The Polish Campaign of 1939

The Polish Campaign of 1939, as experienced by comrades of a heavy artillery section in a Panzer Division. Edited by Oblt. Held , Wachtm. Hochtanner and Wachtm. Ebertshäuser. 58 pages. Approx. 31 pages of text, map of Poland, and 26 pages with numerous illustrations.

The Invasion of Poland in 1939 was a military offensive in which Nazi Germany and, two weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded Poland. That was the start of World War II in Europe.

The invasion started on 1 September 1939. The invasion of Poland caused the United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany on 3 September, but they did little to affect the September Campaign. Fighting ended on 6 October. Germany and the Soviet Union conquered Poland and divided it according to their Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.

It is often called the first time that blitzkrieg was tried on the battlefield, but similar methods had been used earlier. The German surprise attack was successful and was very effective against the ineffective and demobilized Polish Army, whose tanks and airplanes were few and mostly old. The Poles were outflanked, outmaneuvered, and outnumbered in September 1939 and easily destroyed by the Germans. The Poles, if they had been well prepared, could have had two million soldiers in the fight.

In the first few days of the German invasion, Poland proved to be more difficult to invade than the Germans had expected. In the Battle of Mokra on September 2nd, the Poles repulsed an attack by a German Panzer division and forced its retreat. The German air force, unlike in their invasions of other countries, did not easily overcome the outnumbered Polish Air Force. However, their great superiority in numbers made them gain air superiority after five to six days.

Surrounded by German territories north, west, and south of Poland, the Poles had little space for tactical retreat. The Germans reached Warsaw and attacked on September 7 but were repulsed. They had suffered heavy tank losses and so were forced to retreat.