The Warsaw Uprising. The Second World War. History

The Second World War began in 1939 and was completed in 1945. During the entire period of hostilities, a large number of people died, more were wounded, many were missing. In each period of confrontation there were heroes and controversial personalities. All the peoples of the coalition fought each for their own Motherland, not sparing their lives. Poland's liberation struggle was no exception. An important point of this period was the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. About him are ongoing discussions to this day. Causes and consequences of this event have a variety of interpretations.

A Brief History of the Prewar Poland

After the First World War in Poland, there was an intense struggle for power. Only until 1926 there was a change of five governments. The post-war economy was very weak, the population's discontent increased. Against this background there was a coup d'état by Pilsudski. As a result, he became commander-in-chief of the army, and Ignacy Mostsitzky was elected president. In fact, the country has established a military dictatorship. The next years in Poland there was a development process. In 1935, according to the new constitution, most of the rights passed to the president. And in 1938 was marked by the dissolution of the Communist Party.

Germany in 1938 put forward a number of requirements to Poland, limiting its independence. After their rejection, on September 1, 1939 , German troops began a war. As early as September 27, the German invaders entered Warsaw. A week later, the last Polish large military unit capitulated, and the entire territory of Poland was under occupation. Several insurgent movements operated on the lands of the occupied country. These include: the army of Lyudova, the army of Craiova, various independent partisan movements. They organized the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.

The situation of the troops before the Warsaw Uprising

The Soviet army in 1944 led the offensive on all fronts. Within a few days the soldiers passed about 600 kilometers. The parts that were pulled forward were practically cut off from supply. The air forces have not yet had time to relocate to the airfields nearest to the front. According to the plan, the liberation of Warsaw was to take place on the two flanks of the First Byelorussian Front. Until early August, the soldiers approached the suburbs of Warsaw - Prague. This was done by the 2nd Guards Tank Army that had escaped forward. Soon she was faced with a counter-attack by the German army, which had accumulated serious forces - according to some sources, there were 5 tank German divisions. The Soviet Army was forced to stop and begin the defense. Some historians claim that the Soviet offensive ceased because of this event, plus the soldiers were exhausted by a 600-kilometer throw. Other researchers of military history say that the leadership of the army in the person of Stalin did not want to provide assistance to the Polish resistance, which began the Warsaw uprising in 1944.

The beginning of the uprising

On August 1, an uprising started in the capital of Poland . Organized by his rebel army Craiova. In the history of Warsaw there are both black and white days. To which of them this period of time should be attributed, the question is ambiguous. After the bell struck one of the churches began fighting for the liberation of the city from the German invaders. The invaders missed the beginning of the Warsaw Uprising and at first were absolutely not ready for it. Within a short time, the rebels managed to break into the center of the city and completely establish control over it. At the same time, the Poles failed to capture the barracks, the airport, and most importantly, bridges across the river. The Germans who fled have thrown out considerable forces to resist and knocked out the rebels from most of the territories.

Although after the mobilization, the number of the Army of the Territory greatly increased, there was nothing to arm people. During the first phase of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, 34 important objects were captured, 383 prisoners were released from the concentration camp. Since then, the rebels began to lose. I must say that on the very first day of the uprising, the partisans lost about 2,000 fighters. A lot of people died and civilians. They took to the streets and supported the uprising as they could: built barricades, transferred insurgents through underground tunnels, provided medical assistance to wounded soldiers. Since all these people had no combat experience, they were the first victims of bombing and shelling.

A few words about the Army of the Krai

The military grouping operating on the territory of Poland during the Second World War was called the Army of the Territory. It was under the control of the Polish government, which in 1939 left the country and continued its activities in London. Resistance AK spread to the entire territory of Poland and its main goal was to fight the German invaders. Often there were cases of its collision with the Soviet army. Some accuse the AK of trying to destroy the Ukrainian patriotic forces.

The greatest number of soldiers in this military unit was in 1944 - about 380 thousand people. In its structure it was divided into obshars - united districts and voivodships. The AK included reconnaissance and subversive detachments. During the Warsaw Uprising, the task of the Krayev Army was to liberate the city from the Germans until the arrival of the Soviet military.

A little bit about Warsaw itself

Warsaw is the capital of a European state with a rich and tragic history. The city originates somewhere in the middle of the XIII century. It was then that the first large fortified settlement appeared on the territory of the future Warsaw. In 1526, after the death of the last prince Mazowiecki, the city was annexed to the Polish kingdom and received rights on a par with all settlements. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries Warsaw became the capital of Poland. This happened because of the convenient geographical location of the city, as well as for purely political reasons.

At the end of the 18th century Warsaw became the beginning of Prussia. There she stayed for a short time, and in 1807, after the defeat of the Prussian troops by Napoleon, the Warsaw Duchy was formed. But in 1813 it ceased to exist. It happened after the victory of the Russian troops over Napoleon. Thus began a new history of Poland. In short, this period can be described as a stage of the struggle for independence. But the uprisings in 1830 and 1863 ended in defeats and the loss of even illusory autonomy.

After the First World War, Poland, at last, again regained its state. The period of development of the country as a whole and Warsaw in particular began. New houses and whole blocks were being built. During this period, the map of Warsaw has increased significantly.

In 1939 Poland became the first country to be attacked by Germany. G. Warsaw for four weeks led an unequal struggle with the invaders, but the forces were unequal, and the capital fell. Almost immediately in the city, an underground movement is formed to fight the invaders. Having gathered with forces, Protestants from the Army of the Territory, as well as several hundred people from the Ludovaya Army decided in 1944 to revolt.

Armament of the parties

The Warsaw District of the Krai Army had about 30,000 soldiers, which was almost twice that of the Germans. But there was practically no good weapons for Protestants. They had only 657 assault rifles, about 47 machine guns, 2629 rifles, 50,000 grenades and a little more than 2500 pistols. For such a large army, this was very small. We can say that the militia decided to fight with the powerful regular army of the Germans with their bare hands.

Germany, which first began to retreat under the pressure of the Soviet troops, then changed its decision and set as its goal the retention of Warsaw's defense, pulling a large number of weapons for this purpose into the city and the outskirts. Thus, the German group consisted of 600 ACS and tanks, about 1158 mortars and guns, and also somewhere around 52,000 soldiers.

In the very Warsaw with the Protestants fought companies of the Polizei:

• Cossacks in the 69th Battalion;
• Cavalry 3rd Battalion;
• The Russian 29th SS Division;
• Division of the Muslim regiment;
• Battalion of Ukrainian policemen;
• Russian Liberation People's Army (RONA) Kaminsky;
• Regiment of Azerbaijanis.

Political alignment

At that time in Poland there were two opposing political camps. The first is the Lublin Committee, which was established by the Soviet authorities in the city of Chelm at the end of July 1944. It was assumed that for the duration of the military operations the Poles, who supported this government, were subordinate to the general military command. In the postwar period, the committee was to take over the country.

The opposing force was the current Polish government, which, with the outbreak of war, left for London. It considered itself the only legitimate authority. The history of Poland briefly tells us that this government was the coordinator of the Polish insurgent movement, including the Army of the Territory. The main goal of S. Mikolajczyk was to liberate Warsaw by himself before the arrival of Soviet power, so that after the war there was an independent Poland. 1944 was decisive for these purposes.

Each of the camps wanted, in fact, the same thing - liberation from the German invaders. But if the Lublin Committee saw the future of Poland under the Soviet protectorate, then the London government was oriented more toward the West.

Counterattack of the Germans and defense of the old city

After the Germans had stopped and received reinforcements, a large-scale and ruthless suppression of the Warsaw Uprising began. The invaders threw them at the barricades, which the rebels helped build civilians, tanks and equipment. In front of the invaders forced to go unarmed people, and they stood behind their backs. At home, where the guerrillas allegedly settled, they exploded along with the tenants who were there. Only according to preliminary estimates, about 50,000 civilians perished in the first week of the uprising. We can say that the map of Warsaw was reduced by two districts, as they were destroyed to the ground.

The militiamen were thrown back to the Old City, where their main forces remained. Thanks to narrow streets, basements and tunnels, the Poles fought desperately for every house. On the southern side, the outpost was a cathedral, which lasted two weeks, until completely destroyed by the bomber. In the north, 10 days were fought for the hospital of Yang of God. Krasinsky Palace, which was in the west of the local defensive area, lasted the longest, so about 5000 rebels, using the underground passage of the palace, moved to other parts of Warsaw.

On August 28, after another counter-attack, almost all the partisan forces in the old district were destroyed. The Germans mercilessly crushed the wounded fighters with tanks. And those who were taken prisoner, approximately 2,000 fighters, were killed and burned. On September 2, the defense of the old city was completely suppressed.

Air supply

Even before the outbreak of the insurrection, the Polish government asked to help the Protestants with the necessary weapons. So, in the first days of August the British aviation carried out several sorties. A greater number of planes were hit by the occupiers, part of them returned to the bases. Only a few transporters managed to fly to Warsaw and drop cargo. Because of the high altitude, part of the ammunition fell to the Germans, and only a small amount reached Protestants. It could not significantly affect the situation.

The US Air Force asked the command of the Soviet Union permission to land its aircraft on the territory of the USSR for the further supply of Poles. This request was rejected. Each party treated the reasons for the refusal in its own way. Stalin declared that the Warsaw Uprising was an adventure, and he did not want to take any part in it.

Soviet aviation began supporting the insurgents sometime on September 13. Thanks to the release of ammunition from low heights, the effectiveness of such assistance was more significant than the Anglo-American one. Since that time, Soviet aircraft have made more than a hundred sorties over Warsaw.

The middle phase of the uprising

On September 9, Bur-Komarovsky makes his first attempt to agree with the Germans on surrender. Those in return promise to count soldiers of the Army of the Territory as prisoners of war. At the same time, Soviet troops are making an offensive, thanks to which the Germans have to leave for the Vistula, burning bridges behind them. Hoping for further advance of the troops, the Poles have so far refused to capitulate and continue their armed insurrection. But on September 14 the Soviet units stopped again. Thus, the insurrection began to subside in conditions of a complete blockade and a limited amount of supplies.

Only a few districts were assigned to the insurgents in mid-September. Throughout the city, there was a struggle for every house and every piece of land. The Polish units of the army made an attempt to cross the Vistula River, as a result of which about five battalions were able to move. Unfortunately, the equipment and tools could not be smuggled, so it was a kind of adventure. Already on September 23 superior forces of the enemy threw these parts back. The loss of Polish soldiers amounted to approximately 4,000 fighters. Subsequently, the soldiers of these units were awarded the Soviet command with awards for the heroic struggle.

Defeat and surrender

The Protestants who remained without support did not resist for long. So, on September 24, German soldiers launched an offensive against Mokotov, who defended only three days. On September 30, the occupiers broke the last hotbed of resistance in Zholiibozh. Bur-Komarovsky on October 1 issued an order to cease fire, and the next day he accepted the terms of surrender, which were immediately violated by the German invaders. Thus ended the Warsaw Uprising.

During the fighting, the rebel army of the Poles lost about 20,000 soldiers, another 15,000 were taken prisoner. According to different estimates, civilian casualties range from 150,000 to 200,000 people. Another 700,000 Poles were driven out of Warsaw. The losses of the Germans were: 17,000 killed, 5,000 wounded, 300 tanks. Also, several hundred vehicles and two dozen guns were destroyed. The liberation of Warsaw occurred only after three and a half months - on January 17, 1945. All this period before the entry of Soviet troops, the Germans systematically destroyed the historical and cultural heritage of the capital of Poland. Also, the occupants drove the civilian population into concentration camps and forced labor on the territory of Germany.

The Warsaw Uprising, with all the ambiguity of the different interpretations, is one of the most tragic events of the Second World War and a difficult period for the Polish people. The cruelty of the Germans in the suppression of resistance passed all conceivable boundaries. The German Empire, which felt a close end, decided to recoup the Poles by sweeping Warsaw from the face of the earth along with a large number of its inhabitants. Unfortunately, serious politicians and people who have power never consider the lives of ordinary people, and even more so with their opinion. Let each such period of history, similar to the Warsaw Uprising, teach humankind to negotiate with each other and value peaceful life.