Two months earlier, the Red Army advance to Warsaw prompted the Polish resistance to rise against the Germans. The rebels, who supported the democratic Polish government-in-exile in London, hoped to take control over the city before the Soviets “liberated” it, fearing that were they to fail, the Soviet conquerors would forcibly set up a pro-Soviet communist regime in Poland.

The Uprising came as a shock to the Nazis, who were caught unprepared, but in brutal street fighting, the Poles were gradually overcome by superior German weaponry. Although the Red Army reached the suburbs of Warsaw, they made no effort to aid the Polish rebels. The Soviets also denied the British use of Soviet air bases to airlift supplies to the insurgents.

Running low on food and ammunition, suffering from poor sanitary conditions, and left all alone in their struggle, the fate of the insurgents was sealed. After 63 days, the Poles surrendered to the Germans.

By the end of the Rising, casualties reached 18,000 among the insurgents and 180,000 among the civilian population. After the remaining population of Warsaw had been expelled, the Nazi army began a systematic and methodical destruction of the city.

With the pro-Western resistance in Warsaw out of the way, the Soviets faced little organized opposition to establishing a communist government in Poland.