About the Episode

In another interesting war story (listen to episode #3 for an incredible story about the Great Emu War of Australia, 1932), we learn about Corporal Wojtek, a bear—yes, a bear—who served alongside the Polish army in World War II.

Our story begins in April 1942, in Hamadan, Iran, when the 2nd artillery supply company of the Polish army were making their way through the Iranian mountains after being evacuated from the Soviet Union.

They were stopped in their tracks when they came across a young Iranian boy carrying a sack around his neck. After offering him some of their provisions, they noticed that the sack was moving…

After some gentle persuasion, they untied the sack’s ties just enough for a small, black snout to pop out. And inside the sack was a small, malnourished Syrian brown bear cub.

And the rest was history! Listen to the episode to find out how this small bear cub grew up to serve as an actual Corporal in the second World War.