On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. To justify the attack, German propagandists accused Poland of persecuting ethnic Germans living in the country. They also spread false claims that Poland and its allies, Great Britain and France, were planning to surround and divide Germany. The SS and the German military staged an attack on a German radio station. The Germans blamed the Poles for this “crime.” Hitler used this event as a pretext to launch a “retaliatory” campaign against Poland.
At dawn on September 1, 1939, the German army, led by more than 2,000 tanks and supported by about 900 bombers and more than 400 fighter planes, entered Poland. In total, the German invasion force numbered 60 divisions and about 1.5 million men. German units advancing from the north from East Prussia and Germany, and from the south from Silesia and Slovakia, quickly broke through the Polish defenses on the border and rushed towards Warsaw with the aim of encircling it.
Poland was late with mobilization, and due to political circumstances, its army was at a disadvantage. The Polish army also lacked modern weapons and equipment, had no armored or motorized units, and had fewer than 300 aircraft ready for deployment, most of which were destroyed by the Luftwaffe in the first days of the invasion. The Polish army put up fierce resistance and inflicted significant damage on the Germans, but after several weeks it was defeated. A new term for Germany’s successful tactics spread around the world: blitzkrieg, or “lightning war.” The essence of this tactic was to launch a surprise attack using large concentrated armored units with massive air support.
On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany in accordance with their obligations to Poland. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, forcing it to fight a war on two fronts. On the same day, the Polish government left the country.
On September 28, 1939, after heavy artillery fire and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans.
On September 29, 1939, in accordance with a secret protocol to the non-aggression pact, Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland. The demarcation line ran along the Bug River.
The last unit of the Polish army surrendered on October 6.
