Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,788
Warsaw, Thursday, September 18, 1944
At dawn that day, 63 soldiers from the contingent of the 9th Regiment of the Soviet-led Polish People's Army (Armii Wojska Polskiego), who landed on the bank in front of the embattled Czerniaków district yesterday and the day before yesterday, together with their commander, Major Stanisław Łatyszonka, who will later fall). ..
... to get through to the Polish AK fighters in the center of the district and strengthen their countrymen!
On their dangerous journey, the soldiers drag armor-piercing weapons, ammunition and equipment with them, whatever they can carry!
The reinforcement is welcome - but in view of the increasing German pressure, it doesn't help much!
Some of the brave soldiers even dare to return to the bank of the Vistula - and evacuate some of the most seriously wounded Polish fighters from the Czerniaków pocket; Once there, they are transported by boat across the Vistula and then on to the Red Army hospitals ...:
The actions are covered as best as possible by Soviet artillery on the east bank of the river ...:
The Germans, of course, notice what is going on, keep the kettle tightly closed in the center of Czerniaków and now deploy units of the SS-Wiking and the Dirlewanger criminals on the landed forces of the Soviet "Armii Wojska Polskiego".
With the last of their strength, they can defend themselves against the goal of the German attack, which is to split up their positions on the Solec bank and then destroy them individually!
In the center of Czerniaków, SS troops stumbled across the ruins of the building on Czerniakowska Street ...
... in which the command post of the "Armia Kraiowa" has housed for this district. The Poles, who were just as surprised by the attack, which seems to come out of nowhere, are able to leave the headquarters building without losses - the conquerors, however, get their hands on important papers - radio keys, situation maps and the like!
The main battles in Czerniaków today are for possession of Idzikowskiego Street ...
... that the Poles can maintain, but with heavy losses.
The forces of the defenders are melting together ...:
Between 12 noon and 1 pm, 107 American B-17 bombers appear over Warsaw, which took off in the morning in England and are fully loaded with supplies for "Armia Kraiowa" ...:
Finally, the Western Allied planners think the weather is good enough for this action, which had previously been postponed several times - while the Soviet planes were active.
The B-17 drop their load of parachutes from a great height over Warsaw - and only a fifth, after all 16 tons, reaches the Polish fighters ...:
This largest Western Allied supply operation for their Polish allies is the largest "air drop" during the entire Warsaw Uprising - and an almost complete failure!
If the Western Allies had come earlier when the Polish fighters held even more extensive territories under their control, it would have been different!
The improvised tactics of the Soviet pilots to drop smaller and as well packaged goods as possible without a parachute but specifically in a dive just above the ground is proving to be far more successful.
The US tactics, on the other hand, save the lives of their own pilots, because their planes move at great heights. But the Poles have none of that!
At dawn that day, 63 soldiers from the contingent of the 9th Regiment of the Soviet-led Polish People's Army (Armii Wojska Polskiego), who landed on the bank in front of the embattled Czerniaków district yesterday and the day before yesterday, together with their commander, Major Stanisław Łatyszonka, who will later fall). ..
... to get through to the Polish AK fighters in the center of the district and strengthen their countrymen!
On their dangerous journey, the soldiers drag armor-piercing weapons, ammunition and equipment with them, whatever they can carry!
The reinforcement is welcome - but in view of the increasing German pressure, it doesn't help much!
Some of the brave soldiers even dare to return to the bank of the Vistula - and evacuate some of the most seriously wounded Polish fighters from the Czerniaków pocket; Once there, they are transported by boat across the Vistula and then on to the Red Army hospitals ...:
The actions are covered as best as possible by Soviet artillery on the east bank of the river ...:
The Germans, of course, notice what is going on, keep the kettle tightly closed in the center of Czerniaków and now deploy units of the SS-Wiking and the Dirlewanger criminals on the landed forces of the Soviet "Armii Wojska Polskiego".
With the last of their strength, they can defend themselves against the goal of the German attack, which is to split up their positions on the Solec bank and then destroy them individually!
In the center of Czerniaków, SS troops stumbled across the ruins of the building on Czerniakowska Street ...
... in which the command post of the "Armia Kraiowa" has housed for this district. The Poles, who were just as surprised by the attack, which seems to come out of nowhere, are able to leave the headquarters building without losses - the conquerors, however, get their hands on important papers - radio keys, situation maps and the like!
The main battles in Czerniaków today are for possession of Idzikowskiego Street ...
... that the Poles can maintain, but with heavy losses.
The forces of the defenders are melting together ...:
Between 12 noon and 1 pm, 107 American B-17 bombers appear over Warsaw, which took off in the morning in England and are fully loaded with supplies for "Armia Kraiowa" ...:
Finally, the Western Allied planners think the weather is good enough for this action, which had previously been postponed several times - while the Soviet planes were active.
The B-17 drop their load of parachutes from a great height over Warsaw - and only a fifth, after all 16 tons, reaches the Polish fighters ...:
This largest Western Allied supply operation for their Polish allies is the largest "air drop" during the entire Warsaw Uprising - and an almost complete failure!
If the Western Allies had come earlier when the Polish fighters held even more extensive territories under their control, it would have been different!
The improvised tactics of the Soviet pilots to drop smaller and as well packaged goods as possible without a parachute but specifically in a dive just above the ground is proving to be far more successful.
The US tactics, on the other hand, save the lives of their own pilots, because their planes move at great heights. But the Poles have none of that!
