 22 June 1941 when the German
Wehrmacht invaded the USSR.[4] The release of many
thousands of Poles from the Soviet Gulags, following the

By 1945 new units were added comprising mainly

freed POWs and Poles forcibly conscripted into the
Wehrmacht. This increased the Corps strength to around
75,000 men; approximately 20,000 of whom were transferred to other Polish units ghting in the West. After
the war the divisions of the Corps were used in Italy un-

4 ORDER OF BATTLE

til 1946, when they were transported to Britain and demobilised. The total establishment of the Polish Second Corps in 1946 was 103,000. The majority of soldiers remained in exile and settled in Britain. The Corps
had a consistently high ghting reputation and was wellregarded by the American and Commonwealth troops
with whom they fought.

Composition

In May 1945 the Corps consisted of 55,780 men and approximately 1,500 women in auxiliary services. There
was also a bear mascot, named Wojtek, who was ocially entered onto the unit roll as a private soldier, subsequently being promoted to corporal. The majority of the
Corps were Polish citizens who had been deported by the
NKVD to the Soviet Gulags during the Soviet Unions annexation of Eastern Poland (Kresy Wschodnie) in 1939.
Following Operation Barbarossa and the Sikorski-Mayski
Agreement many of them were released and allowed to
join the Polish Armed Forces in the East being formed
in Southern Russia and Kazakhstan. For political reasons
the Soviet Union soon withdrew support for the creation
of a Polish Army on its territory and reduced the supply
rate, which resulted in General Wadysaw Anders withdrawing his troops to British-held Persia and Iraq. From
there they were moved to British-controlled Palestine,
where they joined forces with the 3rd Carpathian Division composed mainly of Polish soldiers who had managed to escape to French Lebanon through Romania and
Hungary after the defeat of Poland in 1939.
The main bulk of the soldiers were from the eastern
voivodeships of pre-war Poland. Although the majority were ethnic Poles, there were also other nationalities,
most notably Jews, Belarusians and Ukrainians. After being relocated to Palestine, many Jewish soldiers deserted
and ed into the countryside. Menachem Begin, however,
though urged by his friends to desert, refused to remove
his uniform until he had been ocially discharged.
The armament was as follows:
248 pieces of artillery
288 anti-tank guns
234 anti-aircraft guns
264 tanks
1,241 APCs
440 armoured cars
12,064 cars, Bren carriers and trucks
1 Syrian brown bear Wojtek (soldier bear)

A Polish soldier Master Corporal Emil Czech plays the Hejna

Mariacki in the Monte Cassino monastery ruins.

3 Losses
During the Italian Campaign the Polish II Corps lost
11,379 men. Among them were 2,301 killed in action,
8,543 wounded in action and 535 missing in action.

4 Order of battle
At the time of its demobilisation in 1946, the 2nd Polish
Corps establishment was as follows: (Note that there were
some dierences between this Ordre de Bataille and the
one at the time of the Battle for Monte Cassino in 1944.)
Polish 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division CO:
Maj.Gen. Bronisaw Duch
1st Carpathian Rie Brigade
1st Carpathian Rie Battalion
2nd Carpathian Rie Battalion
3rd Carpathian Rie Battalion
2nd Carpathian Rie Brigade
4th Carpathian Rie Battalion
5th Carpathian Rie Battalion
6th Carpathian Rie Battalion
3rd Carpathian Rie Brigade
7th Carpathian Rie Battalion
8th Carpathian Rie Battalion

Emblem of the Polish 3rd Carpathian Rie Division

9th Boloski Carpathian Rie Battalion

(Named for liberating Bologna)
Other Divisional Units
7th Lubelski Uhlan Regiment (Divisional
Reconnaissance)
1st Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment
2nd Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment
3rd Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment
3rd Carpathian Anti-tank Regiment
3rd Light Anti-aircraft Regiment
3rd Heavy Machine Gun Battalion
3rd Carpathian Sapper (Engineer) Battalion
1st Carpathian Field Engineer Company
2nd Carpathian Field Engineer Company
3rd Carpathian Field Engineer Company
3rd Carpathian Field Park Company
3rd Carpathian Signals Battalion

5th Kresowa Infantry Division CO: Brig.Gen.

Nikodem Sulik
4th Wolyska Infantry Brigade
10th Wolyska Rie Battalion
11th Wolyska Rie Battalion
12th Wolyska Rie Battalion
5th Wilno Infantry Brigade

Emblem of the Polish 5th Kresowa Infantry Division

13th Wilenski Rie Battalion Rysiow

14th Wilenski Rie Battalion Zbikow
15th Wilenski Rie Battalion Wilkow
6th Lww Infantry Brigade
16th Lwowski Rie Battalion
17th Lwowski Rie Battalion
18th Lwowski Rie Battalion
Other divisional unit

25th Wielkopolski Uhlan Regiment

4th Kresowy Light Artillery Regiment
5th Wileski Light Artillery Regiment
6th Lwowski Light Artillery Regiment
5th Kresowy Anti-tank Regiment
5th Kresowy Light Anti-aircraft Regiment
5th Kresowy Heavy Machine Gun Battalion
5th Kresowa Sapper (Engineer) Battalion
4th Kresowa Field Engineer Company
5th Kresowa Field Engineer Company
6th Kresowa Field Engineer Company
5th Kresowa Field Park Company
5th Kresowy Signals Battalion
5th Military Police (Provost)
Squadron

4 ORDER OF BATTLE
sional Reconnaissance)
2nd Warsaw Armoured Brigade
4th Skorpion Armoured Regiment
1st Krechowiecki Uhlan Regiment
6th Children of Lww Armoured Regiment
2nd Motorised Independent Polish
Commando Company
16th Pomorska Infantry Brigade

Emblem of the Polish 2nd Warszawski Armoured Division

64th Pomorski Infantry Battalion

66th Pomorski Infantry Battalion
68th Pomorski Infantry Battalion
16th Pomorski Support Company
Other divisional units

Breast badge of the 4th Skorpion Armoured Regiment

Gen Anders inspecting Armoured Forces Training Centre with

Gen Przewlocki and Col Szostak in the background Italy 1945

2nd Warsaw Armoured Division. CO: Brig.Gen.

Bronisaw Rakowski
Carpathian Uhlan/Lancer Regiment (Divi-

HQ Division Artillery
7th Horse Artillery Regiment
16th Pomorski Light Artillery Regiment
2nd Anti-tank Regiment
2nd Light Anti-aircraft Regiment
2nd Warszawski Signals Battalion
2nd Warszawski Engineer Battalion
9th Forward Tank Replacement
Squadron
9th Supply Company
19th Supply Company
28th Supply Company
9th Workshop Company
16th Workshop Company
2nd Armoured Division Military Police (Provost) Company
9th Field Court
343 Anti-malaria Section

Emblem of the Polish 14th Wielkopolska Armoured Brigade

14th WIELKOPOLSKA Armoured Brigade

15th Pozna Uhlans Regiment (Previously
part of 5th Kresowa Division)
3rd lsk Uhlan Regiment

5
10th Hussar Regiment
14th Forward Tank Replacement
Squadron
14th Wielkopolska Engineer Company
14th Wielkopolska Signals Squadron
14th Workshop Company
14th Supply Company
14th Military Police (Provost) Squadron
16th Field Court

663 Polish Air Observation Post Squadron

2nd Corp General Sta Defence Company
2nd Corps Artillery Group CO: Brig.Gen. LUDWIG ZABKOWSKI
9th Heavy Artillery Regiment
10th Medium Artillery Regiment Unit Code
3501
11th Medium Artillery Regiment
12th Medium Artillery Regiment
13th Medium Artillery Regiment
Other HQ Units
10th Engineer Battalion
1st Railway Engineer Battalion
10th Bridge Engineer Company
10th Bomb Disposal Platoon
301 Engineer Company
306 Engineer Material Park Platoon
11th Signals Battalion

Badge of the Polish 2nd Corps

Headquarters 2nd Corps

12th Podolski Uhlan Regiment (Headquarters
Recce) (Previously part of 3rd Carpathian Rie Division)
7th Armoured Regiment
7th Anti-tank Regiment
7th Light Anti-aircraft Regiment

8th Medium Anti-aircraft Regiment

10th Hussar Regiment
1st Artillery Survey Regiment

11th Radio Platoon

12th Information Platoon
385 Signals Company
386 Signals Platoon
387 Signals Platoon
389 Radio Platoon
104 Cipher Section
390 Signals Company
392 Radio Platoon
Air Trac Control Platoon
21st Transport Company
22nd Transport Company (Artillery Supply Company)
61 Artillery Supply Platoon
62 Artillery Supply Platoon
63 Artillery Supply Platoon
64 Artillery Supply Platoon
65 Artillery Supply Platoon
23rd Transport Company
29th Ambulance Company
2nd Trac Control Squadron
11th Military Police (Provost) Squadron
12th Military Police (Provost) Squadron
460 Military Police (Provost) Squadron
Investigation Platoon
Dog Handling Platoon
12th Field Court
13th Workshop Company

4 ORDER OF BATTLE

Wojtek soldier bear - mascot of 22nd Artillery Supply Company

30th Independent Workshop Platoon

35th Workshop Company
12th Geographic Company
312 Map Store
Ocer Cadet (Armoured Cavalry) Graduation Col Szostak
316 Transport Company: Womens Aux- awarding Diplomas Italy 1945
iliary Service (Poland)
317 Transport Company: Womens Aux 350 Field Surgery Team
iliary Service (Poland)
351 Field Surgery Team
318 Mobile Canteen/Mobile Library
352 Field Blood Transfusion Team
Company: Womens Auxiliary Service
370 Material Salvage Depot
(Poland)
371 Material Salvage Depot
325 Supply Depot
372 Material Salvage Depot
326 Supply Depot
375 Field Bath
327 Supply Depot
375 Field Bath and Laundry
328 Supply Depot
40 Material Park: Transport Section
331 Field Bakery
413 Forward Ammunition Depot
332 Field Bakery
104 Central Field Post Oce
333 Field Butchery
117 Field Post Oce
334 Fuel Depot
127 Field Post Oce
335 Fire Fighting Team
55 Mobile Stores Repair Platoon
336 Stationary Supplies Depot
31st Sanitary (Medical) Company
2nd Corps Base CO:Gen Przewlocki
32nd Field Hygiene Platoon
Guard Battalion A
34th Anti-malaria Section
Guard Battalion B
Field Chemical-Bacteriological Section
Guard Battalion C
344 Medical Supplies Depot
Guard Battalion D
345 Field Surgery Team
1st Military Hospital
346 Field Surgery Team
347 Field Surgery Team
3rd Military Hospital
348 Field Surgery Team
3rd Field Hospital (Former 3rd Casualty
349 Field Blood Transfusion Team
Clearing Station)

7
5th Field Hospital (Former 5th Casualty
Clearing Station)
14th Field Court
Ocer Topographic School
Ocer Cadet Reserve Artillery School
Ocer Cadet Supply & Transport School
Armoured Forces Training Centre CO
LtCol Stanislaw Szostak
General W. Anders Ocer Cadet Armoured Cavalry School
7th Infantry Division Reserve Unit
17th Infantry Brigade
21st Infantry Battalion
22nd Infantry Battalion
7th Armoured Regiment
17th Artillery Regiment
17th Machine Gun Company
17th Engineer Company
17th Signals Company
17th Workshop Company
17th Engineer Company
17th Military Police (Provost)
Squadron

See also
Anders Army
Polish contribution to World War II
Polish government in exile
Polish I Corps
Polish First Army
Wadysaw Grydziuszko
Western betrayal
Polish British
World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the
Nazis and the West

Notes

[1] Davies, p. 448

[2] Roberts
[3] Vincent
[4] Davies, p. 444, 453
[5] Stefancic, p. 157, 159
[6] Davies, p. 272

7 References
Anders, Wadysaw (1948). Mmoires, 1939-1946
(in French). Paris: La Jeune Parque. OCLC
7247398.
Biegaski, Witold (1967). Krtki informator historyczny o Wojsku Polskim w latach II wojny wiatowej
(in Polish). Vol 5, Regularne jednostki Wojska Polskiego na Zachodzie. Warsaw: Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowe. ISBN 9788311074194.
Bagowieszczaski, Igor (1983).
Artyleria
w II wojnie wiatowej (in Polish).
Warsaw:
Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. ISBN
9788311069091.
Davies, Norman (1982). Gods playground, volume
II. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-053525.
Dzikiewicz, Bronisaw (1984).
Z teodolitem
Warsaw:
pod Monte Cassino (in Polish).
Wydawn.
Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej.
ISBN 9788311070431.
Frontczak, Kazimierz (1974). Siy Zbrojne Polski
Ludowej. Przejcie na stop pokojow 1945-1947
(in Polish). Warsaw: Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. OCLC 2848794.
Hrybouski, Yury (2003). Losy onierzy Polskich
Si Zbrojnych na Zachodzie po powrocie na Biaoru". Przegld Historyczno-Wojskowy (in Polish)
(nr 2 (197)). ISSN 1640-6281.
Krl, Wacaw (1982) [1st pub. 1976]. Polskie dywizjony lotnicze w Wielkiej Brytanii 1940-1945 (in
Polish) (2nd ed.). Warsaw: Wydawn. Ministerstwa
Obrony Narodowej. ISBN 9788311067455.
Majewski, Adam (1972). Wojna, ludzie i medycyna
(in Polish). Lublin: Wydawn. Lubelski. OCLC
4912032.
Odziemkowski, Janusz (1998). Suba Duszpasterska Wojska Polskiego 1914-1945 (in Polish). Warsaw: Bellona. ISBN 9788311088146.
Panicki, Jan (1994). Podniebni artylerzyci. Polska Zbrojna (in Polish). (Article by former pilot of
663 DSA on the 50th anniversary of the unit and
continue the tradition of the British 663 Squadron)
Polak, Micha (2005). Logistyczne zabezpieczenie dziaa 2 Korpusu Polskiego (grudzie 1944
kwiecie 1945)". Przegld Historyczno-Wojskowy
(in Polish) (Warsaw) (Nr 4 (209)).
Przemyski, Andrzej (1990). Ostatni komendant.
Genera Leopold Okulicki (in Polish). Lublin:
Wydawnictwo Lubelskie.

8
Roberts, Georey (1989). The Unholy Alliance.
Stalins Pact with Hitler. Indiana University Press.
Sarner, Harvey (1997). General Anders and the Soldiers of the Second Polish Corps. Cathedral City,
CA: Brunswick Press. ISBN 1-888521-13-9.
Stefancic, David (2005). Armies in exile. Columbia
University Press. ISBN 0-88033-565-3.
Thornton, Martin (June 1, 1997). The Second Polish Corps, 1943-46: Were They a Functional Mixture of Soldiers, Refugees and Social Workers?". Journal of Slavic Military Studies (London: Frank Cass) 10 (2): 125137.
doi:10.1080/13518049708430294. ISSN 15563006.
Vincent, Isabel (1997). Hitlers silent partners
: Swiss banks, Nazi gold, and the pursuit of
justice. New York: William Morrow. ISBN
9780688166311.
Zajczkowski, Maciej (1991). Sztylet Komandosa (in Polish).
Warsaw: Bellona.
ISBN
9788311079069.
aro, Piotr (1981). Armia Polska w ZSRR,
na Bliskim i rodkowym Wschodzie (in Polish).
Warsaw: Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. OCLC
8827409.

External links
An Illustrated History of the Polish II Corps.
Mieczyslaw Kuczynski.
The Polish II Corps at Monte Cassino

EXTERNAL LINKS

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

II Corps (Poland) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/II_Corps_(Poland)?oldid=661705377 Contributors: Dwo, Uriber, PaulinSaudi,

Robbot, PBS, Pkmink~enwiki, Halibutt, Radomil, Jpbrenna, SoLando, Ich, Curps, Chinasaur, Bobblewik, Piotrus, Emax, Balcer, Klemen
Kocjancic, Rydel, Nard the Bard, WegianWarrior, Pearle, Commander Keane, GraemeLeggett, Deltabeignet, BD2412, Amire80, Leithp,
Witkacy, Visor, YurikBot, Noclador, RussBot, R.D.H. (Ghost In The Machine), Curpsbot-unicodify, SmackBot, Colonies Chris, OrphanBot, Ryan Roos, Vumba, Chimerical05~enwiki, DabMachine, Amakuru, FairuseBot, Tedmarynicz, Ennerk, Cydebot, After Midnight,
Thijs!bot, Biruitorul, Bobblehead, KrakatoaKatie, Benjamin22b, Pj44300, Kirrages, Dodo19~enwiki, Carom, Buckshot06, Freefry, Belissarius, Rettetast, CommonsDelinker, DomBot, Mrg3105, Barraki, Felsztyn, Sjam2004, SieBot, Calliopejen1, Vituzzu, Nbrzesko7295,
ImageRemovalBot, Sfan00 IMG, Kotniski, BoBoMisiu, Jacurek, Niceguyedc, Pernambuko, EnigmaMcmxc, WikHead, Addbot, Polskifone, Luckas-bot, AnomieBOT, AndrzejT, 243MG, Xqbot, Marek2~enwiki, TechBot, StoneProphet, FrescoBot, LucienBOT, OgreBot,
DrilBot, Chumchum7, Trappist the monk, The Pink Oboe, RjwilmsiBot, GeneralZod1108, Demiurge1000, Bulwersator, Midnightoil262,
Mierzonka, Kim Traynor, Gob Lofa, Grydziuszko, , Irondome, YiFeiBot and Anonymous: 34

9.2

Images

File:2wdpanc_1.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/2wdpanc_1.svg License: Public domain Contributors: File:2wdpanc 1.png Original artist: Fred the Oyster
File:Anders_w_CWWPanc.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Anders_w_CWWPanc.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: album rodziny pk. Stanisawa Szostaka - dowdcy 7 puku pancernego. Original artist: Unknown
File:Breast_badge_of_the_Polish_4th_Armoured_Regiment_\char"0022\relax{}_Skorpion.jpg
Source:
https://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Breast_badge_of_the_Polish_4th_Armoured_Regiment_%22_Skorpion%22.jpg
License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Sjam2004
File:Odznaka_2_KP_PSZ.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Odznaka_2_KP_PSZ.jpg License: CC
BY 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: American1990
File:Oznaka3dsk.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Oznaka3dsk.png License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Lonio17
File:Pantera_1.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Pantera_1.png License: Public domain Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Lonio17
File:Polish_Bugler_Monte_Cassino.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Polish_Bugler_Monte_
Cassino.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: The original uploader was
Emax at English Wikipedia
File:Szostak_gratulacje.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Szostak_gratulacje.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: album rodziny pk. Stanisawa Szostaka - dowdcy 7 puku pancernego. Original artist: Unknown
File:Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Text_document_
with_red_question_mark.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Created by bdesham with Inkscape; based upon Text-x-generic.svg
from the Tango project. Original artist: Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)
File:Wladyslaw_Anders.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Wladyslaw_Anders.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: former image source Wadysaw Anders Bez ostatniego rozdziau Warszawa 1990; current image source [1] Original
artist: Unknown
File:Wojtek_soldier_bear.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Wojtek_soldier_bear.svg License: CC
BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work, based on File:Wojtek soldier bear.png by user Pernambuko Original artist: Cassubia1238
File:Zubr_2.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Zubr_2.png License: Public domain Contributors: Own
work Original artist: Lonio17

9.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0