On this day in 1944, the Warsaw Uprising began, an operation involving about 50,000 fighters who launched a surprise attack on the Germans in Warsaw.

The attack was scheduled to be launched when the Soviets were approaching the city, but Stalin, upon learning of the uprising's start, ordered the Red Army to stop advancing.

Since Stalin had plans to dominate Poland after the war, he saw the fighters as obstacles to this domination, so he passively watched while 50,000 Poles desperately tried to defeat the Nazi invaders.

The only support the Poles received was from the British, who flew over 1,200 km of Nazi-controlled skies, dropping weapons, food, and ammunition over the city. Meanwhile, the Soviets, less than 20 km from Warsaw, simply watched.

Even without Soviet support, the Poles managed to resist for 2 months, with 18,000 fighters and 200,000 civilians dying in the confrontation.

In retaliation, Hitler ordered that "all buildings, houses, and bridges in Warsaw" be dynamited and destroyed, leaving more than 90% of the city's residences in ruins.

When the Soviets finally entered Warsaw, the city no longer existed.