Warsaw Uprising: Encyclopedia II - Warsaw Uprising - The battle

Warsaw Uprising - The battle

The uprising began officially in daylight at 17:00 on "W-hour" August 1, a decision which is now regarded as a costly mistake. Although the Germans failed to realise that extra activity and early fights with the insurgents were linked and had not developed a plan for dealing with the uprising, they received warning, reportedly from a Polish woman, an hour before the start. Lack of surprise, sudden changes of plan, inexperience in day fighting and incomplete mobilisation meant that many of the early objectives of the uprising were not achieved. The first two days were crucial in establishing the battlefield for the rest of the uprising. Most successes were achieved in the city centre (Śródmieście) and old town (Stare Miasto) and nearby parts of Wola, where most objectives were captured, although major German strongholds remained. In other areas such as Mokotów the attackers almost completely failed to capture their objectives, while in areas such as Wola they captured most of their targets, but with very heavy losses that forced them to retreat. In Praga, on the East bank of the river, the German concentration was so high that the Polish forces fighting there were forced back into hiding. Most crucially, the fighters in different areas failed to link up, either with each other or with areas outside Warsaw, leaving each section of the city isolated from the others.

After the first several hours of fighting many units adopted a more defensive strategy while the civilian population started erecting barricades throughout the city. The moment of greatest success, on August 4, was also the moment at which the German army began receiving reinforcements. SS General Erich von dem Bach was appointed commander and soon after began to counter-attack with the aim of linking up with the remaining German pockets and then cutting off the Uprising from the Vistula (Wisla) river. August 5 is marked by the freeing of the former Warsaw Ghetto area by insurgents and by the beginning of the Wola Massacre, where in mass executions approximately 40,000 civilians were slaughtered by Germans. One aim of this policy was to crush the will to fight and put the uprising to an end without having to commit to the heavy city fighting; until late September, the Germans were shooting all captured insurgents on the spot for the same reason. In other areas, the prime aim of the German troops seems to have been to loot and rape rather than fight, which actually allowed defence to continue against the odds. This policy was later reversed when the German side decided that atrocities only stiffened the resistance. From the end of September on, some of the captured Polish soldiers were treated as POWs. On August 7 the German forces were joined by the tanks with civilians being used as human shields. After two days of heavy fights they managed to cut Wola in two and reach the Bankowy square.

The aim was to gain a significant victory to show the Home Army the futility of further fighting and make them surrender. This did not succeed. Between August 9 and August 18 pitched battles raged around the old town and nearby Bankowy square, with successful attacks by the German side and counter-attacks from the Polish side. Once again, the German 'special' tactics were demonstrated by targeted attacks against marked hospitals. The Old Town was held until the end of August when lack of supplies made further defence impossible. On September 2 the defenders of the Old Town withdrew through the sewers, which at this time were becoming a major means of communication between different parts of the uprising. More than 5,300 men and women were evacuated in this way. German tactics very much hinged on bombardment through the use of huge cannons and bombers to which there could be very little answer from the Polish side.

The Soviet army captured Eastern Warsaw and arrived on the Eastern bank of the Vistula in mid-September. When they finally reached the right bank of the Vistula on September 10, the officers of the Home Army units stationed there proposed recreating the pre-war 36th 'Academic Legion' infantry regiment; however, the NKVD arrested them all and sent them to the Soviet Union.

Many of the "Soviets" who arrived in Poland were actually from the 1st Polish Army (1 Armia Wojska Polskiego), and some of them landed in the Czerniaków and Powiśle areas and made contacts with Home Army forces. With inadequate artillery and air support and coming in too small numbers, most were killed and they were soon forced to retreat. After repeated, almost unsupported attempts by the 1st Polish Army to link up with the insurgents failed, the Soviets limited their assistance to sporadic and insignificant artillery and air support. Plans for a river crossing were suspended "for at least 4 months", and the commander of the 1st Polish Army, General Zygmunt Berling, who ordered the crossing by his units, was relieved of his duties. From this point on, the Warsaw uprising can be seen as a one-sided war of attrition or, alternatively, as a fight for acceptable terms of surrender. Fighting ended on 2 October when the Polish forces capitulated.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The battle", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki