Polish Army in Iraq? Not the First Time.

A top U.S. commander recently transferred control over south-central Iraq to an international force led by Poland but this is not the first time Polish troops have entered Iraqi soil. The II Polish Corps, also known as Anders' Army, traversed Iraqi soil in their journey from Siberia to the Italian Front during WWII only to be later betrayed by the Roosevelt administration.

Albany, NY (PRWEB) September 5, 2003 -- A top U.S. commander recently transferred control over south-central Iraq to an international force led by Poland but this is not the first time Polish troops have entered Iraqi soil. The II Polish Corps, also known as Anders' Army, traversed Iraqi soil in their journey from Siberia to the Italian Front during WWII only to be later betrayed by the Roosevelt administration. Their story is incredible but little known as the Allies hushed the account after the Yalta Conference.

Over a million people were deported from Eastern Poland at the beginning of WW II and sent to work in Siberian labor camps where they were expected to perform slave labor until they died. But all that changed when Germany invaded the Soviet Union; Stalin was stunned and quickly called for the formation of a Polish Army in exile, known as Anders Army. Men left Siberian labor camps half-starved and began training with rags on their feet and wooden guns on their shoulders. They developed into what British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan called one of the greatest fighting units in WW II winning battle after battle against Germanys finest soldiers. An undefeated army in exile within reach of their homeland, they were betrayed by the Allies at Yalta and became an army without a nation.

The Cold War is over and its time for their story to be told," says Robert Ambros, author of the new award winning historical novel about Anders' Army entitled The Brief Sun. "Very few people know what happened and that was no accident. Right after WWII, thousands of Poles entered Great Britain and were told by the British government never to discuss their experiences during the war with the British citizens; even letters they wrote were censored.

"Meanwhile across the ocean, a bill endorsed by General Lee, Commanding General of American Forces in the Mediterranean was introduced in the U.S. Congress. The bill would have given special emigration rights to men General Lee referred to as these gallant soldiers who cant return to Poland." But the bill was quickly killed by Secretary of State Dean Acheson.

"A couple of years before this, the USS Hermitage arrived at a California port with over 700 Polish refugees on board; the arrival was kept secret. The refugees were not allowed to stay on American soil but quickly sent across the Mexican border. As the Iron Curtain was coming up, one of the few things the West and the Soviet Union had in common was that neither wanted to discuss what happened to Anders Army."

For more information please visit www.thebriefsun.com and www.andersarmy.com.