WARSAW The Tank Battle at Praga July – September 1944 The 4th SS-Panzer-Corps vs The 1st Belorussian Front

The battle coverage which will lasted from July to October involved the 1st Belorussian Front under the field commander Rokossovsky in clearing the ground between the Bug River and the Wisla River and capturing the important suburb of Praga on the eastern bank of the Wisla River. This is all in preparation for the encirclement and siege of Warsaw which Hitler had ordered his 9th Army to hold at all cost.
The introduction and background information briefly describes the successes the Russians had in Operation Bagration which saw the Russian Fronts quickly move to the Polish border. It quickly describes the shattered 3rd PzA and 4th Army in that Operation while the 9th and 2nd Armies barely escaped destruction as well. The 2nd Army escaped relatively unscathed and would defend the northern approaches to Warsaw while 9th Army had responsibility for the Warsaw sector.

The action in this book starts at the Bug River with Brest being attacked early in the campaign. Much action would occur along the Bug River as well as the Brest-Deblin front. Siedlce and Minsk Mazowieckia also saw much action. It was also important for the Russians to establish bridgeheads over the Narew and Wisla Rivers and coverage provided here as the Russian move in on the capital from the north, south and east. There is also superficial coverage of the Warsaw Uprising and Stalin’s deliberate slowdown until the Poles were vanquished inside the capital.
Overall the tactical coverage is good. In addition to the interesting but narrative for there are a series of six excellent coloured maps, that included the key towns, rivers, troop dispositions and the general progress of the Russian forces moving toward Warsaw.
The author clearly shows that at this stage of the war, the Germans were clearly fighting a determined but losing battle against the far superior Russian forces. Its also shown that it was Model’s competent leadership that slowed the Russian advance. The tank battle for Praga shows the outnumbered panzers destroying more Russian tanks than losing but couldn’t hold back the flood of Russian forces.

In addition to the maps there is an extensive and useful Appendix. In it, a detailed Order of Battle for the 1st BRF and the German 9th Army which also had the 4th SS PzC attached, is provided. Additionally there are pages with colour profiles of German and Russian tanks and fighting vehicles. A glossary, a Rank listing and Bibliography complete the book.

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