I joined the army in 1938 in the polish President Guards.

At 2A.M. on the 2nd September 1939, the Germans bombed Warsaw. We left President Zamek to try to get to the railway to go to Kowel headquarters, but railways were all blown to pieces, so we had no alternative but to march the 300 miles We had no supply of food so we had to depend on farmer's kindness to help us and whatever else we could get such as radishes, carrots, anything at all. It was panic everywhere. On our way to Kowel, we saw a Polish evacuation train with women and children bombed to pieces. The train was derailed with screaming women and children trying to escape with planes coming down machine-gunning them. They were, absolutely powerless; it was a shocking sight to see bodies and hungry people trying to escape. Women were kneeling with their babies in their arms asking God to help them whilst bodies and blood lay scattered around them. We were to remember the same sight later on at Monte Casino.

We arrived at Kowel on the morning of 14th September hungry and dirty managing a shave and change of clothing. Now try and imagine continuous bombing everywhere causing an awful mess. You didn't know what to do - in one district there were screaming women and wounded children in bits and pieces; houses on fire with Germans and Russians still bombing on either side of us.

Unless you saw it you would not believe it Polish soldiers were fighting with swords against tanks. They were cut down like flies - half a soldier here and the other half turned the other way - We didn't have enough tanks to fight against such strong equipment.

We went 3 miles into the woods outside Kowel for a rest, but Germany and Russia were still bombing us. We kept going from place to place until 19th September when Russia captured us and we were taken to prison. They questioned us, asking us who we were, where we had been in service etc, for which I got 8 years. They were under the impression that I was an officer although I was only a private. We were kept for 14 days in a cellar being awakened 10 times a night for questioning with always the same pattern: "Who are you? What do you know? Where is the ammunition kept'?" to which my reply was always" I don't know".

My food was 1lb. of dry bread and water and every third day, I had soup. After 14 days, I was sent to another cell where we lived like fleas. We had 10 minutes walk every day, head down, hands behind our backs and then back again to the cell.

After that we were taken to Kiev where we stayed a fortnight with 200 men to a big room, it was impossible to sleep or do anything. We lay on concrete in our own clothes with no covering of any description. We all lay side-by-side like pigs and when we wanted to turn to the other side, we tapped one another on the shoulder until it got to the first man, he turned, then we all turned. Food was awful with soup twice a day; actually, it was soup without a name. After 2 weeks, we went to Kubeshef, which was even worse. There were no buildings whatsoever. With the fierce cold, we had to dig our way and build our own barracks through the snow, had we not kept moving, we would not have existed and we were starving. In total, there were about 500,000 prisoners. We were still sleeping like sardines on wooden shelves without blankets and still in our own clothes.

We were up at 6 A.M. and if we were unable to get up, we were caught by the legs and pulled out. Then to breakfast which consisted of porridge, which was, actually bailed oats without salt, sugar or milk. After that, we went to work through the gates in groups of thirty guarded by five policemen and guarded by two Alsatian dogs. We were warned that if we moved out of formation, we would be shot, which sometimes happened accidentally or perhaps when we couldn't care less through cold and hunger. I was starving, and often prayed hard that I could have enough dry bread to fill myself with and then die, I would be happy.

At the end of 1941, war started between Russia and Germany. General Sikorsky made an agreement with Britain and Russia that all prisoners would join the British Army (in the Polish 2nd Corps). We traveled from Russia to Persia where we now belonged to the 6th Brigade, 5th Division 2nd Corps of the 8th Army and remained there for about 6 months. After that, we went to Iraq and from Iraq to Palestine. From Palestine, we went to Syria for 6 months training for high mountains. We left Syria for Egypt and on to Port Toranto, Italy, again for mountain training.

In 1944, we relieved the 15th British Battalion for two weeks. After a fortnight break, we went on relief for another fortnight. After the fortnight, we went on relief for another fortnight to Monte Casino. Then we had another break 30 miles back from Monte Casino, or should I say 2 days break, as on the 11th May, orders came from HQ to go to battle in Monte Casino.

At 11 P.M. on 12th May 1944, we marched by road to a hill called Wigmo 575. British and American long distance artillery was shooting above our heads to make it easy for us. The noise was so bad that we couldn't hear each other speak, but we were all happy and in a good mood. We didn't worry about ourselves, as we wanted to get even with Germany for what they had done to us; Loss of families, property and Country and I for one still had visions of that evacuation train in my mind.

We climbed the hill at 12.10 A.M. on 13th May and started battle. My Company, which consisted of 120 men, started battle with the Germans. It was awful because they had strong fortifications and in the first attack, we lost 80 men. There were hands on bushes, a leg here, another there. We couldn't manage and retreated, it was like a slaughterhouse.

On the 14th, twilight orders came from HQ to use piat (shooting from the chest). Tanks couldn't get there, and it was impossible to drop a bomb on account of the troops. We attacked with the piat shooting numerous bunkers down and leaving the Germans in the same position as ourselves.

At dawn on the 14th with help, our artillery put fire on the German line and we went again into attack. This time we took several prisoners.

Right on top of the Wigmo, it kept going from hand to hand, one day German occupied and one day 5th Division, up until 17th May 1944. That morning, we attacked under heavy artillery and surrounded the Germans cutting off all supplies. At 6.30 AM. We took many Germans and many surrendered, but there were still many left.

At 7 A.M. I noticed a couple of men jumping from stone to stone, I couldn't reach them with my Tommy gun, and so I gave the order to fire. Before I got the chance, a German dropped a hand-grenade in front of my face blowing away my helmet and battle-dress and everything except shattered trousers from me. My left eye was blown completely out of my head and my sight gone from my right eye with pieces of shrapnel]. It cut 6 teeth out of the top of my mouth and my chest and arms were also full of shrapnel. Mind you, I was still conscious although I couldn't see and the pain was awful. My breath came in gasps, I could breathe in, but it nearly choked me to get it out. I put my hands on my chest and arms and I could feel the blood spraying my hand, it was spurting out all over me. All I could manage was to say help. My companions could not help me much; one just caught me by the legs and pulled me over stones and humps 3 yards down. They left me like that and threw an army coat over me to keep away the bluebottles. The German long-distance artillery put heavy fire on us, who was lucky lived, the rest died.

I could feel the stones bumping on me left and right and I thought I was going to die any minute. Again I felt my body with my hands to feel if I was wounded again. If I felt it wet, then it must be blood. Then someone came and gave me an injection, who it was, I don't know. Some time later, two came with a stretcher and started to carry me to first aid, The Germans were still shooting on top of our heads, so the boys dropped me on the stretcher and left me there running to save their own lives. It really didn't make any difference to them about me; I thought I would die any minute.

I still lay on the stretcher not knowing what happened with the men. I put my hand out feeling around for dead bodies, but could find nothing. A few minutes later, I started to drag myself from the stretcher on my hands and knees. I heard a voice saying, "Who are you?" I tried to reply, but couldn't. In a labored voice, I must have given him enough information. He told me not to worry and he'd help as much as he could. It was a doctor from the 2nd Battalion 6th Brigade 5th Division. He called six men from his regiment and gave strict orders to carry me to first-aid. I heard a voice saying "we are not going to carry him, it's too hard to get him down such a steep rugged mountain with nothing but rocks and stones and burnt bushes." The doctor replied "if you don't carry him, I'll shoot you, it’s an order!"

The men picked me up and carried me, but what a journey, every few minutes, they had to change hands. The only way they could get me down was by digging their heels into the ground and more or less sliding down. They tried to walk me but I collapsed.

I was really lucky to get to the first-aid post at all. A Polish Catholic Priest came and asked me if I was Catholic. I just nodded my head and he gave me the last Sacraments. Well I thought I am going to die now. Someone came and lifted me on to a table and I could hear a voice saying, "he's very bad, he won't be long." Little did they know that I could hear every word, but could not speak to them!

They took the bandages from my chest and arms and face, then pulled the shrapnel from my head, chin, chest and arms and gave me another injection. After that, I was shivering cold. Then I was put in a jeep on a stretcher to the ambulance station. There I was put in an ambulance for hospital, a journey of about 80 miles or so. On my way there, I was desperately ill, I was sick all the time. The nurse gave me some drink or other, which made me sick all the time, but helped me a great deal with my breathing.

At long last, I arrived at the hospital. Still breathing in gasps, they put me in a waiting room and the nurse came along and had a pretty awful job trying to cut my shoes and trousers off. Which by this time were stiff with blood. She washed me, put my pyjamas on and put me in a ward. Then the dentist came along and pulled out the remainder of my teeth, which were loose. Six were cut straight across the roots, which I had removed 9 months later

Now it came to the operation on my left eye. I still could see nothing with my right eye. A British doctor came and tried to explain about the operation, but as I couldn't speak English and he couldn't speak Polish, I'm afraid we didn't understand each other. Later, a Polish doctor was sent for from another hospital and he explained everything. I went to the theatre and had what was left of my left eye removed. About seven days later, I returned to the theatre and with a magnet, they pulled pieces of metal from my right eye. So after 12 days, I was able to see with that eye and thanks to God, I see today with it. After 6 months, I was sent to a Polish hospital where I had my gums cut and roots removed.

I was discharged after 9 months in hospital and back again to my regiment 50% disabled.

Franciszek Baczor - 16th March 1916 - 27th June 1991

 

Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany on 1st September 1939 and this invasion set off World War II. Eastern Poland was attacked by Stalin's Soviet Russian forces barely 16 days later, as agreed of a clause in the German-Russian peace treaty concluded in August and after the defeat of the Polish forces, the country was divided between the two aggressors. When Germany would, later in the war, attack Russia, the entire country came under Nazi rule until its liberation.