In the article we will talk about the Polish campaign of 1939. This event has a lot of names - the German-Polish war, the Weiss operation, the invasion of Poland, and even the September Campaign. But no matter how historians call it, it was and remains an operation to invade Germany into Poland. It was this event that marked the beginning of World War II. According to the Weiss plan (if we refer to the translation, it means “white”), the Wehrmacht troops invaded the territory of neighboring Poland and completely occupied it in less than a month.
The beginning of World War II
It was the invasion of Poland that served as a pretext for starting the Second World War. Yes, Adolf Hitler had already completed the Anschluss of Austria, and also annexed the territories that Germany lost in 1918. But only the Poles had security guarantees - France and Great Britain. But, as we will see later, these guarantors were not very willing to stand up for their guardian.
The campaign was short-lived, German troops completely defeated the Polish and carried out full occupation of the state. But on the eastern side at this moment a piece of Poland was seized by the USSR. The fact is that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact had a secret (for the time being) supplement - Poland had to be divided between Germany, the USSR, Slovakia and Lithuania.
After the invasion, the geopolitical situation throughout Europe changed, and empires such as France and Britain simply had to declare war on Germany. What is noteworthy, they did not declare war on the Soviet Union, apparently expecting some turns of events. The Union was also silent - JV Stalin was waiting, developing industry, as the country was not ready for a full-scale war. History cannot have a subjunctive mood, but if the Soviet Union were the first to attack Germany, who knows, would France and Great Britain suddenly make the USSR an evil empire?
Background to the conflict with Poland
Adolf Hitler won the election and set about building both domestic and foreign policies. So, on January 26, 1934, a pact was signed between Hitler and Pilsudski. And already on September 30, 1938, in the form of an ultimatum, the Polish government requested Czechoslovakia to give it to Zaolzie (Teszyna oblast). These are the areas that caused controversy between the countries in the period 1918-1920. As a result, Polish troops occupied the disputed territory on October 2, 1938. In response, Poland showed its aggressive mood against Czechoslovakia.
After World War I, all politics in Europe (especially Western) was not in Germany’s interests. Even the Germans themselves called the Treaty of Versailles the "Versailles dictate." In fact, as a result of a revision of relations between the countries, all of East Prussia turned out to be an enclave that was completely separated from Germany. Of course, in the interests of the Wehrmacht was the return of this territory, since a large number of native Germans lived on it.
After aggressive actions against Poland, empires such as France and the United Kingdom entered into a defensive alliance with the Poles and put forward themselves guarantors of sovereignty.
What are the true reasons for the invasion?
The German government has repeatedly demanded a change in the status of the so-called “Polish Corridor”. The Polish government, of course, spoke out sharply against this. To understand the mood, it is enough to study the speech of Jozef Beck, which he delivered in response to a speech by A. Hitler on May 5, 1939. He mentioned that the whole world is precious and desirable at the moment. He said that the generation was completely bloodless in wars, therefore it is necessary to live in peace and harmony.
But peaceful coexistence, according to Beck, has a certain price, and it is very high (although moderately high). And he mentions that in Poland few people are familiar with the concept of "peace at all costs." Honor is an invaluable quality that exists in the life of a person, nation and state.
We all know that after the Treaty of Versailles Germany could not have heavy industry, arms, in other words, was limited in almost everything. But, contrary to the sanctions, the military industry was developing. Hitler tested his guards - doing what is impossible, but in moderation. He made "disgusting" - he looked that there was no reaction, he continued to do further.
How to get around sanctions - A. Hitler's method
But the truth is, all of Europe, including France and Britain, simply turned a blind eye to how Germany violates all the articles of the Treaty of Versailles. Who knows, if at the initial stage this “brown plague” was crushed, then there would not be so many victims. But Europe point blank did not want to see the danger, it stepped a second time on the same rake.
The complete occupation of the Rhine region, the annexation of Austria, as well as the seizure of Czechoslovakia - these events did not cause serious opposition from the leading European states. Successful negotiations were held with the USSR, France, and Britain. They made it clear to Hitler that all countries passively relate to the Polish question. This is what served as the first prerequisite for making claims to Poland. And then - the nomination of an ultimatum and the implementation of the Weiss plan.
German forces
Germany had the advantage - it has better army and more modern technology. But this, in fact, is her first serious military intervention. Up to this point, the forces of the Wehrmacht passed the “run-in” and tried themselves in business. Moreover, the first serious task is the transfer of armed forces to Austria. It’s a sin to hide, the army coped with a minus three points - only a third of tanks and vehicles reached the final point. A large number of breakdowns occurred along the road, there was always a lack of fuel, which is why transport simply stopped on the sidelines.
But at first, Germany, in view of its low combat efficiency, equipped the army with war horses. Oddly enough, but they were purchased from Britain. She gave preference not to horses, but to technology, so the 30s saw the complete rearmament of the English army. As for the German troops, at the time of the invasion of Poland, they put 98 divisions on the battlefield. But a third of them were understaffed and not fully trained.
As a result, German troops were represented in the amount of 62 divisions. But in the immediate invasion there were only 40. Of these, tank - 6, mechanized and light - 4 each. The composition of the army also included:
- 6000 artillery pieces;
- 2800 tanks (more than 80% - light tanks and wedges);
- 2000 aircraft
- 1.6 million people.
As for the training of troops, it was unsatisfactory.
Details of the forces of Germany
Now let’s take a closer look at the history of the Polish campaign, and study all the details. The command of the Wehrmacht troops was carried out by Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch, and Colonel General Franz Halder was the chief of the General Staff of the ground forces. The rounded values of the size of the army were given above. And the exact ones are:
- 1 million 516 thousand people - participated in the operation.
- Tanks PZ-1 - 1145 units, PZ-2 - 1223, PZ-3 - 98, PZ-4 - 221, as well as Czechoslovak PZ-35 in the amount of 218 units and PZ-38 - 58.
The invading troops had the following structure:
- Group "North": included 21 divisions, the total number of personnel was 630 thousand people. The command was carried out by Colonel General Fedor von Bock, and the Chief of Staff was Major General Hans von Salmouth.
- The South group: included more than 36 divisions, and the number of personnel was 860 thousand people. The command was carried out by Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt. The chief of staff was Erich von Manstein.
Polish forces
As for the Polish side, it was able to represent only 39 divisions and 16 brigades against the forces of the Wehrmacht. In total, 1 million people and 870 tanks were mobilized (of which 650 were tankettes), 4,300 pieces of mortars and artillery pieces, as well as 407 aircraft (142 fighters and 44 bombers).
It is worth noting that, with the threat of war with Germany, Poland hoped that France and Britain would provide assistance, since a defensive alliance had been concluded earlier. And if the allies enter the war, then the Wehrmacht forces will have to break into two fronts. But that did not happen. And, as you can see from history, during the Second World War, the United States and Britain were not in a hurry to open a second front. It should also be noted that the Red Army (USSR) took an active part in the 1939 Polish campaign - the army moved from the eastern side and occupied part of the territory of Poland.
After all, Europeans are pragmatic people, they waited for the leader in the confrontation to emerge in order to take the side of the winner. Actually, the second front was opened after a radical turning point in the war occurred and the forces of the USSR were already moving across Europe, freeing all countries and cities from the German army. Looking ahead, I want to note that the dishonesty of Western "partners" can be seen in the modern world. More recently, they promised to dissolve NATO in exchange for the collapse of the USSR. As a result, the country was ruined, and NATO only expanded eastward, closer to the modern borders of the Russian Federation.
The beginning of the military operation
The Germans are very fond of waking up early in the morning and commit rash actions. So this time, exactly at 4:45, an offensive began along the entire border. First, the German Air Force began to carry out their tasks. It was aviation that destroyed most of the airfields and aircraft of Poland, thereby creating conditions for the advancement of the ground forces. Wehrmacht aviation was also used to achieve other goals. She did not allow to complete the mobilization of Polish forces. And also the control of the troops was disrupted, as a result of which the connection between the divisions was lost.
But some sources claim that after the first strike, Polish aviation remained legally capable. The fact is that the day before the invasion, all aircraft were promptly deployed to field airfields. But, despite the superiority of German forces, the Polish forces managed to bring down more than 130 aircraft. The defending forces showed resistance even after the Polish Wehrmacht campaign. Photos of partisans who fought for the independence of their homeland are unlikely to be preserved in the archives, unlike portraits of German generals.
Wehrmacht troops crossed the border closer to 6 o’clock in the morning. From the north a group of armies was advancing under the command of Bok. Rundtedt's army group moved northeast and east along Silesia. At that moment, Polish troops were evenly distributed along the entire front line, but they practically had no defense against tanks. Also, there were not enough reserves for counterattacks on the Wehrmacht troops, which were able to break into the country.
There were no natural barriers on the flat terrain, the weather was dry and mild - the very beginning of autumn. Tanks traveled long distances pretty quickly. German tank formations passed almost without resistance through the positions of the Polish armies. At the same time, despite the agreements, no one attacked Germany from the western side. Therefore, it turned out quickly and without resistance to carry out the Polish campaign. The war, which was approaching every day, was not felt by any European politician.
Just two days later, the Polish Air Force was completely destroyed , the connection between the armies and the General Staff was lost. As a result, further mobilization is simply impossible. According to intelligence reports, the Luftwaffe was able to determine the exact location of the General Staff. Of course, active bombing of the territory began and the command was relocated several times.
In the gulf of Danzig, the German squadron was completely crushed by German ships. At that time it included: one destroyer, five submarines, one destroyer. In addition, three destroyers shortly before the invasion were deployed to the shores of Britain.
It was also difficult for the civilian population - it turned out to be demoralized in connection with the bombing and sabotage. The Fifth Column’s speeches against the government and ministers immediately began. But what could be done already? German troops were actively moving towards Warsaw.
Battle for Warsaw and Kutno-Lodz
By September 5, the situation was far from in favor of Poland. From the north side, Bok and his army marched towards Brest-Litovsk. On the south side, Rundstedt with his army bypasses Krakow and rushes on. In the center, the 10th army of Rundstedt goes to Warsaw and the Vistula. The environment eventually closed. On September 8, the Polish army used chemical weapons - mustard gas. But this had almost no effect - German troops lost only 2 people killed and 12 wounded.
We can say that the Polish campaign of 1939 is the first serious invasion of the Wehrmacht forces on the territory of another state. By the way, it was here that German forces first met more or less serious resistance. This they will not see even in France.
As you know, long before this, a ban on the use of chemical weapons was adopted (in the First World War it was so often used that thousands of people were killed). Therefore, Germany has taken a serious response. The Polish side tried to fight back, and sometimes it succeeded, but to no avail. Cavalry rushed to the tanks with edged weapons. But she was not quite simple. Cavalry was a small part, in units of this type there were tanks, and mortars, and armored cars, and anti-aircraft installations.
But the Polish army was cut into several parts, and they were all surrounded. There was no combat mission before the military. On September 8, an attempt was made to enter Warsaw, but the defenders fought so fiercely that the Germans were unable to enter. However, resistance continued near Warsaw-Modlin, and then moved closer to Lodz and Kutno.
Near Lodz an attempt was made to break out of the encirclement, but the Germans' ground and air attacks were so strong that on September 17 the Polish forces surrendered. The environment at this moment completely closed at Brest-Litovsk. What do Polish historians say? Much is known about the Polish campaign of 1939, you can paint it literally by the hour, but the data varies depending on the sources.
How does the USSR behave?
Everyone knows that at the same time as Germany, troops of the USSR invaded Poland. After the Polish forces were almost defeated, the Red Army entered the eastern side. The government of the USSR announced such a move due to the insolvency of the Polish government, as well as the destruction of the state. The purpose of the Red Army is to ensure the safety of Belarusians, Ukrainians and Jews living in these areas. Recall that those areas of Poland that were occupied by the USSR in 1939, a couple of decades before that, were brazenly occupied by Polish troops.
The Soviet Union entered into hostilities by agreement with the German government, and more specifically - according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Soviet army significantly weakened the defense of Poland, whose troops could not resist the forces of the Wehrmacht. The entire Polish government and senior military leadership was evacuated to Romania. We must not forget that on November 30 the Finnish campaign of 1939 began, in which the USSR troops tried to take part of the territories in order to move Leningrad away from the border. After all, the danger of the invasion of the Nazis was obvious, and diplomatic methods did not bring any results.
The collapse of the Polish army
From September 17 to October 5, 1939, the complete destruction of the Polish troops took place . The fall of the capital of Warsaw falls on September 27, and a day later Modlin surrendered. Hel naval base was occupied by the Wehrmacht on October 1. And until the last resistance continued in Kock (near Lublin). On October 5, about 17 thousand Poles surrendered.
It is worth mentioning one interesting fact - Poland did not capitulate to Germany, even though it was completely defeated and subordinated to its troops. Until the last partisans fought against the forces of the Nazis, even remained the formation of the Poles in the Allied armies. Shortly before the defeat, an underground was organized.
Invasion Results
According to historians, the losses of Germany in the Polish campaign of 1939 ranged from 10 to 17 thousand killed. These data vary significantly, depending on the sources. There were 27-31 thousand wounded, and about 3,500 went missing. From the Polish side, 66 thousand were killed and 120-200 thousand wounded. 694 thousand were surrendered. The short-lived Polish campaign of 1939 destroyed not only the state, but also many people's lives.
All the lands of the once great and independent Poland were divided between the USSR and the Third Reich. The border treaty was concluded in Moscow on September 28, 1939. To the east of the San and Bug rivers, the lands belonged to the USSR, became part of Belarus and Ukraine. In fact, the border almost exactly repeated the outline of the Curzon line, which was recommended by the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as the eastern border of Poland. That is how it was possible to distinguish between the regions in which Ukrainians, Belarusians and Poles lived.
As a result of the Polish campaign of 1939, the territory of the Union increased by 196 thousand km². About 13 million people lived on this territory. Germany also acquired a lot of land - the borders of East Prussia expanded, and significantly, they were tightly moved to Warsaw. Lodz was immediately renamed, now it was called Litzmannstadt. On October 8, 1939, A. Hitler issued a decree stating that the Kielckie, Warsaw, Poznan, Silesian and Pomeranian voivodships with a population of about 9 million 500 thousand people belong to Germany.
Poland got a small piece, it was declared the "Governor-General of the occupied Polish regions." Representatives of the Aryan race, of course, controlled this neoplasm. The capital was in Krakow, all politics completely obeyed the authorities of Germany and the USSR. As a result of the Polish campaign of the Wehrmacht in 1939, a large area was divided between the two strongest powers, only their goals were different.
It is worth noting the fact that Poland included such areas as Slovakia and Lithuania. And if it were not for the division of Polish territories in 1939, today there would not be these states on the map of Europe - the lands would remain as part of Poland. Slovakia and Lithuania came under the protection of the Union. A year later, the Lithuanian SSR was formed. This is a republic that until recently was the “face” of communism in Europe. And so the Polish Wehrmacht campaign of 1939 ended. But World War II, with all its horrors, was just beginning.