Although Warsaw born Soviet Marshal Konstanty Rokossovskiy stood on a hill overlooking Warsaw on 2 August 1944, he was not to complete the capture of it until 17 January 1945. The Russians had encouraged an uprising by citizens of Warsaw in preparation for the Soviet capture. However, German Marshal Walther Model, the "Fuhrer's Fireman," decided to counter-attack to the east of the city.*

The German counter-attack was viewed as a mere local setback to the Russians' continent wide front, but it was disastrous for Warsaw. The Warsaw Uprising went ahead from 1 August 1944 to 5 October 1944 with devastating results for the occupants of Warsaw.

Although the Soviet forces "liberated" what little was left of Warsaw on 17 January 1945, the Poles were actually just experiencing a change in ownership. Rokossovskiy was to later become the Soviet imposed Minister of Defense of Poland.** The Poles were not to have real liberation until 1989.

*Europe At War, No Simple Victory, Norman Davies, Macmillan, 2006, pages 115-116.
**Ibid, pages 242-243

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Check out Norman Davies's new book, Europe At War, where he makes clear that eastern Europe was not "freed" by the Soviets. Indeed, the Soviets ran more people through concentration camps than the Germans. Rokossovskiy himself spent time in the GULag.