MONTE CASSINO 80

"I get more correspondence from" Trail of Hope "than anything else... Lots of books about Monte Cassino but not very much about the whole Odyssey". 'Trail of Hope' situates the Anders Army's journey within the broader context of World War II and the geopolitical shifts affecting Eastern Europe. The book starts with the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 and the subsequent forced deportation of Poli...

In this podcast we meet Nuna Staniaszek whose mother Tola Turska, nee Styraniec was a volunteer with 317 General transport 2nd Polish Corps. Her service as listed in her Military records began in the Middle East and then on to the Theatre of Operations in Italy between February 1944 and 4th March 1945: On the rivers Sangro and Rapido for Monte Cassino, The Gustav-Hitler Line Ad...

Not only was Zdzisław Łukasiewicz the 4th volunteer in the Polish Army under General Anders that formed in the USSR after the Sikorski Mayski Agreement, he was given the job of travelling across USSR to muster Poles who had been incarcerated in gulags and prisons. In this episode of Monte Cassino 80, we meet Konrad “Radders” Harandon, the grandson of Zdzisław Łukasiewicz member...

Marek Mrozek, talks about the 2nd corps soldiers’ their reputation for grit, determination and fearlessness in battle. Across 2 podcasts we will be talking about the historical and social journey of the Polish men and women, of the 2nd Corp, drugi korpus led by general Anders. We will explore why the volunteered to fight and why they were ready for the victory at the Battle for Monte Cassino In pa...

In this episode of  Monte Cassino 80 , we meet Marek Mrozek. Across 2 podcasts we will be talking about the historical and social journey of the Polish men and women of the 2nd Corp, Drugi Korpus led by General Anders. We will explore why and how they volunteered to fight and why they were ready for the victory at the Battle for Monte Cassino. Marek is a volunteer at Polish Institute and Siko...

In this episode of Monte Cassino 80, with thanks to Kresy Family Polish WWII History Group, we meet Jan Zajaczkowski. Jan is a volunteer at Kresy Family who has become an authority on navigating the available archives as well as adding to the tools to help you find your Polish Roots. In this podcast he explains what is accessible if you are researching a family journey from Kresy, through Sib...

Finally - 80 years after the Polish victory of the Battle of Monte Cassino – Melchior Wańkowicz’s “The Battle of Monte Cassino” has been translated into English. “The book should become a historical source. That's why we can find information about one and a half thousand participants on its pages.” Melchior Wańkowicz. In this episode, Jola Piesakowska speaks to distinguished translator Charles Kra...

"I realise now, that at 18, I was too young to understand just how dangerous this was." Danuta (Mączka) Gradosielska was 18 years old when she saw active service at Monte Cassino and the Italian Campaign as a driver with 316th POMOCNICZA SŁUŻBA KOBIET, WOMEN'S AUXILIARY SERVICES Drugi Korpus 2nd Corps.   The 316th PWSK Transport Company was an all-female unit, driving 3-ton Dodge trucks...

"...because Polish people are actually very brave and they fight well... even the women" Marking the 80th anniversary of the battle of Monte Cassino in May 2024, Pani Sawicka spoke to me for this podcast at her home in South West London. At 101 years old, she looks back on her military career in World War 2 and reflects on how as a 16 year old, the invasion of Poland in September 1939 shattered he...

  Colonel Romuald Lipinski is a veteran of the battle of Monte Cassino and the last surviving soldier of the 12th Podolski Lancers Regiment, 12 Pułk Ułanów Podolskich. 2nd Polish Corps. Drugi Korpus. In this podcast he describes the moment on the 18th May 1944 when his regiment the 12th Podolski Lancers, 12 Pułk Ułanów Podolskich raised their pennant over the Monastery of...