Władysław Grydziuszko

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Władysław Grydziuszko
September 6, 1910(1910-09-06) - January 29, 1946 (aged 35)
Grydziuszko in Palestine
Place of birth	Mikulicze, Poland
Place of death	Treia, Italy
Allegiance	Great Britain
Service/branch	Polish Army
Years of service	1942-1946
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	2nd Polish Corps, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, Eighth Army (United Kingdom), 2nd Armoured Brigade (Poland)
Battles/wars	PBW, PDW, WWII, Monte Cassino
Awards

This article is part of the series: Polish Secret State History of Poland

Sergeant Władysław Grydziuszko (1910-1946) was a member of the Polish Army during World War II. He was born on September 6, 1910 in the rural town of Mikulicze in Poland^[1]. Prior to his military service, Władysław worked as a master tailor and was enrolled with the Polish Forces^[2]. On August 28, 1939 he was called from reserve and together with the Polish Police unit participated in the 1939 Invasion of Poland campaign. Taken prisoner of war by the former Soviet Red Army and was held in the USSR. Following his ordeal on the basis of the Sikorski-Maisky agreement of July 30, 1941, Władysław Grydziuszko was released for the purpose of joining the Polish Armed Forces in USSR. From 1942 to 1944 Władysław fought in the Middle Eastern campaign in such countries as: Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt. Soon afterwards from 1944 to 1946, he embarked on the Italian campaign^[3].

Contents 1 Battle at Monte Cassino 2 Other War Efforts 3 Death and Aftermath 4 Works Cited

[edit] Battle at Monte Cassino

Primarily he was posted to the Fifth Field Artillery Regiment and later transferred to the Seventh on January 1, 1942. Władysław Grydziuszko was most famed for leading one of the tactical maneuvers in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. As the Polish Army was advancing against the Hitler Line^[4] which was held by Hitler's forces; on May 23 they finally managed to break through attacking village of Piedimonte. Władysław, along with many other soldiers in the 2nd Polish Corps used stables and other local buildings to camouflage tanks and attack the enemy from behind. In the following day the 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division [1]breached the lines and on May, 25 the Poles cleared way for any advance to be made into Rome and further inland. Grydziuszko was awarded both the Cross of Valor (Krzyz Walecznych) and the Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross^[5] for his war efforts. Unfortunately Grydziuszko was lightly wounded on October, 17 1944 and suffered spinal cord injuries. He however quickly recovered and returned back to the forces to serve for another two years.

[edit] Other War Efforts

Theater of Operations	Country	Dates
Action on the Rivers Sangro and Rapido	Italy	February 15 - April 4 1944
Battle of Monte Cassino	Italy	April 24 - May 31 1944
Action on River Senio	Italy	January 13 - April 8 1945
Battle for Bologna	Italy	April 9 - May 2 1945

[edit] Death and Aftermath

Following the Italian campaign, Władysław Grydziuszko was killed in an accident near Treia, Macerata in Italy on January 29, 1946. During a routine 2nd Armoured Brigade (Poland) training period, Władysław was tragically killed when he fell underneath one of his tanks. His death was instantaneous, and soon afterwards there was a memorial service held in his honor. Some 400 soldiers attended his funeral. He was buried in the Polish cemetery in Loreto, Italy on January 30, 1946^[6]. The two witnesses of his death was a future Polish Politician named Zygmunt Ostrowski [2] and Michał Matusiewicz.

[edit] Works Cited

Note: References 1 through 6 are a collection of original documentation by the APC Polish Enquiries, Ministry of Defence and the RAF. These letters are not to be reproduced without permission. Documentation is provided by great-nephew Patrick Camil Grydziuszko.