Medical services in the Warsaw Uprising

Okecie

          The independent 8th District of Okęcie was the territory where "Garluch" 7th infantry regiment and "Luzyce" Aircraft Base operated. At the moment of the Uprising outbreak their task was to take over the Okecie airport. The airport was guarded by 56 cannons and their ground crew amounted to 2 500 people the Uprising forces amounted about 1 200 soldiers. Less than a half of them came forward for concentration on the 1st August. The insurgents were poorly armed, most of them had only self-made grenades or firebombs. Insurgents' fire means of all troops - machine guns, light automatic rifles and sub-machine guns - constituted barely the fire power for an infantry platoon. In such circumstances the headquarter decided to fend off the assault on the airport at the very last moment. Unfortunately, the order did not reach all the troops. Some of them attacked specified objects and were outnumbered in the fire on German machine guns and armoured car. On the 1st and 2nd August fifty insurgents, including a dozen orderlies, died from shells and flame-throwers in the house surrounded by the Germans at 173/175 Krakowska Street. The insurgents' forces did not achieve their goal and virtually ceased to exists. Lieutenant doctor Wiesław Rott "Orski", the deputy of "Luzyce" - the head doctor, prepared the field hospital at 2/3 Bandurskiego Street, which had been appointed as a sanitary point for "Garluch" regiment and "Luzyce" Aircraft Base. In view of the failure of the action in the air port, "Orski" retreated to the Kampinos Forest where he became the medical head of "Kampinos" Group. In Okecie there were also a hospital for children at 21 Bandurskiego Street and the Red Cross hospital in Fortowa street where injuder insurgents were admitted. Both of these hospitals worked until the 10th of January, 1945.

Maciej Janaszek-Seydlitz

translation: Dorota Rapacz