The Second World War. September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945. Germany's attack on Poland on September 1, 1939

In world history it is considered that the date of the beginning of the Second World War - September 1, 1939, when the German military struck its blow to Poland. The consequence of this was its full occupation and annexation of part of the territory by other states. As a result, the United Kingdom and France declared their entry into the war with the Germans, which marked the beginning of the creation of the Anti-Hitler Coalition. Since then, the European fire has flared up with uncontrollable force.

Thirst for military revenge

The driving force behind the aggressive policy of Germany in the thirties was the desire to revise the European borders established in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which legally consolidated the results of the war that had just ended shortly before. As you know, Germany, in the course of a military campaign that was unsuccessful for her, lost a number of her former lands. The victory of Hitler in the elections of 1933 is largely due to his calls for military revenge and the accession to Germany of all ethnic Germans' territories. Such rhetoric found a deep response in the hearts of voters, and they gave their votes to him.

Before the attack on Poland (September 1, 1939), more precisely a year before, Germany committed Anschluss (annexation) of Austria and the annexation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. In order to implement these plans and to protect themselves from the possible opposition of Poland, Hitler concluded a peace treaty with them in 1934 and over the next four years actively created the appearance of friendly relations. The picture changed dramatically after the Sudetenland and a significant part of Czechoslovakia were forcibly annexed to the Reich. The voices of German diplomats accredited in the Polish capital also resounded in new ways.

Germany's claims and attempts to confront it

Until September 1, 1939, the main territorial claims of Germany to Poland were, firstly, its land adjacent to the Baltic Sea and separating Germany from East Prussia, and secondly, Danzig (Gdansk), which at that time had the status of a free city. In both cases, the Reich pursued not only political interests, but also purely economic ones. In this regard, the government of Poland was subjected to active pressure from German diplomats.

In the spring, the Wehrmacht captured that part of Czechoslovakia, which still retained its independence, after which it became obvious that Poland would be next in line. In summer, diplomats from several countries held talks in Moscow. Their task was to develop measures to ensure European security and create an alliance against German aggression. But he was not educated because of the position of Poland itself. In addition, good intentions were not destined to be realized through the fault of the other participants, each of whom was plotting his plans.

A consequence of this was the infamous treaty, signed by Molotov and Ribbentrop. This document guaranteed Hitler non-interference of the Soviet side in case of his aggression, and the Fuhrer gave the command to the beginning of hostilities.

The state of troops at the beginning of the war and provocation at the border

Intruding into the borders of Poland, Germany had a significant advantage both in the number of personnel of its troops and in their technical equipment. It is known that by this time their Armed Forces numbered ninety-eight divisions, whereas Poland on September 1, 1939 had only thirty-nine divisions. The plan for the capture of Polish territory was code-named "Weiss".

For its implementation, the German command needed an excuse, and in connection with this the intelligence and counterintelligence service carried out a number of provocations aimed at dumping the blame for the outbreak of the war on the inhabitants of Poland. Employees of the special department of the SS, as well as criminals recruited from various German prisons, dressed in civilian clothes and armed with Polish weapons, carried out a series of attacks on German installations located throughout the border.

The beginning of the war: September 1, 1939

The motive created in this way was convincing enough: the defense of one's own national interests from outside interference. Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, and soon Britain and France became participants in the events. The land line of the front stretched for one thousand six hundred kilometers, but, in addition, the Germans used their navy.

From the first day of the offensive, the German battleship began shelling Danzig, in which a considerable quantity of food reserves was concentrated. This city was the first conquest that the Second World War brought to the Germans. September 1, 1939 began his land assault. By the end of the first day, it was announced that Danzig had joined the Reich.

The attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 was carried out by all forces at the disposal of the Reich. It is known that cities like Velun, Hojnitz, Starogard and Bydgosz were subjected to massive bombardment almost simultaneously. The most severe blow was suffered by Vilyun, where one thousand two hundred people died that day and seventy-five percent of the buildings were destroyed. Also, many other cities were seriously affected by fascist bombs.

The results of the beginning of the hostilities of Germany

According to the previously developed strategic plan, on September 1, 1939, an operation was launched to eliminate Polish aviation from the air, based on military airfields in different parts of the country. By this, the Germans facilitated the rapid advancement of their ground forces and deprived the Poles of the possibility of redeployment of combat units by rail, as well as the completion of the mobilization that had begun just before. It is believed that on the third day of the war, Polish aviation was completely destroyed.

The German troops developed an offensive in accordance with the "blitzkrieg" plan - a lightning war. On September 1, 1939, having committed their perfidious invasion, the fascists advanced deep into the country, but on many fronts they met with desperate resistance of the Polish units that were yielding to them. But the interaction of motorized and armored units allowed them to deal a crushing blow to the enemy. Their corps moved forward, overcoming the resistance of the Polish units, disunited and unable to contact the General Staff.

Betrayal of the Allies

In accordance with the agreement concluded in May 1939, the Allied forces were obliged from the first days of German aggression to render assistance to the Poles by all means available to them. But in fact it turned out quite different. The actions of these two armies were subsequently called the "strange war." The fact is that on the day when the attack on Poland occurred (September 1, 1939), the leaders of both countries sent an ultimatum to the German authorities demanding that the hostilities cease. Not having received a positive response, the French troops crossed the German border on September 7 in the Saare area.

Having met no resistance, they nevertheless, instead of developing further offensive, found it best for themselves not to continue the hostilities and return to their original positions. The British generally only limited themselves to drawing up an ultimatum. Thus, the allies treacherously betrayed Poland, leaving it to the mercy of fate.

Meanwhile, modern researchers have formed the view that thus they missed a unique chance to stop the fascist aggression and save mankind from a large-scale long-term war. For all its military power, Germany at the time did not have enough forces to wage war on three fronts. For this betrayal, France will severely pay for the next year, when the fascist units will march through the streets of its capital.

The first major battles

Within a week, Warsaw was subjected to a fierce enemy onslaught and was, in fact, cut off from the main army units. She was attacked by the 16th Panzer Corps of the Wehrmacht. With great difficulty the defenders of the city managed to stop the enemy. The defense of the capital began, which lasted until September 27. The ensuing surrender saved her from complete and imminent destruction. For the entire preceding period, the Germans took the most decisive steps to capture Warsaw: in just one day on September 19, it was attacked by 5,818 aerial bombs, which caused enormous damage to the unique architectural monuments, not to mention people.

A major battle in those days occurred on the river Bzura - one of the tributaries of the Vistula. Two Polish armies dealt a devastating blow to the units of the Wehrmacht 8th Division that was advancing on Warsaw. As a result, the fascists were forced to proceed to defense, and only the reinforcements that had arrived at them, which provided a significant numerical superiority, changed the course of the battle. The Polish armies could not resist the superior forces. About one hundred and thirty thousand people were captured, and only a few managed to get out of the "cauldron" and break through to the capital.

Unexpected turn of events

The defensive plan was based on the belief that the United Kingdom and France, in fulfilling their allied obligations, would take part in hostilities. It was assumed that the Polish troops, retreating to the south-west of the country, form a powerful defensive bridgehead, while the Wehrmacht will be forced to relocate part of the troops to new frontiers - for the war on two fronts. But life has made its own adjustments.

A few days later, the forces of the Red Army, in accordance with the additional secret protocol of the Soviet-German non-aggression agreement, entered Poland. The official motive of this action was to ensure the security of the Belarusians, Ukrainians and Jews who lived in the eastern regions of the country. However, the actual result of the introduction of troops was the annexation of a number of Polish territories to the Soviet Union.

Realizing that the war was lost, the Polish High Command left the country and further coordination of activities was carried out from Romania, where it immigrated, crossing the border illegally. In view of the inevitability of the occupation of the country, the Polish leaders, preferring Soviet troops, ordered their fellow citizens not to resist them. This was their mistake, made due to ignorance of the fact that the actions of both their opponents are conducted according to a pre-coordinated plan.

The last major battles of the Poles

The Soviet troops exacerbated the already critical situation of the Poles. In this difficult period, the share of their soldiers fell two of the most difficult battles of those that have been in all the time since the September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. In the same row with them, it is possible to put only military operations on the Bzura River. Both of them, with an interval of several days, took place in the area of Tomashuv-Lubelskie, now part of the Lublin Voivodeship.

In the battle task of the Poles was the strength of two armies to break through the German barrier, which blocked the way to Lviv. As a result of protracted and bloody battles, the Polish side suffered heavy losses, and more than twenty thousand Polish soldiers were captured by the Germans. As a result, Tadeusz Piskora was forced to announce the capitulation of the central front that he headed.

The battle started on September 17 near Tamashuv-Lubelskiy soon resumed with renewed vigor. It was attended by the Polish troops of the Northern Front, from the west they were crowded by the seventh army corps of the German General Leonard Veker, and from the east by parts of the Red Army, operating with the Germans according to a single plan. It is understandable that, weakened by previous losses and lacking ties with the combined arms command, the Poles could not withstand the forces of the attacking allies.

The beginning of guerrilla warfare and the creation of clandestine groups

By September 27, Warsaw was completely in the hands of the Germans, who managed to completely suppress the resistance of the army units in most of the territory. However, even when the whole country was occupied, the Polish command did not sign an act of surrender. A large partisan movement was deployed in the country , headed by cadre army officers who had the necessary knowledge and combat experience. In addition, even in the period of active resistance to the fascists, the Polish command began to create a ramified underground organization called the Service for the Victory of Poland.

Results of the Polish Wehrmacht campaign

The attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 ended with her defeat and the subsequent section. Hitler planned to create from her a puppet state with territory within the boundaries of the Kingdom of Poland, which was part of Russia from 1815 to 1917. But Stalin opposed this plan, as he was an ardent opponent of any Polish state formation.

The German attack on Poland in 1939 and the subsequent complete defeat of the latter enabled the Soviet Union, which in those years was an ally of Germany, to join its borders with an area of 196,000 square kilometers. Km and due to this increase the population by 13 million people. The new border separated the areas of compact residence of Ukrainians and Byelorussians from the sites historically inhabited by the Germans.

Speaking about Germany's attack on Poland in September 1939, it should be noted that the aggressive German leadership managed to generally achieve its plans. As a result of military operations, the borders of East Prussia advanced up to Warsaw. By decree of 1939 a number of Polish voivodeships with a population of more than nine and a half million people became part of the Third Reich.

Formally, only a small part of the former state, subordinated to Berlin, was preserved. Her capital was Krakow. For a long period (September 1, 1939-September 2, 1945), Poland practically had no opportunity to pursue any independent policy.