The Warsaw Uprising was a massive operation by the Polish Underground to take Warsaw back at the same time as the Soviet forces would roll in, so they could not only liberate their own capital but also keep control of the government. But unexpectedly Russian forces stopped at the outskirts of the Polish capital and let the lightly armed Polish resistance duel it out with the air and artillery forces of the German Wehrmacht for amazingly 63 days. The expected support from Moscow never arrived, and the Soviets didn't allow Allied forces airlift supplies into Warsaw, leaving the Polish Home Army, stranded against heavily armed, experienced soldiers.
The political implications of the failure of the Warsaw Uprising are enormous. With the failure of the Home Army, the major military organization of the Polish government in exile in London was squashed, leaving Poland open to control to the Soviet forces. With the failure of support to the Polish rebels, the Soviets succeeded in creating another Soviet state in Eastern Europe, and thus succeeding in their mission to expand communism across the world.
If the Home Army, had succeeded, (an impossible task without support), the Polish government may have stayed in power, a democratic nation on the other side of Berlin. This would have been a major change in power compared to what happened in real life where a distinct line could be found between democratic and communist. Would Poland still have buckled to the pressure? Or would they have stood strong in the face of all the communism? Would it have become a source of conflict between the two ideologies and begun another war? But like so many things in history, we can also so what if?
The political implications of the failure of the Warsaw Uprising are enormous. With the failure of the Home Army, the major military organization of the Polish government in exile in London was squashed, leaving Poland open to control to the Soviet forces. With the failure of support to the Polish rebels, the Soviets succeeded in creating another Soviet state in Eastern Europe, and thus succeeding in their mission to expand communism across the world.
If the Home Army, had succeeded, (an impossible task without support), the Polish government may have stayed in power, a democratic nation on the other side of Berlin. This would have been a major change in power compared to what happened in real life where a distinct line could be found between democratic and communist. Would Poland still have buckled to the pressure? Or would they have stood strong in the face of all the communism? Would it have become a source of conflict between the two ideologies and begun another war? But like so many things in history, we can also so what if?
Well, there simply had been no coordination at all between the Polish and Soviet high comkmands regarding this situation, one might say that perhaps the Uprising was launched too soon while the Red Army was too far away, perhaps it would have been better if they waited and coordinated with the Vistula-to-Oder offensive that would come later. The city was finally taken by the RA and 1st Army of the People's Army of Poland in Jan '45.
ReplyDeleteWell, there simply had been no coordination at all between the Polish and Soviet high comkmands regarding this situation, one might say that perhaps the Uprising was launched too soon while the Red Army was too far away, perhaps it would have been better if they waited and coordinated with the Vistula-to-Oder offensive that would come later. The city was finally taken by the RA and 1st Army of the People's Army of Poland in Jan '45.
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