A wreck that tells more than a marble
Is it possible to build a monument out of a tank? And if so, what does its wreckage tell us? If you ever stray into the area around Hill 593 in southern Italy, you will come across a monument that does not look like a typical monument. There are no marbles, classical columns or monumental statues. Instead, there is a dilapidated Sherman tank, named 'Sultan', and two bronze figures of scorpions. You will not find it in the main avenue leading to the cemetery of the soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps at Monte Cassino, but a little further on - in a place that war reports called Gardziela.

This is not coincidental. The monument to the 4th Armoured Regiment 'Scorpion' is dedicated to the soldiers who died in one of the most dramatic attempts to capture the monastery. It commemorates them not only with their names, but with the very matter of their destruction - the steel wreckage that survives as a witness to those events.

From the desert to the Italian hills
The Battle of Monte Cassino, fought from January to May 1944, was one of the most difficult and symbolic clashes of the Second World War. The Germans had turned the Benedictine monastery towering over the Liri Valley into a key point of defence for the Gustav Line, a system of fortifications blocking the Allies' route to Rome. After several unsuccessful offensives, it fell to the soldiers of General Władysław Anders' 2nd Polish Corps to make the decisive strike.

The 4th Armoured Regiment "Scorpion" was a formation that originated not in Europe, but in the Middle East. It was formed in 1942 in Iraq from soldiers evacuated from the USSR. The name and the regiment's symbol, the scorpion, referred to the British armoured unit with which the Poles had worked in the desert. This exotic sign soon took on a new meaning - it became a symbol of courage and tenacity in battle.

On 12 May 1944, during an assault in the Garland area, a Sherman tank with tactical number 124, nicknamed 'Sultan', commanded by Second Lieutenant Ludomir Białecki, drove into a minefield. The explosion was instantaneous and tragic - the entire five-man crew died on the spot. For many soldiers it was a symbolic moment - so close to victory and yet at the cost of the lives of those who were supposed to open the way for others.

Sculpture from destruction
The choice of location and form of commemoration was not accidental. The wreck of the 'Sultan' was lifted from the battlefield and placed exactly where its mission ended. The design of the memorial was created by the artist Ludwik Kuźniarz, who decided not to stylise or restore the vehicle. He left it in its dilapidated state - deformed, burned, silent. Attached to the hull of the tank is a cross made of armoured tracks, supported by two bronze plaques and two realistic sculptures of scorpions.

The monument stands alone, somewhat hidden in the landscape. Around it are only grasses, stones and a small fence. There are no crowds here, but there are those who are looking for real history. Today, the site is cared for. In recent years, conservation work has been carried out here, and in 2019 it was added to the Italian register of World War II memorials of supranational importance. A simple, unpaved path leads to it - just a few hundred metres from the main cemetery. And although it is visited by fewer people, for many it is one of the most poignant places in the entire Cassino complex.

Silence that says it all
This memorial is also unique in that it speaks a different language to most war memorials. It does not celebrate victory, it does not raise its voice. It speaks in a whisper. The wreck of the 'Sultan' tank has not been transformed into a triumphant monument - its destruction has been preserved as a testimony to sacrifice. It is an example of authentic battlefield material used as a monument - rare and moving.

The scorpions were cast in bronze. Their shape is not only the regiment's coat of arms - it is a sign of battle, but also of menace and determination. The presence of these sculptures gives the monument a somewhat archaic, almost mythological character - as if the tank were a dragon that has been stopped at the moment of its death.

What is left when everything else disappears?
The monument to the 'Sultan' tank at Monte Cassino does not tell the story of victory. It tells the story of loss. About the five young men who did not manage to reach the walls of the monastery. About a tank that was supposed to be a shield but became a coffin. About the metal that spoke for the fallen. It bears the inscription: "TO THE HEROES OF THE 4TH ARMOURED REGIMENT FALLEN IN THE MARCH TO POLAND".

The monument to the 4th Armoured Regiment "Scorpion" is located in the Throat area, north-west of the Polish War Cemetery on Monte Cassino. It is located at the exit of the ravine, on the old road leading from Massa Albaneta to the Rapido river valley. It is possible to reach the monument on foot from the cemetery through Albaneta, from the Doctor's House or along the Polish Sappers' Road. The route from the cemetery through Albaneta is less than 2 km and can be covered on foot in about 30 minutes.