On This Day In History: The Warsaw Uprising Began – On August 1, 1944

AncientPages.com - On August 1, 1944, the Warsaw Uprising began and was part of a national plan, the so-called Operation Tempest (referred to in English as Operation Storm, with several other uprisings), when the Soviet Army approached Warsaw.

The 'W' Hour 1 August 1944. A patrol led by lt. Stanislaw Jankowski 'Agaton' from the 'Fist' Battalion at the Kazimierz Wielki Square on their way to Srodmiescie. Im,age credit: Stefan Bałuk  (1914–2014)

It was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany.

The Polish underground began an uprising against the occupying German army as the Red Army approached Warsaw.

The Uprising was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the city's eastern suburbs and the retreat of German forces.

However, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and demolish the city while defeating the Polish resistance, which fought for 63 days with little outside support.

The revolt lasted two months before collapsing. US Air Force Groups dropped medicine and food to the Polish freedom fighters under heavy fire from German fighter planes.

Soviet gunners also shot at the supply planes. The American dead were buried in the military cemetery at Poltava, Ukraine.

The Uprising ended with the Nazis killing 250,000 people. During the 63-day Uprising, the insurgents, largely ill-armed teenagers, organized a postal service to help city residents get information to relatives.

The Uprising was the most extensive single military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.

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