The War Begins

Germany was not prepared for

war in 1939
No central military HQ
The command structure changed
according to the situation
It was essentially Hitlers idiosyncrasies
that decided strategy

The Military Leaders

Admiral Raeder
Kriegsmarine

General
Brauchitsch
Wehrmacht

Commander in
Chief of the
Luftwaffe
Goring

The Plan to Invade Poland

A series of large drives through Polish
defences
54 German divisions including 6 tank
(panzer divisions) and 4 motorised infantry
divisions

Planning
Plans for the invasion of Poland
(Operation White) were discussed by the
army (Wehrmacht) from March 1939 and
had been finalised by June
The attack had to be speedy
The majority of German troops would be
committed in the East
This left the western border against
France vulnerable

The Polish forces

1 million men in the army (Wehrmacht 2
million)
Poorly equipped lack of industry to
produce weapons
180 tanks (Wehrmacht 2,000)
313 combat aircraft (Luftwaffe 2,085)
No natural borders
Most of the Polish borders adjoined
Germany

Polish tactics
The western areas were the most economically
vital, so the Polish troops were spread thinly
along this border
The Poles only began mobilisation on 29 August.
The British and French had advised against
mobilisation in case it antagonised Germany
When the invasion came on 1 September, only
one-third of the Polish troops were ready

The German attack

The Luftwaffe soon decimated the Polish
air force
Air strikes on the Polish railway hampered
Polish mobilisation
Polish cavalry with lances proved no
match for German tanks
Deep incursions by Panzer divisions
separated Poland into pockets, which the
infantry soon took control of

Timeline of events
1 September the invasion begins
10 September most of northern and western
Poland under German control
17 September - the Russians invade from the
east (secret protocol of the Nazi-Soviet Pact)
17 September Warsaw surrounded
27 September Warsaw surrenders after 10
days of heavy bombing by the Germans
5 October the end of Polish resistance

Consequences

70,000 Poles died

133,000 Poles wounded
700,000 Poles taken prisoner
14,000 Germans died
31,000 Germans wounded
A Polish government in exile was formed under
General Sikorski
A Polish army in exile was formed 84,000 men
Poland partitioned under German and Soviet
control

Darby page 11

General Sikorski and Churchill inspecting

Polish troops in Scotland in 1940

The French Response

During the attack, they did nothing, apart from
declaring war on Germany on 3 September.
France failed to honour its promise to assist
Poland within 15 days of an attack (May 1939)
France had a 3 to 1 military superiority on
Germanys western front, but failed to launch a
major offensive
The French felt safe behind their Maginot Line

The British Response

During the attack they did nothing, apart from declaring
war on Germany on 3 September.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/08/99/world
_war_ii/430071.stm
Their army was too small
Neville Chamberlain had no desire for immediate military
action
He believed time was on the Allies side
A naval blockade, combined with superior Allied
resources would soon bring Germany to its knees
BUT
Germany had access to Soviet resources thanks to the
Nazi-Soviet Pact

Why?
Britain and France had gone to war, not to
protect Poland, but to prevent German
domination of Europe
Allied strategy was to wage a defensive
war, so that they could continue to rearm
and strengthen their military resources

Peace?
6 October Hitler offered peace proposals
to Britain and France
All they had to do was to accept the new
borders in Eastern Europe
Britain and France refused

Britains Response
Chamberlain appointed Winston Churchill as
First Lord of the Admiralty
Ministries of shipping, information and food were
revived
Ships began sailing in convoys
News was censored
Rationing was introduced
BUT
No uniform command structure was established
between the Allies
No agreement was reached with Belgium

 http://www.historyguy.com/worldwartwo/
world_war_two_video_german_invasion_of
_poland.htm