Captain Pollak joined up with the 1st Battalion, 48th Highlanders on  or just before 12 December 1944 and after the successful crossing of the Lamone River in northern Italy. He replaced Captain R. A. McIntosh (joined at Miramar, south of Rimini in late October) who was suffering from jaundice.

Captain Pollak remained with the battalion for the move in March from Italy to France, then Holland to the end of the war. The regimental history, Dileas – page 709, stated: “Captain J.E. Pollak, a colourful Czech, now presided at the R.A. P.. He was frequently encountered prowling in dangerous places, and the Highlanders knew he regretted he was not a fighting officer. They were soon calling him The Wandering Czech.”

Capt. Pollak departed the Netherlands with the 48th Highlanders on 4 Sep 45 and disembarked in the UK 5 Sep 45.