World War II: German Offensive in Poland (September 1-17, 1939)


Figure 1.--Here a German motorized column, part of the invasion force, somewhere in Poland during September 1939, stops to ask direction from a group of Polish civilians. They do not look like refugees, just people along the road. The soldier in the dark uniform looks to be a Panzer commander as is the soldier on the extreme right, but this may be a supply column. Source: Kliem. Bundesarchiv. Bild 1011-012-0016-32. We are trying to figure out just what is happening here. We thought the dark uniforms were Panzer sokldiers. A reader writes, "On dirt roads and going over fields with many trucks having open windows or no doors, truck drivers when they had them did use goggles. And they had them at start of war. The soldier shown as partial image at the right might be wearing a beret (as Panzer mnen somnetimes did) or it could be a wool cap. The tanks in 1939 could not drive as fast as the trucks. Soldier behind black uniform is in regular Heer uniform and he also has goggles on his helmet. The soldier in the dark uniform might be a Panzer officer along with the supply column to assure that those supplies were protected and reach his tanks and not another outfit."

The Wehrmacht invaded Poland on three fronts: from East Prussia in the north, Germany in the west, and Slovakia (seized from Czechoslovakia) in the south. Hitler accurately assessed Allied intentions. He was able to focus the full weight of the Whermacht on Poland without fear of an Allied offensive in the West. The French had promised the Poles an offensive in the West. As Hitler had foreseen, it never came in force. [Fest, pp. 602-03.] The Wehrmacht deployed 2,600 tanks against Poland's 180. The Poles had few anti-tank guns and anti-tank infantry weapons had not yet been developed. Poland was also completely outmatched in the air. The Luftwaffe deployed over 2,000 modern aircraft against Poland's 420 planes, many of which were largely obsolete. The Poles put up a surprisingly fierce resistance in the air before their small force was overwhelmed. The stunned Polish Army unwisely deployed to defend the whole country was unable to stop the Germans anywhere. The Panzers sliced through the Polish front lines. Within 6 days Kracow, the center of Polish nationhood, fell (September 6). The Polish General Staff abandoned Warsaw (September 6). The Polish Army launched a counterattack between Lodz and Warsaw surprising the Germans and achieving some local success (September 9). The battle continued for 3 days, but overwhelming German superiority in men and material prevails (September 12). Wehrmacht pincer movements began to encircle the major remaining Polish forces (September 9). The German 4th Panzer Division reached the suburbs of Warsaw, but is stopped (September 9). Hans Guderian, the mastermind of Blitzkrieg tactics commanded the German XIX Panzer Corps. The Wehrmach armored thrusts surrounded Warsaw (September 14). Polish resistance stiffened. Warsaw prepared to resist the Wehrmacht. Panzer units were stopped at Kutno. Remnants of the shattered Polish Army attempted to regroup behind the Vistula and Bzura rivers. Poland's fate was sealed on September 17, when the Soviets invaded Poland from the east (September 17). Western analysts at the time derided the Poles. In fact the Poles would put up a stiffer resistance than the French who were not invaded by the Soviets as well and had British support.

Sources

Fest, Joachim C. Hitler (Vintage Books: New York, 1974), 844p.






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Created: 6:59 PM 10/5/2013
Last updated: 6:59 PM 10/5/2013