Chapter 199: Warsaw

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In a cramped old apartment, a little boy in overalls was sitting on a table. His parents were dividing a meal of mixed potatoes and cabbage leaves from a bowl. The little boy looked at the half a sausage hanging on the windowsill not far away and swallowed his saliva.

From a few days ago, when German bombers had begun to appear over Warsaw, the city had implemented a food rationing system. Many citizens were starving because they could not get their rations, but the government still believed that the war would eventually turn in their favor. Unfortunately, many well-informed Poles did not believe the government’s rhetoric. They were dragging their luggage and their relatives and fleeing to the southeast.

“I hear the Germans have already reached Łódź,” the boy’s mother asked distractedly, stirring the food in the bowl with a spoon. The situation in Warsaw had become very bad recently. Many people were packing their bags, ready to leave this city that was getting closer and closer to the front line at any moment.

“That was days ago. Our army is a bunch of trash,” the man said, taking a bite of potato, his voice filled with resentment and懊恼. “Our armies are a bunch of trash. Hundreds of thousands of them couldn’t even stop the German army for a day.”

The woman was startled and looked up. “What? The front has fallen again?”

“I work at the telephone exchange, so I know a little more,” the man said, putting down his spoon and sighing. “The news from yesterday is that the Germans are probably now just a dozen or so kilometers outside of Warsaw.”

The woman was clearly shocked by this news. She looked at her husband and, after a long while, finally spoke. “My heavens. The Germans have already reached so close? No wonder German planes have been coming more and more frequently these last few days.”

“Boom!” Suddenly, the whole room trembled. Dust was shaken from the ceiling. The little boy, who had been staring at the sausage, was frightened by the sudden explosion and burst into tears. The chandelier swayed and creaked.

Their peaceful life had finally been shattered. War, which had once been so distant, was now right on their doorstep. The capital of a country was finally about to be engulfed by the flames of war. This was already a desperate situation.

“Watch the child. Get under the table and don’t move. I’m going out to see what’s going on…” The man wiped his mouth, stood up, dusted himself off, pushed open the door, and walked out of his apartment. He then went down the stairs to the ground floor and out of his building.

As soon as he was outside, he saw that a three-story building not far away had already collapsed. Next to it were two pedestrians lying on the ground. At the site of the collapsed building was a large crater. A wisp of smoke was still rising from its center.

A few people had already gathered in a circle, watching from a distance. He quickly ran over and saw a middle-aged woman and an old man in a wool coat lying on the ground. It seemed both had been hit by shrapnel and debris.

“Why didn’t the air raid siren sound?” a citizen who was watching from not far away asked his companion, looking in horror at the bodies on the ground.

His companion was also at a loss. “Maybe the planes came too suddenly. Maybe…”

“This is a 203mm howitzer shell!” the Polish man, who had been a soldier and an artilleryman, said, pointing to the large crater on the ground. “This wasn’t a bomb dropped by an airplane. This was a cannon.”

“Impossible… How far can a cannon shoot?” a young man asked, his face pale. “The German army… has reached the suburbs?”

“If I were you, I would go home at once, pack your things, and then take your children and get out of here quickly. Warsaw is no longer a safe place,” the man shouted to the citizens around him. “Get out of here, quickly!”

Not far away, dozens of Polish soldiers with rifles were walking in their direction. They had also spotted the site of the shelling and had come over to check the situation.

“Everyone disperse! There’s nothing to see!” The infantry behind them began to drive away the crowd of onlookers, who were all pushed far away.

The officer in the lead signaled for his soldiers to keep the man who had been a soldier. He looked at the man’s face and then asked, “Sir, I can see you must have been a soldier. To be honest, I have no idea what’s going on. Can you tell me what you know?”

“This is our Polish 203mm howitzer. It’s a particularly cumbersome type of heavy artillery and is not easy to move,” the man said after a moment’s thought. “When I was a soldier, I used this type of cannon on the Polish-German border.”

“You’re saying this was friendly fire from our own men?” the officer asked, his face full of hope. It seemed he would rather believe it was friendly fire than believe the Germans had broken through.

“I’m afraid it’s a weapon that was captured by the Germans,” the man said, shattering the young officer’s illusion. “This type of cannon is generally deployed on the border and cannot be easily moved. I’m afraid the Germans have reached a place a dozen or so kilometers from here and have decided to send us a message with a cannon first.”

“You’re saying the Germans have already reached Warsaw? Why am I only being informed now?” Beck slammed down the phone and began to curse his commanders. “A bunch of trash! All idiots! They have two million troops, yet they were defeated by one million Germans. There wasn’t a single place along the way that could hold for even a day!”

“Sir, the troops sent to check the source of the explosion have reported back that it was an artillery attack. The air defense observation posts have also sent back news, claiming they did not detect any incursion by German planes,” an adjutant reported loudly, his hand covering the mouthpiece of the telephone.

“Artillery? How can an artillery attack hit Warsaw? Are they that close already? Weren’t they supposed to be dozens of kilometers away?” Beck shouted. “When was the last time we contacted the Pomeranian Army? They should be setting up a defensive line north of Warsaw by now! Why is there still no news from them?”

“General Bortnowski’s last call said that they were in a fierce engagement with the pursuing German forces. He said that a portion of his army could reach northern Poland this afternoon,” the adjutant replied immediately.

“The British and French are perfidious! They’ve been colluding with the Germans and have finally sold out their loyal ally to the vicious jackals! Just wait! One day, they will all taste the bitter fruit of their own sowing! Not a single one will escape! Not a single one!” Beck roared, smashing everything he could get his hands on in a fit of rage.

“Sir, if it comes to it, should we retreat to the southern region? At least we can hide there for a while and see what explanation Britain and France will give then,” a secretary advised from the side.

“They won’t give any explanation to a fallen nation!” Beck said with a wave of his hand. “And it’s too late to escape now! The German army in the south has already taken control of a large area. We no longer have a foothold.”

“Sir… are we… are we just going to sit here and wait to be killed?” the secretary asked, a little afraid. “If they advance a few more thousand meters, they can drop shells directly on our heads!”

“What can I do? My Minister of Defense, Army Commander, Minister of Transport, and Minister of Civil Affairs have all fled! I can’t even be sure how many troops can still be deployed, how many reservists can be mobilized…”

“Then let me take full responsibility for the defense of Warsaw,” an officer said, walking in. He was the commander of the Polish Warsaw Army, General Czuma—responsible for the defense of the entire area around Warsaw.

A week ago, he had already begun to order his troops to set up defenses around Warsaw, digging trenches and fortifications, and digging anti-tank ditches in the main defensive sectors. He had suggested deploying anti-aircraft guns in the main areas of Warsaw, but this proposal was rejected on the grounds that it “would cause panic among the citizens.”

But the citizens had panicked anyway. Two days ago, German bombers had begun to frequent the skies over Warsaw, dropping dozens of tons of bombs and destroying many civilian residences and military facilities in the city.

However, because of this General Czuma’s persistence, the area around Warsaw was not entirely unprepared for war. On the contrary, it had become the best-prepared city in all of Poland. These pre-built fortifications gave the 50,000 defenders of Warsaw confidence and courage. They decided to live or die with the city.

“I order you to take command of all Polish soldiers in the vicinity! Gather them together and encircle Warsaw!” Beck had been with this Czuma for the past few days, and Czuma had become his most trusted army general. So Beck commanded loudly, “Do not let the Germans advance another step! Victory will ultimately be ours!”

Czuma had never believed that victory would belong to Poland. After the Germans had encircled the Łódź Army, he believed it even less. All he could do now was to fulfill his duty as a soldier and defend his motherland to the last moment.

After receiving this order, he immediately rushed back to his own command post and began to confirm the number of troops he could deploy. Soon, he received even more disheartening news. Just a moment ago, the Germans had once again shelled Warsaw. Six shells had hit buildings in the northwestern part of the city, causing dozens of civilian casualties.

But it was not all bad news. The number of reservists that could be armed in Warsaw was about twenty thousand. Including the police and the real defense forces, Czuma could gather a full 80,000 “soldiers” to defend against the German attack.

In addition, contact had been re-established with the Pomeranian Army, from which there had been no news. They were surrounded about thirty kilometers outside of Warsaw. A breakout was clearly impossible. Bortnowski planned to lead these troops, who had been routed all the way to the gates of Warsaw, to defend their positions to the last moment.