Invasion of Poland

• 1. The Gleiwitz Deception

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  At 4:45 a.m. on the 1st of September 1939, the pre-dreadnought battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish military transit depot at Westerplatte in the Free City of Danzig. This artillery barrage marked the official start of hostilities, yet German units had already crossed the border hours earlier without any formal declaration of war. The attack was preceded by a carefully staged false flag operation known as Operation Himmler. On the night of August 31, German sabotage groups posing as Polish troops attacked the radio station at Gleiwitz near the border city of Upper Silesia. Hitler used this manufactured incident to claim that Poland had initiated aggression against Germany and that his forces were acting in self-defense. The deception allowed Nazi propaganda to convince the German public that Jews and Slavs were subhumans who deserved extermination. This narrative laid the groundwork for the brutal treatment of civilians that would follow immediately.

• 2. Blitzkrieg And Armor

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  Germany possessed a substantial numeric advantage with 3,472 tanks in its inventory and seven Panzer divisions containing 2,009 tanks between them. These armored units operated under a new doctrine called Blitzkrieg or lightning war which punched holes in enemy lines to isolate selected units for destruction. The Luftwaffe provided tactical air power using dive bombers like the Ju 87 Stuka to disrupt supply lines and communications. German infantry divisions lacked full mechanization but moved fast alongside truck-mounted Schützen regiments. Polish forces faced overwhelming odds with only about 600 aircraft compared to nearly 4,000 German planes. Most Polish fighters were obsolete PZL P.11 models produced in the early 1930s with top speeds far below German bombers. Despite these disadvantages Polish pilots relied on maneuverability and high diving speed to survive aerial combat. The German army also utilized Pervitin methamphetamine to keep troops moving constantly without sleep for several days during the advance.

• 3. The Border Defense Failure

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  Poland deployed its most valuable natural resources industry and population directly along the western border in Eastern Upper Silesia. Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły ordered forces to retreat from forward bases close to the Germany-Poland border toward more established defense lines to the east. This strategy left supply lines poorly protected and made strategic maneuvers difficult for units lacking mobility. One-third of Poland's forces massed in or near the Polish Corridor became vulnerable to double envelopment from East Prussia and the west. Another third concentrated between Łódź and Warsaw faced similar risks as they advanced into open terrain. By September 10 the Polish commander-in-chief ordered a general retreat southeast toward the Romanian Bridgehead. The largest battle of the campaign occurred near the Bzura River west of Warsaw from September 9 to 19 when Polish armies Poznań and Pomorze attacked the flank of the advancing German 8th Army. The counterattack failed despite initial success and cost Poland its ability to take the initiative on a large scale.

• 4. The Soviet Entry

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  Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin ordered his forces into Poland on September 17 after completing an agreement with Japan that ended the conflict at Khalkhin Gol. Over 800,000 strong Red Army troops entered eastern regions of Poland creating Belarusian and Ukrainian fronts. They violated the Riga Peace Treaty and the Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact while claiming to protect Ukrainian and Belarusian minorities. The Polish border defense forces known as Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza had about 25 battalions but Rydz-Śmigły ordered them not to engage the Soviets. Some clashes still occurred such as the Battle of Grodno where soldiers and locals attempted to defend the city. The Soviets executed numerous Polish officers including prisoners of war like General Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński. By September 28 the Red Army reached lines of rivers Narew Bug Vistula and San meeting units advancing from the other direction. A joint victory parade took place at Brest-Litovsk on September 22 between German 19th Panzer Corps commanded by Heinz Guderian and Soviet 29th Tank Brigade led by Semyon Krivoshein.

• 5. Atrocities And Terror

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  The Luftwaffe killed 6,000 to 7,000 Polish civilians during the bombing of Warsaw alone. German forces murdered tens of thousands of Polish men women and children throughout the campaign. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler units burned villages and committed atrocities in towns including Błonie Złoczew Bolesławiec Torzeniec Goworowo Mława and Włocławek. Polish women and girls were raped en masse by invaders then executed or captured for forced prostitution in military brothels. Girls as young as 15 classified as fit for agricultural work faced sexual exploitation by German soldiers. Civilian losses amounted to about 100,000 or between 150,000 and 200,000 with the majority due to war operations and terror. In Warsaw alone 15,000 to 25,000 civilians lost their lives while 12,136 citizens of Polish and Jewish background died in 615 known executions before operations closed. A mass ethnic cleansing campaign called Operation Tannenberg started by Wehrmacht and Einsatzgruppen targeted intellectuals clergy former officers and others identified as political threats.

• 6. Partition And Occupation

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  Germany formally annexed western parts of Poland on October 8 while Arthur Greiser became Reichsstatthalter of Posen and Albert Forster took West Prussia. The south-central parts were administered as the General Government led by Hans Frank who served as supreme chief administrator. Four military districts named West Prussia Posen Lodz and Krakau covered all occupied territory under civil administration chiefs appointed by Hitler. On September 28 a secret protocol shifted Lithuania to Soviet sphere of influence moving the dividing line eastward toward the Bug River. About 65,000 Polish troops were killed fighting while roughly 420,000 captured by Germans and 240,000 more by Soviets. Up to 120,000 escaped to neutral Romania through the Romanian Bridgehead with another 20,000 fleeing to Latvia and Lithuania. Most eventually made their way to France or Britain where they formed the Polish Armed Forces in the West loyal to the government-in-exile.

• 7. Myths And Memory

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  Polish cavalry units did not engage German tanks with lances and swords despite persistent historical myths. At the Battle of Tuchola Forest on September 1 the 18th Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment covered infantry retreat when encountering advancing German 20th Infantry Division. Commander Kazimierz Mastalerz ordered an attack forcing the division to withdraw temporarily before machine gun fire from armored reconnaissance vehicles killed nearly a third of Uhlans. Italian reporter Indro Montanelli published articles claiming brave cavalry charged tanks with sabers though this never happened. The Polish Air Force was not destroyed on ground in first days but successfully dispersed before conflict started. Only 36 of about 120 heavy bombers PZL.37 Łoś produced were deployed while rest remained in training units. By the 14th of September air opposition virtually ceased as main bases destroyed during first 48 hours of war. Historian Steven Zaloga notes that ten percent of Polish army consisted of cavalry units yet these served as mobile mounted infantry rather than traditional shock troops.