This is the 493rd most frequent Polish word.
żołnierzy
"Żołnierzy" means "soldiers" (genitive or accusative plural) in English.
The word 'żołnierzy' is used in the genitive plural case, referring to soldiers as the object of 'many' in the context of the sentence.
W czasie manewrów wojskowych widziano wielu żołnierzy.
During the military exercises, many soldiers were seen.
The word 'żołnierzy' in this sentence is in the genitive plural case, connected to 'march' to specify who is marching.
Podczas defilady obserwowaliśmy marsz żołnierzy.
During the parade, we observed the march of soldiers.
Here, 'żołnierzy' also appears in the genitive plural case, indicating the object of the verb 'awaited'.