Nine weeks of blood and glory
Warsaw Uprising of 1944 day by day.




August 20, 1944 - Twentieth day of the Uprising
Sunday

Name day: Bernard, Sobiesław
Sunrise 5:43 am; sunset 8:07 pm; average air temperature: 23°C
Fine weather during the day, cloudy in the evening; Vistula river level: 96 cm




          Heavy artillery, mortars, the armored train are showering the Old Town with missiles. Aerial bombing is intensifying. "Goliaths' are wreaking havoc. The enemy is advancing from all directions, supported by tanks. But the Germans fail to succeed.
          All the insurgents positions are maintained, except for the tram depot in Muranów and the Mostowski Palace. The enemy suffers heavy losses.
          The Home Army "Leśnik" ("Forester") group pulls back from Muranów to the Old Town.
          Under pressure of the German attack, the insurgents leave the Mostowski Palace.
          The Germans capture the north part of the Bank of Poland.

          At night, 700 soldiers from Żoliborz launch an attack on the Gdańsk Station. However, the attack collapses under heavy fire from bunkers and positions of the main German forces commanded by Colonel Schmidt.

          After several hours of fierce fights, an important German stronghold in Śródmieście - the PASTa building on Zielna Street - falls into the hands of the insurgents. The success is thanks to the efforts of the "Kiliński" battalion under the command of Cavalry Captain Henryk Roycewicz "Leliwa". 36 enemy soldiers are killed, 6 injured, 115 taken into captivity. The insurgents capture 50 submachine guns, 1 heavy machine gun, a few light machine guns, an anti-tank gun and a good deal of ammunition.

          The soldiers from "Chrobry II" man the Hartwig warehouses at the corner of Towarowa and Pańska Streets, which become an insurgent outpost located furthest to the west in Śródmieście.

          The "Golski" soldiers attempt to recapture the University of Technology - the fights are ongoing in the Physics building and in the boiler house.

          Lieutenant Colonel Jan Szczurek-Cergowski "Sławbor" is appointed as the new commander of the Home Army Sub-District Śródmieście-South.





          The Red Army captures Sandomierz.








edited by: Maciej Janaszek-Seydlitz

translated by: Beata Murzyn



Copyright © 2023 Maciej Janaszek-Seydlitz. All rights reserved.