Read Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw Online
Authors: Norman Davies
Tags: #Non-Fiction, #War, #History
Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw (62 page)
Anders’s meeting with King George VI had taken place earlier at Perugia. For security reasons, the King had been disguised as ‘Gen. Collingwood’:
After the parade and the march-past there was a visit to Gen. Alexander’s Field HQ and in the evening a dinner at Gen. Leese’s Eighth Army HQ. The band of the II Polish Army Corps played during dinner, and the King expressed a particular liking for the song . . . ‘
And if I have to be born again, then let it only be in
[Lvuv] . . .’ We all sang, and the King hummed. The music and words (spelled phonetically) of this song were later conveyed . . . to the King as a souvenir of that evening.
102
One wonders whether the King knew where Lvuv was, or that the Soviet Army was about to annex it on the very next day. The men of the 5th (Border) Division, who had stormed Cassino and who largely came from Lvuv, would henceforth have no homes to return to.
Anders’s opinion about the Warsaw Rising matched that of the Commanderin-Chief. He was not opposed in principle. But he was more than sceptical about the practicalities. As a former prisoner of the NKVD, he didn’t trust the Russians, and doubted if the Premier’s policy of seeking sensible, Western-backed compromise would bring results. As a soldier, he saw that the Home Army was on its own, and shared the Commanderin-Chief’s fears about their vulnerability. In his memoirs he quoted a telegram sent by the Commanderin-Chief from Italy to London: ‘the experiment of coming into the open in Poland and of cooperation with the Red Army would be a failure.’
103
The Battle for the Gothic Line, which ended on 2 September when the Poles captured Cattolica near Rimini, had demanded a tenacious advance across lofty ridges and through the densely wooded ravines of the eastern Apennines. It had cost the 2nd Corps 2,150 men. Just before it was concluded, Anders had received a visit from Winston Churchill in person:
PM CHURCHILL
: Do you remember, General, the last time that we met and talked in Cairo? [on 22 August 1942, when they had discussed the situation of the Poles in Russia]
GEN. ANDERS
: I do remember, of course.
CHURCHILL
: You were right at that time.
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After that he asked: ‘What is the state of your soldiers’ morale in view of the events they witness at present?’
Gen. Anders answered that the morale of the troops was excellent, that each soldier . . . was perfectly aware . . . that the first task and obligation was the destruction of Germany . . . but that they were most
anxious at the same time about the future destiny of Poland, and about all that was happening in Warsaw.
Prime Minister Churchill said that he also was fully aware of these facts, but when, with President Roosevelt, he had approached Stalin for assistance to the Warsaw fighters, they had received no answer at all to their first request, and a negative reply to their second . . . ‘We were not ready for any action in Warsaw, and now we are trying to do our best to give assistance from the air.’
Prime Minister Churchill also stressed the fact that the Russians were barely 30 kilometres [eighteen miles] from Warsaw, and there could be no obstacle in the way of their giving assistance, whereas the British must fly 780 miles [1,255km] from their bases in Italy.
Then Mr Churchill mentioned that he did not think we were satisfied with his speech last winter.
GENERAL ANDERS
: ‘We still have a grudge against you, Prime Minister.’
PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL
: ‘In concluding the treaty of alliance with Poland, Great Britain has never guaranteed her frontiers. She . . . undertook the obligations for the existence of Poland as a free, independent, sovereign and great state, . . . free from any alien interference. I can assure you, General, that we have not changed our point of view; Poland will not exist but she must be a champion of Europe. You must trust us; we will keep our pledges. But you must not rigidly insist on the maintenance of your eastern boundaries. You will get territories in the west much better than the Pripet marshes . . .’
GENERAL ANDERS
: ‘History tells us that some corrections of frontiers occur after each war . . . But we will never consent to the Bolsheviks, even during the war, taking as much territory as they wish . . .’
PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL
: ‘Obviously these matters can be settled at a peace conference.’ (Turning to the General and touching him with his hand): ‘You will be present at the conference. You must trust us. Great Britain entered this war in defence of the principle of your independence, and I can assure you that we will never desert you.’
GENERAL ANDERS
: ‘Our soldiers have never for one moment lost faith in Great Britain. They know that first of all Germany must be beaten, and they are ready to carry out any task for this end . . . But . . . we are convinced that all Stalin’s announcements that he wants a free and strong Poland are lies and impostures . . . The Russians entering Poland are arresting and deporting our wives and children to Russia as they did in 1939. They disarm the soldiers of our Home Army, shoot our officers,
and imprison members of our Civil Administration, destroying those who have been fighting the Germans without interruption since 1939. Our wives and children are in Warsaw, but we prefer that they should perish there rather than live under the Bolsheviks. We all prefer to perish fighting rather than to live cringing.’
PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL
(deeply moved): ‘You should trust Great Britain, who will never abandon you – never. I know the Germans and Russians are destroying your best elements, particularly the intellectuals. I deeply sympathise with you . . .’
GENERAL ANDERS
: ‘Russia was preparing for war for twenty years . . . immediately after the war she will resume this policy, while you will not keep 6,000,000 men under arms and 70,000 aircraft in the air.’
PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL
: ‘We have a treaty with Russia for twenty years.’ (After a short pause): ‘It may be that this will not last. But I believe that the situation in Russia has changed, and the men who hold power at present will not keep it to the same degree after the end of the war . . . Hence all your apprehensions are superfluous, especially as you must trust Great Britain and the United States, who will never desert you . . . And it is necessary to realise that the potentialities of Great Britain and the United States are unlimited . . . We used only two-fifths of our forces for the powerful blow which we struck in invading Europe, scoring successes which far outweighed all Soviet contributions to the war . . .’ (Changing the subject of a conversation): [The Commanderin-Chief] is considered to continue Beck’s policy. [The Premier] is a good man, is he not?’
GENERAL ANDERS
: ‘I do not know him well. I consider that he might talk with Stalin, but he had no right to speak with traitors, that is, with the “Union of Polish Patriots” in Moscow . . .’
PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL
(having observed that the meeting was being photographed): ‘If Stalin sees this photograph . . . General, he will be furious. But I consent that you may publish this photograph. Let Stalin be angry. But I do insist that you send me a copy. Stalin dislikes you – he says you are a wicked man.’
Gen. Anders, returning to the question of the ‘Committee of Patriots’, observed that Stalin had Governments ready for all the countries he would like to put under Communist rule. Then he added jokingly: ‘I am sure that he already has a man ready to take your place, Mr Churchill.’
PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL
(laughing): ‘The same as the Germans had one.
But they did not have the chance.’ . . . (He repeats once more): ‘I and my friend President Roosevelt, who will again be elected President, will never abandon Poland. Put your trust in us.’
. . .
GENERAL ANDERS
: ‘We are soldiers, and for this reason we are well able to distinguish between politics and truth.’
PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL
(smiling): ‘Oh yes, I see you are also a good politician.’
GENERAL ANDERS
: ‘We were taught to be so in Russia.’
105
Gen. Anders recalled this conversation somewhat ironically. ‘I was fully aware of the difficult circumstances with which he [Churchill] had to deal . . . [But] Polish soldiers were then fighting in Warsaw, in Normandy and in Italy, and Polish sailors and airmen were playing their part. For what was the Polish soldier shedding his blood?’
106
[
PRAYER
, p. 349]
Churchill and Anders do not appear to have discussed the rights and wrongs of the Rising at any great length. But a private letter written by Anders at that same juncture leaves no doubt that he must be counted among the Rising’s most unrelenting critics:
I was completely shocked by the outbreak of the Rising in Warsaw. I regard it as the greatest misfortune in our present situation. It didn’t have the slightest chance of success, and exposed all parts of the country still under German occupation to new and appalling repressions . . . No one who is not dishonest or blind could have had the least illusion that everything which has happened was always going to happen;
i.e.
not only that the Soviets will refuse to help our beloved, heroic Warsaw, but also that they will watch with the greatest pleasure as our nation’s blood is drained to the last drop.Like all my colleagues in the 2nd Corps, I was always of the opinion, at the time when the Germans were collapsing and the Bolsheviks were coming in and destroying the best of our people, just as they did in 1939, that the Rising had no sense, that it was even a crime. . . .
Of course, no words can express our pride and wonder at the heroism of our Home Army and of the capital’s population. We are with them with every beat of our hearts . . . We are hurt to the quick by our helplessness . . . All our own battles, from Monte Cassino onwards, strike us as puny in comparison to the battle in Warsaw.
107
Anders did not publicize his opinion at the time. The irony was that he, together with the Commanderin-Chief, topped the list of ‘anti-Soviet’ culprits who were widely believed to have planned and promoted the Rising.
PRAYER
A group of religious youngsters put faith in the power of prayer
When I crossed to the other side of Jerusalem Avenue, I ran into a trio of my female friends: Marysha O. and her two friends from ‘Eight’, Lily W. and Jane M. Whilst preparing for the Rising, [they] had raised the idea of an ‘Action for God’ and a few of them had organized a ‘prayer point’ in the convent chapel in Vola. When Vola fell, it was a miracle that they avoided the notorious ‘Kaminski Brigade’, and after a few adventures, they made it to the City Centre. That’s when we met.
The church ‘on Moniushko Street’ now became their ‘prayer point’. They wanted to inspire the whole of Warsaw to pray. ‘If it is ordained that we die’, they said, ‘let it be with clean hearts, in a state of grace.’ The 26th of August, the Feast of the Black Madonna, was set as a particular date for prayer. They ran from street to street, fearless in the face of bombs and bullets, putting up posters, recruiting helpers, and above all inspiring priests to action. They sometimes had to ‘winkle out’ the more fearful of God’s servants from their hiding places, and encourage them to carry out their duties . . .
The ‘Day of the Black Madonna’ really became an almost universal act of faith in the Warsaw Rising. It was supported by the Home Army Command, and thousands of people came to receive the sacraments. Since the churches had largely been reduced to rubble, Holy Mass was celebrated in courtyards, in cellars, and on the battle line. Christ in the Eucharist was among his people . . . I myself succeeded in leading a priest to our unit’s redoubt. After that, with cleansed souls, we calmly awaited an uncertain future . . .
I have often been asked if I was afraid during the Rising. Of course, when bombs were exploding all around and bullets whistled past me, I naturally felt fear. I hid behind the wall, pulled my head down, or went to the shelter. Nonetheless, I was dominated by a strange conviction, that with God’s protection I would come out alive.
One day I went to visit Marysha and her girls at the ‘prayer point’ by the church ‘on Moniushko Street’. We had barely met when Marysha interrupted the conversation and bade me farewell. She had heard explosions and wanted to get to the shelter quickly. I expressed surprise that she had such little faith in God’s protection. She replied, ‘Yes, I am afraid, but I am glad that I can feel with the whole population what we are all going through.’
Marysha went to the shelter, whilst I knelt before the Holy Sacrament in the chapel to pray. Hearing a plane overhead, I experienced an awful paroxysm of fear,
which I had never known before . . . Then I understood that my peace of mind was not due to my fortitude but to the mercy of God, which he had withdrawn for a moment to turn me to jelly. In my view, therefore, the Rising was not just a story of battle and destruction, but also a ‘History of the Soul’.
1
A. Janicki
By the turn of September, the Soviet authorities were running out of excuses for not helping Warsaw. The momentum of Rokossovsky’s armies was carrying them slowly but inexorably into the Capital’s eastern outskirts. The Ukrainian Front, by driving into the Balkans, had drawn off German reserves, and had rendered it unlikely that the Warsaw district could be defended in depth. The Soviet Air Force was becoming as dominant in the skies as the Soviet artillery was on the ground. Soviet diplomats were increasingly subjected to requests, questions, and insinuations. Stalin no longer had a plausible argument for prevaricating.