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Warsaw 1944: Poland's bid for freedom (Campaign) |  | Author: Robert Forczyk
Creator: Peter Dennis
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 682873
Media: Paperback
Pages: 96
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 7.1 x 0.4
ISBN: 1846033527
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5343841
EAN: 9781846033520
ASIN: 1846033527
Publication Date: March 24, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Poland had apparently lain dormant under the Nazi heel for nearly five years, suffering the waves of genocidal round-ups, organized looting and the brutal suppression of its culture. The Poles, however, had in fact formed an underground army, the Armia Krajowa (Home Army), and waited for the moment when German weakness would offer the opportunity for a successful rising. That moment seemed to have arrived in July 1944. As the Soviet armies began to advance into eastern Poland following the destruction of the German Army Group Centre in the successful Bagration offensive, the AK launched its revolt in Warsaw on August 1, 1944. Though its 5,000 fighters achieved some initial successes, the Germans were able to retain control over both the Vistula River bridges and the airbase, which ultimately doomed the revolt to isolation and defeat. The SS was put in charge of suppressing the rebellion, beginning another wave of atrocities, shocking even by Eastern Front standards.
By the beginning of September, it was clear that the rebellion was doomed. The Western Allies attempted to fly weapons and supplies to Warsaw, but their efforts were undermined by Stalin's unwillingness to provide airbases. Stalin himself waited until the rebellion was approaching its death throes before allowing the First Polish Army (part of the Red Army) to cross the Vistula River to aid the rebellion. Although these reinforcements succeeded in briefly establishing a link-up, it was too late. The AK finally agreed to surrender on October 2.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
The Home Army Strikes Back June 20, 2010
Dave Schranck (Anaheim Ca)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There had been much savagery throughout the entire war zone but the history of Poland during and even before the war has got to be one of the worse. For decades Germany and Russia has had an animosity toward Poland and when the country came until their control during the war, the Polish people were truly maltreated. In the first chapter "Origins", Mr Forczyk briefly explains these relationships from WWI as well as the Resistance Movement during occupation. During occupation 1.5 million Poles were sent to labor camps, unknown numbers executed, their treasure looted and the Katyn Affair are a small sampling of the abuse Poland received. To compound that abuse the western Allies abandoned her post war freedom to appease Stalin.
The Poles had been planning this rebellion for years and with the Russians entering Poland, they knew the time had come to expel the Germans from the city before they destroyed it before evacuation. The Poles also hoped that they would have a better chance for independence after the war if they were in control of the capital when the Russians arrived. After delivering background information, a nice two page Chronology is presented to further help the reader get acclimated to the upcoming battle.
The chapter on "Opposing Leaders" was excellent, providing good profiles on three Polish commanders and nine German commanders. Photos of some of these men were presented; I was a little surprised that photos of von Vormann and von Luttwitz were absent.
The "Opposing Forces" chapter was also well done and included background on Poland's AK and LWP Armies. The size of the forces in Warsaw and spread out throughout the country was given, including the fact that thousands of women were part of the movement. Over the years, the British RAF had airdrop tons of weapons and ammo to these freedom fighters which greatly bolstered their cache of Polish weapons which were hidden from the Germans, giving them the only chance to defend themselves. Photos of the Polish uniform and weapons are shown. On the German side the forces of the SS, Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe units are described. An Order of Battle for the two sides is shown as well.
In "Opposing Plans", the plans for the Poles is first. Being a clandestine affair, the planning, coordination and execution of a plan was not ideal and not having firm objectives and control of the forces greatly hampered the Home Army. The Poles wanted to isolate the Germans inside the city by cutting their lines of communications outside Warsaw but it didn't work out exactly as they wanted. Despite initial success, the key bridges and the airport were unable to be taken, dooming their chances for success. The Germans knew that an Uprising was in the making but were completely surprised at the scale of it when it occurred. Its also noted that once the Uprising was underway, the Russians stopped their advance to allow the Germans to put down the rebellion. Stalin, wanted the rebellion to fail; he wanted the Poles to be as weak as possible in order to subdue them when they took over.
To make it easier to understand, Mr Forczyk breaks up the two month battle into time segments as well as sectors. The coverage is excellent and every key event seems to be covered. There are seven excellent colored maps that accompany the narrative. Six are 2-D and one is 3-D. Six of the maps cover the fighting within the city and the seventh map shows an area map of the German and Russian dispositions as the Russians move toward Warsaw. I also appreciated the crib notes provided for each map; it really helped my understanding of the action. These street maps were extraordinary. Three color 2-page illustrations of the street fighting were also presented. There are also many fine photos of key people and of the city to study.
In "Aftermath", the author describes how the Germans removed the POWs and civilians from the city and then proceeded to destroy the rest of the city. Despite not being fully coordinated and not concentrating their forces properly, high praise is bestowed on the Poles for their bravery and tenacity in their attempt to vanquish the larger German force.
A Bibliography and Index are included. The Bibliography lists primary and secondary sources and websites which will be helpful if further study is desired.
I've said this before about Mr Forczyk's earlier Campaigns and "Warsaw 1944" is another good example of the author's ability to concentrate all the pertinent information in a 96 page package. This campaign is the ideal starting point to learn about the Uprising and in fact for many of us all you'll need to understand this brutal event and is highly recommended.
Outstanding Resource February 1, 2010
Ozark Trail Outrider (Jenks, OK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a big fan of the Osprey Campaign series and was thrilled to find a volume on the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. There aren't that many good (English) titles out there.
Warsaw 1944 covers the uprising in its entirety and as usual the photographs and accompanying action painting are excellent. In fact, the color plates really make this series of books come alive. The three color plates in this volume are really engaging and bring the uprising to life.
If you are looking for one, really great book on the subject, this should fit the bill.
My only complaint is that it wasn't longer. Osprey has scored another hit with this volume and I look forward to collecting others in this wonderful series.
A Concise History of the Warsaw Uprising in Outline Format December 5, 2009
Jan Peczkis (Chicago IL, USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This work is quite compact. There are separate chapters on the origins of the campaign, the opposing forces, the opposing leaders, the opposing plans, the battle itself, etc. The actual 63-day combat is divided into 2-5 day segments. Old pictures are included, as well as novel 3-D block diagrams depicting some of the combat actions.
Forczyk unmasks the argument about Poland being "too far" from England for substantive airdrops of arms and ammunition. He points out that 170 Lancaster bombers had recently traversed the 1,354 km distance from Lincolnshire to Koenigsberg, each dropping 2.5 tons of bombs, then returning home. The distance was only 74 km less than that of Lincolnshire to Warsaw. (p. 62).
Now consider the Soviet betrayal of the Uprising. Forczyk rejects any attempts at creating a false ambiguity about Soviet conduct towards it. The fact that the Soviets wanted the Uprising to fail is obvious by such things as their refusal (until the very end, when the Uprising was already doomed) to allow Uprising-aiding Allied planes to land on Soviet-held territories. (p. 37). Also, temporary setbacks for the Red Army, just east of Warsaw in early August 1944, were no excuse for them not taking Warsaw long before the Uprising ended. (p. 50).
As soon as the Uprising began, the Germans began murderous reprisals against Polish civilians. Forczyk puts this in perspective: "During the course of 5-6 August, Reinefarth's troops murdered between 30,000 and 40,000 civilians at Wola--exceeding the total of 33,741 Jews killed at Babi Yar outside Kiev in two days in September 1941. The Wola Massacre was the worst single battlefield atrocity committed in Europe in World War II, but it did not produce the effect that Hitler had intended. Instead of terrorizing the population, the indiscriminate murder of thousands of civilians drove the rest of the population into full-hearted support of the AK." (p. 54). The Germans subsequently scaled back their murders of Polish civilians, realizing that the Varsovians would not surrender if they knew that they would all die anyway.
Forczyk traces the battles step by step. He also comments: "Polish snipers became adept at firing from concealed positions within buildings, which made them very difficult for the Germans to spot and suppress." (p. 61). In the end, the overwhelming German superiority in arms and ammunition and the absence of substantive outside assistance made the defeat of the Uprising an inevitability. Forczyk believes that the Uprising softened the intensity of the Communist puppet government subsequently forced on Poland. (p. 92).
The end of the book contains a list of books and websites devoted to the Uprising. [For additional materials, see the Peczkis Listmania: THE FORGOTTEN WARSAW UPRISING (POLES AGAINST GERMANS) IN 1944].
A very good look inside one of the most overawing facts in WWII November 24, 2009
Hector Manuel Cabral Betancor (Canary Islands, Spain)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It is merely about an EXCELLENT work, said without wishing to seem subjective! The awesome deeds which took place during the most difficult fighting ever undergone and experienced by the Poles throughout their entire history, are actually thoroughly detailed in Mrs. Forczyk and Dennis book.
Congratulations for both authors! The quality of the text and illustrations is simply EXCELLENT!
Excellent and readable book June 19, 2009
lordhoot (Anchorage, Alaska USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I must say that I totally agreed with the previous reviewer regarding this book. I have just finished reading Rising '44 by Norman Davies and that book gave me an excellent understanding of the Warsaw Uprising. But it took that book 635 pages plus another 100 pages of appendix to do the job that Robert Forczyk did in 93 pages. I am continually amazed at Dr. Forczyk's ability to write so much in so little space as he has shown in the past Osprey books that bears his name. He definitely does not waste words in his narrative. While this book may not be as detail as Davies' book, any reader who read Dr. Forczyk's book will have a clear understanding of the Warsaw Uprising 1944. If they wish, they can move on to the more detail version by Davies. I am also pleased that this author choose to keep the Polish names intact in its narrative, a direct contrast to Davies' book (and Davies' contention that English speaking readers will be turned off by Polish names).
This book allows you to followed step by step the military actions of this uprising that saw the utter destruction of the city of Warsaw and its huge civilian losses. Mistakes made by both sides were clearly pointed out in the book and I found the conclusion made by the author to be in agreement with what I believe. I found the maps, photographs and colorful prints to be quite excellent in portraying and supporting the narrative. Only distraction I can see for some people about this book, probably has to do with the fact that majority of the narrative take the perception from the German point of view then the Polish.
Overall, this book is an excellent addition to the Osprey Campaign series. Anyone who even have a passing interest in this subject will no doubt find the book quite readable and informative in nature.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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