The Warsaw Uprising (Polish: powstanie warszawskie) was a major World War IIoperation by the Polish resistance Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa) to liberateWarsaw from Nazi Germany. The Uprising was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union'sRed Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces.[9]However, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and demolish the city while defeating the Polish resistance, which fought for 63 days with little outside support. According to Janusz Terej, the Uprising was the largest single military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.[10]
The Uprising began on 1 August 1944, as part of a nationwide plan, Operation Tempest, when the Soviet Army approached Warsaw. The main Polish objectives were to drive the German occupiers from the city and help with the larger fight against Germany and the Axis powers. Secondary political objectives were to liberate Warsaw before the Soviets, to underscore Polish sovereignty by empowering the Polish Underground Statebefore the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation could assume control. Also, short-term causes included the threat of a German round-up of able-bodied Poles, and Moscow radio calling for the Uprising to begin.
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