A story that caught my attention and I will share it with you
In the spring of 1942, after the release of Polish soldiers from a camp in Siberia, the only route from the Soviet Union was across the Caspian Sea to Iran. The new Polish army, which was formed in the Middle East under the command of the British, encounters a cub cub in the mountainous areas of Persia, which was left an orphan after his mother was killed by hunters. The soldiers bought the swords from a little shepherd who kept him in a sack and gave him the name Vojtek.
When he went with the army, the bear Vojtek was quite small and the problem with his diet was solved with condensed milk. In the following years, he became an indispensable member of the 4th Platoon, and his best friends were young soldiers. The bear liked to stay in the improvised kitchen where he ate whatever they gave him, and he started drinking wine and beer, as well as he consumes cigarettes that he would receive only if they were lit, inhaled one smoke, and then chewed them. Vojtek grew into a large and strong bear who was extremely tame and protective of his soldiers. He became a hero in Palestine when one night he caught thieves breaking into a room with ammunition where he was sleeping. The Arabs were frightened when they realized that they had come across such a large and dangerous animal and a whole fight ensued. This resulted in their arrest, and Vojtek was deservedly rewarded with a bottle of beer. He was not the only animal in the army, so he became friends with the monkey Kasha and the dog Kirkuk, but he did not hang out with them for long because Kasha died of grief when her cub died, and Kirkuk did not survive the scorpion bite. Wojtek was also in a bad condition after a poisonous insect bit his nose and everyone thought he would not survive. His faithful friend Henrik nursed him day and night, and the bear still recovered.
When the Polish army was preparing to enter the war zone in Italy during 1943, a problem arose over Wojtek's status. As the animals were not allowed to go into battle with the soldiers, the problem was solved by giving Vojtek the rank and serial number. During the conflict, Wojtek found himself on the artillery line of fire, where he saw boxes of ammunition being carried from the truck to the cannons. Henrik Zaharevic, who remained to guard the bear, had to help the soldiers, and Vojtek was left alone near the truck. As he had always copied the actions of his soldiers, the bear began to carry boxes of ammunition towards the cannons, and the sounds of the explosion did not touch him. Due to his courage and readiness to take part in the action, his image with a grenade in his hands became the official logo of the company that supplied the army with ammunition during the war.
