Authors: Norbert Bacyk
Warszawa II (26 page)
Grenadiers from the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10 “Westland” on the move in the summer of 1944 in Poland
On October 31, the 47th Army's infantry, supported by tanks, renewed its attack against the enemy. According to the order issued by the commander of the front, the infantry was to advance to Nowy Dwór, with the final goal of forcing the IV SS-Panzer-Corps to cross over to the other side of the WisÅa. The hardest fighting flared up in the vicinity of the Szybalin-farm and in the nearby village of Derlacz. The Soviet tanks were greeted with well-aimed fire from anti-tank guns, and the infantry was halted by mortar and artillery shelling. In the evening, a counterattack was launched with tracked assault guns throwing the Soviet attackers back to their original positions. The next day, the Germans learned that this failed attack was the last strained gasp of the Soviet's depleted combat strength. After November 1, the exhausted 47th Army shifted to a defensive stance. Now, after almost three months of continuous fighting outside Warsaw, a relative calm reigned, disturbed only by isolated shelling by both sides. The front along the WisÅa would remain dormant for over two months.
This marked the conclusion of one of the Second World War's operationally most complicated battles. Warsaw had been transformed into a mass grave. According to official estimates, the 1st Belorussian Front between the days of August 1 and August15 alone, suffered casualties of 166,808 dead and wounded. The 1st Polish Volunteer Army counted a further 13.272 dead, wounded, and missing. At the same time, troop losses in the 2nd and 9th Armies mounted to 91,595 killed, injured and captured. Of these, the 9th Army lost 36,373 soldiers: 27,422 in combat at the front, plus an additional 8,951 in Warsaw. One must keep in mind that these figures do not include combat losses incurred during the month of July, the second half of September, or in the battles fought during October in Praga's northern suburbs.
Equally serious for both sides were their equipment losses. At the very least, a 9th Army report covering a period of only 5 days (August 18 â 22 ), claiming the destruction of 249 Soviet tanks between WoÅomin and Wyszków, should be cited here to further illustrate the incredible extent of these losses. Even if they are exaggerated such reports nonetheless provide a picture of how bitter the fighting was in this theatre of the war. The report was sent two weeks after the conclusion of the large armoured battle carried out by the 2nd Panzer-Army “Gruppe von Saucken” wherein the Germans had destroyed more than 200 tanks. Similar information can be found in a report from the 5th SS-Panzer-Division “Wiking”. In this report SS-Panzer-Regiment 5, alone, claims that between the 4th and 5th of September 1944, they had destroyed or captured 151 tanks, 32 tracked assault guns, 176 guns, 94 machineguns and 5 aircraft!
The battle for Warsaw was an extremely lengthy one. That it turned out to be so was not solely the fault of Stalin holding back the assault on Praga while awaiting the crushing of the Uprising. This order was only applicable to the 47th Army's left flank â the rest of the Soviet troops were to continue their attacks. Despite this, it took over a month for three infantry armies to advance the 45 kilometers from MiÅsk Mazowieacki to Serock with the added support of tank corps and an air fleet. The most significant factor was the persistant resistance offered by the German troops, who succeeded in concentrating relatively small but highly motorised elite troops along the stretch facing Warsaw. The commander of Heeresgruppe “Mitte” skilfully manoeuvred his combat resources, constantly redeploying individual divisions from one zone of the front to another. However there can be no doubt that east Warsaw â had Stalin issued the order to storm the Praga district â would have been freed sometime between August 10 and 14, 1944; which is not to say, this would have meant the end of fighting for the city. The battle for Poland's capital would have continued but the chances of saving the city would have been enormously increased. The storming wasn't to take place until a month later, under completely different operational circumstances. The September attack on Praga was merely a support-attack which was primarily conducted to straighten-out the frontline. And even in this objective, due to the resistance mounted by the German troops, was not wholly achieved.
Commander of the Army: General K.K. Rokossovsky
Chief of Staff: Commandant General M. S. Mailinin??
Political Commissar: Lieutenant General N. A.Bulganin
Commanding Oficcer: Lieutenant-General A.V. Gorbatov
Political Commissar: Major General I. P. Konnov
Chief of Staff: Major General M. V. Ivashechkin
The 35th Infantry Corps:
The 250th Infantry Division
The 323rd Infantry Division
The 348th Infantry Division
The 40th Infantry Corps:
The 129th Infantry Division
The 169th Infantry Division
The 41st Infantry Corps:
The 120th Guards Infantry Division
The 269th Infantry Division
The 46th Infantry Corps:
The 82ndInfantry Division
The 108th Infantry Division
The 413th Infantry Division
The 80th Infantry Corps:
The 5th Infantry Division
The 186th Infantry Division
The 283rd Infantry Division
Commanding Officer: Major-General of tank forces, B. S.
Bakharov
Major General of tank forces, N. I. Voeikov from (17.7)
The 23rd Tank Brigade
The 95thTank Brigade
The 108th Tank Brigade
The 8th Motorised Infantry Brigade
The 1455th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1508th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 218th Mortar Regiment
The 286thGuards Mortar Regiment
The 216th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 36thTank Regiment
The 40thTank Regiment
The 193rd Tank Regiment
The 223rd Tank Regiment
The 510th Tank Regiment
The 8th Independent Artillery Brigade
The 340th Independent Guards Heavy Artillery Regiment
The 341st The Guards Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1812th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1888th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1899th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1900:e Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1901st Independent Artillery Regiment'
The 122nd Super Heavy Artillery Brigade
The 124th Super Heavy Artillery Brigade
The 44th Artillery Brigade
The 41st Anti-tank Artillery Brigade
The 44thAnti-tank Artillery Brigade
The 295th The Guards Artillery Regiment
The 1091st Artillery Regiment
The 120th anti-tank Artillery Regiment
The 584th anti-tank Artillery Regiment
The 1071st anti-tank Artillery Regiment
The 1311th anti-tank Artillery Regiment
The 286th Mortar Regiment
The 475th Mortar Regiment
The 35th Guards Mortar Brigade
The 16th Guards Mortar Brigade
The 5th Guards Mortar Brigade
The 37thGuards Mortar Regiment
The 56thGuards Mortar Regiment
The 94th Guards Mortar Regiment
The 313th Guards Mortar Regiment
The 28th Anti-aircraft Artillery Division:
The 1355th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 1359th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 1365th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 1371st Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 1284th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The Assault Engineers Brigade (the unit number is not available)
The 10th Engineers Brigade
The 7th Pontoon Bridge Brigade
The 141stFlame Thrower Company (510:e Flame Thrower Company)
The 207th Flame Thrower Company (510:e Flame Thrower Company)
The 40th Mine Sweeping Regiment
The 48th Pontoon Bridge Battalion
Commanding Officer: Lieutenant General A.A. Luchinsky
Political Commissar: Major General A.N. Mel'nikov
Chief of Staff: Major-General S.M. Rogachevsky
3rd Guards Infantry Corps:
50th Guards Infantry Division
54th Guards Infantry Division
96th Guards Infantry Division
The 20th Infantry Corps
The 48th Guards Infantry Division
The 55th Guards Infantry Division
The 20th Infantry Division
The 128th Infantry Corps
The 61st Infantry Division
The 130th Infantry Division
The 152nd Infantry Division
The 119th Fortifications Commando
The 153rd Fortifications Commando
The 161st Fortifications Commando
The 30th Tank Guards Regiment
The 347th Independent Guards Artillery Regiment
The 881st Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1416th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1898th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 5h Spearhead Artillery Division
The 100th Super Heavy Howitzer Artillery Brigade
The 86th Heavy Howitzer Artillery Brigade
The 9th Howitzer Artillery Brigade
The 24th Artillery Brigade
The 23rd Guards Light Artillery Brigade
The Mortar Brigade (the unit number is missing)
The 12th Spearhead Artillery Division
The 104th Super Heavy Howitzer Artillery Regiment
The 89th Heavy Howitzer Artillery Brigade
The 32nd Howitzer Artillery Brigade
The 41st Artillery Brigade
The 46th Light Artillery Brigade
The 11th Mortar Brigade
The 3rd Artillery Corps Brigade
The 377th Artillery Regiment
The 530th Armoured anti-tank Artillery Regiment
The 133rd Guards Mortar Regiment
The 22nd Guards Mortar Brigade (5:e Guards Mortar Division)
The 62nd Guards Mortar Regiment
The 316th Guards Mortar Regiment
The 607th anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 2nd The Assault engineers/sappers Brigade
The 36th Engineers/sappers Brigade
The 41st Independent Flame Thrower Battalion (the 516th Flame Thrower Regiment)
Commanding Officer: General Aleksiej Ivanovitj Radzjijevskij
Subordinated units:
41st Anti-aircraft Artillery Brigade
The 5th Independent Motorcycle Regiment
The 87th Independent Motorcycle Regiment
The 9th or 79th Independent Radio/Communication Regiment
The 86th Guards Mortar Regiment
The 10th Flame Thrower Battalion
The 729th Independent Mortar Battalion
Commanding officer: General Nikolaj Vjedjenjejev
The 50th Tank Brigade
The 51st Tank Brigade
The 103rd Tank Brigade
The 57th Mechanised Brigade
The 220th Battalion
Commanding Officier: General Alekssiej Popov
The 58th Tank Guards Brigade
The 59th Tank Guards Brigade
The 60th Tank Guards Brigade
The 28th Mechanised Brigade
The 62nd Guards Regiment (for heavy tanks)
The 301st Guards Anti-tank Regiment
The 1817th Guards Anti-tank Regiment
Commanding Officer: General Ivan Dubovoj
107th Tank Brigade
109th Tank Brigade
164th Tank Brigade
15th Mechanised Brigade
6th Guards Regiment for heavy tanks
1239th anti-tank Regiment
1441st anti-tank Regiment
201st Battalion
Motorcycle Battalion
Engineer Battalion
Commanding Officer: General Popov
The remnants of the105th Reserve Brigade
The 175th Infantry Division
1st Tadeusz KoÅciuszko-Infantry Division
76th Infantry Division
An Infantry Regiment from 60th Infantry division
(from the 125th Infantry Corps)
The remainder of the 60th Infantry division
The143rd Infantry Division
The 77th Infantry Corps
The 129th Infantry Corps
The 260th Infantry Division
The 132nd Infantry Division
The 328:e Infantry Division
Commanding Officer: General Gusiev
The 114th Infantry Corps (around Radzymin)
The 160th Infantry Division
The 165th Infantry Division
The 413h Infantry Division
The 96th Infantry Corps
The 1st Infantry Division
The 38th Guards Infantry Division
The 76th Guards Infantry Corps
The 48th Army
The 29th Infantry Corps
The 102nd Infantry Division
The 217th Infantry Division
The 42nd Infantry Corps:
The 137th Infantry Division
The 170th Infantry Division
The 399th Infantry Division
The 53rd Infantry Corps
The 17th Infantry Division
The 73rd Infantry Division
The 96th Infantry Division
The 194th Infantry Division
The 115th Fortification area
The 42nd Tank Regiment
The 23rd Tank Regiment
The 713th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 189th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1897th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 39th Independent Armoured Train Battalion
The 22nd Spearhead Artillery Division
The 63rd Howitzer Artillery Brigade
The 59th Artillery Gun Brigade
The 13th Light Artillery Brigade
The 68th Artillery Gun Brigade
The 220th Guards Anti-tank Artillery Brigade
The 479th Mortar Regiment
The 6th Guards Mortar Regiment
The 84th Guards Mortar Regiment
The 31st Anti-aircraft Artillery Division
The 1376th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 1380th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 1386th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 1392nd Anti aircraft Artillery regiment
The 461st Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
The 57th Engineer/sapper Brigade
The 4th Heavy Pontoon Depot
The 104th Pontoon Bridge Battalion
The 142nd Independent Flame Thrower Battalion
Commanding Officer: Lieutenant-General P.I. Batov
Political Commissar: Major-General N. A. Radetsky
Chief of Staff: Major-General M.V. Bobkov
The 18th Infantry Corps
The 37th Guards Infantry Division
The 44th Guards Infantry Division
The 69th Guards Infantry Division
The 105th Infantry Corps
The 75th Guards Infantry Corps
The 193rd Infantry Division
The 354th Infantry Division
The 15th Infantry Division
The 356th Infantry Division
The 115th Infantry Brigade
The Guards Armoured Corps (no unit no. available)
The 15th Guards Armoured Brigade
The 16th Guards Armoured Brigade
The 17th Guards Armoured Brigade
Motorised Guards Infantry Brigade (no unit no. available)
The 1001st Independent Artillery Regiment
The 1296th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 455th Mortar Regiment
The 45th Guards Mortar Battallion
The 80th Guards anti-aircraft Regiment
The 251st Armoured Regiment
The 345th Independent Guards Artillery Regiment
The 354th Independent Guards Artillery Regiment
The 922nd Independent Artillery Regiment
The 925th Independent Artillery Regiment
The 26th Artillery Division
The 77th Howitzer Artillery Brigade
Units subordinated to the 65th Army
The 56th Artillery Brigade
The 75th Light Artillery Brigade
The 4th Corps Artillery Brigade
The 30th Guards Artillery Brigade
The 147th Artillery Brigade
The 157thArtillery Brigade
The 3rd Guards armoured anti-tank Artillery Brigade
The Armoured Anti-tank Artillery Brigade (no unit no. available)
The 543rd Armoured anti-tank Artillery Regiment
The 315th Independent special Artillery Battalion
The 317th Independent special Artillery Battalion
The 23rd Guards Mortar Brigade (5:e guards mortar division)
The 43rd Guards Mortar Regiment
The 92nd Guards Mortar Regiment
The 311th Guards Mortar Regiment
The 143rd Guards Mortar Regiment
The 235th Anti-aircraft Regiment
The 14th Engineer Brigade
The 177th Independent Flame Thrower Battalion