The Warsaw Uprising was a military campaign that took place in Warsaw, Poland during the Second World War.

On 1st August 1944, the Polish resistance movement, known as the Home Army, launched a rebellion against the Nazi occupation of the city.

The uprising was sparked by the approach of the Soviet Red Army, which was advancing on the eastern front and had reached the outskirts of Warsaw.

The Home Army hoped to liberate the city before the Soviets arrived, in order to establish a Polish provisional government, free from the malignant influence of Stalin.

By early July 1944, Soviet forces had repulsed German formations across a wide front stretching from Lithuania in the north to the Black Sea in the south. On 13th July, Vilnius surrendered to the Russians, and the main Soviet spearhead moved towards the Vistula River.

Brest-Litovsk and Lvov fell to the Soviets over the next two weeks, and the Red Army then swung north towards Warsaw. By the 1st of August, Soviet troops had entered the Praga suburb east of the Vistula River.

In their rush to Warsaw, the Soviets had neglected intelligence gathering, flank protection, and over-extended their supply lines to the point where a well-planned and timely attack launched by General Walter Model stopped the Red Army's advance just short of Warsaw, preventing them from crossing the Vistula - this after Hitler had finally agreed to release four experienced and fresh panzer divisions to Model.

This would have a crucial effect on the outcome of the Uprising itself. The German actions forced the Soviets to pause in order to regroup, which gave the German Army Group Centre the time and space it needed to deal with eliminating resistance in Warsaw.

• One of the main factors was the approach of the Soviet Red Army on the eastern front. In the summer of 1944, the Soviets had reached the outskirts of Warsaw and were making rapid progress against the Germans. The Polish resistance movement, known as the Home Army, saw this as an opportunity to drive the Germans out of the city and establish a Polish provisional government before the Soviets arrived.
• Another factor was the deteriorating situation in Warsaw itself. The city had been occupied by the Germans for five years, and the population was suffering from widespread hunger, disease, and oppression. Many people saw the uprising as a chance to break free from Nazi rule and reclaim their city.
• Finally, the Allied powers, particularly the United Kingdom, had promised support for the uprising. This included airdrops of weapons and supplies, as well as political support.

The Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa, or AK) was the main Polish resistance movement during World War II.

It was formed in February 1942, after the fall of Poland to the Germans, and was made up of soldiers and civilians who opposed the Nazi occupation.

The Home Army was responsible for organizing and coordinating the resistance efforts of various Polish underground groups, including sabotage, intelligence gathering, and military operations.

The Home Army was affiliated with the Polish government-in-exile, which was based in London, and received support from the Allied powers.

However, it operated largely independently and was responsible for its own funding, weapons, and logistics.

The Home Army played a significant role in the Warsaw Uprising. However, despite the bravery and determination of the resistance fighters, the uprising was ultimately unsuccessful, and the Home Army was forced to go underground after it was crushed by the Germans.

After the war, the Home Army was dissolved by the communist government of Poland, and many of its members were arrested and imprisoned. Today, the Polish Home Army is remembered as a symbol of resistance and national pride.

German units stationed in and around Warsaw were divided into three categories in late July 1944.

The first and most numerous were the Warsaw garrison. It had approximately 11,000 troops under General Rainer Stahel as of 31^st July.

For months, these well-equipped German forces prepared to defend the city's key positions.

Several hundred concrete bunkers and barbed wire lines guarded the German-occupied buildings and areas. 

Apart from the garrison, there were numerous army units stationed on both banks of the Vistula and throughout the city. The second category was police and SS, led by SS and Police Leader SS-Oberführer Paul Otto Geibel, with an initial strength of 5,710 men, including Schutzpolizei and Waffen-SS.

• Battle Group Rohr (commanded by Major General Rohr), which included 1,700 soldiers from the anti-communist S.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A. Russkaya Osvoboditelnaya Narodnaya Armiya (Russian National Liberation Army, also known as Kaminski Brigade) under German command and made up of Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian collaborators, was a German-led operation.
• Attack Group Dirlewanger (commanded by Oskar Dirlewanger), which included Aserbaidschanische Legion (part of the Ostlegionen), Attack Group Reck (commanded by Major Reck), Attack Group Schmidt (commanded by Colonel Schmidt), and various support and backup units made up Battle Group Reinefarth, which was led by SS-Gruppenführer Heinz Reinefarth.

The Uprising began as part of the nationwide Operation Tempest, which was launched during the Soviet Lublin-Brest Offensive.

The main Polish goals were to drive the Germans out of Warsaw while also assisting the Allies in defeating Germany. 

Another political goal of the Polish Underground State was to liberate Poland's capital and reestablish Polish sovereignty before the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation took control. 

Other immediate causes included the threat of mass German round-ups of able-bodied Poles for "evacuation," calls for an uprising from Radio Moscow's Polish Service, and an emotional Polish desire for justice and vengeance against the enemy after five years of German occupation.

After days of deliberation, the Polish headquarters set the "W-hour" (from the Polish wybuch, "explosion"), the start of the uprising, for 17:00 the following day. Because the under-equipped resistance forces were prepared and trained for a series of coordinated surprise dawn attacks, the decision was a strategic miscalculation. 
Furthermore, despite the fact that many units had already been mobilised and were waiting at assembly points throughout the city, the mobilisation of thousands of young men and women was difficult to conceal. Fighting began in advance of "W-hour," particularly in Oliborz, as well as around Napoleon Square and Dbrowski Square. The Germans had anticipated an uprising, but they had underestimated its size and strength. In response Governor Fischer - realising that a major battle was likely to break out - put the garrison on full alert at 16:30.

The resistance captured a major German arsenal, the main post office and power station, and the Prudential building that evening. Castle Square, the police district, and the airport, on the other hand, remained in German hands.

It was clear that the first few days would be critical in laying the groundwork for the rest of the battle.

The resistance fighters would be most successful in the districts of City Centre, Old Town, and Wola.

However, several major German strongholds would remain a thorn in the side of the Poles, and they would suffer heavy losses in some areas of Wola, which in turn would force an early retreat.

In other areas, such as Mokotów, the attackers were unable to secure any objectives and only controlled the residential areas.

The first day of the uprising had seen resistance fighters take control of key buildings and landmarks in the city, including the main railway station and the airport. They also set up barricades and fortified positions in the streets to defend against German counterattacks.

The uprising was supposed to only last a few days until Soviet forces arrived, but this ultimately never happened, and the Polish forces were forced to fight on with little outside help. The first two days of fighting in various parts of the city produced the following results:

Area II (oliborz, Marymont, Bielany): Units failed to secure the most critical military targets in the vicinity of oliborz. Many units retreated into the forests outside of the city leaving this area in German hands.

Despite capturing the majority of the area around oliborz, the soldiers of Colonel Mieczysaw Niedzielski ("ywiciel") were unable to secure the Citadel and breach German defences at Warsaw Gdask railway station.

Area III (Wola): Units initially took control of the majority of the territory, but suffered heavy losses (up to 30%).

Some units retreated into the woods, while others retreated to the area's east. Colonel Jan Mazurkiewicz's ("Radosaw's") soldiers captured the German barracks, the German supply depot at Stawki Street, and the flanking position at the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery in the northern part of Wola.

Area V (Mokotów): The situation in this area was dire from the start of the war. The partisans planned to seize the heavily fortified Police Area (Dzielnica policyjna) on Rakowiecka Street and establish a link to the city centre via open terrain at the former airfield of Mokotów Field. 
The assaults failed because both areas were heavily fortified and could only be approached through open terrain. Some units withdrew into the forests, while others captured parts of Dolny Mokotów, which was cut off from most communication routes to other areas.

Area VI (Praga): The Uprising began on the right bank of the Vistula, where the main task was to seize the river bridges and secure the bridgeheads until the Red Army arrived. It was obvious that there would be no outside assistance because the location was far worse than the other areas. 
After a few minor victories, Lt.Col. Antoni urowski ("Andrzej"forces )'s were vastly outnumbered by the Germans. The fighting ceased, and the Home Army forces were driven underground.

Area VII (Powiat Warszawski): this area included territories outside the city limits of Warsaw. The majority of actions in this area failed to capture their targets.

The units of the Directorate of Sabotage and Diversion, or Kedyw, formed an additional area within the Polish command structure, guarding the headquarters and acting as a "armed ambulance" thrown into the battle in the most dangerous areas.

These units, along with the units from Area I, were the most successful during the first few hours of the battle.

The airfields of Okcie and Mokotów Field, as well as the PAST skyscraper overlooking the city centre and the Gdask railway station guarding the passage between the centre and the northern borough of oliborz, were among the most notable primary targets that were not taken during the early stages of the uprising.

Some of the fiercest fighting took place in the Old Town district of Warsaw. For nearly a month, the insurgents defended the northernmost point of the Old Town, the Polish Security Printing Works.

The battle scars on the fence around the site can still be seen today. The St. Kazimierz Church of the Sisters of the Holy Sacrament housed an insurgent hospital. Over 1000 people died in the church during one air raid.

The impressive Column of Sigismund III Vasa  - the oldest and highest secular monument, was erected in 1644 on Wadysaw IV's initiative in honour of his father, Zygmunt III Waza, who relocated the capital from Krakow to Warsaw. Three hundred years later, during the fierce German attack on the Old Town, the monument was destroyed. The original 17th-century column and the one destroyed during the Uprising are both located near the Royal Castle.

The Arsenal was strategically important during the Uprising because it defended access to the Old Town from the west. Another historical event occurred here more than a year before the Uprising. During Operation Arsenal, over 20 prisoners being transported from the Gestapo headquarters on Szucha to Pawiak were freed. The building was bombed by the Germans on August 23, 1944. It was rebuilt after the war using surviving battle fragments and now houses the State Archaeological Museum.

The centre of Warsaw was also the scene of heavy fighting. During the Uprising, a Home Army field hospital operated in the city centre. Both insurgents and German soldiers were helped by the Sisters of Charity who tended to the wounded. A bullet-riddled hospital fence serves as a memorial to the Uprising.

Many locals sought refuge in the basement of the pre-war chocolate factory building of Emil Wedel. A radio station was also broadcast from here. There is a stylish company store and chocolate cafe today, just as there was before the outbreak of the war.

The Palladium cinema opened in 1937 and despite the destruction around it, survived the war, and remained in operation until 2000. During the occupation, the Germans renamed the area Helgoland. When the insurgents took over the cinema, they showed news footage titled Warsaw is Fighting. A music club and a theatre are currently operating here.

The Prudential building was the tallest structure in Poland and one of the tallest in Europe before the war. It was captured by insurgents on 1^st August, and a Polish flag sewn from a sheet and a red pillowcase was hung from its roof. It was heavily damaged during the battle and rebuilt in a socialist-realist style. The building is currently home to a hotel.

Warsaw had a population of approximately 1,350,000 people in 1939. At the start of the Uprising, over a million people were still living in the city.

During the first weeks of the Uprising, people in Polish-controlled territory attempted to recreate the normal day-to-day life of their free country.

Cultural life was vibrant among both soldiers and civilians, with theatres, post offices, newspapers, and other similar activities.

Polish Scouts boys and girls worked as couriers for an underground postal service, risking their lives every day to transmit any information that could help their people.

In total, 150,000 letters were delivered during the Uprising..

Near the end of the Uprising, a lack of food and medicine, overcrowding, and an indiscriminate German air and artillery assault on the city exacerbated the civilian situation. 

Booby traps, such as thermite-laced candy pieces, may have also been used to target Polish youth in German-controlled areas of Warsaw.

Overall, there were 123 civilian and 109 military hospitals and dressing points operating during the uprising.

Every day, thousands of people organised into cargo teams reported to the brewery for bags of barley, which were then distributed throughout the city centre.

The barley was then ground in coffee grinders and boiled with water to make spit-soup (Polish: spit-soup).

The "Sowiński" Battalion managed to hold the brewery until the end of the fighting.

Eventually, there were 178 communal kitchens and feeding points operated in the city during the Uprising.

Another major issue for both civilians and soldiers was a lack of water. By mid-August, the majority of the water conduits were either broken or filled with corpses. Furthermore, the main water pumping station remained under German control. The authorities ordered all janitors to supervise the construction of water wells in the backyards of every house in order to prevent the spread of epidemics and provide people with water.

The Germans blew up the remaining pumping stations on Koszykowa Street on September 21st, leaving public wells as the only source of potable water in the besieged city. By the end of September, the city centre had over 90 operational wells.

Prior to the Uprising, the Home Army's Bureau of Information and Propaganda established a group of war correspondents.

The group, led by Antoni Bohdziewicz, produced three newsreels and over 30,000 metres of film tape to document the struggles.

On 13^th August, the first newsreel was shown to the public at the Palladium cinema on Zota Street. Aside from films, dozens of newspapers were published from the beginning of the uprising.

A few previously underground newspapers began to circulate openly. The government-run Rzeczpospolita Polska and the military-run Biuletyn Informacyjny were the two main daily newspapers.

Several dozen newspapers, magazines, bulletins, and weeklies were also published on a regular basis by various organisations and military units. In total:

• Almost 150 press titles were published.
• Around 28,000 copies of the ‘information bulletin’ were distributed.
• About 30,000 metres of film was shot.

German planes were constantly looking for the "Lightning's" transmitter. A 1,500 kilogramme shell smashed through the radio station's six floors and landed in the basement without exploding.

The Germans broadcast their 'Polish' radio station on the same frequency as the 'Lightning,' attempting to provide false information and orders to the insurgents.

It was the only radio station of its kind in German-occupied Europe.

Jan Nowak-Jezioraski, Zbigniew Witochowski, Stefan Sojecki, Jeremi Przybora, and John Ward, a war correspondent for The Times of London, were among those who spoke on the resistance radio.

The Germans drove the insurgents out of Powisle between 3rd and 6th September, and the battle for Czerniaków began on 12th September.

Only on the 10th September did the Russians launch an offensive against the Germans in the Warsaw region.

Some supplies were airdropped, and Soviet fighter planes began chasing German bombers above Warsaw. This convinced the Home Army leadership to call off the initiated capitulation talks.

Tens of thousands of dead and wounded, illnesses, a lack of water, and hunger were the realities of insurgent Warsaw's final weeks. 

In the face of certain defeat, the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Army, General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, who was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces as of 30th September, nominated General Leopold Okulicki (pseudonym "Niedzwiadek") as his successor in the Polish underground on 1st October, 1944.

Although the precise number of casualties is unknown, it is estimated that approximately 16,000 members of the Polish resistance were killed and approximately 6,000 were severely injured.

Furthermore, between 150,000 and 200,000 Polish civilians died, the majority as a result of mass executions. German house-to-house clearances and mass evictions of entire neighbourhoods exposed Jews being harboured by Poles.

Over 2,000 to 17,000 German soldiers were killed or went missing. Approximately 25% of Warsaw's buildings were destroyed during the urban combat.