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00:54The four-month battle for the dominant peak of Monte Cassino
00:58was the grimmest of the whole Italian campaign.
01:04Three times the Allies assaulted it early in 1944,
01:09and three times they were flung back by the German defenders.
01:21Not until May 1944 was Monte Cassino finally captured.
01:27The flag that was hoisted over the monastery at its peak was Polish.
01:40The Polish troops who fought at Cassino
01:42had travelled a long way since their country was overrun
01:45by the Germans and Russians in September 1939.
01:49This crushing defeat was the beginning of a crusade
01:52to restore their nation's pride and independence.
01:58To continue the struggle,
02:00some had travelled thousands of miles from Siberian prison camps
02:04down through the Caucasus and Persia to the Middle East.
02:09Others had escaped through Hungary and Romania.
02:12Their goal to get to France
02:14so as to continue their struggle against the Nazis.
02:21Once there, they formed a Polish army
02:23to fight alongside their traditional ally.
02:28When France was defeated,
02:30they continued their struggle from Britain.
02:37Fighting in all the major campaigns of the war
02:39in North Africa and Western Europe.
02:44The story of the free Polish forces
02:47is one of the epics of military history.
02:49It is also one which is little known.
02:52For a half century,
02:53the communist rulers of their country
02:55were happy to see these gladiators forgotten.
03:04Poland has always had a strong fighting spirit,
03:07born of centuries of conflict.
03:10In 1918, she regained her independence
03:12after nearly 150 years of Russian,
03:15Prussian and Austrian occupation.
03:19Almost immediately,
03:21the new republic was at war
03:22with the Russian Bolshevik regime.
03:25Although heavily outnumbered,
03:26the Poles snatched victory out of defeat
03:28in front of Warsaw in August 1920.
03:34This left a vengeful Russia
03:36on Poland's eastern border.
03:38And the creation by the Treaty of Versailles
03:41of a corridor of Polish territory
03:42that split East Prussia from the rest of Germany
03:44left Poland with an equally resentful Western neighbor.
03:54Thus, the Poles had to maintain strong armed forces
03:57between the world wars.
03:59But they lacked the industrial base
04:01to provide these with sufficient modern equipment.
04:05When Hitler invaded on the 1st of September 1939,
04:09the Polish air force proved no match
04:11for the Luftwaffe with its state-of-the-art fighters.
04:17The small Polish navy realized
04:19that it could do little
04:20against the German fleet in the Baltic.
04:23Three of its four destroyers
04:24were sent to Britain on the eve of war.
04:27The remaining surface warships
04:29were either destroyed by German bombers,
04:31scuttled, or captured.
04:34Two Polish submarines managed to escape to Britain.
04:39Others were interned in neutral Sweden,
04:42together with their crews.
04:46The Polish army tried to conduct a delaying action
04:49in the vain hope that their British and French allies
04:51would launch a major offensive in the West.
04:57But they could do little
04:59against the German blitzkrieg.
05:00With almost insane courage,
05:03Polish cavalry charged the German panzers.
05:08Inevitably, they were moaned-eyed.
05:12Any hope that the Poles might be able to hold out
05:15was dashed on the 17th of September,
05:18when the Russians invaded from the East,
05:20under an agreement made with the Germans
05:22just before the war.
05:29The Polish high command and government
05:31were forced to flee to Romania.
05:33There, under German pressure,
05:35they were intermed.
05:36All Polish resistance by the regular armed forces
05:39ended on the 6th of October.
05:44The country was partitioned
05:46between Germany and the Soviet Union.
05:51Hundreds of thousands of Polish servicemen
05:53were incarcerated in Soviet and German prisoner-of-war camps.
05:58Yet, in spite of the disaster that had befallen Poland,
06:02its fighting spirit had not been crushed,
06:04and many thousands of troops were determined to fight on.
06:08These included not only professional soldiers,
06:11but men from all walks of life
06:13who had been conscripted when war threatened.
06:15Many were only teenagers.
06:19Many came from remote villages
06:21and had little knowledge of the wider world.
06:24But all were united in the belief
06:26that they must continue the struggle,
06:28no matter what the cost.
06:33As so often,
06:34the crisis brought forth the man.
06:37General Wladyslaw Sikorski
06:38had been Prime Minister of Poland
06:40in the early 1920s,
06:42but had been retired after a coup in 1926.
06:47After the German occupation,
06:49Sikorski set up a government in exile in France,
06:52which became a focus for his fleeing compatriots.
06:56An underground organisation was set up
06:59to guide them via Romania, Hungary and Italy.
07:03Epic journeys were made on foot
07:05over hundreds of miles,
07:07often with little food or water.
07:11They were hunted as illegal immigrants
07:13by the countries through which they passed.
07:20In France, new units were formed
07:23for the men who got through.
07:30trained Polish airmen
07:31joined the French army of the air.
07:35They quickly mastered flying French planes
07:38like the Douatine D520 fighter.
07:45The ground troops were concentrated at Angers,
07:48in the Loire region of western France.
07:55There they were re-equipped and re-trained,
07:57forming two divisions,
07:59an armoured brigade
08:00and an independent rifle brigade.
08:02These were placed under the command
08:04of the French army.
08:08Throughout the winter of 1939,
08:10General Sikorski was tireless in his efforts
08:13to maintain the morale of his men.
08:17He knew that they would soon be in action again
08:19against their hated enemy,
08:21Nazi Germany.
08:28The Free Polish forces first went into action
08:31in a totally unexpected place.
08:33for on the 9th of April 1940,
08:36for on the 9th of April 1940,
08:36German forces invaded Denmark and Norway.
08:43The Allies responded by making landings
08:46to prevent the Germans from advancing northwards.
08:50Among the troops sent
08:52was the Polish independent
08:53Podolanska Rifle Brigade.
08:56This landed at the port of Narvik,
08:58in the extreme north.
09:00The German forces which had landed there
09:02were eventually driven out,
09:04but the Luftwaffe's total supremacy in the air
09:07made life increasingly difficult.
09:20Among the casualties
09:21was the Polish destroyer Grom,
09:23now serving with the Royal Navy.
09:25She had supported the operations at Narvik,
09:27but was sunk by German bombers
09:29on the 5th of May.
09:36Fortunately, most of her crew were rescued
09:38and got back to Britain
09:40to continue the struggle for a free Poland.
09:53The Allied forces held on until early June
09:56before withdrawing.
09:58The Poles returned to a France
10:00which was now facing total defeat.
10:02For the German assault
10:04which had begun on the 10th of May
10:05had swiftly led to the collapse of her arms.
10:17Two Polish divisions
10:19and an armoured brigade
10:20were in the French line
10:21as the German onslaught began.
10:24The 2nd Rifle Division was in Alsace
10:27and was eventually driven back
10:28to the Swiss border.
10:33The French corps commander
10:35ordered his men to cross into Switzerland
10:37rather than surrender to the Germans.
10:39The Poles were interred
10:41and took no further part in the war.
10:45The 1st Grenadier Division
10:47was eventually surrounded
10:48in northeast France,
10:49but its commander
10:50ordered his men to break out
10:52and make for Britain
10:53as best they could.
10:58In the air,
11:00Polish pilots fought desperately
11:01against the Luftwaffe,
11:03many for the 2nd time.
11:08But it was an unequal struggle
11:10and more than 10 pilots were lost.
11:21Determined to carry on the fight,
11:23General Sikorsky
11:24moved his government in exile
11:25to London.
11:2724,000 of his men
11:29escaped as well.
11:34The Polish soldiers,
11:36still in their French uniforms,
11:37were sent to Scotland
11:38to be re-equipped.
11:42Soon they were wearing
11:43their third different uniform
11:44of the war
11:45and were impressing everyone
11:47with their smartness
11:48and enthusiasm.
11:54Scots living near the camps
11:56took the exiled Poles
11:57to their hearts
11:58and many of them
11:59were to return to live there
12:00when the war was over.
12:10Members of the Polish Air Force
12:12had begun to arrive in Britain
12:13as early as December 1939
12:15under an agreement
12:16made with the British government.
12:18They were incorporated
12:20in the Royal Air Force
12:21and their ranks were swelled
12:22by those who escaped from France.
12:26After considerable pressure
12:27from Sikorsky,
12:28two wholly Polish RAF fighter squadrons
12:31were formed.
12:34They were 302 City of Poznan
12:36and 303 Kosciuszko squadrons.
12:40Both were involved
12:42in the Battle of Britain
12:43while other Poles
12:44fought with RAF squadrons.
12:50They swiftly gained a reputation
12:52for a ruthless determination
12:54to destroy the enemy.
13:05Vitolto Banowicz was one of the top aces
13:08in the battle
13:08with 17 confirmed kills.
13:13Another was Antoni Glovatsky
13:16who shot down five German aircraft
13:18in one day.
13:26303 squadron achieved 125 victories
13:28in a space of just five weeks fighting
13:30making it the top scoring squadron
13:33in our AF fighter command.
13:47In all, 144 Poles flew in the battle.
13:5229 lost their lives.
13:57Polish bomber squadrons
13:59flying Vickers Wellingtons
14:00joined RAF bomber command.
14:05Their crews were to fight
14:06throughout the four-year
14:08bomber offensive against Germany.
14:15The free Polish navy
14:17was strengthened by the handing over
14:18of seven British destroyers
14:20and two submarines
14:21and later a cruiser.
14:23Polish ships fought
14:24in the Battle of the Atlantic
14:25and in the Mediterranean
14:27where the submarines earned the nickname
14:29the terrible twins from their exploits.
14:41Not all the Poles
14:43who escaped from their homeland
14:44ended up in Britain.
14:46Many had got through the Balkans
14:47and ended up in the French
14:48Protectorate of Syria
14:49where they were formed
14:51into the Carpathian Rifle Brigade.
14:58When France fell
14:59the Brigade crossed into Palestine
15:01and offered its services
15:03to the British.
15:07Under the command of General
15:09Stanislav Skopansky
15:10it was re-equipped
15:12and trained on British army lines.
15:17And then in August 1941
15:19the Brigade was sent
15:20to the Libyan port of Tobruk.
15:22This had been under siege
15:23by General Irvin Rommel's
15:25Axis forces since April.
15:27The Poles defended Tobruk
15:29throughout the remainder of the siege.
15:32General Skopansky visited them
15:34eager to support
15:35the first of his ground forces
15:36to be back in action.
15:42When Tobruk was finally relieved
15:44in early December
15:45the Polish Brigade
15:46joined in the main
15:47British offensive
15:48which drove Rommel
15:49out of Sarinago.
15:52It was then withdrawn to refit
15:54but the Carpathian Rifle Brigade
15:56would soon be joined
15:57by other Polish troops.
16:01Every member of the free
16:03Polish forces
16:04was continually aware
16:05of the suffering
16:06that their homeland
16:07was enduring
16:07under German
16:08and Soviet occupation.
16:17The Russians
16:18determined that Poland
16:19should never regain
16:20its independence
16:21deported many Polish soldiers
16:23and civilians
16:24to remote labor camps
16:25in Siberia.
16:28In Poland itself
16:30resistance did not cease.
16:39an underground force
16:40later known as
16:41the Home Army
16:41was formed under
16:43Szykorski's direction
16:43and took its orders
16:45from London.
16:50But on the 22nd of June
16:521941
16:53Poland's situation
16:54changed dramatically
16:55when Hitler
16:56attacked the Soviet Union
16:57bringing Stalin
16:59onto the Allied side.
17:04Szykorski demanded that Moscow
17:05now release the Poles
17:06it was holding
17:07so that they could rejoin
17:09the war against Nazism.
17:13In July 1941
17:14he signed an agreement
17:16in London
17:16with Soviet Ambassador
17:17Ivan Maisky
17:18for a Polish army
17:20to be raised in Russia.
17:23General Vladislav Anders
17:24the senior Polish officer
17:26in the Soviet Union
17:27was released
17:28from the Lubyanka prison
17:29to command it.
17:31Anders set up
17:32his headquarters
17:33at Buzaluk
17:34600 miles south of Moscow
17:36but bringing together
17:38his troops
17:38who were scattered
17:39in camps
17:40throughout the Soviet Union
17:41was a major problem.
17:43The Russians
17:43gave only minimal help.
17:46And as the winter
17:47closed in
17:48conditions for the Poles
17:49in Russia
17:50remained harsh.
18:04at the beginning
18:05of December 1941
18:06as the German assault
18:07stalled in front of Moscow
18:09Szykorski travelled
18:10to the Russian capital
18:11to meet Anders
18:12and speak with Stalin.
18:18They obtained
18:19Russian agreement
18:20for the Poles
18:20to be transferred
18:21to the more temperate
18:22climate of Soviet Central Asia.
18:24But even then
18:25the Russians
18:26continued to give
18:27little help
18:27especially in supplying
18:29adequate rations.
18:34Szykorski wanted
18:35the Polish army
18:35in Russia
18:36to fight with
18:36the Red Army
18:37on the Eastern Front
18:38so that it could
18:39help liberate Poland.
18:41Anders,
18:42knowing the paranoia
18:43of Stalin
18:43disagreed
18:44believing that his men
18:46would be more effective
18:46if they joined
18:47the British forces
18:48fighting in the Mediterranean.
18:52Eventually
18:52the Russians agreed
18:54that a proportion
18:54of the Poles
18:55could go
18:56to the Middle East.
19:03Those who remained
19:04in Russia
19:04would eventually
19:05form the first
19:06Polish army
19:07which fought
19:08alongside the Red Army.
19:12The first contingent
19:14of Poles
19:14left Russia
19:15in spring 1942.
19:25Their journey
19:25took them
19:26across the Caspian Sea
19:27and down
19:28through Iran
19:28an odyssey
19:29of more than
19:302,000 miles.
19:32They finally arrived
19:33in Iraq
19:34where the British
19:35had set up
19:35camps for them.
19:36A second contingent
19:38followed
19:38making a grand total
19:40of 115,000
19:41soldiers and civilians.
19:45named 2nd Polish Corps
19:47and as men
19:48were joined
19:49by the Tobruk
19:49veterans
19:50of the Carpathian Brigade.
19:56Among the members
19:57of 2nd Polish Corps
19:58was an unusual recruit
19:59Wojtek
20:01a brown Syrian bear cub.
20:03Hunters had shot
20:04his mother
20:05and he'd been picked up
20:06by members
20:06of an ammunition
20:07supply company.
20:11Wojtek swiftly adopted
20:12them as his family.
20:13He grew quickly
20:14and became a familiar
20:16sight in the company's lines.
20:20One of his favourite
20:21pastimes was wrestling
20:22with anyone rash enough
20:24to take him on.
20:36While the strength
20:37of the free Polish forces
20:38was being built up
20:39the war in the Middle East
20:41swept on.
20:42In the autumn of 1942
20:44the British
20:45defeated Rommel
20:45at El Alamein
20:46and pursued him
20:47through Libya
20:48and into Tunisia.
20:50Then in November
20:51Anglo-US forces
20:53landed in French
20:54Northwest Africa
20:55and advanced
20:56into Tunisia
20:57threatening to attack
20:58Rommel from behind.
21:01As the Allies
21:03in Tunisia
21:03wore down
21:04the Axis forces
21:05the Polish troops
21:06in Britain
21:07and the Middle East
21:07became increasingly
21:09impatient
21:09to rejoin the war.
21:14It seemed as though
21:15the army
21:15had been forgotten
21:16even though
21:17free Polish ships
21:18continued to fight
21:19as part of the Royal Navy
21:20in the Battle of the Atlantic
21:21against Hitler's U-boats
21:23and Polish merchant ships
21:25sailed in the convoys
21:26they guarded.
21:44The Polish fighter
21:46and bomber squadrons
21:47were also busy.
21:56The bomber offensive
21:57continued
21:58with the frequency
21:59of raids
22:00building up.
22:03One group
22:04of experienced
22:04fighter pilots
22:05known as
22:06the Polish Fighting Team
22:07was sent out
22:08to Tunisia
22:08under the command
22:09of Stanislav Skalski
22:10who had already
22:11had 15 victories
22:13to his credit.
22:14The team
22:15quickly impressed
22:16the aria
22:16and became known
22:17as Skalski's Flying Circus.
22:19It accounted
22:20for 25 Axis planes
22:21in six weeks of combat.
22:41Then in April 1943
22:43as the campaign
22:45in Tunisia
22:45drew to an end
22:46came a bombshell
22:47which severely threatened
22:49the Free Poles'
22:50relationship
22:50with the Soviet Union.
22:52The Germans announced
22:53that they had discovered
22:54a mass grave
22:55of Polish officers
22:56in Katyn Wood
22:57in Western Russia
22:58near Smolensk.
23:04Skalski knew
23:04that several thousand
23:05Polish officers
23:06in Russian hands
23:07could not be traced
23:08and was convinced
23:09that Moscow
23:10was to blame.
23:14the Free Poles'
23:16and the Free Poles
23:16in London
23:16asked Stalin
23:17for an explanation
23:18but none
23:19was forthcoming.
23:21Worse,
23:22Stalin broke off
23:23relations with the London Poles
23:25and set up his own
23:26puppet Polish government
23:27in Russia.
23:33The British government
23:34keen not to upset
23:35relations with their
23:36Eastern ally
23:37declined to give
23:38Szykorski
23:39and his government
23:39in exile
23:40any support
23:41in the matter.
23:46As the row
23:47rumbled on
23:48General Szykorski
23:49set off on a tour
23:50of the Free Polish forces
23:51in the Middle East.
23:52He was only too aware
23:54that their morale
23:55was suffering
23:55both from lack
23:56of action
23:56and the aftermath
23:57of the Cateen
23:58wood discovery.
24:06As Szykorski's tour
24:08ended
24:08the Free Polish cause
24:10was struck
24:10by a shattering tragedy.
24:15On the 4th of July
24:16Szykorski departed
24:18from Gibraltar
24:19to return to England
24:20in his B-24 Liberator.
24:27The plane had
24:28scarcely lifted off
24:30before it plunged
24:31into the sea.
24:44Szykorski and his daughter
24:45were among those
24:46who died.
24:47The pilot survived
24:48and reported
24:49that the controls
24:50had failed to respond
24:51during take-off.
24:54Szykorski's body
24:55was recovered
24:56and brought back
24:56to England
24:57in a Polish destroyer
24:58to be buried
24:58at a cemetery
24:59in the Nottinghamshire
25:00town of Newark
25:01where the Polish Air Force
25:02had its own burial plot.
25:07Officially Szykorski's death
25:09was put down
25:09to an accident
25:10but ever since
25:12suspicions have remained
25:13that it came
25:13at a particularly
25:14convenient moment
25:15for the Soviet Union.
25:37The Stanislav Mikolajczyk
25:39succeeded Szykorski
25:40as prime minister
25:41while the free
25:42Polish ground forces
25:43continued to train.
25:46But they would not
25:47have much longer
25:48to wait
25:48before getting
25:49back into action.
25:57The Allies had invaded
25:58Italy in September 1943.
26:00By the end of November
26:02they had been brought
26:02to a halt
26:03by the formidable
26:04defences of the German
26:05Gustaf Line
26:06in the mountains
26:07south of Rome.
26:09Initial efforts
26:09to break through
26:10failed.
26:16It was now
26:17that General
26:17Vladislav Anders
26:18and his 2nd Polish Corps
26:20were ordered
26:20to move from Iraq
26:21to Italy
26:22to join the British
26:238th Army.
26:30One recruit
26:31who was not prepared
26:32to be left behind
26:33was Wojtek
26:34the soldier bear.
26:36He boarded
26:37a transport
26:37with his colleagues
26:38in the ammunition
26:38supply company
26:39and was given
26:40an official rank
26:41and pay book
26:42so that he could
26:42draw his rations.
26:44At last
26:45for the free Poles
26:47the fighting
26:48would get serious.
26:54They found
26:55the Italian winter
26:56a sharp contrast
26:57to their long stay
26:58in the Middle East
26:59but they were given
27:00time to acclimatise.
27:09while they were doing
27:10this
27:10the Allies decided
27:11to outflank
27:12the Gustaf Line.
27:18Landings would be made
27:19at Anzio
27:19some 30 miles
27:20south of Rome.
27:22These took place
27:23on the 22nd of January
27:251944.
27:28Little opposition
27:29was met
27:30on the beaches
27:30but failure
27:31to exploit this
27:32and advance
27:33immediately inland
27:34enabled the Germans
27:35to rush in
27:36reinforcements
27:37and contain
27:37the beaches.
27:40The failure
27:41at Anzio
27:41meant that
27:42the Allied commanders
27:43had to renew
27:43their efforts
27:44to break through
27:45the Gustaf Line.
27:47The key
27:48to the defences
27:48was a town
27:49of Cassino
27:50which guarded
27:51the entrance
27:51to the Liri Valley
27:52through which
27:53the road
27:53to Rome
27:54passed
27:54and the hill
27:55with a monastery
27:56on top
27:56which dominated it.
28:00At the end
28:01of January
28:02the Americans
28:02tried to capture
28:03Monte Cassino
28:04but failed.
28:12In the mistaken
28:13belief that the Germans
28:14were using the monastery
28:15as an observation post
28:16the Allies
28:17then bombed it.
28:27The German paratroops
28:29quickly took
28:30full advantage
28:30of the rubble
28:31in both the monastery
28:32and Cassino town
28:33to secure
28:34their defences.
28:37They repulsed
28:38further Allied attacks
28:39in February
28:40and March
28:41although the second
28:42by Indians
28:43and New Zealanders
28:44did manage
28:45to get into the town.
28:59General Sir Harold
29:00Alexander
29:01commanding
29:02the Allied armies
29:02in Italy
29:03now decided
29:04to wait
29:04until the ground
29:05had dried out
29:06after the spring thaw.
29:07In the meantime
29:08he launched
29:09an air offensive
29:10against German
29:10road and rail
29:11communications.
29:19It was now
29:20that the second
29:21Polish corps
29:22was deployed
29:22in front of Cassino.
29:24Its mission
29:24to finally
29:25capture the mountain.
29:32On the night
29:33of the 11th of May
29:34the Poles attacked.
29:39In spite of displaying
29:41desperate bravery
29:42they were repulsed
29:43after two days fighting.
29:47However
29:47free French troops
29:48managed to make progress
29:49in the mountains
29:50on the southern side
29:51of the Liri Valley.
30:00three days later
30:01Marshal
30:01Albert Kesselring
30:03the German commander
30:04ordered a gradual
30:05withdrawal
30:06from the Gustav line
30:07beginning with the forces
30:08facing the Americans
30:09in the south.
30:12But the German
30:13paratroops
30:13defending Cassino
30:14remained in position
30:16confident
30:17that their
30:17dominating defenses
30:18would keep
30:19to keep the Allies
30:19at bay.
30:25The Poles
30:26attacked again
30:27on the 17th of May
30:28and there was further
30:29desperate fighting
30:30before the 12th
30:31Podolsky Lancers
30:32closed in on the
30:33monastery itself
30:34the following morning.
30:38Among the troops
30:39spearheading the assault
30:40was Lieutenant
30:41was Lieutenant Jurek Kowalski.
30:43Shortly after 10 o'clock
30:44I entered Cassino
30:45monastery with the
30:46first Polish troops
30:47a famous Polish
30:48lancer regiment
30:49of the Carpaccio
30:50division.
30:52Only 17 Germans
30:53were left in the building
30:54and they surrendered
30:55to 2nd Lieutenant
30:56Gurwiel Kazimierz
30:57and his lancer.
30:59Part of the building
31:00were still standing.
31:01Rubble, equipment
31:02and soldiers' beds
31:04littered inside
31:05of the monastery.
31:06Our division
31:08has not met
31:09the Germans
31:09since Tobruk
31:10and has been
31:10looking forward
31:11to this moment
31:12for two years.
31:15The Poles
31:16raised their national
31:17flag in triumph
31:18over the ruins.
31:31within an hour
31:33General Oliver Lees
31:34the commander
31:35of the 8th Army
31:35was at Anders
31:36headquarters
31:37and toasting him
31:38in Champaign.
31:43It had been
31:44a magnificent effort
31:45but the Poles
31:46were not finished yet.
31:47They continued
31:48to drive along
31:49the north side
31:49of the Liri Valley
31:50displaying great
31:51dash and determination.
32:08But their casualties
32:09were rising.
32:10They suffered
32:11some 3,800
32:13killed and wounded
32:14in just two weeks
32:15of fighting.
32:23As a result
32:24the Polish Corps
32:25was pulled out
32:26of the line.
32:36In the days
32:37that followed
32:38many distinguished
32:38visitors came
32:39to offer their
32:40congratulations
32:40to the Poles.
32:42These included
32:43General Alexander
32:44and King George VI.
32:45the reputation
32:47of General Anders
32:48and his men
32:48was now second
32:49to none.
32:59Wojtek too
33:00received his share
33:01of congratulations
33:01for his coolness
33:03under fire
33:03and his help
33:04in humping ammunition.
33:10He now became
33:12his unit's
33:12official symbol.
33:18Meanwhile
33:19on the 5th of June
33:201944
33:21the Allies
33:22entered Rome.
33:25The Poles
33:27were soon
33:27back in action
33:28taking part
33:29in the subsequent
33:29advance northwards.
33:38In July
33:39they added
33:40the capture
33:40of the important
33:41Adriatic port
33:42of Ancona
33:42to their laurels.
33:46But by the end
33:47of 1944
33:48the Allies
33:48were again
33:49stalled
33:50by the German
33:50defences
33:51this time
33:52by the Gothic
33:53Line
33:53running along
33:54the Apennine
33:55mountains
33:55north of Florence.
33:59When they mounted
34:00their final offensive
34:01in April 1945
34:02the Poles
34:03played a leading
34:04part
34:04ending their war
34:06with the capture
34:06of the northern
34:07city of Bologna.
34:13Back in Britain
34:14the Polish forces
34:15followed the exploits
34:16of their comrades
34:17at Casino
34:18with enormous pride.
34:23They too
34:24were impatient
34:25to rejoin
34:26the fight.
34:30There were two
34:31key fighting
34:32formations
34:32training for
34:33the liberation
34:33of Western Europe.
34:35One was the
34:36first Polish
34:36armored division.
34:43The other
34:44was the
34:44independent
34:45Polish
34:46parachute brigade.
34:54The Polish
34:55ground forces
34:56did not take
34:56part in the
34:57Normandy
34:57landings
34:58or the
34:58subsequent
34:58fighting
34:59in the
34:59beachhead.
35:02But Polish
35:03ships were
35:03present off the
35:04beaches
35:04from D-Day onwards.
35:14and Polish pilots
35:16were also in action
35:17in the skies
35:17over Normandy.
35:27one was Eugenius
35:29and the
35:29one was Eugenius Horwachevsky
35:29who had been one of the
35:31aces of Skalski's
35:32flying circus in Tunisia.
35:34He led the Polish 315
35:36squadron in their
35:37Mustangs with great
35:39verve.
35:43But Horwachevsky was
35:44shot and killed
35:45during an epic
35:46dogfight with
35:47Focke-Wulf FW
35:48190s on the
35:5018th of August.
35:51His squadron claimed
35:5216 German planes
35:54down for the loss
35:55of three of their own.
35:59By this time the
36:011st Polish
36:01armored division
36:02had arrived in France
36:03and become part of
36:04the 1st Canadian
36:05army.
36:07It soon moved
36:08into action.
36:12Following the
36:13American breakout
36:13from Normandy
36:14at the end of July
36:15a major part of
36:16the German forces
36:17became trapped
36:18in the Falaise area.
36:24Massive air attacks
36:25pounded the German
36:26troops.
36:32The Canadians
36:33were given the job
36:34of sealing the
36:35Falaise pocket.
36:37and their attack
36:38was spearheaded
36:39by the Polish
36:40armored division.
36:49Although it was
36:50the first time
36:51they had been in
36:52action in their
36:52tanks, they fought
36:54like veterans.
37:00Within three days
37:01the pocket had been
37:02closed and more
37:03than 50,000
37:04dazed and shocked
37:05Germans were taken
37:06prisoner.
37:14Falaise ended
37:15any hope for the
37:16Germans that they
37:16could conduct an
37:17orderly withdrawal
37:18through France.
37:21Over the next three
37:22weeks the tanks
37:23of the Polish
37:23division roared
37:24across northern
37:25France in a
37:26high-speed pursuit
37:27which took them
37:28through Abbeville
37:29through Abbeville and
37:29onto Ypres in
37:30Belgium.
37:34Finally they
37:35liberated the
37:35Dutch town of
37:36Breda where they
37:37were given a
37:38memorable welcome
37:39by the inhabitants.
37:44But shortly
37:45afterwards
37:46overstretched supply
37:47lines brought an
37:47end to the rapid
37:48Allied advance.
38:02meanwhile back in
38:03Britain the
38:04Polish parachute
38:05brigade was still
38:06eagerly awaiting its
38:07baptism of fire.
38:09Its men and every
38:11other free pole
38:12involved in the
38:13Allied advances in
38:14the West were very
38:15aware that a
38:16desperate struggle
38:17was now raging in
38:18their homeland.
38:22By late July
38:231944 the great
38:25Soviet counter
38:26offensive had
38:26driven the
38:27Germans back over
38:28the Polish border
38:28and was closing in
38:30on Warsaw.
38:32It was the moment
38:33that the Polish
38:34home army, the
38:35armed underground
38:36force, had been
38:37waiting for.
38:42On the 1st of
38:43August the Poles
38:45in Warsaw rose
38:46against their
38:46hated Nazi
38:47occupies.
38:50But on the
38:50previous night
38:51the Red Army
38:52had halted its
38:53offensive.
38:55A delegation of
38:56London Poles
38:57immediately went to
38:57Moscow to plead for
38:58the offensive to be
38:59resumed but Stalin
39:01refused.
39:04He had already
39:05installed his own
39:06Polish administration
39:07at Lublin and told
39:09the London Poles
39:10that there could not
39:11be two governments
39:12in exile.
39:16likewise he refused to
39:18allow US and
39:19British aircraft to
39:20use Russian bases to
39:21drop supplies to the
39:22home army.
39:25The battle for
39:26Warsaw continued with
39:28the Poles becoming
39:29ever more desperate.
39:41the Polish home army
39:42fought on throughout
39:43August and September
39:44and it was not until
39:46early October that the
39:47Germans finally crushed
39:49all resistance.
39:51While the fighting was
39:52at its height the Polish
39:53parachute brigade begged
39:55that it should be dropped
39:56into Warsaw to help its
39:57compatriots.
39:59The request was turned
40:00down by the British
40:01government on the grounds
40:03that not only would it be
40:04suicidal but the brigade
40:06was at last about to be
40:07sent into battle.
40:12They were to take part in
40:14Operation Market Garden
40:15General Montgomery's
40:17ambitious plan to seize
40:18bridges over waterways in
40:19Holland so as to outflank
40:21Germany's main natural
40:22obstacle in the west the
40:24River Rhine.
40:28The Poles were to drop at
40:30Arnhem to provide
40:31reinforcement for the
40:32British 1st Airborne
40:33Division.
40:36But the Polish Airborne
40:38Commander General
40:39Stanislaw Sosobowski
40:40objected to the plan.
40:43He believed that the
40:4448 hour interval between
40:45the first British drop and
40:47that of the Poles was too
40:48wide.
40:54Sosobowski's objections
40:55were ignored because there
40:57were not enough aircraft and
40:58gliders to deploy his troops
40:59more quickly.
41:03The operation went ahead on
41:05Sunday the 17th of September
41:071944.
41:10The British Paras succeeded in
41:12getting into Arnhem but were
41:13pinned down by two German Waffen
41:15SS divisions and unable to
41:17secure the bridge over the lower
41:19Rhine.
41:23To make matters worse, fog delayed
41:25the Polish drop and they did not
41:27arrive until four days after the
41:29initial landings.
41:34By that time, the German forces
41:36around Arnhem had been much
41:37strengthened and the lightly equipped
41:39British paratroops were under
41:40increasing pressure.
41:43The Poles landed on the south bank
41:45of the lower Rhine and only about
41:47250 men were able to get across
41:49the river to reinforce their
41:51British comrades.
41:54The next day, troops from the 30th
41:56British Corps managed to link up
41:58with Sosobowski's men, but it was
42:00too late to alter the situation at
42:02Arnhem.
42:08Some of the British and Polish
42:10paratroops did manage to get back
42:12across the river.
42:14But the majority were forced to
42:16surrender to the Germans.
42:23The failure to secure the bridge at
42:25Arnhem meant that the last chance
42:27for the Allies to end the war in
42:28Europe before the end of 1944 had
42:31gone.
42:34The first Polish armoured division
42:35spent the autumn on the river
42:37Mars.
42:43It then took part in the grim winter
42:46battles to clear the approaches to
42:47the river Rhine.
42:52The Poles took part in the final
42:54Allied advance into Germany and the
42:56first armoured division's war ended
42:58with the capture of the port of
43:00Wilhelmshaven.
43:01They were still 350 miles from the
43:04Polish border, but it was the
43:06nearest that the free Poles got to
43:07their country.
43:14Unlike the other Allies, the free
43:16Poles reacted to the end of the war
43:18war in Europe with mixed feelings.
43:23They had hoped that their great
43:25contribution to victory would result in
43:27their country regaining its independence,
43:30but it was not to be.
43:38The Western Allies had agreed that Poland would be in the
43:41Soviet sphere of influence.
43:45And when Soviet troops liberated the country from
43:48the Germans, Stalin was able to ensure that the pro-Moscow
43:51Polish Lublin government was installed in power and Red Army troops were stationed in the country.
44:03The hopes of the free Poles were dashed, and they were left in a dilemma over what to do.
44:12Nevertheless, half of those who had fought with the Western Allies did decide to return home to be reunited with
44:18those of their loved ones who had survived the war.
44:20As the communist grip on Poland tightened, many of them were to be arrested, murdered, or deported to the Soviet
44:27Union.
44:33The remainder of the free Poles settled in the West, most of them in Britain, and made new lives for
44:39themselves.
44:48Among them was Wojtek, the soldier bear.
44:52On the demobilization of his unit, he set up home in Edinburgh Zoo, where he's still remembered.
44:58Here he lived, often visited by his former comrades, until his death at the age of 22.
45:12Throughout the Cold War, the exiled free Poles continued to live in hope that their country would once more be
45:18free.
45:23Their dreams were finally realized in 1989, when the communist government was defeated in a general election by Lech Wałęsa
45:30and his reformist Solidarity Party.
45:36This was followed by the breakup of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of its forces from Poland.
45:51Then, in September 1993, the remains of General Vladislav Sikorski finally left Newark, where they had lain for 50 years,
45:59and were taken back to Poland to be reburied in Krakow.
46:02Seat of the ancient kings of Poland.
46:06The free Polish dream had finally been realized.
46:16Today, among the many memorials to the free Polish forces, who gave so much for so little, there are two
46:22that stand out.
46:26One is the memorial to the Polish Air Force at Northolt on the outskirts of London.
46:37The other is a statue of General Sikorski himself, which was unveiled in 2000, and stands outside the Polish Embassy
46:45in London.
46:49It's simple inscription commemorates not just him, but all who fought in the free Polish armed forces and in the
46:56resistance movement.
46:58They were all gladiators, prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause of their country.
47:14To be continued...
47:16To be continued...
47:43To be continued...
47:45To be continued...
47:51To be continued...
47:59To be continued...
48:00To be continued...
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