3rd Carpathian Rifle Division (Poland)
The Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division (Polish: 3 Dywizja Strzelców Karpackich, sometimes translated as 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division), also commonly known as Christmas Tree Division due to the characteristic emblem, was an Allied unit fighting during World War II on the Italian Front. It was formed in 1942 of the Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade and the forces of General Władysław Anders' 2nd Polish Corps evacuated from the USSR.
The division participated in the North African and the Italian Campaigns (1941–1945) as part of the British Eighth Army. Notable actions include the victories in the Battle of Monte Cassino, Ancona and Bologna. Disbanded after the war, most soldiers chose not to return to the new, Communist Poland. After the war, the division was housed at Hodgemoor Camp in Hodgemoor Woods, Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, England. They maintained a presence there until 1962. There were, and may still be, many Polish families in the area.
Read more about 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division (Poland): Commanders, Order of Battle
Famous quotes containing the words rifle and/or division:
“Many times man lives and dies
Betweeen his two eternities,
That of race and that of soul,
And ancient Ireland knew it all.
Whether man die in his bed
Or the rifle knocks him dead,”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“For a small child there is no division between playing and learning; between the things he or she does “just for fun” and things that are “educational.” The child learns while living and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play.”
—Penelope Leach (20th century)