Beginning of the Warsaw Uprising

Historical Overview

At 17:00 (known as "W-Hour"), the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa), commanded by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, launched a massive armed insurrection against the German occupying forces in Warsaw. The primary strategic and political objective of the Polish resistance was to liberate their capital independently from Nazi control, establishing sovereignty and the authority of the Polish government-in-exile before the advancing Soviet Red Army could occupy the city. The uprising initiated 63 days of brutal urban warfare which, due to a catastrophic lack of outside allied assistance, ultimately failed and led to the systematic destruction of Warsaw by German forces.