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WonderHistory fact

Wojtek, a brown bear, was officially enlisted in the Polish army during the Second World War. He is said to have carried crates of artillery shells at the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy in 1944.

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The story behind the card

In April 1942 Polish soldiers, recently released from Soviet camps and passing through Hamadan in Iran, bought an orphaned bear cub from a local shepherd. Wojtek grew up with the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, wrestling with the men, and became a bear more than 1.8 metres tall when standing. Because British transport ships did not allow pets or mascots, the soldiers enlisted him as a private, with his own pay book and serial number; he was later promoted to corporal. The story of him carrying 45-kilogram crates of shells at Monte Cassino is debated, but the company adopted a bear carrying a shell as its emblem. After the war he lived at Edinburgh Zoo from 1947 until his death in 1963, aged 21.

Türkçe oku
Boz ayı Wojtek, İkinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında Polonya ordusuna resmen asker olarak yazıldı. Anlatılanlara göre 1944'te İtalya'daki Monte Cassino Muharebesi'nde top mermisi sandıkları taşıdı.

Nisan 1942'de, Sovyet kamplarından yeni kurtulmuş ve İran'daki Hemedan'dan geçen Polonyalı askerler, yerel bir çobandan annesiz bir ayı yavrusu satın aldı. Wojtek 22. Topçu İkmal Bölüğü'nde askerlerle güreşerek büyüdü ve arka ayakları üstünde 1,8 metreyi aşan kocaman bir ayı oldu. İngiliz nakliye gemileri evcil hayvan ve maskot kabul etmediği için askerler onu kendi maaş defteri ve asker numarasıyla er olarak orduya kaydettirdi; Wojtek daha sonra onbaşılığa yükseldi. Monte Cassino'da 45 kiloluk mermi sandıkları taşıdığı hikâyesi tartışmalıdır, ama bölük, mermi taşıyan bir ayıyı kendi amblemi yaptı. Savaştan sonra 1947'de Edinburgh Hayvanat Bahçesi'ne yerleşti ve 1963'te, 21 yaşında orada öldü.

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Background reading: Wojtek (bear)
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