Warsaw  - Thousands of Poles took part in day-long events Friday to mark the 64th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi occupation during World War II.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Lech Kaczynski laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the capital.

Other events were slated to honour Stefan Rowecki, leader of the Polish Home Army, and Antoni Chrusciel, a commander of the armed forces during the failed attempt to liberate Warsaw in 1944.

"It was a battle fought very heroically," Kaczynski told TVN Info. "It was extraordinarily fierce and was at first led by what was really an unequipped army."

The 63-day struggle claimed some 18,000 Polish soldiers and ended in defeat when the Red Army marched into the ruined capital in 1945.

Although the odds were heavily against the Poles, who were poorly armed and outnumbered, the battle is viewed as an heroic struggle for an independent Poland free from Nazi and Soviet occupation.

Nationwide, Poles paid tribute to the insurgents with ceremonies in Krakow, Gdansk and several other cities.

Events to mark the anniversary continued in Warsaw into the evening, with theatre performances and showcase of songs from the Uprising and at 5 pm the capital's metros and trams coming to a standstill for a minute of silence at the exact time the uprising began. (dpa)