Wojtek The War Bear Was Fond Of Hauling Artillery
Polish army battery recruited orphan Iranian bear
by ALASTAIR SLOAN
Sauntering in southern Italy in 1944, enjoying the sun and a smoke, two British soldiers were foraging. They and thousands of other Allied troops were involved in perhaps the bloodiest of all the battles fought to liberate Europe—the siege of Monte Cassino.
But they weren’t alone. The pair jumped as a brown mass caught their eye, walking right up behind them. Pressing themselves against some bushes, they shouted to warn an artillery battery up ahead. A pretty dangerous looking creature was headed their way.
The beast lumbered past, as they cowered into the undergrowth. Strangely, the men manning the artillery gun seemed nonplussed—even as the creature made its way over to a truck, picked up an artillery shell—and made his way over to them. He dropped off the shell and returned to the truck, helping the other artillerymen unload.
The baffled Brits had just met Private Wojtek of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, Polish II Corps—the only bear to fight in World War II.
