Bear Who Fought Alongside Soldiers in World War 2

while researching this video we writers here at the infographics Institute got kinda jealous the big boss doesn't allow us to keep action figures potted plants or anything else in our pods let alone have a cool office mascot also the big boss stalks the bathroom with nearly see-through one-ply toilet paper but that's a tale for another day corporal Wojtek who was perhaps the coolest mascot one could wish for Wojtek was a six foot tall 500 or so pound brown bear that fought alongside polish soldiers during World War two in April of 1942 a group of polish POWs newly released from a Siberian gulag were traveling by train throughout the Iranian mountains they were headed to join the British allies in the Middle East during a stopover and Hamadan Iran some soldiers shared food with a young Kurdish boy who had a large sack the soldiers noticed that the sack was moving and the child showed off his fine he had a scrawny little Syrian brown bear cub he found it abandoned and thought that his mother had been shot by hunters the soldiers pulled together their meager resources so that lieutenant Anatole ton of Viet Ski could trade the boy for the bear cub reportedly the bear was swapped for a chocolate bar a Swiss Army knife a can of corn beef and some other canned goods Lieutenant Tarna Viet Ski kept the bear for a few months eventually donating him to the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company the soldiers named the bear Wojtek or happy warrior they babied the cub turning vodka bottles into impromptu baby bear bottles and feeding him condensed milk as he grew he was also fed fruit to marmalade honey syrup and beer as a tree Wojtek quickly adapted to camp life he wrestled with the soldiers gathered around the campfire with him at night and slept in their tents the soldiers taught him to salute he liked chasing down and eating the oranges the soldiers threw for grenade practice seeing how docile Wojtek was and the morale boost he brought to the soldiers officers didn't mind having him around he became the unofficial mascot of the company interacting with the bear was a pleasant distraction for the homesick soldiers some of whom were barely more than poised as Wojtek grew bigger and stronger the soldiers would wrestle him two and three at a time sometimes they'd play tug of war Wojtek also made friends with other animals in the camp including a Dalmatian belonging to a British liaison officer the bear and the dog would spend hours chasing and play fighting each other the soldiers taught Wojtek to pick up men by their boots and dangle them upside down it was a great way to haze unsuspecting rookies who thought they were going to get eaten by a bear Wojtek copied much of the behavior he saw around him he learned to stand on his hind legs and march along with the soldiers he became skilled at drinking beer from a bottle also he liked to eat lit cigarettes he'd hold his mouth open for the cigarettes to be placed in take a puff and then swallow it some claim that he would only accept cigarettes if they were lit and turn up his nose at unlit ones sure today we'd call this animal abuse but the soldiers loved the bear and it was a different time apparently Wojtek was a fan of coffee too along with the 22nd company Wojtek was stationed in Iraq Syria and then Palestine and eventually Egypt the bear had a reputation for being mischievous and getting into all sorts of things and an Allied forces camp in Iraq to the horror of some terrified women Wojtek stole ladies underwear off a clothesline on christmas eve after a traditional Polish feast where he and many of the other soldiers really enjoyed the wine a drunken Wojtek broke into a camp storeroom he trashed the room spilling cooking oil and flour while looking for jam and other sweets Wojtek also figured out how to get into the communal showers and turn on the taps unfortunately he was really bad at rationing water which was a precious commodity in the Middle East sometimes the shower loving bear would cause water shortages the army took to keeping the bathhouse door locked Wojtek would hang around outside in hopes of getting in one day in June of 1943 Wojtek noticed the bathhouse door had been left unlocked and ambled in an Arab spy on a reconnaissance mission had hidden in the showers and was now face to face with the bear despised screams of Terror alerted the camp guards who quickly took the man into custody the spy was so afraid of Wojtek that he blabbed various secrets including news of an impending raid which the army then moved quickly to foil as a result Wojtek received sweetmeats beer and was allowed to take an extra-long shower in 1944 the Polish Corps shipped out from Alexandria Egypt heading to Naples Italy to fight alongside the British Eighth Army unfortunately the British ship the soldiers were to travel on had rules against allowing mascot and pet animals on board the 22nd company got around the regulations by enlisting Wojtek in the army he was given the rank of private and had his own pay book and serial number during the brutal Battle of Monte Cassino Wojtek watched soldiers carry 100-pound crates of 25 pound artillery shells from the supply trucks to the front line the bear quickly began copying the soldiers standing upright and carrying boxes that would usually require multiple men to move however sometimes Wojtek was lazy and carried empty crates the Allies won the difficult battle in vortex actions earned him a promotion to the rank of Corporal also due to his popularity a depiction of a bear carrying an artillery shell was adopted as the official emblem of the 22nd company the emblem was put on vehicles flags pens and uniforms once World War two ended in 1945 the 22nd company including Wojtek were stationed at winifred airfield on some wood farm in Scotland Wojtek became popular with the locals especially with the children and the press in 1947 the Polish army demobilized and most of the soldiers returned home to Poland they were heartbroken to say goodbye the Wojtek the bear was sent to the n/bar zoo at first the zoo decided to introduce him to the other bears but it didn't work Wojtek thought he was a human as a result he was given his own exhibit II sometimes wojtek's former comrades would come to visit him they'd hopped the fence to his area and wrestle or cuddle with him they'd also bring him beer and throw him lit cigarettes the zookeepers noticed that Wojtek perked up whenever he heard Polish being spoken Wojtek lived out the rest of his days at the zoo passing away in 1963 at the age of 22 both Edinborough and Krakow have monuments featuring sculptures of Wojtek the Imperial War and Sikorski museums in London also have memorials and now that you've reached the end of our video why not keep the watch party going for another wild animal story who can forget the guy who kept the tiger in his Bronx apartment and if you ever wondered what the most dangerous jobs in the military are wondered no more experience the vicarious thrills but none of the ills

Channel: The Infographics Show

Views: 1,529,799

Rating: 4.9423943 out of 5

Keywords: world war 2 bear, bear, brown bear, wojtek, wojtek the bear, military, military animals, world war 2, world war II, ww2, army pet, pet, wojetk the bear, soldier bear, 22nd artillery supply company, army, us military, animal, polish army, bear soldier

Id: DAkVb74vBEY

Length: 6min 24sec (384 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 03 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/bendre1997]

Haven’t watched yet, is this about Wotjek?

[u/Asuhhbruh]

This made me so happy

[u/GrrMegamojo]

I always love hearing about this bear, literal legend right there.