Władysław Anders
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| Władysław Anders | |
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| Place of birth | Krośniewice-Błonie, Congress Poland, Russian Empire |
| Place of death | London, UK |
| Years of service | 1913 |
| Rank | Lt. General ( Polish - Generał Broni) |
| Battles/wars | WWI, PBW, PDW, WWII, Monte Cassino |
| Awards |               |
Lt.Gen Władysław Anders (August 11, 1892 – May 12, 1970) was a General in the Polish Army and later in life a politician with the Polish government-in-exile in London. Anders was born on August 11, 1892 to his Baltic-German father Albert Anders and his mother Elizabeth, born Tauchert,[1] in the Polish village of Krośniewice-Blonie, near Kutno which at that time was part of the Russian Empire (Partitions of Poland). He was baptized as a Protestant, member of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland.,[2]
He studied at the Riga Technical University and became a member of the Polish student fraternity Arkonia. As a young officer Anders served Tsar Nicholas II in the 1st Krechowiecki Lancer's Regiment during World War I, later joining the Polish Army and again serving as an Commissioned officer in a cavalry regiment.
Anders was in command of a cavalry brigade at the time of the outbreak of World War II. The Polish army at that time had not yet had a chance to fully modernise, having been resurrected only 20 years earlier, in 1918-19, following Polish independence from German, Austrian and Russian rule. As such, neither the army nor the Polish Cavalry was a match for German Blitzkrieg tactics, tanks and motorised infantry, and the Polish forces were forced to retreat to the east. During the fighting and retreat he was wounded a number of times. Anders was taken prisoner by Soviet forces which invaded Poland eastern part on September 17, 1939, and was jailed, initially in Lviv (then Lwów) and later in Lubyanka prison in Moscow. During his imprisonment Anders was tortured.[3]
Shortly after the attack on the Soviet Union by Germany on June 22, 1941, Anders was released by the Soviets with the aim of forming a Polish Army to fight alongside the Red Army. Continued friction with the Soviets over politic issues as well as shortages of weapons, food and clothing led to the eventual exodus of Anders' men - known as the Anders Army - together with a sizeable contingent of Polish and Jewish civilians, along the Persian Corridor into Iran, Iraq and Palestine; where Anders formed and led the 2nd Polish Corps while agitating for release of Polish nationals still in the Soviet Union. It was during this time that large numbers of non-combat-capable Polish men and women were sent to Britain. Many stayed, and made their way in the world after the end of the war.
Anders was the commander of the 2nd Polish Corps in Italy 1943-1946, capturing Monte Cassino in the Battle of Monte Cassino.
After the war the Soviet-installed communist government in Poland announced it was depriving him of his Polish citizenship. Anders had, however, always been unwilling to return to a Soviet-dominated Poland where he probably would have been jailed and possibly executed, and remained in exile in Britain. He was prominent in the Polish Government in Exile in London and inspector-general of the Polish forces-in-exile. He died in London on 12 May 1970, where his body lay 'in state' at the church of Andrzej Bobola, where many of his former soldiers and families came to pay their last respects. He was buried, in accordance with his wishes, amongst his fallen soldiers from the 2nd Polish Corps at the Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino in Italy.
After the war Anders wrote a book covering his thoughts and experiences. "An Army in Exile" was published originally by MacMillan & Co., London, in 1949. The book has been recently re-issued under the same title.
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski |
General Inspector of the Armed Forces 1946–1954 |
Succeeded by Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski |
[edit] Medals
Poland
- Virtuti Militari Commander's Cross
- Virtuti Militari Officer's Cross
- Virtuti Militari Golden Cross IV Class
- Virtuti Militari Silver Cross V Class
- Krzyż Walecznych Cross of the Valorous 8 times, 4 times for Polish-Soviet War and 4 times for Polish Defensive War of 1939
- Cross of Independence
- Polonia Restituta Commander's Cross
- Golden Cross of Merit with Swords
- Medal Wojska Military Medal four times
- Commemorative Medal for War of 1919-1921
- Medal 10-lecia Odzyskania Niepodległości
- Medal 3 Maja
- Medal za Długoletnią Służbę Long Service Medal
- Krzyż Armii Krajowej Cross of the Home Army
- Krzyż Monte Cassino Cross of Monte Cassino
The United States of America
Great Britain
- Order of the Bath Companion
- Italy Star
- Defence Medal
Czechoslovakia
Italy
- Ordine del S.S. Maurizio a Lazarro I Class
- Croce di Guerra al Valore Militare
Knights of Malta
- Croce al Merito del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta
Yugoslavia (Royal)
- Commander of the Order of St. Sava
Persia
- Imperial Order of Homayeun I Class
France
- Legion of Honor III Class
- Croix de guerre with Palm
- Medaille Interallie
Russia (Imperial Russia)
- Order of St. George
- Order of St. Vladimir with Swords
- Order of St. Anna with Swords 2nd, 3rd and 4th class
- Order of Saint Stanislas with Swords 2nd and 3rd class
[edit] Notes
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