Wojtek, l'ours soldat

Nota Bene

Aujourd’hui, j’aimerais vous raconter l’histoire d’un soldat polonais ayant combattu durant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale et dont la nature disons…. poilue pourrait en surprendre plus d’un ! Aussi farfelu que cela puisse paraître, le soldat en question est… un ours ! Mais attention, c’est du sérieux hein : cet ours a été enrôlé, décoré, gradé, et a même servi d’emblème à son régiment ! Découvrez avec moi l'histoire de Wojtek !  Erratum : Deux erreurs se sont glissées dans l'iconographie de cet épisode : à 3:34 et à 5:47, on voit un ours en compagnie de soldats… allemands  ! Ce sont en réalité des photomontages !  Merci à Lucie Terreros d'avoir écrit cet épisode !  Merci aussi à Kinmeki d'avoir réalisé les dessins et les animations de l'épisode ! Découvrez son compte Instagram juste ici : https://www.instagram.com/kinmekii/  Enfin, merci également à Loïc de Studio Pluriel pour avoir réalisé le mixage ! Pour en savoir plus sur Studio Pluriel, c'est juste là : https://www.studiopluriel.fr/   Montage par V pour Valentin : https://www.youtube.com/Salveus  ———————————————————————————————————————————— ➤➤➤ Sources en fin de description  ———————————————————————————————————————————— Découvrez ma boutique en ligne  ➜ https://nota-bene.creator-spring.com/   ———————————————————————————————————————————— Vous pouvez acheter mes ouvrages ici  ➜ https://www.notabenemovies.com/ouvrages/  ———————————————————————————————————————————— Rejoignez-moi sur les réseaux ! ➜ Nota Bene : https://www.youtube.com/@notabenemovies ➜ Nota Bonus : https://www.youtube.com/@NotaBonus ➜ Twitch : https://www.twitch.tv/notabenemovies  ➜ Facebook : http://facebook.com/notabenemovies  ➜ Twitter : https://twitter.com/NotaBeneMovies ➜ Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/notabenemovies ➜ TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@notabenemovies  ➜ Snapchat : https://t.snapchat.com/NV73QSxl ➜ Tipeee : https://www.tipeee.com/nota-bene ➜ Site internet : https://www.notabenemovies.com/ ➜ Podcast : https://www.notabenemovies.com/podcasts/ ———————————————————————————————————————————— ➤➤➤ Pour en savoir plus : ———————————————————————————————————————————— https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G9J1BL9IJbu1TKn6B37Dim-vmEIdNSjLFzTbUWcx4Rs/edit?usp=sharing

Transcript

00:00 My dear comrades, good morning!

00:01 Today I would like to tell you the story of a Polish soldier of the Second World War

00:06 and whose, let's say, hairy nature could surprise more than one.

00:09 As crazy as it may seem, the soldier in question is a bear.

00:14 But be careful, it's serious!

00:16 This bear has been rolled up, decorated, graded and even served as an emblem to his regiment.

00:21 [Music]

00:33 Our story begins far from Poland, in Amadan, Iran.

00:38 In April 1942, the 2nd Corps of the Polish Army,

00:42 then mobilized in the Middle East and making its way to Tehran,

00:45 crosses the road of a young boy accompanied by a bear.

00:48 One of the lieutenants falls under the charm of the little beast

00:51 and swaps the animal for a few cans of meat.

00:54 He is then entrusted to the 22nd Artillery Supply Company,

00:57 a company of which he almost immediately becomes the mascot.

01:00 So what is the Polish Army doing in the Middle East, you might ask?

01:04 Well, to understand that, you have to go back a long way in time.

01:07 [Music]

01:12 On August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact,

01:17 which allows them to share Central Europe.

01:20 In September 1939, the Third Reich subsequently annexed the Sudetenland

01:25 and the entirety of Czechoslovakia,

01:27 then continued its expansion by invading Poland with the help of the Soviets.

01:31 Caught in the act, the Polish government then had to flee the country

01:34 and took refuge in Angers, France.

01:37 Exiled but not defeated, he continued the war effort alongside his allies

01:41 and formed an army of 85,000 men, the first corps of the Polish Army.

01:45 A great effort, right?

01:47 Unfortunately, in June 1940, after the invasion of France

01:50 and the armistice signed by Marshal Pétain,

01:53 it was a new exile, to London this time.

01:56 But luck turned a year later.

01:59 On June 22, 1941, Germany broke the German-Soviet pact

02:03 and launched Operation Barbarossa, the surprise attack of its former ally, the USSR.

02:09 And then Poland made a very brave decision,

02:12 to re-establish diplomatic relations with the USSR,

02:15 yet its former enemy was responsible for its occupation.

02:19 And this is how the second corps of the Polish Army was formed,

02:22 made up of former soldiers detained by the USSR during the invasion of Poland.

02:27 General Anders, who commanded this military unit,

02:30 had been detained by the Soviets for 18 months.

02:33 Soberly called "Army Anders",

02:36 it was initially supposed to fight the Nazis alongside the Red Army.

02:39 But General Anders was wary of Stalin

02:42 and ended up getting the army evacuated to Iran

02:45 to make the junction with the British troops.

02:48 And that's how we end up with Poles buying a bear on the edge of a tyrannical road.

02:53 It is affectionately called "Wojtek",

03:02 literally "the smiling warrior" or "the one who amuses the war".

03:06 And it becomes, of course, a huge star within the company.

03:10 First, the bear is fed concentrated milk with a bottle of vodka,

03:14 then with fruits, molasses and jam.

03:18 But Wojtek grew up.

03:21 It's war, it's a good man thing, we're at the Polish soldiers!

03:24 So he will soon be drunk on beer.

03:27 And he is also particularly fond of cigarettes, which he swallows whole.

03:32 Gradually, the bear becomes a full member of the company

03:36 and learns to salute, to guard and to fight with his little comrades.

03:41 But in February 1944, the "Army Anders" is mobilized to fight alongside the British,

03:46 who are struggling on the Italian front.

03:49 Since the landing in Sicily and the capture of Naples by the Allied forces in July 1943,

03:53 the progression to the north of Italy is in full swing.

03:57 Indeed, the Allied major states are focusing on the gigantic Operation Overlord,

04:01 code name for the Normandy landing.

04:04 As a result, the Italian campaign becomes a secondary theater of operations.

04:08 And it is in this burbide that our brave Polish soldiers,

04:10 accompanied by their war bear,

04:12 will demonstrate their bravery and triumph where the French and the British will fail.

04:17 Wojtek is on this occasion officially enrolled in the army with a first-class degree.

04:22 He is not paid in silver, but his food ration is doubled.

04:27 The Italian campaign

04:31 The objective of the Italian campaign is to break through the Gustave line,

04:35 a series of fortifications that extend over 150 km

04:39 to the most restricted level of the Italian peninsula.

04:43 Its key point is a Benedictine monastery located at 516 meters altitude,

04:47 Monte Cassino.

04:49 An important German garrison is truncated in this real lock that opens the road to Rome.

04:55 As long as it holds, the Allies cannot make the junction with their troops from the north and the south.

05:00 And this lock holds. The Germans make the Allies pay the high price.

05:04 The 8th British Army, the 5th French Army under the orders of Marshal Jouin,

05:08 as well as some New Zealand, Indian and Moroccan divisions,

05:12 launch three assaults in vain.

05:15 The Germans fear nothing and especially not the arrival of the Polish contingent.

05:19 Quiet, they may sell a little bear skin before killing it.

05:23 The German army

05:26 Indeed, on May 11, 1944, the men of Enders launch the assault.

05:30 The fighting is rough, the losses are numerous,

05:33 the German resistance is fierce and the topography plays in their favor.

05:37 The vegetation, almost non-existent, deprives the Poles of natural shelters or hidden ones

05:41 and forces them to advance unnoticed.

05:43 But fortunately, Wojtek is there.

05:46 He cannot use firearms, but he has an amazing strength.

05:50 He carries with him, 11 kg of ammunition boxes full of artillery shells,

05:54 boxes that normally require the strength of 3 or 4 men.

05:57 After a good week of fierce fighting, the monastery eventually falls.

06:01 On May 18, 1944, the Poles plant the flag of the 12th Polish Regiment on the ruins of the monastery.

06:09 Their losses are so numerous that a chant, "The red cockles of Mount Cassin",

06:13 says that there, the cockles are always redder because they are choked with the blood of the Poles.

06:19 After the Monte Cassino is liberated, the valley of Liri is cleared,

06:23 the Allies can advance in Europe.

06:26 As a reward for his weapons, Wojtek becomes corporal

06:36 and even inspires the emblem of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company.

06:40 A bear holding a shell.

06:42 The Polish troops follow the progression of the Allied armies

06:45 and go to Scotland, where they are stationed until the end of the war.

06:48 The victory will have a very bitter taste for the 2nd Army Corps,

06:51 which fought so courageously.

06:53 Because Poland, liberated by the USSR, becomes Soviet overnight.

06:58 In order to please the demands of Moscow,

07:00 the soldiers of the Polish army are not allowed to participate in the Victory Parade

07:04 organized in London on June 8, 1946.

07:08 The unit could not even return to its country as a liberator.

07:11 Most of the soldiers lost their nationality

07:14 and were forced into exile by the communists reigning in Warsaw,

07:17 who tried to return, but were punished by imprisonment and torture.

07:22 Rest assured, Wojtek will not be tortured or imprisoned,

07:28 but simply demobilized from 1947

07:31 to prevent him from becoming a propaganda tool in the hands of Stalin.

07:35 He spent the rest of his life at the Edinburgh Zoo

07:38 and died in 1963 at the age of 22.

07:42 Late tributes were erected in honor of the hairy hero of Monte Cassino,

07:45 including two statues, one in Edinburgh, in the Prince Gardens Park,

07:50 and another in Krakow in 2014, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the famous battle.

07:56 Thank you to Lucie Terreiros for the preparation of this show.

07:59 Don't forget to subscribe to this bonus channel if you haven't already.

08:03 And then a little like, a comment, a share, it's always a pleasure.

08:08 Thank you all and see you soon for new episodes.

08:11 [Music]

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