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'In this great campaign against the German Army, the Poles played a part which gained them the admiration of their comrades and the respect of their enemies. They fought many victorious battles alongside their Allies, but their greatest was at Monte Cassino. Only the finest troops could have taken that well prepared and long defended fortrees.

When the Polish standard floated proudly from the ruins of the Monastery it signaled the march to Rome. Soldiers of the Allied armies will long remember the Polish Corps at Monte Cassino and in other fields, where they served as comrades in a great cause.'

Field Marshall Alexander,
Allied Commander in Italy

'Generals long remember in the most admiring terms, the units under their command, which could always be counted on to achieve any objective assigned them - the Polish Corps was such a unit in my 5th Army during the ragged fighting in Italy during World War II. At Cassino that Corps fought so splendidly under Gen. Wladyslaw Anders, that it accomplished the nearly impossible - it took Monte Cassino.'

General Mark Clark,
commanding general of the 5th U.S. Army

Gen. Anders, commander of the 2nd Corps, before he died in London in 1972, expressed his wish to be laid to rest with his fallen soldiers near the monastery. After the war a cemetery was built at the foot of the Abbey by surviving soldiers of the 2nd Corps.

At its entrance, the engraved epitaph depicts their bravery and dedication to Poland.

In four languages it reads:

"We, Polish soldiers
For our freedom and yours
Have given our souls to God
Our bodies to the soil of Italy
And our hearts — to Poland"

Most Americans know nothing about the World War II Battle of Monte Cassino, in which the Polish 2d Corps battled valiantly to open the route to Rome for the Allies. Sitting atop a strategic promontory, the abbey at Monte Cassino was surrounded by Nazi artillery and snipers. After unsuccessful attempts by Allied forces to take the abbey, the Poles dug in, threw wave after wave of men at the Nazi position and on May 18, 1944, raised their red and white flag atop their prize.

In the week's fighting the 2nd Corps had suffered appalling losses; there were 4,199 casualties, 25 percent (over 1,150 ) of these dead. One of the holiest places on Earth may be that Polish Military Cemetery on Monte Cassino. Buried there are the pure of heart -- they fought to victory and then had to wait another 40 years for freedom. And this is something you have probably never heard about from your Polish friends.

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General Wladyslaw Anders talks with British officials near a bunker

Captured by the Russians after the partition of Poland in 1939, Anders was released from the Lubianka prison in 1941 to lead the Polish POWs from Russia into Persia, where the British had offered to arm and equip them to fight against the Germans in the Western Desert. The resulting corps, Polish II Corps, became one of the most redoubtable military formations of the war. Its principal, and unforgettable, achievement was to capture Monte Cassino, 17-18 May 1944, after three attempts by others had failed. Anders subsequently led it in the battles up the Adriatic Coast and in the clearance of the Po Valley. Most of II Corps chose exile at the end of the war, and Anders remained leader of their community in England until his death.

Gen. Anders, commander of the 2nd Corps, before he died in London in 1972, expressed his wish to be laid to rest with his fallen soldiers near the monastery. After the war a cemetery was built at the foot of the Abbey by surviving soldiers of the 2nd Corps.

At its entrance, the engraved epitaph depicts their bravery and dedication to Poland.

In four languages it reads:

"We, Polish soldiers
For our freedom and yours
Have given our souls to God
Our bodies to the soil of Italy
And our hearts — to Poland"

Thank you Sam. Poland has proven they are truly an ally we owe much more to than we have given.

And in September of 1944, the Polish Parachute Brigade would jump into Arnhem, Holland. But that is another story.

Good job, SAM.

Awesome thread Sam.

Great tribute to the Poles to read of their ferocity and courage. And as well to every soldier of the Allies in those battles. Thanks to SAMWolf and snippy for the wonderful FReeper Foxhole Remembers threads.