September 1 - The German Invasion of Poland

This Day in History: 1 September 2020

 

1 September 1939

 

81 years ago, today, German forces invaded Poland under the orders of Adolf Hitler, initiating World War Two. Hitler decided to do this in order to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Germany's eastern neighbour. The invasion of Poland served as an insight into how Hitler intended to wage war, later known as the 'blitzkrieg' strategy. This approach was characterised by extensive bombing to destroy the enemy's air capacity, railroads, and communication lines, followed by a massive land invasion. After the German forces had ploughed their way through, infantry moved in, and picked off any remaining resistance. Once Hitler had set up a base of operations within Poland, he quickly began to set up 'security' forces to eradicate all enemies of his Nazi ideology.

 

The Polish army had also made several severe miscalculations early on. Although 1 million strong, the Polish forces were under-equipped and attempted to face the Germans head on, rather than taking a defensive position. The outdated thinking of the Polish commanders was similar to the state of their army, as it was no match for the modern mechanised German forces. Any hope the Poles may have had of a Soviet counter-response was dashed with the signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. Three days later, Great Britain would respond to the invasion with bombing raids over Germany.

 

Want to find out more about the German invasion of Poland? Click here for more information, or here for more about Britain's response.