The Polish underground, 1939-1947 / David G. Williamson.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-236) and index.

Background. Poland : a fragile state ; Planning guerrilla warfare ; Invasion and partition ; Siege of Warsaw, 7-27 September 1939 ; Formation of the Polish Government-in-Exile ; 'Post-September' resistance ; Creation of the Polish Underground ; Enemy-occupied Poland ; General Government ; German Army of Occupation ; Soviet Zone ; Poles and the occupation -- Campaign chronicle. Resistance, September 1939-June 1940 ; Attempts to centralize armed resistance and avoidance of premature action ; Sabotage operations in Romania and Hungary ; Organization, supply and sabotage in Poland ; Fall of France ; Impact of the fall of France on the Polish Underground ; London and the Polish Resistance after the fall of France ; Communications with Occupied Poland ; Plans for future action ; Polish Resistance amongst the diaspora ; Growth of resistance in German-Occupied Poland ; Soviet-Occupied Poland ; Diplomatic consequences of Barbarossa ; Conditions in Poland, June 1941-January 1943 ; Growing popular resistance ; Attempts to supply the Underground by air ; Diversionary activities in Poland ; Operation Wachlarz ; Intelligence and liaison, 1941-1942 ; Development of the Polish Home Army, June 1941-December 1942 ; British POWs and the Polish Resistance ; The written word as a weapon ; The spectre of Communism : Communist partisan bands, 1941-1942 ; The Zamość crisis ; Polish Resistance in France ; Ambitious diplomatic schemes ; Deteriorating relations between the Polish Government-in-Exile and the USSR ; Katyń ; Anglo-American appeasement of the USSR ; The state of Poland, January 1943-August 1944 ; The streamlining of the Underground state ; Assassinations ; The Gestapo fights back ; Intelligence, 1943-1944 ; Aircraft and ballistic rocket projects ; The Communist challenge, 1943-1944 ; Jewish Resistance and the Poles ; The Warsaw Ghetto uprising, April-May 1943 ; Resistance in the other ghettos ; Źegota and Polish assistance to the Jews ; Partisan operations : the AK ; Operation Tempest ; Supplying the AK from Italy ; Operations Jula and Ewa, April 1944 ; Partisan operations : GL/AL and the 'Forest People' ; The Red Army enters Polish Territory ; The political failure of Operation Tempest, January-July 1944 ; The SOE intervenes, May 1944 ; Resistance behind German lines in the General Government, January-July 1944 ; The Red Army crosses the Bug ; Polish resistance in Europe ; The Warsaw uprising : the decision to revolt ; The outbreak of the revolt : 1-5 August ; The German counter-offensive ; The attack on the Old Town, 8-19 August ; The insurgents retreat from the Old Town ; The city centre, Mokotów and Żoliborz ; Attitude of the Soviet Union ; Help from the Western Allies : too little and too late ; September : hanging on ; Surrender ; The civilian population during the uprising ; The three Polands, October 1944 ; Opposition to the Polish Committee of National Liberation ; The re-establishment of the Underground state in the General Government ; The Moscow Conference, October 1944 ; The AK's attempt to regroup, October 1944-January 1945 ; Supply and liaison ; Dispatch of the British Military Mission to Poland ; Intelligence, sabotage and guerrilla war in the General Government, October 1944-January 1945 ; The AL and NSZ ; Soviet advance, January 1945 ; Continuing the war against Germany outside Poland -- Aftermath. Dissolution of the AK and the emergence of NIE ; Flight and concealment ; End of the Underground state, March-June 1945 ; The revolt of April-July 1945 ; Creation of the Provisional Government of National Unity and the first amnesty ; Support for the Underground from Poles abroad ; General Anders and the former Polish Government-in-Exile ; The referendum and the General Election, 1946-1947 ; Assessment -- Appendices. I. Chronology of major events ; II. Biographies of key figures ; III. Glossary and abbreviations ; IV. Orders of battle and statistics ; V. Survivors' reminiscences.