The 3rd SS-Panzer-Division “Totenkopf’s” withdrawal clearly sealed the loss of Siedlce, however, only some 10km west of the city; the Germans built a new defensive line with the intent of retaining the area between Węgrów and Sokołów Podlaski. Model gave General Weiß a special order forbidding him from retreating any further from Warsaw. The German’s 2nd Army had also received orders to cease all attacks against the 1st Belorussian Front’s right flank along the Nur — Suraż line where the Bug and Narew Rivers joined. Set in to oppose the Soviet 48th and 65th Armies, which were attacking north of the Bug, was the newly formed LV Army-Corps (the 11th Panzer-Division, the 28th Jäger-Division, the 367th Infantry-Division, the schwere Panzer-Abteilung 507, the Calvary-Corps “Harteneck,” with their commander General Gustaw Harteneck — the 4th Panzer-Division ,the 12th. Infantry-Division and the 4th Calvary Brigade) as well as parts of the XXIII Army-Corps that along with the XX Army-Corps also defended the terrain between Nur and Sokołów Podlaski. The XXIII Army-Corps had command of the 35th Infantry-Division, the 292nd Infantry-Division, and the 541st Grenadier-Division, while General Rudolf von Roman’s XX Army-Corps had at its disposal, the 7th Infantry-Division, the 102nd Infantry-Division, the 3rd Cavalry-Brigade plus the remnants of the Brest garrison. On July 31, the 2nd Army still had command over both of the Waffen-SS armoured divisions, but these were subsequently redeployed to the 9th Army sector, consisting of the decimated VIII Army-Corps (5th Jäger-Division, 211th.Infantry-Division) under the command of the XX Army-Corps staff and that portion of the II Ersatz-Corps which had remained with the Hungarian Front’s rearguard. Within this corps were the 5th, 12th and 23rd Ersatz-Corps, as well as the Hungarian 1st Cavalry Division. The fighting capacity of the Hungarian units was not especially high, however, due to their weak armament and the low morale.
On the first day of August 1944, three significant events took place at the Warsaw-front. South of the Polish capital near the join of the Pilica and Radomka Rivers, the substantial forces of General Vasil Tjujkov’s 8th Guards Army crossed over the Wisła to its western bank. During the course of a single day, Tjujkov transported no less than nine rifle-guard regiments, 341 light guns and mortars, along with 19 tracked artillery vehicles across the river. Once the Soviet forces had crossed the river, they immediately set to work constructing pontoon bridges. By the evening of August 1, the frontline troops stretching between Mniszew and Magnuszew were already 15 km wide and 5 km deep.
In the face of this new threat, General von Vormann now directed all available reserve troops in the direction the Pilica’s discharge. However, with his weak army devoting all its combat strength to the battles raging outside Praga, these reserves were not particularly impressive. Those who left the Warsaw sector were, first and foremost, the 1132nd Grenadier-Brigade and the Ersatz-Sturmgeschütz-Brigade that it worked in co-operation with. Two artillery units, equipped with heavy 8.8cm anti-aircraft guns, also left the country’s capital. Infantry-Regiment 95 from the 17th Infantry-Division and a few additional reserve troop battalions ended up outside Deblin. Airplanes from the 6th Luftflotte attacked the pontoon bridges and ferries. The Germans lacked the combat strength needed to carryout a bigger counter-offensive.
This day’s second significant event was the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. As it happened, luck fell on the side of the uprising’s supporters: It didn’t break out until the afternoon, which is to say, until a couple of hours after the city had been deserted by the most vital German forces, which coincidently included the very units that had earlier been earmarked for pacifying an eventual uprising. The commander for the Warsaw region, General Stahel, was forced to go on the defensive and, as late as August 4, the Home Army still retained the initiative. The fighting that burst out in Warsaw also made it more difficult for the division “Hermann Göring” to reach the front. This was particularly the case for Fallschirm-Pz. Gren. Rgt. 2 “Hermann Göring” which had not been involved in the fighting in Praga. However, it should be pointed out that the two, model PzKpfw V “Panther” tanks, which were captured on August 2 by insurgents in the city quarter of Woła, had not hailed from “Hermann Göring” but, instead, came from the 1st Company, I Panzer-Regiment 27. On August 2, this “Herman Göring” unit fought with all the strength at its disposal in Praga’s environs and, as earlier noted, had no access to tanks of this model. The Uprising also obstructed the 19th Panzer-Division from carrying out a complete troop consolidation. Namely, it was isolated from its main force which was en route from Holland. The resulting outcome was that the artillery reinforced II Panzer-grenadier-Regiment 73 had to make a detour south around the whole of Warsaw and, on August 1, found themselves in the Wilanów district.
Finally, in the fields outside of Praga, the tank battle reached its culmination. On August 1, a part of the 19th Panzer-Division (Gruppe “Baler”) circled around the Soviet positions outside of Radzymin, and then detoured north through Wysków, Serock and Zegrze along the Bug and Narew Rivers. After having joined together part of the II Panzer-Regiment 27, the I Panzer-grenadier Regiment 74, and the I Battery plus some smaller divisional formations in the forest adjacent to Nieporęt, the resulting force then went on the attack against Aleksandrów via Wólka Radzymińska. At the same time, the Fallschirm-Pz. Gren. Rgt. 1 “Hermann Göring” made use of the powerful support provided by the division’s artillery and tanks (the II Battalion and commandeered Tiger-tanks from the III Battalion arriving from the south) and fought their way from Marki towards Struga. Despite the heavy opposition put up by soldiers from the 50th Tank Brigade, destroying at least ten German tanks, both attacks succeeded. The 19th Panzer-Division seized Aleksandrów and the Luftwaffe grenadiers took Struga. Soviet troops were also forced to abandon the village of Słupno, retreating with heavy casualties toward the inner defensive line surrounding Radzymin. The southern Kampfgruppe, the 19th Panzer-Division (Pz. Gren. Rgt. — I 73rd, II 174th, II Artillery-Regiment), regrouped in the morning at Wesoła, west of the capital, and from there launched an attack against the troop forces defending Okuniew, drawn from the 60th Tank Guards Brigade and the 8th Tank Guards Corps. This counter attack was also crowned with success. Having captured Okuniew; the Germans switched to a defensive war posture while awaiting the arrival of tanks from the Waffen-SS scheduled to arrive from the east.