Defense of St. John’s Cathedral

On August 14th, the Germans renewed their assault on St. John’s Cathedral. They set fire to the buildings on the opposite side of Kanonia Street and launched at least two daily attacks from that direction over the next several days. Each time, the „Wigry” soldiers repelled them. The situation became more difficult when the Germans began infiltrating from the burned-out buildings on Dziekania Street, throwing grenades from there.

On August 16th, the Germans intensified their attacks, using grenade launchers, and managed to set the cathedral on fire. While the boys fended off the attack, the „Wigry” couriers helped save priceless artifacts, carrying them out of the church. The fire caused the cathedral’s vault to collapse. Between August 22nd and 27th, the enemy twice broke into the cathedral’s interior and twice was driven out by the „Wigry” soldiers. However, the battalion suffered increasing casualties. The women liaison officers, and at the same time nurses of ‘Wigry’, did an amazing job, carrying out (or rather laboriously pulling out) the wounded under enemy fire.

Raid on Żoliborz

On August 20th, a 200-strong unit from the „Wigry” battalion embarked on a perilous journey through the sewers, reaching Żoliborz after several hours. Their mission was to support the planned assault on the Gdańsk Train Station. Although they were ultimately not deployed in the fight, they managed to resupply their weaponry in Żoliborz before returning to the Old Town (Starówka).