(5/5) Timewatch Battle for Warsaw World War II

World War II Second World War Videos

Battle of Warsaw
Warsaw uprising (1944), tragic attempt by the Polish Home Army (Armija Krajowa) to overthrow the German occupation as the Red Army closed on Warsaw. By 28 July 1944 citizens of Warsaw could hear the sounds of the battle between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army. The Soviets were concerned about a German counter-attack and ordered their troops onto the defensive on 1 August.

The Home Army was sponsored by the British and the Polish government in exile in London, but the British turned down requests for active assistance from RAF aircraft and the Polish Parachute Brigade because Warsaw was beyond normal aircraft range and lay within the Soviet sphere. The USSR had its own plans and government-in-waiting, Rada Narodowa, and sponsored a different Polish army, the Armija Ludowa, which was unified with the Polish army that had been formed in the USSR. Nonetheless, the charge that the Soviets sat back and waited for the Germans to crush the uprising is baseless; there were four German armored divisions between them and the city and Marshal Rokossovsky, commanding the Soviet First Belorussian Front (army group), needed to regroup before continuing the offensive. The lamentable fact is that the uprising was intended to present the advancing Soviets with a fait accompli and was launched without prior consultation with either London or Moscow. It should also be noted that the Home Army did little to support the equally heroic and doomed uprising of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto in April 1943.

On 1 August Home Army underground units opened fire inside Warsaw, beginning two months of bitter fighting. The lull in Soviet operations permitted the Germans to send in overwhelming force, backed up by Einzatzgruppen extermination squads, and even if the Soviets had co-operated with earlier British efforts to airdrop supplies, it would not have made much difference. The Soviets themselves dropped supplies in the second half of September, but much of it fell into German hands. By 24 September the Germans had forced the isolated Polish units into small pockets and escape through the sewers was the only option. Fifteen thousand fighters of the 30, 000-40, 000-strong Home Army were dead, and 120, 000-200, 000 civilians were killed. On 2 October the fighting stopped, the remaining Poles were rounded up for slavery or extermination, and the Germans began razing Warsaw to the ground.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• World
• War
• II
• Warsaw
• Uprising
• 1944
• Home
• Army
• Armija
• Krajowa
• Red
• German
• Soviets
• USSR
• Polish
• Einzatzgruppen
• British

[akchicago21]

@4lm4pN said "...Russians hate us to this day, because Poles where the only people that conquered Moscow and made their tsar bow to our king..."

Sir, who cares about that event now? Only idiots would hate you for something that happened 400 years ago.

I am Russian, I love Poland, polish culture, history and people.

God bless Poland and it's people.

[BrotherWoody1]

The Warsaw Uprising is still the most significant guerrilla city battle & remains an unparalleled example for lovers of liberty everywhere.  The Poles gave the world a great lesson in perseverance against even insurmountable odds.

Thanks for uploading.

[hladami4]

@psysword You do not understand what you are saying. Rothschild communist Jews totally controlled Soviet Union - Russia and Russian people. That's evil Jews also developed Holocaust. Hitler's father was the son of Rothschilds. In holocaust only died 76 selected Jews not like they claim 6 million. Poland lost 12 million people, everything was on expenses of Polish people. I it will not tell you this Jewish-fake propaganda.

[werkzeug0]

if Poles so hate Russians than Poland should return to Germans Russian gifts - Silesia and Pomerania. Coming soon :D

[werkzeug0]

@psysword you are so smart

[werkzeug0]

@randomuser2036 yes, Stalin is a great man

[werkzeug0]

@Neo9129 this is just business

[aguyfromTennessee]

@psysword Bullshit, read about the Dirlewanger Brigade. The Nazis were FAR worse.

[psysword]

the Russians were far worse than the Germans.... the Germans were gentlemen compared to the Russians....