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The Warsaw Uprising occurred at a stage of the Second World War when it was becoming clear that Nazi Germany was likely to lose. The Uprising ended in capitulation, the deaths of over 250,000 civilians, and only 15% of Warsaw intact; with the benefit of hindsight, many people have argued that it should never have been started. Others have argued that it was inevitable and even crucial for Poland to prove its commitment to the Allied cause. Although Stalin was later to describe it as a "criminal enterprise," just two days prior to its initiation, Radio Moscow had called for the Polish people to rise in arms. To understand the Uprising, then, it is crucial to understand the circumstances that led up to its initiation. Research in this area is difficult because the facts are not always fully available: there are still some sources of information, such as the British and Soviet archives, which remain closed (as of 2004). Therefore, analysis of the Uprising must also incoporporate the speculation, past and present, concerning the time prior to the uprising. == Operation Tempest == From the very beginning of its existence the Home Army was planning a national uprising against the German forces. Initial plans created by the Polish government-in-exile in 1942 assumed that the allied invasion of Europe would lead to the withdrawal of considerable German forces from the Eastern Front for the defence of the Third Reich. The Home Army would act to prevent troop transfer to the west and to allow the British and American forces to seize Germany by breaking all communication links with the majority of German forces massed in the Soviet Union. However, by 1943 it became apparent that the allied invasion of Europe would not come in time, and that in all probability the Red Army would reach the pre-war borders of Poland before the invasion had well begun. In February, 1943, general Stefan Rowecki amended the plan. The Uprising was to be started in three phases, the first being in the East (with main centres of resistance in Lwów and Wilno), before the advancing Red Army. The second part was to include armed struggle in the belt between the Curzon Line and the Vistula river, while the third part was to be a nationwide uprising in all of Poland. Polish-Soviet relations were broken off on April 25, 1943 due to the Katyn massacre, and it became obvious that the advancing Red Army might not come to Poland as a liberator but rather, as General Rowecki put it, "Our Allies' Ally". On November 26, 1943 the Polish government in exile issued an instruction to the effect that if diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were not resumed before their entry to Poland, the Home Army forces were to remain underground until further decisions were made. However, the Home Army commander took a different approach, and on November 30, 1943 the final version of the plan was created. It became known as Operation Tempest. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prelude to the Warsaw Uprising」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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