• Troops in Great Britain: 4,881 officers and 22,287 other ranks
• Army in the Middle East/Italy: 4,898 officers and 58,413 other ranks
• Troops in France: 450 officers and 30,000 other ranks
• Troops in Switzerland: 600 officers and 5,000 other ranks (according to another source there may have been as many as 12,000 members of the Polish 2nd Infantry Division in Switzerland). The Swiss, under pressure from Germany, never released these men.  
• Germany - POW Camps: 17,000 officers and 40,000 other ranks - POW Labourers: 400,000 other ranks (out of a total of 1,200,000 male and 200,000 female labourers) - Men Forcibly Enlisted into the German Army: 600,000 other ranks 

[According to Hitler, the Germans captured 694,000 Polish soldiers in September of 1939 of which 30,000 were officers and 664,000 were other ranks.] 

• Trained Men at Home (Poland): 9,000 officers and 150,000 other ranks  
• Rumania and Hungary: 3,000 other ranks

For a total potential pool of 37,000 officers and 1,300,000 other ranks.

It is of interest to note that some 600,000 Polish men were forced to fight the Allies for the German Army.

2nd Corps Strength:

In the Soviet Union, by the end of 1941, there were 3 divisions totaling 38,000 troops. By the time the Polish Army left the Soviet Union in the summer of 1942 it was at corps strength and contained 7 divisions and 1 brigade with a total of 74,000 troops.

The evacuation of the Polish Corps from the Soviet Union was accomplished in two stages. The first stage consisted solely of  shiploads of Poles sailing from Krasnovodsk to the port of Pahlevi in Persia during the period March 24, 1942 to April 3, 1942. A total of 33, 069 soldiers were evacuated (1,603 officers; 28,427 NCOs and other ranks; 1,159 volunteers of the women's corps (PWSK) and 1,880 male and female cadets. They were accompanied by 10,789 civilians (of which 3,100 were children).

The second stage took place from August 9, 1942 to September 1, 1942, when the Soviets closed the border and ended any chance of escape for those who remained behind. The evacuation began once again with crossings across the Caspian Sea, but by the end of August German planes had begun bombing the ships and the remaining evacuees were directed overland, to the railhead at Meshed, also in Persia. From there, they travelled by train to Teheran. A further 2,430 officers, 36,701 NCOs and other ranks, 112 army staff members,  1,765 volunteers of the PWSK and 2,738 cadets were evacuated. Again, they were accompanied by civilians; 25,501 of them (including 9,633 children).  The total evacuated in the second stage amounted to 69,247 persons, of which 568 died in the destination port of Pahlevi.

The total figure of evacuated Polish  nationals during these two stages amounted to 113,105 persons. It is worth noting that the Women's Corps and the Cadet Corps, although legitimate units, served the useful purpose of recruiting civilians, who might otherwise have been left behind, into the army. The Soviets did not want Polish civilians to leave and for their part, the British, who were accepting the Polish forces into their fold, did not want the burden of feeding civilians. That any civilians were evacuated at all, was due to the refusal of the Polish authorities (starting with General Anders) to comply with Soviet and British demands in this matter. It hurt to leave any Poles behind. (Evacuation data provided by Dr. A. Garlicki, Ottawa.)

The Corps in Italy, in April 1944: 53,508 men, 1,290 women.   April 1945: 81,090 men and 1,933 women

Corps Casualties to April 25, 1945, by Battle:

From May through August 1944, every sixth member (7,400 troops) of the Corps had been killed or wounded.

River Sangro (January 31, 1944 - April 15, 1944): 24 killed, 170 wounded, 5 missing, total 199 (17 officers, including 4 majors, and 182 other ranks). 

Monte Cassino (April 24, 1944 - May 31, 1944): 924 killed, 2,930 wounded, 345 missing, total 4,199 (307 officers, the killed included Brigade Commander Colonel J. Kurek, and 3,892 other ranks).

Ancona: 496 killed, 1789 wounded, 139 missing, total 2424; about 400 soldiers are buried in the cemetary at Loreto.

Gothic Line: 257 killed, 1088 wounded, 13 missing, total 1358

River Senio (January 2, 1945 - April 9, 1945): 57 killed, 229 wounded, 67 captured, total 353

April 9, 1945 - During the aerial bombardment of German positions in the hours prior to the spring offensive on the Lombardy plain, one wave of Allied bombers released its loads too early. The bombs fell in the the area of the forward companys of both Carpathian Infantry Brigades assembled in their forming-up positions a few hours before the H-hour. Thirty-eight men were killed and 188 wounded, many being highly trained specialists prepared especially for the attack against the high flood-banks of the Senio River. They included sappers, anti-tank gun crews and signallers. In addition, the cable lines were cut and much battle equipment was destroyed.

Battle for the Lombardy Plain and Bologna (April 9 - 25, 1945): 1,352 killed, more than 4,500 wounded.

Casamassima Cemetery (Military Hospital # 1) contains 353 - 452 graves, mostly of soldiers who died of their wounds.

Monte Cassino Cemetery contains some 1,006 graves.

Loreto Cemetery contains some 1,000 - 1,083 graves, victims of the battles at Chienti, Musone, Loreto, Castelfidardo, Osimo, San Pietro, Ancona, Gothic Line and Appenines.

Bologna Cemetery, San Lazzaro di Savena, on the road from Bologna to Imola and Forli, contains some 1,352 - 1407 graves of soldiers who died "while crossing the seven rivers to Bologna."

San Vittore also contains a Polish military cemetery.

Czerwone Maki na Monte Cassino (Red Poppies on Monte Cassino): This haunting song was composed during the night of May 17-18, 1944 by Feliks Konarski. The melody was provided by A. Shutz and the song was first performed on the 18th in celebration of the victory.

Official Publications of Second Corps in the U.S.S.R.:

1) Orzel Bialy - The first issue of this weekly was published in Buzuluk in December of 1941. The 50th issue was published in Jerusalem in March of 1943. It continued to be published in London, most recently as a monthly, up until November of 2001.

2) Dziennik Zolnierza Armii Polskiej na Wschodzie

3) Dziennik Obozowy

4) Ochotniczka - the women's volunteer newsletter also had its first issues published in Buzuluk. It continued to be published until September of 1946.

5) Junak - For the child cadets.

Medical Corps:

The first hospitals were established in Buzuluk and Tatisczewo in the fall of 1941. All was transferred south to the Jangi Jul area in January of 1942. The hospitals were then further evacuated to Iran in two waves, following the army, in March of 1942 and further in August of 1942. Finally, the medical corps arrived in Italy where the first camps were near Taranto close by the Corps headquarters.

During the battles for Monte Cassino, the medical units took in anywhere from 80 to 400 wounded daily, mostly at night. Nurses worked a typical shift of 18 to 20 hours.

Anti-2nd Corps Propaganda

"It became evident that Russia was bent on seizing the Eastern portion of Poland, if not planning the complete subjugation of the country. By January 1944, the Russian government had set up an administration of Polish Communists which was intended to become the defacto Government. In the USSR, an army of Polish nationals, officered largely by Russians had been formed and was completely subordinated to the aims of the Soviet Government. The Polish Forces in the West, particularly the 2nd Corps, which were under British operational command had become the target of concentrated Russian abuse; accusations of anti-Semitism, cowardice and demoralisation were repeatedly broadcast from Moscow, while Soviet agents did their utmost to instigate desertion amongst the troops of the Corps. Russian propaganda was very similar to that emanating from the German propaganda service "Wanda" in Rome. By both sources the Polish soldier was told that the British Government had abandoned the Polish nation and that by continuing to fight under British Command he was reducing himself to the status of a mercenary.

"The British and American press, to preserve Allied unity, unwittingly lent weight to this Russo-German propaganda against Polish troops. Anxiety mounted as the Poles saw their natural aspirations towards returning to a free country gradually threatened by the needs of the Anglo-American-Russian accord. General Anders, in whom the Corps had implicit faith, succeeded outstandingly in maintaining the morale of his troops in the face of these powerful disruptive forces." (The Polish 2nd Corps and the Italian Campaign, Madeja, Game Publishing, 1984)

"The so-called Union of Polish Patriots was brought into being in Russia, including among its members Madame Wanda Wasilewska (who was married to the Soviet Commissar Kornieytchuk), (Lt. Col. Zygmunt) Berling, and others, while the powerful broadcasting station, called the 'Kosciuszko Station," built near Kuybyshev, was sson spreading libellous reports and propagating the idea of a Polish State entirely dependent on Soviet Russia. Its extravagant statements became a joke among the Polish troops in the Middle East, who knew what conditions really were in Russia." (An Army in Exile, Lt. Gen. Wladyslaw Anders, MacMillan, London, 1949)

13. The Communist Polish Army in the Soviet Union

Many of the Poles who were left behind in the Soviet Union when its borders were closed forever (late summer, 1942) joined the Polish Army formed in the Soviet Union by the Association of Polish Patriots, the Communist Poles. Those who joined early, in 1943 for example, usually did so simply because the chance for survival on the front was better than in the prisons and gulags. Later on, in late 1943 and throughout 1944 and 1945, as the Red Army marched into German held territory Polish conscripts were forced to join.

This Polish army was under the operational command of the Red Army, with most junior and senior command positions occupied by Soviet officers and all were constantly under the scrutiny of the Soviet political commisars who made sure that there was no anti-Soviet or anti-Communist subversion within the Polish ranks. It is estimated that about one-third of all officers in the "Polish" armies under Soviet command were Soviets.

The Polish Forces in the East had their genesis with the formation of the 1st "Kosciuszko" Infantry Division in May of 1943, under the command of colonel Zygmunt Berling. Simultaneously created was this division's political arm, the shallow showpiece known as the "Union of Polish Patriots" with Wanda Wasilewska at the head.

Within three weeks, the division had signed up 6,200 men. This figure swelled to 16,700 men by the middle of July. Polish colonel Zygmunt Berling was promoted by the Soviets to the rank of general on August 10, 1943. By that date, the 1st Division had grown and evolved into the 1st Polish Corps, and Berling was given command of the entire Corps. His seconds were lt.colonel Wlodzimierz Sokorski and general Karol Swierczewski, a former NKWD officer re-assigned by Stalin from the Red Army.

The Corps initially consisted of 2 infantry divisions, 2 brigades (1 armoured, 1 artillery), 2 independent regiments (air force and reserve) as well as Corps units such as Headquarters, Security and support staff.

With little troop preparation, on September 1, 1943, the strengthened 1st Division headed to the front. By the 12th and 13th of October, the Division had taken part in the Battle of Lenino within the operational command of the 33rd Soviet Army. In this first action, the undertrained Kosciuszko Division troops, not surprisingly, took heavy casualties. However, Stalin was never concerned with their lack of battle readiness or casualties. He used the troops as a political tool, bragging to the Western leaders how he had his Red Polish units in action in such a short time while the Polish 2nd Corps was still dilly dallying in the Middle East. He would repeatedly allege that the 2nd Corps' was too scared to fight the Germans for the remainder of the winter of 1943/44.

By the end of 1943, the Corps had added a 3rd infantry division and reorganized its artillery. The pre-war border of Poland was crossed by the Red Army near Rokitno (province Wolyn) on January 4, 1944. A troop strength of 32,400 had been reached by that date and by March of 1944, the Corps counted 40,262 men. On March 13, 1944, Stalin agreed to expand the Corps into a full Army.

At Sum, in the Ukraine, a reserve infantry regiment had been collecting the new Polish "recruits" rounded up by the Soviet political organs in the area, since January 31, 1944. By March, 1944, the Regiment's base became the forming centre of the Army.   

In 1944 the 1st Army contained 5 divisions, 8 brigades and 107,800 troops. The breakdown was as follows:

Regular Polish Army Forces (78,000 troops):

Divisions:

• 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions,
• 1st Anti-Aircraft Division

Independent Units:

• 1st Cavalry Brigade
• 2nd and 3rd Howitzer Brigades
• 1st and 5th Heavy Artillery Brigades
• 1st Sapper and Engineering Brigade
• 1st Armoured Brigade

Independent Regiments:

• 13th Heavy Armoured Artillery Regiment
• 1st Heavy Mortar Regiment
• 1st Signals Regiment
• 1st "Warszawa" Air Squadron
• 2nd "Krakow" night fighter squadron

Independent Battalions:

• 1st Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion
• 1st Women's Battalion
• 7th Independent Armoured Artillery Brigade
• 5th Artillery Reconnaissance battalion
• 1st Anti-Aircraft Battalion
• 2nd Signals Battalion
• 6th Motorized Bridge Building Battalion
• 7th Motorized Engineering Battalion
• 1, 2, 3rd Car Battalion
• 1, 2, 3rd Road Battalion
• 103 Signals Squadron

Polish Army Formation Centre in the USSR (27,300 troops):

Reserve Units:

• 1, 2, 3, 4th Reserve Infantry Regiments
• 4th Reserve Cavalry regiment
• 3rd Training Tank Regiment
• 21st Reserve Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Reserve Signals Regiment
• 2nd Reserve Engineers Regiment

Military Schools:

• The Army Training Centre
• Officer Training School
• Cadet School
• Field Officer Training School
• Officer, Artillery School

Units Under Formation:

• 1st Armoured Corps
• 5 and 6th Infantry Divisions

Support and Maintenance Units

Polish Partisan Command (2,500 troops):

• 1st Airborne Commando Unit
• Partisan Groups and Units operating Behind Enemy Lines

By the end of July, 1944, the Polish Army in the USSR counted 113,592 soldiers equipped with 1,588 artillery pieces and mortars and 182 armoured vehicles.

By the end of the war, as Poland was re-occupied and Poles were forcibly conscripted, the troop numbers had swelled to 400,000 men and women in two armies. Most of these consisted of untrained or cadre formations.

After war's end, many key positions such as chief of the general staff, commander of ground forces, heads of all the service branches and commanders of all military districts, were held by Soviet officers. Hundreds of supplementary Soviet military advisers were brought in. Finally, Marshal Konstantin Rokossowski, one of Stalin's senior wartime commanders, who was of Polish origin, reluctantly became minister of defence and commander-in-chief in 1949. It has been justly observed that the result was the transformation of the Polish army into an essentially extra-national force, as directly subordinated to Moscow as any other Soviet military district. Ascherson

The Soviet Propaganda Version (from Liberation Mission, a laughable book which outlines how the wonderful Soviet Union saved eastern Europe from Fascism and "liberated" its peoples.):

"In May 1943 the formation of truly popular Polish troops in the USSR entered a new stage. Expressing the interests of the Polish people and its desire to fight arms in hand against fascism, the Union of Polish Patriots sought the Soviet Government's assistance in raising a Polish division. In the opinion of the Union of Polish Patriots the Polish Division would be the new embryo of a new Polish Army which would embrace progressive idealogy and the freedom-loving traditions of the Polish people and rely on the alliance and friendship with the USSR. The Soviet Government met the request and on May 6, 1943 the State Defence Committee authorised the formation of the Tadeusz Kosciuszko 1st Polish Infantry Division. Colonel Zygmunt Berling was appointed its commander.

"It took three weeks to bring the division up to authorised strength. The principal difficulty was that of preparing the necessary number of officers, and the 920 Poles who were enrolled in Soviet military schools were put through a shortened training course. A hundred and fifty Soviet Army officers, many of whom were from western regions of the Byelorussian and Ukrainian republics and knew Polish, were assigned to medium-level command posts.

"The divisional command was faced with the formidable task of turning the division into a battleworthy force in a mere three months. It was trained in line with the Soviet Army regulations, but Polish military traditions were not in the least infringed. The Polish flag, Polish anthem, Polish uniforms and Polish songs became a part of the life of its officers and men.

"After six weeks of training the division received its colours and took the oath of allegiance. On July 15, the anniversary of the historic battle at Grunwald, the Union of Polish Patriots presented the Polish 1st Division with a banner bearing the inscription 'For our freedom and yours.' "

Battles:

Battle of Lenino: 12-13 October 1943, The (1st) Kosciuszko Division fought under the operational command of the Soviet 33rd Army in the Battle of Lenino. The division was poorly trained but was pressed into action prematurely in order to upstage the Polish 2nd Corps in the Middle East which had not yet seen any action. The division lost 3,054 men during the battle which included 510 killed in action, 1,776 wounded and 768 missing, of which some 400 had been taken prisoners of war by the Germans.

"Acting in close co-operation with the Soviet 42nd and 290th Infantry divisions, the Kosciuszko Polish 1st Division was ordered to breach the enemy defences at Lenino and then push towards the Dnieper... In the course of the two-day offensive which began on October 12, the Soviet and Polish divisions seized two strongly fortified resistance centres of Tregubovo and Polzukhi and inflicted heavy losses in manpower and weapons on the enemy... Although the success of the offensive proved to be of tactical importance only and was not exploited, the battle at Lenino was immensely significant from the political standpoint...For meritorious action at Lenino, the Soviet Government awarded orders and medals to 247 Polish officers and men, three of whom were conferred the title of Hero of the Soviet Union...It became obvious that the Polish troops had to receive serious training for action against the Wehrmacht. Consequently the training period of the 1st Army Corps was extended until the spring of 1944." (Liberation Mission)

On the Bug River: Polish artillery units employing 7,000 men and 260 artillery and mortar pieces supported the Soviet 312 Infantry Division in its attack near Turin. The Bug River was reached on July 20, 1944 after 3 days of fighting. The artillery units lost 47 men.

Warsaw:

Battles in the Warsaw region during September and October of 1944 resulted in 4,830 casualties for the 1st Polish Army.

By January of 1945, 1st Polish Army had approximately 94,000 soldiers, armed with 1,500 artillery guns and mortars, 172 armoured vehicles and 118 airplanes.

The assault on Warsaw itself began on January 4. The 1st Bialorussian front, commanded by Soviet Marshal Zukow, attacked with the 47th Army from the north and the 61st and 2nd Armoured Armies from the south with the 1st Polish Army aiding to surround then liberate the Polish capital, which was accomplished by January 17.

Berlin: By the 25th of April, 1945, the city of Berlin was surrounded. In the final assault on the city, Polish units fought in the fold of the 1st Bialorussian Front, supporting the Soviet 2nd Armoured Army and 47th Army. The first Polish unit to engage in the battle was the 6th Pontoon-Bridge Battalion followed by the 2nd Howitzer Artillery Brigade, 1st Mortar Brigade and 1st Infantry Division. In all, 12,700 soldiers of the Polish Army took part in the Battle for Berlin. 

The entire campaign by the Polish Forces, from Lenino to Berlin, resulted in 57,890 casualties. Of that total, 26,113 were killed in action or died of their wounds, 1,385 were taken prisoner, 7,330 went missing in action and 23, 062 were wounded.

Sources:

1)The Polish 2nd Corps and  the Italian Campaign, Witold Madeja, 1984.

2) General Anders' Army Exhibit, Pilsudski Institute, New York, New York, 1999.

3) Civil War in Poland, 1942 - 1948,  Anita J. Prazmowska, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

4) Ksiega Pochowanych Zolnierzy Polskich Poleglych w II Wojnie Swiatowej, Tom IV, Zolnierze Wojska Polskiego na Wschodzie, Oficyna Wydawnicza "Ajaks," Pruszkow, 1995.

5) Liberation Mission, no author is mentioned, translated from the Russian by David Fidlon, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1975.

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14. "In Their Country's Service" Women - Soldiers of The 2nd Polish Corps 1941 - 1946

Text of the Commemorative Booklet published by the Headquarters of the Polish Women's Auxiliary Corps, 2nd Polish Corps, Rome, October 1946 

This collection of photos contains little text but what text it does contain is of interest. The introduction to the book will be followed by the snippets of information which accompany the photos.

Introduction

  An historical event of major importance was the part played by women in the second world war. The impetus of national necessity pressed whole social groups into the service of the state. Conscription for women was introduced in most countries, but before this was the case, tens of thousands of women had enlisted in the armies of the warring nations. In many cases the new ideas and status gained as a result of this will remain a permanent part of the framework of women's sphere in the world.

  Owing to the special conditions of the combat in Poland, all service by women, whether with the Underground or in the Armed Forces had to be on a voluntary basis. The Women's Voluntary Corps, which was created both in Poland and abroad, produced the need for special regulations and organisation, often against the strong opposition of those who disagreed with women's right to serve. It may now be said that the Polish women played a predominant part in the struggle against opression, a fact which is fully realised by the whole nation.

  This book is not only a history in photographs of the life of the Polish Women's Auxiliary Corps, - the PSK - but it is also intended, in some measure, to give an idea of how the various organisations came into being.

  During the years of the war Polish women, in common with women of most Allied Nations, revealed many hitherto unsuspected traits of character. So little was previously known of the moral endurance and physical resistance of women, while even less was suspected of their attitude for work, their self discipline and reliance, or even of their courage. While these characteristics had been observed in exceptional cases, amongst those women distinguished in history as leaders of opinion, in this war such leaders were to be found in their thousands amongst Polish women. Colonel Mrs. Woslouchowa, Chief Commander of the PSK, stated "The women of the PSK always keep a stiff upper lip in difficult circumstances, are most consistent and reliable, and unconcerned about their personal well being. In every situation they find the one way out consistent with their patriotic outlook."

  When he created the PSK, after long negotiations with the Soviet Government, General Anders was actuated by two motives. First to save the greatest number of women from prisons and detention camps in Russia. Second to obtain the greatest number of auxiliary workers, as their movement from the camps was hampered by the N.K.W.D. - The Russian Secret Police . The creation of the Women's Army proceded step by step with the creation of its male counterpart. The women, who were on the same footing as the men, took up their work in hospitals, canteens, cookhouses, laundries and offices, and at the same time studied in the evenings for the passing of military technical tests.

  This convalescence after the hardships of camp and prison life in Russia, was the best manner of getting back to normal. Gradually the strain on the faces gave way, if not to smiles, at least to more peaceful recollections. In their first uniforms, they shyly faced photographers, but it was not until they got to the sunny land of Uzbekistan, that their first smiles really appeared as they danced around their camp fires, and felt honest pride in their marching.

  The main problem to be faced was that of coping with the thousands of Polish wanderers arriving from the far off parts of Russia to which they had been exiled, quantities of children, half starved, debilitated by disease and decimated by epidemics, had to be cared for and eventually taken with the Army when it moved into Iran. The members of the PSK had to undertake all this extra work, nurse the sick, and fight the epidemics which always follow armies in Russia.

  On arriving in Iran there was a feeling of liberty and ease. Once work there had been organized it was decided to try out women as lorry and car drivers, an experiment which had worked successfully with the British in the first world war, in order to free as many men as possible for purely military duties.

  A group of PSK left Iran and went to Palestine for training in signals and communications. Here also were started elementary and secondary training schools, on the lines of those previously organised in Russia for young girls. Here, with the sunshine and greenery, the younger generation found again the joy of life.

  By then the Polish Forces in the Middle East had been centered on Iraq, where in spite of the difficult climatic conditions, young women worked untiringly in hospitals, canteens and offices. The chief battle was with malaria, against which the unceasing efforts of doctors and nurses were called for. Eventually, their preliminary training completed, the Polish Forces left the desert and moved to Palestine. Here long convoys of lorries, driven by PSK, carried troops and stores across the sandy track from Baghdad.

  In the process of changing stations, companies of PSK were attached to Polish Divisional formations, while at the same time arrangements were made for the field canteens to be staffed by them. By the time the first tactical exercises were held in Palestine, all these services had been well enough trained to show their use. From Palestine the Polish Forces were moved to Egypt, this was to be their last stop before taking part in the European operations.

  Then came the splendid drive through Italy, in all of which the Polish Forces played their part. What the 2nd Polish Corps did at Monte Cassino, Ancona and Bologna is know to all and constitutes a glorious record. During this period the PSK ran hospitals, canteens, communications and transport, and in every field of work showed themselves to be possessed of a high sense of courage and devotion to duty. Their labours were an important contribution to the advance: munitions brought up on time, food delivered to the front line, messages brought through, and the general work of nursing the sick and wounded; all these played their part.

  When the war finished it was the hope of the PSK that they could return to a free Poland, but this has not been the case. Now they are going to yet another country, England, where it is felt that they will receive a cordial welcome and where the wide experience they have gained during the war years will be of use to them.

  We continue to live, striving for a better world, where there is peace and liberty after long years of fear and terror.

Herminia Naglerowa

Part One: Preparation

  On the seventeenth September 1939,  Soviet Troops entered Poland, at that time engaged in a desperate struggle with the German Armies. On the basis of the Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement, nearly half of Poland was submitted to Soviet domination, with the result that in two years, 1,692,000 Poles, regardless of sex or age were deported far into the wilds of Russia. Among them were 381,000 women and 379,500 children under fifteen years of age. Through the artic wastes, the Siberian tundras and the Western Asiatic steppes, through prisons and detention camps, amid humiliation, hunger and misery, these Polish women carried on bravely.

  On the 22nd June 1941, war broke out between Germany and Russia.

  Early in September of that year, on the basis of an agreement between the Polish and Russian Governments, the steady stream of Poles released from detention camps and prisons, started their treks, in many cases over a thousand miles, to the Polish Army Recruiting Centres, set up in Russia by General Anders. Not only men, but also women and children thus joined the army. In this manner, on the Volga Steppes, between Kuibishev and Chkalov, was born the Polish 2nd Corps.

  After the evacuation of Russia, in March and August 1942, about 114,000 Polish soldiers and civilians went to Iran, leaving behind them 415,800 registered graves, 434,300 lost and dispersed persons, and 681,400 persons to whom the Soviet authorities did not give permits to leave.

  The untiring, strenuous march to Poland - through the mountains of Persia and the deserts of the Middle East, through the Mediterranean Sea, through the battle fields of Italy, Monte Cassino, Ancona, and Bologna - still continues.

  In this march the PSK - Polish Women's Auxiliary Service - has its own story.

A Selection of Photo Captions

Russia

• Worn out clothes have been exchanged for warm ones which gave the PSK the (nick)name of "Penguins."
• Polish Independence Day (November 11) was celebrated in Buzuluk by a Mass, at which General Anders was present.
• At the time of the visit to the Polish Forces in Russia of the Polish Commander-in-Chief General Sikorski the first uniforms were just being issued.
• Buzuluk was the first HQ of the Polish troops in Russia and for the organization of the PSK under Mrs. W. Piechowska. There also were started the canteen and medical branches.
• Photo - sign on building "Polskie Sily Zbrojne - Konenda Garnizonu Buzuluk.
• The new stations in the southern Soviet republic suffered much from epidemics, owing to the extremely harsh living conditions
• Photo - Polish folk singing and dancing at the foot of the Pamir Mountains.
• Photo - PSK on parade in Jangi-Jul, May 3rd 1942.
• Photo - General Anders, Chief Chaplain Bishop Gawlina, Commander Mrs. Wyslouchowa, General Bohusz-Szyszko.
• Under the strange sun, across the vast steppes wandered Polish children, hungry and ill... They had to be fed and clothed, and to have healed their starved bodies and horror-stricken souls. Now the Polish Army is looking after them.
• Photo - Scores of fresh graves - History repeats itself. To the graves of the Polish insurgents who fell in Russia after the Polish Insurrections in 1831 and 1863 were added hundreds of thousands of others.

Iran

• Photo - thin, weak, and ill young females lying on stretchers - Evacuation of military and civilian personnel from Soviet Russia: Young PSK recruits on their arrival across the Caspian Sea to Iran at the port of Pahlevi.
• Organizing the Girl - Guides. Better living conditions speed up training. General and special courses are set up.
• Photo - Young women in a truck - Journeying across the Iranian desert in Australian hats.

Iraq

• In the desert, in the valley of the Biblical Tigris and Euphrates, cities of white tents sprang up suddenly. Organised life started immediately and hitherto unheard foreign languages were encountered.
• Photo - Signpost in the desert - Quizil-Ribat to Warsaw, 2,950 km.
• General Sikorski, Polish Commander-in-Chief, visits the PSK during his stay in Iraq.
• General Anders, Commander of the Polish Army in the Middle East, visits the PSK.
• "Private Helen," the famous Polish comedienne in the desert: stage productions in the camps.

Malaria

• Under tents in the desert, in difficult climatic conditions, medical personnel fights tropical diseases.

Palestine and Egypt

• Through Iraq and Transjordan towards Palestine.
• A new Polish Centre founded by Polish soldiers in Jerusalem.
• Photo - sign outside camp - Oboz Szkol Ml. Ochotniczek, P.W.A.S School Camp.
• Young pupils at Rechoboth. A wide special educational curriculum was organised for the training of the PSK.
• PSK following the Itinerary of the Holy Cross through old Jerusalem.
• The places, the names and the scenery change but the tents are always the same. The lime-tree at the entrance of the camp in Rechoboth - the well known place for hitch-hiking.
• All branches of the PSK take part in the last manoeuvres - before the Italian Campaign - in Upper Galilee.
• After a complete and thorough schooling PSK girls have now become really good drivers.
• In Egypt, a military camp at Qassasin between Cairo and Ismailia.

Action - Italy - Medical Services

• Monte Cassino - The main Field Dressing station in the Inferno Track.
• Soldiers lives were often saved by the blood transfusion service organised by the Polish Red Cross sisters.
• Sisters taking temperatures, giving medicine, changing dressings, washing and feeding the seriously ill - smiling and saying a cheerful word to keep the soldiers in good spirits.
• Chemical and bacteriological analyses help the doctors to make their diagnoses.

Signal Service

• At the wireless set - signal service in action was a difficult and responsible task.
• PSK signallers also handled Fullerphones, worked in the Post Office and cypher section.

Transport Service

• Regardless of weather conditions PSK drivers kept steadily at the wheel.
• Scenes from camp-life: For the first time the PSK 316th Transport Company slept under a roof at Arezzo.
• Apart from carrying men and supplies PSK drivers had to take care of their vehicles, repairing small defects and often loading and unloading them.
• The 316th and 317th PSK Transport Companies during the Italian Campaign, did the following: 43,339 journeys undertaken, 342,370 gallons of petrol used, 3,600,608 miles driven, and they delivered: 6,626 tons of ammunition, 27,283 tons of food, 41,306 tons of petrol-oil, 77,352 tons of transport material and 30,936 tons of building material for a total of 183,503 tons.
• While soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps were fighting on the Italian front, PSK drivers were delivering supplies as far as the second line.
• American Congresswoman Mrs. Clare Booth visited a detachment and offered dolls as mascots.

Canteen Service

• From the arrival in Italy to the last battle, Polish canteen workers were kept busy at their jobs.
• Special canteen vans offered by the War Relief Services helped a lot in their work.
• Behind the Senio river on the Bologna road, women soldiers canteen workers supplied meals within range of enemy artillery.

Entertainment, Office, Warehouse and Camp-Kitchens

• The monotonous and burdensome work of clerks, typists and interpreters was, nevertheless an important factor in the common effort.
• Camp cooking was not an easy job.
• Shows were often given right up in the line.

After the War

• After the defeat of the enemy, together with the victors of Monte Cassino, Ancona and Bologna, came the PSK, to receive their well-earned awards. General Szyszko-Bohusz decorated a number of the women.
• New recruits: Taking life easy after hard times in civilian labour camps in Germany and Austria. After a short stay in transit camps the new recruits receive elementary training.
• New recruits: After the Warsaw insurrection many women soldiers of the Polish Home Underground Army (A.K.) managed to join the PSK. Some of them had received cruel brandings (numbers on their arms) in German concentration camps. After six years of underground resistance, new members of the PSK trained in the 2nd Polish Corps.
• Matera was the PSK training centre.
• Many PSK soldiers from different units came to Porto S. Giorgio to finish their secondary school education.
• Among the Italian universities where Polish boys and girls are pursuing their studies, that of Bologna is especially dear to Poles, because Nicolas Kopernik studied there.
• In Macerata professional dressmaking courses were organised.
• At the end of the war PSK's work and life went on normally in Transport, Signal and Canteen Companies as well as in Hospitals and Offices. The hospital work was chiefly the care of convalescents.
• Aside from General Anders. a number of other important visitors visited the PSK  such as:  Lt. General Morgan and Chief Commander Lady Kathleen Rollo, ATS, Liaison Officer of the 26 BLU.
• Cultural centres of the PSK included libraries and reading rooms, and a publishing house which produced books and periodicals such as the monthly "Ochotniczka."

The final thought as the PSK leaves Italy in the second half of 1946: "Our service and our duty are not yet finished. We shall leave Italy for Britain and perhaps later pass through still unknown lands until we reach our homeland, Poland, for which we have fought."

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