Battle of Radzymin ( 1944 ) The Battle of Radzymin was one of a series of engagements between the Red Army ' s 1st Byelorussian Front and the Wehrmacht Heer ' s XXXIXth Panzer Corps that occurred as part of the Lublin - Brest Offensive between August 1 and August 10 , 1944 at the conclusion of the Belorussian strategic offensive operation near the town of Radzymin in the vicinity of Warsaw , part of which entailed a large tank battle at Wołomin . It was the largest tank battle on the territories of Poland during World War II . Approach of the Red Army forces into the proximity of Warsaw served to initiate the Warsaw Uprising by the Home Army with expectation of help from the Red Army . The battle ended with Soviet ' s defeat ; it is unclear to what extent this defeat contributed to Soviet ' s decision not to aid the Warsaw Uprising . Before the battle . After crossing into Poland , the Red Army ' s 1st Byelorussian Front of Konstantin Rokossovsky continued its advance towards Warsaw . The 65th Army ( 12 divisions ) together with the attached 1st Guards Tank Corps , was to advance towards the town of Serock and then outflank Warsaw from the north . The 28th Army ( 9 divisions ) together with 1st Mechanized and 9th Tank Corps was advancing directly towards Warsaw and was separated from the 47th Army by the Siedlce - Mińsk Mazowiecki line , and from the 65th Army by the Sokołów Podlaski - Węgrów - Radzymin line . Both armies , additionally supported by the 2nd and 4th Guards Cavalry Corps , were destined to take part in repelling a German tactical counter - assault at Radzymin and Wołomin near Warsaw . At the same time , the 47th Army ( 10 divisions ) was to seize the southern approaches to Praga , seize right - bank Warsaw and cross the river through the bridges in Warsaw or through a temporary bridge in Góra Kalwaria . The 70th Army ( 4 divisions ) was to follow the 47th and serve as a tactical reserve . At the same time the remaining forces of the front were to support the assault on Warsaw by crossing the Vistula south of it , near Magnuszew and outflanking the city from the South and West . The 8th Guards Army ( 9 divisions ) together with the 1st Polish Army ( 3 divisions ) and 69th Army ( 9 divisions aided by the 11th Tank Corps ) were to cross the river at Magnuszew . Battle . After the Russian reconnaissance units reached Warsaw in late July , on August 1 , 1944 the Warsaw Uprising started . Starting from an area south of Mińsk Mazowiecki , Lieutenant - General N . D . Vedeneev ' s 3rd Tank Corps ( part of the Soviet Second Tank Army ) thrust northwest through Okuniew and Wołomin to Radzymin , reaching an area only three miles ( five kilometers ) from the strategic bridge over the Narew River at Zegrze . In response to Vedeneev ' s thrust , the Germans started a tactical counter - attack near Radzymin on July 31 . The offensive , carried out by 4 understrength Panzer divisions , was to secure the eastern approaches to Warsaw and Vistula crossings , and aimed to destroy the three tank corps of the Second Tank Army in detail . Under the leadership of German Field Marshal Model , the 4th , 19th , Hermann Göring , and 5th SS Panzer Division s were concentrated from different areas with their arrival in the area of Wołomin occurring between July 31 and August 1 , 1944 . Although the 3rd Tank Corps gamely defended the initial assaults of the " Hermann Göring " and 19th Panzer Divisions , the arrival of the 4th Panzer and 5th SS Panzer Divisions spelled doom for the isolated and outnumbered unit . Already on August 1 , the leading elements of the 19th and 5th SS Panzer Divisions , closing from the west and east respectively , met at Okuniew , cutting the 3rd Tank Corps off from the other units of the Second Tank Army . Pressed into the area of Wołomin , the 3rd Tank Corps was pocketed and destroyed on August 3 , 1944 . Attempts to reach the doomed tank corps by the 8th Guards Tank Corps and the 16th Tank Corps failed , with the 8th Guards Tank Corps taking serious losses in the attempt . Although Model had planned to attack the 8th Guards Tank Corps next , the withdrawal of the 19th and " Hermann Göring " Panzer Divisions to shore up the German defenses around the Magnuszew bridgehead forced the remaining German forces around Okuniew to go on the defensive . For unknown reasons , on August 2 , 1944 all armies that were to assault Warsaw had their orders changed . The 28th , 47th and 65th Armies were ordered to turn northwards and seize the undefended town of Wyszków and the Liwiec river line . The 2nd Tank Army was left in place and had to fight the Germans alone , without support of the infantry . Also , 69th Army was ordered to stop while the 8th Guards Army under Vasily Chuikov was ordered to halt the assault and await a German attack from the direction of Garwolin . Further combat lasted until August 10 , when the Germans finally withdrew . Soviet losses were heavy , but not heavy enough to affect the overall course of their thrust to the vicinity of Warsaw . The 3rd Tank Corps was destroyed , the 8th Guards Tank Corps took heavy losses , and the 16th Tank Corps took significant losses as well . Overall , the Second Tank Army ' s losses were significant enough that it was withdrawn from the front lines by August 5 , 1944 . Aftermath . Altogether , between August 1 and 10 , the 2nd Tank Army lost 409 killed in action , 1271 wounded and 589 missing . In addition , it lost 284 tanks and self - propelled guns ( 40 % of these losses were non - recoverable , amounting to 113 armored vehicles lost permanently ) out of 679 available to the army on July 30 . After World War II , communist propaganda used the example of the Battle of Radzymin of 1944 as a proof that the German counter - attack prevented the Red Army from helping the Warsaw Uprising . However , it remains unknown why the Soviet assault was halted as some Russian archives are still closed to historians . Some Polish and Western historians argue that the Soviet assault was halted because Stalin wanted the Warsaw insurgents , loyal to the Polish government in exile ( known for its anti - Soviet stance ) , destroyed . The Soviet command apparently did not blame Lieutenant - General N . D . Vedeneev for the encirclement and destruction of the 3rd Tank Corps . Vedeneev survived the battle and remained in command . The 3rd Tank Corps was honored by being designated the 9th Guards Tank Corps in November 1944 .