Lieutenant general Władysław Anders | |
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| Birth name | Władysław Albert Anders |
| Born | (1892-08-11)11 August 1892 |
| Died | 12 May 1970(1970-05-12) (aged 77) |
| Years of service | 1913–1946 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General (Polish:Generał Broni) |
| Unit | Polish II Corps |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | See list below |
| Spouses |
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| Signature |  |
Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of thePolish government-in-exile in London.[1]
Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of theRussian Empire, he served in theImperial Russian Army duringWorld War I and later joined thePolish Land Forces afterPoland regained its independence in 1918.
DuringWorld War II, Anders was captured by Soviet forces and imprisoned, but he was later released to forma Polish Army to fight against the Germans alongside theRed Army. He led thePolish II Corps throughout the Italian Campaign, including thecapture of Monte Cassino.
After the war, Anders was deprived of his citizenship and military rank by the Soviet-installedcommunist government of Poland. He remained in Britain, working for thePolish Government in Exile and various charities. In 1989, after the collapse of communist rule in Poland, his citizenship and military rank were posthumously reinstated.
Anders was born on 11 August 1892 to his father Albert Anders and mother Elizabeth (maiden name Tauchert)[2] in the village ofKrośniewice–Błonie, 96 kilometres (60 mi) west of Warsaw, in what was then a part of theRussian Empire. Both his parents were ofBaltic-German origin and he was baptised as a member of the ProtestantEvangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland.[3] He had three brothers –Karol,Tadeusz and Jerzy, all of whom also went on to pursue careers in the military.[4]
Anders attended a technical high school in Warsaw and later studied atRiga Technical University,[5] where he became a member of the Polish student fraternityArkonia [pl].[6] After graduation Anders was accepted into the Russian Military School for reserve officers. As a young officer, he served in the 1st Krechowiecki Lancers Regiment of theImperial Russian Army duringWorld War I.[7]
When Poland regained its independence in November 1918, Anders joined the newly formedPolish Land Forces. During thePolish–Soviet War of 1919–1921 he commanded the15th Poznań Uhlans Regiment and was awarded the Silver Cross of theVirtuti Militari. After the war Anders continued his military education in France at theÉcole spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr and upon graduation he returned to Poland, where he served on thegeneral staff of the Polish Army under GeneralTadeusz Rozwadowski (Chief of the General Staff from 1920 to 1921).
Anders opposedJózef Piłsudski'sMay Coup in Poland in 1926, but unlike Jordan-Rozwadowski, he avoided persecution by theSanation regime that assumed power after the coup. Piłsudski made him the commander of a cavalry brigade in 1931 and he was promoted to the rank of general three years later.[8]
Anders commanded theNowogródzka Cavalry Brigade during the Germaninvasion of Poland in September 1939 and was immediately called into action, taking part in theBattle of Mława. After the collapse of thePolish Northern Front the brigade withdrew towards Warsaw, and also fought heavy battles against the Germans aroundMińsk Mazowiecki and in the second phase of theBattle of Tomaszów Lubelski. After learning about theSoviet invasion of Poland, Anders retreated south in the direction ofLwów, hoping to reach the Hungarian or Romanian border, but was intercepted by Soviet forces and captured on 29 September, after being wounded twice.[9]
Anders was initially jailed in Lwów and subsequently transferred to theLubyanka prison in Moscow on 29 February 1940. During his imprisonment, he was interrogated, tortured and unsuccessfully urged to join theRed Army.[10]
After the launch ofOperation Barbarossa and the signing of theSikorski-Maisky agreement, Anders was released by the Soviets with the aim of forming a Polish Army to fight against the Germans alongside the Red Army. Continued friction with the Soviets over political issues as well as shortages of weapons, food and clothing, led to the eventual evacuation of Anders' men – known asAnders' Army – together with a sizeable contingent of Polish civilians who had beendeported to the USSR from Soviet-occupied Poland, via thePersian Corridor into Iran, Iraq, and finally intoMandatory Palestine. The evacuation, which took place in March 1942, was based on the British-Soviet-Polish understanding. The soldiers involved were evacuated from the Soviet Union and made their way through Iran to British-ruled Palestine, where they passed under British command. Here, Anders formed and led thePolish II Corps, while continuing to agitate for the release of Polish nationals still in the Soviet Union.[11]
The Polish II Corps became a major tactical and operational unit of thePolish Armed Forces in the West. Anders commanded the Corps throughout theItalian Campaign,capturing Monte Cassino on 18 May 1944,Ancona on 18 July 1944; afterward his Corps took part in the breaking of theGothic Line and in thefinal spring offensive.[12]
The morale of the Polish forces was weakened by the outcome of theYalta Conference which ended on 11 February 1945, where the British and Americans, without consultation with the Poles, had decided to give a major part of the 1921–1939Polish territories to the Soviet Union.[13][14][15] When Anders asked for his unit to be withdrawn from the front line,Winston Churchill told him "you [the Poles] are no longer needed" but the American and British front line commanders—GeneralsRichard McCreery,Mark Wayne Clark and Field MarshalHarold Alexander—requested Anders that the Polish units remain in their positions, as they had no troops to replace them. Anders eventually decided to keep the Polish units engaged. So they fought together with the Allies in theBattle of Bologna.[13][15]
After the war, the Soviet-installedcommunist government of Poland deprived him of Polish citizenship and of his military rank. 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 Britain. He was prominent in the Polish Government in Exile in London and becameGeneral Inspector of the Armed Forces, as well as working on behalf of various charities and welfare organisations. His book about his experiences during the Second World War,An Army in Exile, was first published by MacMillan & Co, London, in 1949.
Anders died in London on 12 May 1970, where his bodylay in state atSt Andrew Bobola Church, and many of his former soldiers and their 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 thePolish War Cemetery atMonte Cassino in Italy. After the collapse of communist rule in Poland in 1989, his citizenship and military rank were posthumously reinstated.
Many personal effects which once belonged to Anders are on display in thePolish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. In June 2021, General Anders's bust designed byAndrzej Pitynski was officially unveiled at London'sNational Army Museum.[16]
Anders was married twice. He had two children with his first wife Irena Maria Jordan-Krąkowska (born 1894, died 1981) – a daughter, Anna (born 1919, died 2006) and a son, George (born 1927, died 1983).[17]
In 1948, he married the actress and singerIrena Jarosiewicz,[18] better known under her stage name Renata Bogdańska, with whom he had a daughter,Anna Maria (born in 1950).
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Anders received numerous awards and decorations:[19]
Order of the White Eagle (awarded posthumously on 11 November 1995 byLech Wałęsa)
Commander's Cross (2nd class)
Knight's Cross (3rd class)
Golden Cross (4th class)
Silver Cross (5th class)
Commander's Cross (3rd class)
Officer's Cross (4th class)
Cross of Independence_4r_BAR.PNG)
Cross of Valour (four times:Polish–Soviet War (3) &Invasion of Poland)
Gold Cross of Merit with Swords (four times)
Army Medal (four times)
Commemorative Medal for War 1918–1921
Medal of the 10th Anniversary of Independence
Medal of3rd May
Silver (20 years)
Bronze (10 years)
Home Army Cross
Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross
Wound Decoration, (eight times)
Commander of theLégion d'honneur
Croix de Guerre avec Palme
Médaille Interalliée de la Victoire 1914–1918._Medal.gif)
Order of Homayoun (1st class)
Order of St. George (4th class, 1915).png)
Order of St. Vladimir with Swords (4th class, 1915)
Order of St. Anna with Swords (2nd, 3rd (1918) and 4th class)
Order of Saint Stanislas with Swords (2nd and 3rd classes, 1918)
Commander of theLegion of Merit
Commander of theOrder of St. Sava
Media related toWładysław Anders at Wikimedia Commons| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by none | Commanding General of the Polish II Corps 1943–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General Inspector of the Armed Forces 1946–1954 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by none | Member of the Council of Three Alongside:Tomasz Arciszewski,Edward Raczyński,Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski,Roman Odzierzyński,Stanisław Mglej,Alfred Urbański 1954–1970 | Succeeded by |
Members of theCouncil of Three | ||
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| 1954-1955 |  | |
| 1956-1966 | ||
| 1966-1968 | ||
| 1968-1969 | ||
| 1969-1970 | ||
| 1970-1972 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
