Experience it in game
Play through the battle yourself in the immersive Company of Heroes 3 campaign.
Experience the dynamic campaign in game with 
Find out moreIn the battle for Italy during the Second World War, Monte Cassino was not just a key strategic outpost for the Axis powers on the road to Rome – it was one of the strongest defensive positions in Europe.
Among the huge Allied coalition facing a gruelling uphill struggle to conquer this rugged mountain and its formidable defences, it was the Polish II Corps who finally broke the Axis line.
Amid the monastery ruins, after five months of heavy fighting, slow progress and strategic blunders, these brave soldiers proudly raised the red and white flag of Poland.
But Monte Cassino was just one chapter in an extraordinary tale of occupation, exile and fightback.
This is their story.
The ruined monastery at Cassino, Italy, 19 May 1944.
The Polish II Corps formed in 1943, the same year as Operation Avalanche and just a year or so before the battles at Monte Cassino.
By 1945, they comprised approximately 55,000 men and 1,500 women, incorporating units such as:
If you were to read a list of Polish soldiers at Monte Cassino, you would find troops from many different walks of life, and an array of religious backgrounds – Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Jewish.
Today, the resting place of many can be found at the Monte Cassino Polish war cemetery, along with the ashes and gravestone of their general, Władysław Anders.
The II Corps travelled a long, dangerous route from Poland to Monte Cassino – enduring the brutal Soviet Gulag and an arduous evacuation to the Middle East before they even arrived at the battlefield in Italy.
This saga ties closely to the history of their homeland, and its status in Europe at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Sherman tanks of ’C’ Squadron.
Poland is set on the flat expanses of the North European plain – a historical crossing point for armies marching from east to west, and west to east, with few defensible borders.
As a result, the nation has often found itself at the mercy of powerful, expansionist neighbours. In fact, from 1795 to 1918, Poland didn’t exist at all. Instead, it was partitioned by the Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian Empires.
Polish self-determination and political consciousness were key weapons against their authoritarian rulers. During this period, “for our freedom and yours” became a call to arms for Polish soldiers and exiles, as they fought in revolutionary uprisings at home and abroad.
Freedom was a watchword in Poland for many decades to come. According to Matthew Parker, author of Monte Cassino: The Hardest Fought Battle of World War II, by the time of the Second World War, there had been “generations of Poles wanting to free their country… a huge tradition.”
After the First World War, when the map of Europe was redrawn, Poland reformed as a republic – seeming to beckon a new era of self-governance for the Polish people.
But in early 1919, just months after the conflict came to an end, Soviet troops invaded – hoping to use Poland as a jumping-off point to spread their revolution to Germany and Western Europe.
Though the Poles repelled the invading Russian forces, this moment would be a foreboding sign of things to come, as well as a dark reminder of the past.
Damaged Warsaw PZL aircraft plant following the German invasion of Poland, December 1939
Experience it in game
Play through the battle yourself in the immersive Company of Heroes 3 campaign.
Poland was invaded again on September 1st, 1939, this time infamously by Nazi Germany – seeking lebensraum territorial expansion. As a result, the UK and France declared war on Germany, and the Second World War had begun.
A few weeks later, the Soviet Union also invaded from the east. Despite being ideological enemies, the German regime and the Soviets had agreed to carve up Poland and Eastern Europe between them as part of a secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop nonaggression pact.
The people of Poland suffered brutal treatment at the hands of both regimes. In German-occupied territory, the Poles were considered untermenshen and were heavily persecuted.
The Nazis also began the systematic subjugation and extermination of millions of Polish Jews. By 1941, some of the most notorious concentration camps of the Holocaust had been built on Polish soil – including Auschwitz and Treblinka. Over the next few years, an estimated two million people were murdered in those two camps alone, while Warsaw became the site of Europe’s most notorious Jewish ghetto.
Meanwhile, eastern Poland was incorporated into the Soviet territories of Ukraine and Belarus. There, the feared NKVD secret police carried out the deportation and massacre of Polish army officers, civil servants and professionals in the forest of Katyn.
Others were rounded up and sent by rail to the Gulag in the far reaches of the vast Soviet empire – from Kazakhstan to Siberia – where they faced starvation, disease and brutal forced labour.
In one Siberian camp, 40% of the prisoners were said to have died in the first year.
For many Poles, their treatment led to lasting trauma – and vigilance. Matthew Parker notes how some survivors of World War Two were left with permanent fear of a further Russian invasion.
However, along with this trauma, there was also a deep-rooted desire among many Poles to fight back.
One woman “kept a stock of dry bread and a bag packed with food and essentials just in case the Russians came again. She lived into her 90s, but she had this for the rest of her life”.
Matthew Parker
In 1941, the surprise German invasion of the Soviet Union – codenamed Operation Barbarossa – put a swift end to the fragile German-Soviet alliance. Now allied with the United Kingdom, Stalin agreed to release his Polish detainees and allow them to form their own army on Soviet soil.
General Władysław Anders was released from the NKVD’s feared Lubiyanka jail to lead the new force. Anders had fallen foul of the Soviet regime for fighting for Tsarist forces in World War One, and battling the Red Army in the Polish-Soviet conflict. He had faced years of interrogation, starvation, solitary confinement and torture.
But now, the resolute Anders called on "all able-bodied Polish citizens to fulfil their duty to their country and to join the banner of the White Eagle”.
.webp)
Polish II Corps: Władysław Anders during inspection of Polish high school in Casarano, Italy.
“One might ask what our soldiers, scattered all over the world, are fighting for. There is only one, simple and clear answer: we fight for justice and for our nation, we fight for free and independent Poland, which every nerve in our body is craving so badly. We know that great hardships await us, that the way will be tough and bloody, and that perhaps not all of us will succeed. But we’ll get there eventually – so help us God!"
From a radio speech in 1941
Experience the battle for yourselfDownload the game now and see how the battle unfolded
The troops and civilians who eventually answered Anders’ call were exhausted, malnourished and often extremely ill. They had faced 18 months in forced labour camps, building roads and railways, or working in mines and sawmills.
They gathered in the steppe of Kazakhstan, where they lived in tents in freezing conditions. Before long, however, it was time to journey south to the British territories of Iraq, and Iran – known then as Persia.
Of the 1.7 million soldiers and civilians who were taken to the USSR, only around 115,000 made the long journey south between March and October 1942. According to one account:
“Many thousands died of malnutrition, exhaustion, and diseases (typhoid was rampant), often on the doorstep to freedom, waiting to be transported to Persia”.
Parker notes the “sense of extreme joy” of the Poles to leave the USSR, contrasted with their physical condition when they arrived in the Middle East:
“They’re met by the British, and all of their clothes are instantly burnt because they're all full of lice. They're instantly given very urgent medical treatments and food. And some of them actually made themselves very ill, almost fatally ill, by eating too much too soon because they have been so starved for so long.”
Those troops that made the journey were incorporated into the British Eighth Army, entering a steady training process to get them back to full strength. They then formed the Polish II Corps – numbering around 40,000 – before being posted to Persia, Iraq and Palestine, ultimately heading to Egypt and then on to the Italian campaign.
Over the last few years, the Axis war machine had mercilessly torn through Europe and Africa. But the tide was turning.
In Egypt, the British Eighth Army defeated Erwin Rommel’s forces at El Alamein, while the Soviets had taken the upper hand at Stalingrad. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the Americans were shortly to join the fray as well.
Anders and his troops had witnessed the terror of invasion, the fear of occupation and the hell of the Gulag. They saw themselves as “all that was left of free Poland”. With Hitler and Mussolini on the back foot, they now had a chance to fight through Axis territory to recapture and rebuild their homeland.
In 1943, the Polish Corps landed in Taranto and joined a large Allied force taking on the Axis in Italy.
Italy was said to be ‘Hitler’s soft underbelly’, but breaking the rigorous defences on the road to Rome proved harder than expected.
The Gustav Line was a series of heavy fortifications that ran the width of the Italian peninsula. It made excellent use of the peaks, gorges and caves of the Apennine mountains, and was reinforced with machine gun turrets, barbed wire and mines. The area was “icy in the winter and baking in summer”.
Monte Cassino and its seemingly impossible obstacles formed the linchpin of the Gustav Line. If the Allies took this, the rest would crumble.
But it wouldn’t be easy.
Every move the Allied troops made seemed to be watched. The monastery took on an ominous, malevolent presence of its own: “You couldn’t scratch without being seen”, said one soldier. “And it was a psychological thing. It grew the longer you were there”.
After two failed attempts to take the position, British commanders demanded action to remove this obstacle. They directed waves of US bombs to flatten the monastery, despite dubious evidence of its occupation.
The bombings devastated the complex and killed 230 civilians. But while the cloisters, courtyards and statues were reduced to rubble and craters, the German forces, who indeed had not been using the monastery, quickly moved in and established defensive positions in the ruins.
Subsequent Allied engagements achieved little progress and suffered heavy casualties.
It was at this moment, with the Allies in disarray, that the II Corps were assigned the task of taking the hill once and for all.
If they were successful, it would not only achieve the seemingly impossible – the morale boost and propaganda victory for the previously-oppressed Polish units would be incalculable.
“Let the lion awake in your heart! Soldiers – remembering Germany’s bandit attack against Poland, the German-Soviet partition of Poland, the thousands of ruined towns and cities, the murder and torture of thousands of our brothers and sisters, the millions of Poles deported to Germany as slaves, the plight and sorrow of our country, our suffering and exile – we march on trusting the justice of Divine Providence, with the holy motto of “God, Honour, Homeland” in our hearts.”
Anders: Address to the Polish army at the Battle of Monte Cassino
On 12th May 1944, the Polish II Corps advanced on Monte Cassino, with Anders eyeing a relatively gradual assault on the monastery. Rather than heading straight towards the target and risking enemy fire, his troops would steadily take positions on the high ground beyond the ruins.
The Polish Corps were hungry for the fight. According to Matthew Parker, as they ascended the hillside, one British eyewitness noted how he’d “never seen anyone so full of hatred. All they wanted to do is kill Germans”.
As they marched, they were subject to propaganda through loudspeakers – urging them to surrender, join forces with Germany and take the fight to the Russians.
It is safe to say this did not work.
On their way to their attacking positions at Monte Cassino, the Polish troops noted the stark ruin of this once idyllic Italian hillside – the product of months of grinding battle.
Soldiers of the Polish Army.
“There was not one tree that did have its branches green with leaves. There were only naked limbs, stumps, sticking out here and there. Grass has disappeared also. Bare rocks, covered with dust, unfriendly, were everywhere.”
Following the grim ascent, the attack itself was fraught with danger. The Kresowa Division would be tasked with taking the feared Phantom Ridge, while the Carpathian Division made ready to secure the infamous Hill 593 – which was “full of German bunkers”.
It was now or never. The Polish army’s attack on Monte Cassino was supported by a heavy artillery barrage of around 1,600 guns at 23:00 hours the previous night. At 01.30, the troops began their assault.
Stefan Orzechowski from 5th Kresowa Infantry Division, Italy, 1944
Stefan Orzechowski: Historia walk 5 Kresowej Dywizji Piechoty / CC BY-SA 4.0
They immediately found that the artillery fire had been ineffective, despite its scale. The ruins, craters, caves and other defences had provided excellent shelter for the German troops. If they were to vanquish their enemy, the Polish Corps would need to face them up close and personal.
Ultimately, enemy fire proved insurmountable for the Polish Corps and they were forced to withdraw. However, this push had provided an opportunity for other Allied attacks to make headway. The Free French Units were now making progress on the far side of the battle, while British divisions were soon to enter the field as well.
Free French Units assaulting an enemy strong point.
The Polish troops then launched their second offensive – aiming to distract the Germans from the British advance and take the monastery once and for all. Anders again sent units to capture the dreaded Phantom Ridge and Hill 593.
It was time to seize the monastery.
Expecting a violent climax to the battle, Anders and the courageous Poles prepared for the worst. However, what they did not realise was that German Commander Albert Kesselring had already ordered a withdrawal from the ruins, sensing impending Allied victory.
After a nerve-racking scout of the area, the Polish Corps realised the battle was won.
They hoisted the Polish flag proudly, along with the Union Jack in honour of their British Allies. One soldier even played the traditional Polish bugle call of the Krakow Hejnal to commemorate the victory.
In the space of just a few years, Anders and his heroic forces had journeyed from captivity, brutalisation and the brink of starvation to conquer a mountain, and capture one of the most formidable defensive positions on the continent.
It was an incredible moment for the whole of Poland – but one that came at a terrible price.
Around 1,000 Polish troops died at Monte Cassino. In addition, more than 3,000 were wounded, and 345 were reported as missing in action. It was a heavy cost.
In total, there were 105,000 Allied casualties, and 80,000 German casualties at the battle.
Death Toll 1,000 polish troops died at Monte Cassino
Injuries 3,000 were wounded in the battle
MIA 345 were reported as missing
Despite their heavy losses, the symbolic victory and morale boost for the Polish people was immeasurable.
The bravery of the Polish II Corps made global headlines in its aftermath. Monte Cassino graffiti was even found scrawled on walls across Poland as a mark of defiance against their Nazi occupiers – as ‘Monte Cassino’ became a byword for Polish courage.
With Germany’s defences all but broken, the Allies soon liberated Rome – albeit controversially. Hoping to lead the first Allied army into the Italian capital, American General Mark Clark missed a vital opportunity to cut off the entire German 10th Army, who regrouped and fought the Allies again at the Gothic Line, north of Florence.
However, for Anders and many of the Polish troops, the Allied victory was bittersweet.
Poland was again under Russian influence and – despite assurances at the Yalta conference that Poland’s government in exile would have a say on its future - the post-war reality was starkly different to the wishes of Anders and many of the Poles. Indeed, many chose to settle in Great Britain in the aftermath of the war.
Back in Poland, the Soviet occupation gave way to a totalitarian state, which would remain under Soviet influence until the early 1990s.
Despite its turbulent post-war era, the victory at Monte Cassino remains a huge source of pride for Polish veterans and civilians alike.
Today, the elaborate Polish Cemetery at Monte Cassino is something of a pilgrimage site, where coachloads of Polish people sing national songs, and priests conduct services.
Did you know?
After the war, the Polish government in exile would issue around 48,000 military crosses for the Polish troops who fought at Monte Cassino.
For our freedom and yours
We soldiers of Poland gave
Our soul to God
Our life to the soil of Italy
Our hearts to Poland
At the gate to Monte Cassino’s Polish war cemetery, a poem harks back to the Poles’ centuries-long quest for freedom, and their sacrifice
Interview with Matthew Parker
https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/1186/Polish-War-Cemetery-Cassino.htm
Lonnie R. Johnson,Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends, Oxford University Press, 1996
https://www.britannica.com/place/Poland/Partitioned-Poland
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/books/chapters/0723-1st-gross.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17754512
https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/auschwitz-and-shoah/the-number-of-victims/
https://muzeumtreblinka.eu/en/informacje/number-of-victims/
https://historicaleye.com/WorldWar2/monte-cassino
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/63/a7264163.shtml
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Monte-Cassino
https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-battle-of-monte-cassino
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/destruction-of-monte-cassino-1944
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yalta-conference-foreshadows-the-cold-war
©Relic Entertainment. All rights reserved. Developed by Relic Entertainment. Entertainment, the Relic Entertainment logo, Company of Heroes and the Company of Heroes logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Relic Entertainment. Relic Entertainment is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.
