81 Years Ago, The Warsaw Uprising Broke Out.

• 1.08.2025, 14:58

For 63 days, the rebels fought against a vastly superior enemy force.

On August 1, 1944, at 17:00, an uprising against the German occupiers began in Warsaw. The order to start it was given by the commander-in-chief of the Armia Krajowa, General Tadeusz "Bur" Komorowski. About 40-50 thousand underground fighters rose up for armed struggle, the goal of which was to restore Poland's full independence - without Nazi occupation and Soviet influence. The uprising became a symbol of courage, but resulted in huge casualties and the near total destruction of the capital, reports Polskie Radio.

From the beginning, the rebels faced a serious shortage of weapons. One of the participants in the events, Witold Gembic nicknamed "Sagan," recalled that he was 15 years old on the day of the uprising, and despite the training, armament remained minimal. He said there was a sense of anxiety among German troops the day before, but on the day the fighting began they were ready.

The leadership of the Armia Krajowa hoped for support from the advancing Red Army, but attempts to establish contact in September were unsuccessful - Polish radiograms went unanswered.

The uprising lasted 63 days and was accompanied by heavy losses. About 18,000 insurgents died, 25,000 were wounded. The civilian population of Warsaw suffered particularly heavy losses - about 180,000 people were killed.

After the uprising was crushed, about half a million of the city's inhabitants were deported, and Warsaw itself was subjected to systematic destruction - German units blew up buildings and destroyed infrastructure until the arrival of Soviet troops in January 1945. More than 15,000 insurgents were captured, among them about two thousand women.