Wojtek the Polish Soldier Bear

soldiers adopting dogs or cats during wartime is not an uncommon phenomenon these animals provided much needed comfort and companionship in the trenches and battlefields even Adolf Hitler had a dog named Fel during World War I or take Sergeant Stubby for example a straight dog who became the mascot of the 10 102nd Infantry Regiment even had a movie made about him but a pet bear who would be crazy enough to do that oh of course it's the poles well I guess it's also not surprising voytech the bear enjoyed lighting up a cigarette and having cold beers

but let's start from the beginning hello I'm Yuri and welcome to discover history it is September 1st and Germany had just declared war on Poland the second Republic had existed for 21 somewhat troubling years after gaining its independence in late 1918 but Poland was not yet lost at least not until October 6th when it officially surrendered abandoned by its allies and the first victim of the infamous lightning Warfare and yet the fighting continued the Polish government in Exile quickly reformed the Polish Army under the French command in the West after operation Barbarosa in 1941 and

the Polish Russian military agreement the Soviets released many polish prisoners who went on to form various military units which became known as the Polish Army in the East one of them being the unofficially named Anders Army led by you guess vadl Anders units like anders' Army fought alongside Allied Forces all around the globe but Army were following left the Soviet onion for Iran in the spring of 1942 and on their Journey from pevi to Iran's Capital Teran the soldiers of the second Transport company which later becomes the 22nd artillery Supply Company encountered a young Iranian

shepher carrying a peculiar burlap sack inside of it was a Syrian brown bear cub whose mother most likely got killed by hunters the soldiers found the cup funny and thought it would boost morale so they proceeded to exchange their swis army knife some C of beef and chocolate for him after adopting the lonely Cub they named him VCH and took care of him feeding him condensed milk from an old vodka bottle because of course it's a vodka bottle as he grew over the following months he received fruits honey syrup but his new favorite beverage of

choice became beer with a nice cigarette to help wash it down he was assigned a caregiver who taught VTech to salute wave and even March together with the soldiers he amused himself with soldiers in the camp by participating in their activities like wrestling and boxing as well as going for rides at first in the passenger seat and then in the back after growing up but his favorite activity was grenade practice during which soldiers LED oranges which he chased during his alone time he enjoyed taking long cold showers eventually even learning how to turn on the

shower himself but water in the desert isn't exactly abundant and his comrades forbade him from showering alone except for one time when he encountered an Arab sneaking around the Polish Camp trying to locate its weapons Arsenal for local decid to raid as anyone would the sabure got scared shitless at the sight of voch and promptly surrendered to the poles for that white earned himself unlimited shower time and two cold beers and soon became un official mascot of the unit that was his life for a few months while moving to and from Iraq Syria and Palestine

eventually ending up in Egypt where his unit was reassigned to fight alongside the E British Army in the Italian campaign only the slight issue of British transport ship regulations came up the regulations for bait carrying pet animals and votic as humanlike as his passion for beer and cigarettes was was still a bear so the 22nd company was forced to leave him and sail to Italy the end ah just kidding the madlads officially drafted him into the Polish Army and voytek became private voytek with his own paybook rank and serial number his salary I presume being

spent on beer no longer just a pet he lived with the other soldiers in tense only sometimes taking a nap in his special wooden crate what made him famous though was his service during the Battle of Monte Casino a terrifying four-month long back and forth battle for Rome which even saw thousand old historical buildings level to the ground during it VOC helped his unit carry ammunition crates weighing 45 kg and never dropped a single one haters say this is fake but at least one actual account exists of a British soldier seeing a bear carry crates

of ammo he mimicked the soldiers and stacked the boxes which normally acquired four men and for his service at Monte Casino he even earned a promotion becoming a Corporal and rather than being The Unofficial mask of the 22nd company they adopted a depiction of him carrying an artillery shell as their official emblem after Monte cassino his unit went on to participate in the Battle of anona and later on in the final offensive in Italy in March 1945 during which he found interest in some more activities like scaring swimmers in the Adriatic and stalking horses and

donkeys I'd also like to believe vo continued carrying ammunition crates but couldn't really find anything on it anyhow with the end of the second world war Corporal VOC along with his unit was transported to berck Shire Scotland and stationed at Winfield Airfield there he became a local celebrity and an honorary member of the Polish Scottish Association enjoying the luxury they came with that having his own swimming pool at camp and unlimited beer but never neglecting his companions carrying fence post as they worked on the Scottish Farms following the demobilization in 1947 Corporal voytech was forced

to say farewell to his comrades which he had accompanied for 5 years now and moved to Edinburg Zoo where he spent the rest of his life often being visited by journalists his comrades never forgot him though they frequently visited and tell cigarettes for him to remember the good old days Corporal voch passed away on December 2nd 1963 VC's incredible story is a testament to the extraordinary bonds that can form in a most challeng ing circumstances his story is a heartwarming reminder of the compassion and camaraderie that exists within the chaos of War wch didn't just

carry ammunition if he even did at all he carried the spirits of his fellow soldiers providing them with companionship and a sense of normaly am missst the turmoil this heartwarming story is my personal favorite as I've spent the last six years carrying a voch teed keychain which I got in Gans and honestly I just hope I did it justice if you enjoyed the video consider subscribing and leaving a like thank you all very much for watching discover history