Payne 1

qMichael Payne Mr. Neuburger English 110-101 15 April 2013 The Battle of Warsaw The following paper is a research paper on the battle of Warsaw, explaining some of the key events and historical moments and political actions which led to the near destruction of Warsaw during the Second World War. Between 1914 and 1944 Warsaw became a frequented battle ground, from the Battle of the Vistula River between the Russian and German forces during the First World War, the Soviet-polish war in 1920 and indeed even the 1939 Battle of Warsaw at the outset of World War II. The focus of this paper is on what is commonly known as the Polish Uprising in 1944 which included the Polish resistance lunching Guerilla campaign against its German occupiers and the near destruction of
Norman Davies RISING '44 - THE BATTLE FOR WARSAW 60th Anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Uprising http://bit.ly/135dgaF

the city in 1945. To these ends the following paper shall be divided into three sections which each deal with a particular time period during the Polish uprising. Specifically; the historic background leading up to the Warsaw uprising, the Polish Uprising itself with a particular focus on the role of the Soviet Army, and finally a conclusion on the result and consequence for Poland following the Warsaw Uprising.

Payne 2

The Preamble to the Warsaw Uprising On the 1st September 1939 the German Army marched on Warsaw and began the Second World War as both France and England quickly declared war after the invasion. Throughout the war that would rage on over the next six years, Warsaw would become a familiar battleground, playing host to both Hitlers Nazi Party and later at the end of the War, the Soviet Union. During this period almost the entire city of Warsaw was destroyed, the bulk of this occurring during the Nazis retreat through the city during the Warsaw Uprising (Sommerville). In order to better contextualize The Polish Uprising in 1944 it is necessary to bear in mind a previous uprising that had taken place a year beforehand, namely the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. During the occupation of Warsaw, the Nazis created the largest Jewish Ghetto in Europe (Arens). This uprising was intimately linked to the later Polish Uprising, as it shared both similar architects and fighters. Indeed, as Arens comments The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was one of the major events of World War II, the first act of organized resistance against the Germans in a large city under their control (283). This laid a precedent for the later Warsaw Uprising as it demonstrated that mass organized resistance could prove effective against the occupying German forces. Ultimately however, the Ghetto Uprising was quashed after heavy fighting, much like the Warsaw Uprising which is discussed in greater detail in the following section. Death of a city, a scene from the feature film The Pianist. http://bit.ly/YprE6q

Payne 3

The Polish Uprising The Polish Uprising began on the 1st August 1944 and was led by the Polish resistance and Home army to overthrow and liberate Poland from Nazi German. Operation Tempest was the Polish resistances plan to stage major uprisings all over Poland to be liberated from the occupying German forces. Importantly the uprising was intended to coincide with the imminent approach of Stalins Red Army from the East which was marching on Germany (Sommerville further explains how..) One of the great controversies of the war followed; as the Soviet Army came closer to Warsaw it suddenly stopped its advance outside the city and remained there for a further 63 days while the limited trained and equipped Polish resistance was left to try and defeat the occupying Nazi forces along This has been seen by many commentators as possibly a tactical move by the Soviet Union perhaps to aid in its later occupation of the country following the fall of Hitlers Germany (Koestler 374). The lack of logistical support greatly hampered the Polish resistances efforts to retake Warsaw and furthermore the reorganization of German forces in the city had proved more efficient and brutal then first expected. One such example of the Nazis brutality came in the form of the Wola massacre; where between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians in the Wola district were killed by the Germans in an effort to break the will of the resistance, in actuality this only strengthened the resolve of the Polish fighters (Sommerville). The lack of support for the Polish resistance during the Warsaw
The Kotwica (polish for anchor) is a symbol of the Warsaw uprising. The letters PW stand for Polska Walczca (Polish for Poland fights) http://bit.ly/ZkTqnZ

Payne 4

Uprising represented a major blow to their efforts. While Stalins forces remained garrisoned outside the city, very few supplies made it into the city which left the Polish resistance fighters heavily outnumbered, out trained and out equipped. The exception was a airdrop from the forces of the United Kingdom who had previously pleaded that the Soviets to assist their wartime allies during the Warsaw Uprising. While the Polish resistance admirably managed to sustain the conflict over 63 days, inevitably the lack of outside logistic support resulted in the Uprising being quashed. This was followed by the systematic destruction of the city which had been planned early on in Nazi policy. Indeed, as SS chief Heinrich Himmler stated at one conference: [Warsaw] must completely disappear from the surface of the earth and serve only as a transport station for the Wehrmacht. No stone can remain standing. Every building must be razed to its
SS officers walking through the ghetto after the Warsaw Uprising. http://bit.ly/135hZsZ

foundation. (Wituska, Tomaszewski). The Polish Uprising provided the incentive for the Nazis to begin the systematic destruction of

Warsaw which had been planned well in advance of this. During this period it is estimated that around 85% of Warsaw had been left in ruin as a result of the previous Ghetto Uprising, the Warsaw uprising and the systematic destruction of the city by the Nazis after both of these uprisings.

Payne 5

Conclusion The Polish Uprising was one of the most prolonged and bloody partisan engagements that occurred during the Second World War. The delay of the Soviet army contributed heavily to both the large number of casualties during this conflict as well as the near destruction of all of Warsaw. Ultimately the Polish resistance contributed to the liberation of Poland, this liberation was however short lived as the now approaching Soviet forces were poised to replace the German force as a territory behind the infamous iron curtain. The plight of the Polish resistance during both the Warsaw Uprising and the subsequent occupation by Soviet forces remains
TRIBUTE TO JOHN WARD: HERO OF THE WARSAW UPRISING. http://bit.ly/YJMxhs

one of the most controversial aspects of the Second World War. The destruction of the city made the

incoming Soviet forces job of occupation and domination all the more easier, which leads to question of whether the strategic decision by Stalin to halt his armys advance during this time was used to the Soviets advantage long terms. Warsaw, and indeed Poland, saw some of the heaviest fighting during the Second World War, both in the opening stages with the invasion of the country by Nazi German, the construction of the Ghettos and events of the holocaust (such as the notorious camp Auschwitz) and the subsequent occupation of Soviet forces who remained in Poland until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989.

Payne 6

Works Cited Krystyna Wituska, Irene Tomaszewski, Inside a Gestapo Prison: The Letters of Krystyna Wituska, 19421944, Wayne State University Press, 2006, Moshe Arens (2009) Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto: The Untold Story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. (Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House) Sommerville, Donald (2008). The Complete Illustrated History of World War Two: An Authoritative Account of the Deadliest Conflict in Human History with Analysis of Decisive Encounters and Landmark Engagements. Lorenz Books. Koestler, letter in Tribune magazine 15 September 1944, reprinted in Orwell, Collected Works, I Have Tried to Tell the Truth