Julia's Diary - Chapter 4

8th Of October, 2010

The 'W' Hour Kick Off

Ever since our last-night raid on the fairy college we went on all-too familiar routine of terrorizing and annoying the natives as much as we could. For starters, Bartek set up a minefield near the area where the students of the 'Military' schools for boys trained outside the walls. The results were devastating for them - If I recall correctly, entire Class has been effectively wiped out, as they stumped upon mines whether during practices, or trying to take cover from an 'unknown' attack by hitting the ground.

Panic was even greater once a student, who probably figured out what was wrong, fell to my bullet before he could say his theory... And that was just for starters, more will fall by our actions. Actions we have learnt from the scratch and perfected in Warsaw.

How our start in Warsaw looked like? After capturing a German Horch and driving out, leaving the Home Army batallion in the field, we started commenting on how much luck we have had so far. Only Janek did not comment, being stiff and serious even more than on the University. All he said was 'Don't get used to that', refering to our luck so far. The rest of the road he spent studying some captured documents and trying to think of his... our battleplan. As we have discussed later, we all knew we could not save Warsaw from certain destruction, and Uprising from certain defeat, but we could at least try to weaken German attacks as much as possible by infiltration and sabotage behind their lines. To do so, we had to accomplish certain objectives - Since Janek was a WWII and military buff, it was kinda easier for him to come up with certain ideas. But he chose to wait with revealing them until we have reached the City.

Once on it's outskirts, we debated upon where we should have established our hideout and base of operations - After all, we couldn't just walk around in Waffen-SS uniforms on the street - both the German Garrison and the Resistance would be hostile toward us. That meant we had to choose a place from which it was easier to reach future assaults within one night - Yes, Night, so as to make it less likely our cover would be blown - and which no one was too eager to visit in the near future.

In the end, Kathy came up with the proposition that most of us agreed upon - the ruins of Warsaw Ghetto, once place of Jews dying of starvation and illnesses, then witness to Jewish Uprising, which was nothing more but a way to die an honourable death, demolished and abandoned for good. So we did - we waited till the night, then destroyed the Horch after taking anything useful from it's trunk, then carefully as possible we have reached the ruins of Ghetto and settled down in one of comdemned building, overlooking the nearby streets.

Janek chose that we sleep with one of us guarding the rest, then awaking another one to take his/her place, so that the previous one could too take some sleep. We practiced it on the first day we were in Warsaw, and afterwards Janek told us what we had to do next - First we had to capture maps of the City and it's sewer system, in order to familiarize ourselves with the terrain. After that, we ougth to try to eliminate silently as many German officers as possible. As it turned out, Kathy was perfect for that - She remarked on how when she went to the local market to buy some food with captured money, many German soldiers looked at her with great 'interest' - especially since she looked nothing like women of the Occupation period. This placed her in rather uncomfortable situation, but luckily Fahad, who was appointed to be her companion, did not fail.  Well, at least that was for the beginning.

The next night we went to one of many SS-Police posts, where Janek theorized some of the maps would be stored. There were few SS-Policemen in the building, so even if the plan went awry, he had hoped it would be just a little easier. And at the beginning it was - there were just two SS-men in the lobby. Once Janek lied about some papers we was ordered to take from their safe, and the guard turn around, Fahad and Beata grabbed them and snapped their necks. this time, we all wore gogles to cover our faces - which is probably why the Germans were so suspicious toward us once Janek said why we had come to them, in the first place. In fact, as they were turning around, they did try to unholster their pistols - which was why Fahad and Beata moved first.

Still, once those two were out, we went to various offices, trying to find maps and documents, anything that would have helped us hamper the SS. And if we entered a room, in which some members of the SS were taking a nap, we drew our bayonets and slit their throats. The idea was simple - 'Kill or be Killed'. There were no alternatives.

The only thing that made us stay there a little longer was when Janek heard a strange noises coming from the basement. When we followed them, we found  cells filled with tortured or dying inmates, all victims of the SS-interogators. Something then woke up inside Janek - he made us capture and gag the interogators, and once we did that, he literally skinned their faces with his bayonet and ripped off their eyeballs and tongues. 'Ubermenschen... Mein Arsch!' He said to the butchers turned victims. All we could do was watch it, gasped in amazement - We knew Janek was bullied at school, we knew how he used to say Bullies must feel what it is like to be a victim, we knew he could be somewhat cruel - but  never on this level. Still, we kinda thought his outburst was justified, and we completed out main goal. We escaped via Warsaw sewers.

The next day, turned out we didn't just steal maps and documents from the post - Fahad found and took some cans with paint, too. He said it might be a good idea to use then, should we loose our maps. That gave Janek an idea - The next day, while Kathy and Fahad went on to try out the idea of how to kill German Officers, the rest of us worked in the sewers, painting encoded hints as to where each one of those canals led. Fahad's idea was a good one - many civilians were later evacuated by Beata, using these hints.

As for Kathy and Fahad's stealthy mission, well... They went a little too well. They have managed to seduce and kill at least three German officers, but forgot about soldiers accompanying them. Because of that, when the soldiers got suspicious, a gunfire had erupted in one of the local brothels, where they tried out their scheme, and they were forced to escape by jumping through the window. Fahad had a good landing, but Kathy unfortunately botched hers and broke her right leg. Fahad grabbed her and escaped into the sewers, carrying both her and her gear - Thanks to quick thinking about blocking the door with the wardrobe, the alarmed German soldiers never saw where they had went.

Still, Kathy's wound was a major blow to us, and greatly inhibited our movements. We couldn't simply take her to a hospital, and Beata did not have the equipment needed to cure the leg properly. All we could do was ensure Kathy would not use her leg too much - meaning she was mostly carried by Fahad and left to cover our backs. It stood that way till the end of our journey. The incident also hightlighted the need for us to have some kind of protection, improvised or not - So when one night Bartek found a few pieces of scrap metal, shaped almost like a human torso, Janek decided to turn them into improvised body armour - albeit reluctantly. working on these took us two days and nights, before they finally resembled something of the armour - And Kathy guarded our post all that time.

Once the armours were completed, we have managed to commence one more raid - We poisoned some of the Waffen-SS' water supply with lead, thus significantly weakening a large number of our future enemies. After that action, we decided to stay in our hideout, to take a little more rest than normally. We talked about this and that, our reflections over our actions, Fahad even stated 'If this was turned into a movie, everybody would have panned it for being poorly-written'. And Janek actually said he was right - He constantly repeated that 'If everything goes as planned, You are walking into a trap'. It was clear to us that he treated his duties as a leader very seriously, perhaps even too much - but we chose to wait a little longer with our questions.

Just as Janek replied to Fahad's comment, a German convoy stopped right in front of our windows. Members of the SS forced like tens of captured Polish civilians out of the trucks - We figured out immediately, what was about to happen. And Janek was not willing to let the SS commence the massacre - He ordered Fahad to grab his MG-34 and me to take aim at the commanding officer.  And as soon as the officer was to say 'Feuer!'... My bullet ripped his face to pieces. Second later, the rest of us opened fire, killing many SS-men, before they managed to react. Unfortunately, one of the SS-policemen has managed to escape, just like the civilians did, and that meant more Germans would come to search for us. 'Time for a planned retreat. Into the sewers!' Janek simply said, and minutes later, packed with all the ammunition and supplies, we ran into the bombed street, and started sliding down the ladder. Bartek closed the sewer entrance just in time, as the first trucks filled with German soldiers reached our building. We decided to move out as long as they made the noise over our heads, whether screaming, running or falling into some of the boody traps Bartek had set up just in case. And so we did.

We resurfaced late at night, in the abandoned warehouse belonging to comdemned factory, the name of which I do not remember, unfortunately. After inspecting the interior for some time, Janek set out an improvised table to place a map and try to figure out, what to do next. We knew we had to find a new hideout, but now the patrols would be more on guard than before. After some time, Bartek suggested contacting Home Army and asking them for help, and he happened to have something the Resistance would consider valuable - He had managed to capture some documents, listing German shipments and list of German units ordered to reinforce Warsaw garrison. It would have worked, the problem was how to contact them. And then... They came to us. The same batallion we have met before had it's own hideout in that warehouse. Thankfully, they  understood us when Janek told them he preferred not to wait should they decide to fire on us, thinking we were their rivals.

And yes, they welcomed the documents Bartek revealed to have with himself all the time - since the Uprising was closer and closer, and they were eager to use any opportunity to capture more supplies. We exchanged the documents for potential locations for a new hideout, details concerning the beginning of the Uprising - the 'W' Hours - and a scoped Mauser, which became my weapon of choice. Batallion commander mentioned he would recommend to us the leader of the Home Army, general Bór-Komorowski - Janek didn't reply on that offer, so judging by his expression he wasn't amused with that option. Still, we made a deal, and split up once again.

After we arrived at our new hideout, Janek looked at the maps once again, and decided what should we do behind enemy lines during the Uprising:

- Cripple the Okęcie airfield, making it inoperable for the Germans
- Destroy (or at least make them too dangerous to cross) the bridges over the Vistula River
- Kill the SS officers responsible for civilian massacres
- and finally: Destroy 'Ziu', a 600 mm Karl Super-Mortar

Among other possible incursions needed to be done, in order to harass German forces. Since there was still some time before the beginning of the Uprising, we have spent it visiting and observing our future targets and their locations, in order to familiarize ourselves with the terrain and come up with the best plan possible.

With notes and journals done, accompanied by sketches, it was just a matter of time before we have come up with a battleplan.

'Prepare Yourselves! We will tear that place apart!' - Janek concluded in the end, commenting on attacking Okęcie airfield. The time to start this fight for real was getting closer and closer...