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Voytek The Soldier Bear At Edinburgh Zoo. (also Known As Wojtek). In Early 1944 The Men Of The Bear Voyteks Unit Were Ordered Embark For Italy To Join The Allied Advance On Rome. The British Authorities Gave Strict Instructions That No Animals Were T
Voytek The Soldier Bear At Edinburgh Zoo. (also Known As Wojtek). In Early 1944 The Men Of The Bear Voyteks Unit Were Ordered Embark For Italy To Join The Allied Advance On Rome. The British Authorities Gave Strict Instructions That No Animals Were To Accompany Them. The Poles Therefore Enrolled Voytek Into The Army As A Rank-and-file Member Of Their Company And Duly Waved The Relevant Papers In Front Of The British Officers On The Dockside At Alexandria. Faced With Such Impeccable Credentials The British Shrugged Their Shoulders And Waved The Bear Aboard. In This Way Voytek The Iranian Bear Became An Enlisted Soldier In The 22nd Transport Division (artillery Supply) Of The Polish 2nd Army Corps. Monte Cassino Was The Strategic Key To The Allied Advance On Rome. Three Bloody Attempts By The British Americans Indians French And New Zealanders To Dislodge The Enemy From The Famous Hill-top Monastery Had Failed. In April 1944 The Polish Forces Were Sent In. It Was One Of The Bloodiest Battles Of The War. Much Of The Fighting Was At Close Quarters. The Shelling Which Continued Night And Day Without Interval Scarred And Cratered The Landscape Until It Resembled The Pock-marked Surface Of The Moon. During The Most Crucial Phase Of The Battle When Pockets Of Men Were Cut Off On The Mountainside Desperately In Need Of Supplies Voytek Who All This Time Had Been Watching His Comrades Frantically Loading Heavy Boxes Of Ammunition Came Over To The Trucks Stood On His Hind Legs In Front Of The Supervising Officer And Stretched Out His Paws Toward Him. It Was As If He Was Saying: I Can Do This. Let Me Help You. The Officer Handed The Animal The Heavy Box And Watched In Wonder As Voytek Loaded It Effortlessly Onto The Truck. Backwards And Forwards He Continued Time And Time Again Carrying Heavy Shells Artillery Boxes And Food Sacks From Truck To Truck From One Waiting Man To Another Effortlessly. The Deafening Noise Of The Explosions And Gunfire Did Not Seem 
