Anders Władysław

Władysław Anders, lieutenant general, commander of the 2nd Polish Corps. Władysław Anders, lieutenant general, commander of the 2nd Polish Corps. Pictures come from the National Digital Archives, Polska

Władysław Anders was born on 11 August 1892 in Błonie, near Kutno. In 1910, he enrolled in the Russian army and studied in the Riga Technical University. During World War One he was engaged in commanding a dragoon company and received many decorations. In 1917, he completed a shortened course organised by the General Staff Academy in Petersburg, and then took part in the formation of the 1st Polish Corps in Russia, and when it was dissolved, he returned to Poland. In July 1918, he joined the Polish Armed Forces. After regaining the independence by Poland, he performed his duties as Chief of staff of the Greater Poland Army (Polish: Armia Wielkopolska) in the Greater Poland Uprising and as commander for the 15th Poznań Uhlan Regiment. At the end of the war he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. In the interwar period he served in cavalry units and the Chief Inspectorate of Cavalry. He was Chief of staff of the government army during the May Coup.
When World War Two broke out, he was commander of the Nowogórdzka Cavalry Brigade in the rank of Major General. From 12 September 1939 on, he commanded the Cavalry Operational Group. In late September, in the face of the incoming German and Soviet troops, he attempted, in small groups, to force his way to Hungary. On 29 September, having sustained injuries twice, he was taken prisoner by the Soviet army. Released under the Sikorski-Mayski agreement, he stood at the head of the Polish Army in the USSR., which was then transformed into the Polish Army in the East and eventually in the 2nd Polish Corps, which he had under his command, for example, during the Battle of Monte Cassino. From 2 October 1944 to 5 May 1945 he was the Commander-in-chief of the Polish Armed Forces and General Inspector of the Armed Forces. Following the war, he remained in exile where he was actively engaged in political activity. He was promoted to the rank of General on 16 May 1954.
He died on 12 May 1970 in London and was buried together with his soldiers in the Polish Cemetery at Monte Cassino.

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