7. The Communist Polish troops were provided with limited and ineffective Soviet support
On the night of September 14, and carrying over into the early morning of the following day, patrols from the Polish 1st Army crossed the Vistula by water and established contact with elements of the Home Army in the region of Praga. The Soviets provided artillery and aerial support of the operation as the Poles crossed the river, but the bombardments and strafing attacks failed to have much impact on the Germans dug in across the river. The Polish units took heavy casualties during the operation, which resulted in the only contact between the Home Army and allied units during the entire uprising, which by then had been underway for more than six weeks.
The areas where the crossing had occurred and other areas where similar attempts could be undertaken came under heavy German attacks in the following days, with the Poles fighting back to retain the areas, emboldened by the belief that further support from the Red Army was forthcoming. The Poles suffered heavy casualties during these attacks, and additional support from the Red Army was insufficient to relieve them. The Soviets limited their activity to occasional artillery bombardments, which as often as not struck positions held by the Poles, along with a few aerial sorties which were equally ineffective. Instead the Red Army decided that it would be at least four months before additional crossings could be effected, relieved the commander of the Polish 1st Army, and refused to evacuate Polish wounded.