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German Invasion of Poland (1939)

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Caleb
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« Reply #30 on: September 03, 2007, 10:20:40 pm »



Graves of Polish soldiers at Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw.
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« Reply #31 on: September 03, 2007, 10:21:49 pm »

Timeline of the Invasion of Poland (1939)

September

1: World War II begins with the invasion of Poland by Germany. The resulting Invasion of Poland lasts until October 6, 19391, when the final significant Polish military forces surrender at Kock. German operations are conducted under the operational plan Fall Weiss while in Poland, the campaign is referred to as the Polish Defense War of 1939.
2: Polish forces at Wieluń surrender to the German 10th Army.
3: The Polish Poznań Army proposes an attack against the German 8th Army. The German flank is exposed, but the proposal is rejected.
4: The Battle of Mława concludes as the Polish Modlin Army begins to retreat.
5: Polish forces around Piotrków surrender to the 10th Army.
6: Polish forces attempt to regroup along the Narew, Vistula, and San Rivers. Kraków falls to the German 14th Army.
7: The siege of Westerplatte concludes with the surrender of its remaining garrison. Polish supreme command relocates to Brześć from Warsaw. Defenses along the Narew begin withdrawal to the Bug River. Tarnów falls to the 14th Army.
8: The Siege of Warsaw begins the land phase with the arrival of German units in the suburbs. The air bombardment had begun at the start of the Campaign. The pocket at Radom is reduced by the 14th Army.
9: The Battle of Bzura begins with a counter-attack against the German 8th Army. German and Soviet forces meet near Brest-Litovsk.
12: Białystok falls to the German 3rd Army.
13: The Vistula defenses are penetrated as German forces cross the river south of Warsaw.
14: Germany captures Gdynia and Brest-Litovsk. Siedice is captured by the 3rd Army.
15: The heaviest fighting of the Battle of Bzura concludes with the Germans having gained the advantage. In the east, Przemyśl is captured by the 14th Army.
16: The envelopment of Warsaw is completed.
17: The eastern front of the Campaign opens with the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union. Kutno falls to the 8th Army and Brześć falls to the 3rd Army.
18: Polish President Ignacy Mościcki and Commander-in-Chief Edward Rydz-Śmigły leave Poland for Romania, where they are both interned; Russian forces reach Vilna and Brest-Litovsk.
19: Soviet forces capture Wilno.
22: Soviet forces capture Lwów.
27: The Siege of Warsaw comes to an end as Polish forces surrender. German forces enter the city on October 1, 1939.
28: Polish government in exile set up in Paris with Raczkiewicz as President and Władysław Sikorski as Commander-in-Chief.

October

1: The Hel Peninsula garrison surrenders to German forces.
2: The Battle of Kock begins with a German advance.
5: German victory parade is held in Warsaw.
6: The Battle of Kock ends with the surrender of defending Polish forces. This is the final significant military resistance to the German or Soviet invasions.
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« Reply #32 on: September 03, 2007, 10:24:20 pm »


The European theater of World War II opened with the Invasion of Poland by German armed forces on September 1, 1939. After a successful German offensive, the Soviet Union's invasion from the east on September 17, 1939, ended any realistic hope of Polish conventional resistance.

After Poland had been overrun, a government-in-exile was established, armed forces and an intelligence service outside Poland, contributing to the Allied effort throughout the war. Poland never made a general surrender, nor did it produce a puppet government that collaborated with the Germans. Instead, it was being directly governed by a purely German administration, the Generalgouvernement. However, Polish people provided important assistance to the Allies throughout the War, including the initial pre-war cracking of the Enigma machine by cryptologist Marian Rejewski, the assistance given by Polish pilots to the United Kingdom in the Battle of Britain, and the costly victory over German forces at the Battle of Monte Cassino
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« Reply #33 on: September 03, 2007, 10:30:26 pm »





Fourth Partition of Poland - The Nazi-Soviet Pact

Over 6 million Polish citizens - nearly 21.4% of Poland's population - died between 1939 and 1945. Over 90% of the death toll came through non-military losses, as most of the civilians were targeted by various deliberate actions by Germans and Soviets. There is some controversy as to whether Soviet policies were harsher than those of the Nazis.
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« Reply #34 on: September 03, 2007, 10:33:22 pm »

The Nazis held that the Slavs, like the Jews, were subhuman. "All Poles," Hitler swore, "will disappear from the world." On August 22, 1939, one week before the Nazi invasion of Poland, Hitler gave the Wehrmacht their instructions: "Kill without pity or mercy all men, women and children of Polish descent or language.... Be merciless. Be brutal. It is necessary to proceed with maximum severity. The war is to be a war of annihilation."

Thus, from the start, the war against Poland was intended as a fulfillment of the plan described by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf. The primary objective of the plan was that all of Eastern Europe should become part of the greater Germany, the so called German Lebensraum (living space). Thus, the objectives of the German occupation policy were to utilise Poland as a German living space, to exploit the material resources of the country and to maximise the use of Polish manpower as a reservoir of virtual or actual slave labour. The Polish nation was to be effectively reduced to the status of serfs, its political, religious and intellectual leadership destroyed.

One aspect of German policy in conquered Poland aimed to prevent its ethnically diverse population from uniting against Germany. Grabowski and Grabowski write:

The Germanisation of Polish territories occurred by deporting and exterminating the Jews, depriving Poles of their rights and supporting the local Germans and the ethnic Germans resettled from the East. The German minority living in this ethnically mixed region was required to adhere to strict codes of behaviour and was held accountable for all unauthorised contacts with their Polish and, even more so, their Jewish neighbours. The system of control and repression strove to isolate the various ethnic (‘racial’) groups, encouraging denunciations and thus instilling fear in the populace.

In a top-secret memorandum, "The Treatment of Racial Aliens in the East," dated May 25, 1940. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, wrote "We need to divide Poland's many different ethnic groups up into as many parts and splinter groups as possible".

According to the 1931 census, 66% of the population totaling 35 million inhabitants spoke Polish as their mother tongue. Most of these were Roman Catholics. Fifteen per cent were Ukrainians, 8.5% Jews, 4.7% Belarusians, and 2.2% Germans. Poland had a small middle and upper class of well-educated professionals, entrepreneurs, and landowners. Nearly three-fourths of the population were peasants or agricultural laborers, and another fifth, industrial workers.

In contrast to the Nazi policy of genocide targeting all of Poland's 3.3 million Jewish men, women, and children for elimination, Nazi plans for the Polish Catholic majority focused on the elimination or suppression of political, religious, and intellectual leaders. This policy had two aims: first, to prevent Polish elites from organizing resistance or from ever regrouping into a governing class; second, to exploit the less educated majority of peasants and workers as unskilled laborers in agriculture and industry.

From 1939 to 1941, the Germans deported en masse about 1,600,000 Poles, including 400,000 Jews. About 700,000 Poles were sent to Germany for forced labor, many to die there. And the most infamous German death camps had been located in Poland. Overall, during German occupation of pre-war Polish territory, 1939-1945, the Germans murdered 3,900,000 to 6,400,000 Poles, probably about 5,400,000, including near 3,000,000 Jews. Altogether 2,500,000 Poles were subject of expulsions, while 7,3% of Polish population served as slave labour.
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« Reply #35 on: September 02, 2009, 11:37:20 pm »



German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, shelling Westerplatte, 1 September 1939.
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« Reply #36 on: September 02, 2009, 11:39:21 pm »

Date    1 September – 6 October 1939
Location    Poland
Result    Decisive Axis and Soviet victory

    * Polish territory divided between Germany, the USSR and Slovakia

Belligerents
Flag of Poland Poland
Flag of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak legion     Germany
Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union
Flag of Slovakia Slovakia
Commanders
Flag of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły
Flag of Czechoslovakia Ludvík Svoboda    Flag of Nazi Germany Fedor von Bock
(Army Group North),
Flag of Nazi Germany Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group South),
Flag of the Soviet Union Mikhail Kovalev (Belorussian Front),
Flag of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko (Ukrainian Front),
Flag of Slovakia Ferdinand Čatloš
(Field Army Bernolák)
Strength
Poland:
39 divisions (some of them were never fully mobilized and concentrated),[1]
16 brigades,[1]
4,300 guns,[1]
880 tanks,
400 aircraft[2]
–Total: 950,000[Note 1]    Germany:
60 divisions,
4 brigades,
3 Waffen SS motorized regiments
2 independent infantry regiments
2 independent tank battalions
9,000 guns,[2]
2,750 tanks in 7 Panzer-Divisionen (25 tank battalions), 4 Leichte-Divisionen (7 tank battalions), 2 independent tank battalions and 4 smaller support units
2,315[5] aircraft
Soviet Union:
33+ divisions,
11+ brigades,
4,959 guns,
4,736 tanks,
3,300 aircraft
Slovakia:
3 divisions
Total:
1,500,000 Germans,[2]
466,516 Soviets,[6]
51,306 Slovaks
Grand total: 2,000,000+
Casualties and losses
Poland:[Note 2]
66,000 dead,
133,700 wounded,
694,000 captured    Germany:[Note 3]
16,343 killed,
320 missing,
27,640 wounded
Soviet Union:[Note 4]
1,475 killed or missing (Ukrainian Front – 972, Belorussian Front – 503),
2,383 wounded (Ukrainian Front – 1,741, Belorussian Front – 642)[6]
Slovakia:
37 killed,
11 missing,
114 wounded[16]
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Caleb
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« Reply #37 on: September 02, 2009, 11:39:55 pm »

The invasion of Poland marked the start of World War II in Europe, as Poland's western allies, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand,[17] declared war on Germany on September 3, soon followed by France, South Africa and Canada, among others. The invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and ended 6 October 1939, with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying all Poland. Although the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany soon after Germany attacked Poland, very little direct military aid was provided (see Phoney War and Western betrayal).

Following a German-staged "Polish attack" on 31 August 1939, on 1 September German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west. Spread thin defending their long borders, the Polish armies were soon forced to withdraw eastward. After the mid-September Polish defeat in the Battle of the Bzura, the Germans gained an undisputed advantage. Polish forces then began a withdrawal southeast, in accordance with a plan that called for a long defence in the Romanian bridgehead area. Here they were to await an expected Allied counterattack and relief.[18]

On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Red Army invaded the eastern regions of Poland in cooperation with Germany.[19][20] The Soviets were carrying out their part of a secret appendix to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which divided Eastern Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence.[21] Facing a second front, the Polish government decided the defence of the Romanian bridgehead was no longer feasible and ordered an emergency evacuation of all troops to neutral Romania.[22] By 1 October, Germany and the Soviet Union had completely overrun Poland, though the Polish government never formally surrendered territorial control. In addition, Poland's remaining land and air forces were evacuated to neighboring Romania and Hungary. Many of the exiles subsequently joined the recreated Polish Army in allied France, French-mandated Syria, and the United Kingdom.

In the aftermath of the invasion, a resistance movement, the Polish Underground State, was formed. Poland's fighting forces would continue to contribute to Allied military operations throughout World War II. On 8 October, Nazi Germany annexed the western areas of pre-war Poland and established the General Government from the remains of her territorial gains. The Soviet Union temporarily lost her gains following the Nazi German invasion of June 1941, but permanently re-annexed them after they were regained in mid-1944. Over the course of the war, Poland lost about 20% of its pre-war population under an occupation that marked the end of the Second Polish Republic.
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« Reply #38 on: September 02, 2009, 11:41:28 pm »

In 1933, the National-Socialist German Workers' Party, under their leader Adolf Hitler, came to power in Germany. Germany sought to gain hegemony in Europe, and to take over Soviet Union's territory, acquiring "Living Space" (Lebensraum) and expanding "Greater Germany" (Großdeutschland), to be eventually surrounded by a ring of allied states, satellite or puppet states.[23] As part of this long term policy, at first, Hitler pursued a policy of rapprochement with Poland, trying to improve German–Polish relations, culminating in the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact of 1934.[24] Earlier, Hitler's foreign policy worked to weaken the ties between Poland and France, and to manoeuvre Poland into the Anti-Comintern Pact, forming a cooperative front against the Soviet Union.[24][25] Poland would be granted territory of its own, to its northeast, but the concessions the Poles were expected to make meant that their homeland would become largely dependent on Germany, functioning as little more than a client state and Polish independence would eventually be threatened altogether.[25]

In addition to Soviet territory, the National-Socialists were also interested in establishing a new border with Poland because the German exclave of East Prussia was separated from the rest of the Reich by the "Polish Corridor". The Corridor constituted land long disputed by Poland and Germany, and inhabited by both groups. Taken by Prussia in the Partitions of Poland in 1772, the corridor was later acquired by Poland after the Treaty of Versailles. Many Germans also wanted to incorporate into Germany the Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk), an important port city with a predominantly German population, also gained by Germany in the 18th century, and that was split off Germany after Versailles into a nominally independent entity. Hitler sought to reverse those territorial losses, and on many occasions made an appeal to German nationalism, promising to "liberate" the German minority still in the Corridor, as well as Danzig.[26]

Poland participated in the partition of Czechoslovakia that followed the Munich Agreement, although they were not part of the agreement. It coerced Czechoslovakia to surrender the city of Český Těšín by issuing an ultimatum to that effect on 30 September 1938, which was accepted by Czechoslovakia on 1 October.[27]

In 1938, Germany began to increase its demands for Danzig, while proposing that a roadway be built in order to connect East Prussia with Germany proper, running through the Polish Corridor.[28] Poland rejected this proposal, fearing that after accepting these demands, it would become increasingly subject to the will of Germany and eventually lose its independence as the Czechs had.[29] The Poles also distrusted Hitler and his intentions.[29] At the same time, Germany's collaboration with anti-Polish Ukrainian nationalists from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists further weakened German credibility in Polish eyes, which was seen as an effort to isolate and weaken Poland. The British were also aware of this. On 31 March, Poland was backed by a guarantee from Britain and France, though neither country was willing to pledge military support in Poland's defence. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, still hoped to strike a deal with Hitler regarding Danzig (and possibly the Polish Corridor), and Hitler hoped for the same. Chamberlain and his supporters believed war could be avoided and hoped Germany would agree to leave the rest of Poland alone. German hegemony over Central Europe was also at stake.
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« Reply #39 on: September 02, 2009, 11:42:06 pm »

With tensions mounting, Germany turned to aggressive diplomacy. On 28 April 1939, it unilaterally withdrew from both the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact of 1934 and the London Naval Agreement of 1935. In early 1939, Hitler had already issued orders to prepare for a possible "solution of the Polish problem by military means." Another crucial step towards war was the surprise signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on 23 August, the denouement of secret Nazi-Soviet talks held in Moscow, which capitalized on France and Britain's own failure to secure an alliance with the Soviet Union. As a result, Germany neutralized the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland. In a secret protocol of this pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed to divide Eastern Europe, including Poland, into two spheres of influence; the western third of the country was to go to Germany and the eastern two-thirds to the Soviet Union.

The German assault was originally scheduled to begin at 04:00 on 26 August. However, on 25 August the Polish-British Common Defence Pact was signed as an annex to the Franco-Polish Military Alliance. In this accord, Britain committed itself to the defence of Poland, guaranteeing to preserve Polish independence. At the same time, the British and the Poles were hinting to Berlin that they were willing to resume discussions – not at all how Hitler hoped to frame the conflict. Thus, he wavered and postponed his attack until 1 September managing to halt the entire invasion "in mid-leap", with the exception of a few units that were out of communication, towards the south (the Nazi press announced that fanatical Slovakians were behind a cross border raid).
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« Reply #40 on: September 02, 2009, 11:42:29 pm »

On 26 August Hitler tried to dissuade the British and the French from interfering in the upcoming conflict, even pledging that the Wehrmacht forces would be made available to Britain's empire in the future.[30] In any case, the negotiations convinced Hitler that there was little chance the Western Allies would declare war on Germany, and even if they did, because of the lack of territorial guarantees to Poland, they would be willing to negotiate a compromise favourable to Germany after its conquest of Poland. Meanwhile, the number of increased overflights by high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and cross border troop movements signalled that war was imminent.
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« Reply #41 on: September 02, 2009, 11:42:50 pm »

On 29 August prompted by the British, Germany issued one last diplomatic offer, with Case White yet to be rescheduled. At midnight on 29 August German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop handed British Ambassador Sir Neville Henderson the list of terms which would allegedly ensure peace in regards to Poland. Danzig was to be returned to Germany (Gdynia would remain with Poland), and there was to be a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor, based on residency in 1919, within the year.[31] An exchange of minority populations between the two countries was proposed.[32] A Polish plenipotentiary was to arrive in Berlin and accept these terms by noon the next day.[32] The British Cabinet viewed the terms as "reasonable", except the demand for the urgent plenipotentiary as a form of an ultimatum.[33] When Polish Ambassador Lipski went to see Ribbentrop on 30 August he announced that he did not have the full power to sign, and Ribbentrop dismissed him. It was then broadcast that Poland had rejected Germany's offer, and negotiations with Poland came to an end.[34]
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« Reply #42 on: September 02, 2009, 11:43:11 pm »

On 30 August the Polish Navy sent its destroyer flotilla to Britain, executing Operation Peking. On the same day, Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły announced the mobilization of Polish troops. However, he was pressured into revoking the order by the French, who apparently still hoped for a diplomatic settlement, failing to realize that the Germans were fully mobilized and concentrated at the Polish border.[35] During the night of 31 August the Gleiwitz incident, a false flag attack on the radio station, was staged near the border city of Gleiwitz by German units posing as Polish troops, in Upper Silesia as part of the wider Operation Himmler.[36] On 31 August 1939, Hitler ordered hostilities against Poland to start at 4:45 the next morning. Because of the prior stoppage, Poland managed to mobilize only 70% of its planned forces, and many units were still forming or moving to their designated frontline positions.
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« Reply #43 on: September 02, 2009, 11:43:52 pm »



Vyacheslav Molotov signs the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a German–Soviet non-aggression pact.
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« Reply #44 on: September 02, 2009, 11:44:38 pm »



Planned and actual divisions of Poland, according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, with later adjustments
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