page_title: II Corps (Poland)
section_title: Composition
hierarchical_section_title: II Corps (Poland) / Composition
caption_attribution_description: Source: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
context_page_description: The Polish II Corps, 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.
context_section_description: 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 officially 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 Union's 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 Władysław 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, which was 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, including Jews, Belarusians and Ukrainians. After being relocated to Palestine, many Jewish soldiers deserted and fled into the countryside. However, Menachem Begin - the future Prime Minister of Israel and at the time a II Corps soldier - though urged by his friends to desert, refused to remove his uniform until he had been officially 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)
caption: A Polish soldier Master Corporal Emil Czech plays the Hejnał Mariacki in the Monte Cassino monastery ruins
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