Władysław Albert Anders was a general in the Polish Army and later in life a politician and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London.

When Poland regained its independence in November 1918 Anders joined the newly-formed Polish Army. During the Polish–Soviet War of 1919 - 1921 he commanded the 15th Poznań Uhlans Regiment. After the war Anders continued his military education in France at the Ecole Superieur de Guerre and upon graduation he returned to Poland, where he served on the general staff of the Polish Army under General Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski (Chief of the General Staff from 1920 to 1921).

Anders opposed Józef Piłsudski's coup d'état in Poland in 1926, but unlike Jordan-Rozwadowski, he avoided persecution by the Sanation regime that assumed power after the coup. Piłsudski made him the commander of a cavalry brigade in 1931 and he was promoted to the rank of general three years later.