Triumph and Tragedy (The Second World War) (26 page)

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in order to speed the liberation of their country and prevent them fighting a series of bitter defensive actions on Polish territory and particularly in Warsaw itself. The Polish commander, General Bor Komorowski, and his civilian adviser were authorised by the Polish Government in London to proclaim a general insurrection whenever they deemed fit. The moment indeed seemed opportune. On July 20 came the news of the plot against Hitler, followed swiftly by the Allied break-out from the Normandy beachhead. About July 22 the Poles intercepted wireless messages from the German Fourth Panzer Army ordering a general withdrawal to the west of the Vistula. The Russians crossed the river on the same day, and their patrols pushed forward in the direction of Warsaw. There seemed little doubt that a general collapse was at hand. In the Nuremberg trials General Guderian described the situation in these terms:

On July 21, 1944, I received a new appointment as
Chief of Staff of the German forces on the Eastern
Front. After my appointment the whole front — if it can
be called a front — was hardly more than an agglomera-tion of the remains of our armies which were endeavouring to withdraw to the line of the Vistula; twenty-five
divisions were completely annihilated.

General Bor therefore decided to stage a major rising and liberate the city. He had about forty thousand men, with reserves of food and ammunition for seven to ten days’

fighting. The sound of Russian guns across the Vistula could now be heard. The Soviet Air Force began bombing the Germans in Warsaw from recently captured airfields near the capital, of which the closest was only twenty minutes’ flight away. At the same time a Communist Committee of National Liberation had been formed in Eastern Poland, and the Russians announced that liberated Triumph and Tragedy

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territory would be placed under their control. Soviet broadcasting stations had for a considerable time been urging the Polish population to drop all caution and start a general revolt against the Germans. On July 29, three days before the rising began, the Moscow radio station broadcast an appeal from the Polish Communists to the people of Warsaw, saying that the guns of liberation were now within hearing, and calling upon them as in 1939 to join battle with the Germans, this time for decisive action. “For Warsaw, which did not yield but fought on, the hour of action has already arrived.” After pointing out that the German plan to set up defence points would result in the gradual destruction of the city, the broadcast ended by reminding the inhabitants that “all is lost that is not saved by active effort,” and that “by direct active struggle in the streets, houses, etc., of Warsaw the moment of final liberation will be hastened and the lives of our brethren saved.”

On the evening of July 31 the Underground command in Warsaw got news that Soviet tanks had broken into the German defences east of the city. The German military wireless announced, “Today the Russians started a general attack on Warsaw from the southeast.” Russian troops were now at points less than ten miles away. In the capital itself the Polish Underground command ordered a general insurrection at 5 P.M. on the following day. General Bor has himself described what happened:

At exactly five o’clock thousands of windows flashed
as they were flung open. From all sides a hail of bullets
struck passing Germans, riddling their buildings and
their marching formations. In the twinkling of an eye the
remaining civilians disappeared from the streets. From
the entrances of houses our men streamed out and
rushed to the attack. In fifteen minutes an entire city of
a million inhabitants was engulfed in the fight. Every
kind of traffic ceased. As a big communications centre
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where roads from north, south, east, and west
converged, in the immediate rear of the German front,
Warsaw ceased to exist. The battle for the city was on.

The news reached London next day, and we anxiously waited for more. The Soviet radio was silent and Russian air activity ceased. On August 4 the Germans started to attack from strong-points which they held throughout the city and suburbs. The Polish Government in London told us of the agonising urgency of sending in supplies by air. The insurgents were now opposed by five hastily concentrated German divisions. The Hermann Goering Division had also been brought from Italy, and two more S.S. divisions arrived soon afterwards.

I accordingly telegraphed to Stalin.

Prime

Minister

to

4 Aug. 44

Marshal Stalin

At urgent request of Polish Underground Army we
are dropping, subject to weather, about sixty tons of
equipment and ammunition into the southwest quarter
of Warsaw, where it is said a Polish revolt against the
Germans is in fierce struggle. They also say that they
appeal for Russian aid, which seems to be very near.

They are being attacked by one and a half German
divisions. This may be of help to your operation.

The reply was prompt and grim.

Marshal

Stalin

to

5 Aug. 44

Prime Minister

I have received your message about Warsaw.

I think that the information which has been
communicated to you by the Poles is greatly exaggerat-ed and does not inspire confidence. One could reach
that conclusion even from the fact that the Polish
emigrants have already claimed for themselves that
they all but captured Vilna with a few stray units of the

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Home Army, and even announced that on the radio.

But that of course does not in any way correspond with
the facts. The Home Army of the Poles consists of a
few detachments which they incorrectly call divisions.

They have neither artillery nor aircraft nor tanks. I
cannot imagine how such detachments can capture
Warsaw, for the defence of which the Germans have
produced four tank divisions, among them the Hermann
Goering Division.

Meanwhile the battle went on street by street against the German “Tiger” tanks, and by August 9 the Germans had driven a wedge right across the city through to the Vistula, breaking up the Polish-held districts into isolated sectors.

The gallant attempts of the R.A.F., with Polish, British, and Dominion crews, to fly to the aid of Warsaw from Italian bases were both forlorn and inadequate. Two planes appeared on the night of August 4, and three four nights later.

The Polish Prime Minister, Mikolajczyk, had been in Moscow since July 30 trying to establish some kind of terms with the Soviet Government, which had recognised the Polish Communist Committee of National Liberation as the future administration of the country. These negotiations were carried on throughout the early days of the Warsaw rising. Messages from General Bor were reaching Mikolajczyk daily, begging for ammunition and anti-tank weapons and for help from the Red Army. Meanwhile the Russians pressed for agreement upon the post-war frontiers of Poland and the setting-up of a joint Government. A last fruitless talk took place with Stalin on August 9.

On August 12 I telegraphed to him:

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Prime Minister to

12 Aug. 44

Marshal Stalin

I have had the following distressing message from
the Poles in Warsaw, who after ten days are still
fighting against considerable German forces who have
cut the city into three:

“To the President of the Republic, the Government,
and the Commander-in-Chief, from the Vice-Premier:

“Tenth day. We are conducting a bloody fight. The
town is cut by three routes…. All these routes are
strongly held by German tanks and their crossing is
extremely difficult (all the buildings along them are burnt
out). Two armoured trains on the railway line from
Gdansk Station to West Station and artillery from Praga
fire continuously on the town and are supported by air
forces.

“In these conditions the fight continues. We receive
from you only once a small drop. On the German-Russian front silence since the 3d. We are therefore
without any material or moral support, as, with the
exception of a short speech by the [Polish] Vice-Prime
Minister (from London), which took place on the eighth
day, we have not had from you even an acknowledgment of our action. The soldiers and the population of
the capital look hopelessly at the skies, expecting help
from the Allies. On the background of smoke they see
only German aircraft. They are surprised, feel deeply
depressed, and begin to revile.

“We have practically no news from you, no
information with regard to the political situation, no
advice and no instructions. Have you discussed in
Moscow help for Warsaw? I repeat emphatically that
without immediate support, consisting of drops of arms
and ammunition, bombing of objectives held by the
enemy, and air landing, our fight will collapse in a few
days.

“With the above-mentioned help the fight will
continue.

“I expect from you the greatest effort in this respect.”

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They implore machine-guns and ammunition. Can
you not give them some further help, as the distance
from Italy is so very great?

On the 14th I telegraphed to Mr. Eden from Italy, whither I had gone to see General Alexander’s army:
It will cause the Russians much annoyance if the
suggestion that the Polish patriots in Warsaw were
deserted gets afoot, but they can easily prevent it by
operations well within their power. It certainly is very
curious that at the moment when the Underground
Army has revolted, the Russian armies should have
halted their offensive against Warsaw and withdrawn
some distance. For them to send in all the quantities of
machine-guns and ammunition required by the Poles
for their heroic fight would involve only a flight of 100

miles. I have been talking to [Air Marshal] Slessor,
trying to send all possible assistance from here. But
what have the Russians done? I think it would be better
if you sent a message to Stalin through Molotov
referring to the implications that are afoot in many
quarters and requesting that the Russians should send
all the help they can. This course would be more
impersonal than that I should do it through Stalin. Last
night twenty-eight aircraft did the 700 miles flight from
Italy. Three were lost. This was the fourth flight made
from here under these quite exceptional conditions.

On the night of August 16 Vyshinsky asked the United States Ambassador in Moscow to call, and, explaining that he wished to avoid the possibility of misunderstanding, read out the following astonishing statement:
The Soviet Government cannot of course object to
English or American aircraft dropping arms in the region
of Warsaw, since this is an American and British affair.