The invasion of poland
It was 4:30 am local time when the German Luftwaffe began bombing Polish Air Fields while ground forces crossed the boarder. Some German battleships, that just happened to be visting the port of Danzig, opened fire on Polish fortifications. The name of the overall invasion was "Fall Weissl" or Operation White. The plan called for the complete destruction of the Polish Army and few cities. Germany succeded with destroying most of Polish forces with no interferences from Britian or France. Hitler had theorized that with the attack being so sudden that Britian and France would not be able to come to Polands rescue, and he was right. There had been no defence planned for Poland and the German attacks were superior. Surviving Polish forces tried to defend the capital, Warsaw, and just north of capital, Fortress Modlin. On Sept. 27, Warsaw surrended as did Modlin the next day.
Timeline of the invasionSept 1, 1939- Germany invades Poland.
Sept 12, 1939- Battle of the River Bzura: Polish Poznan Army attempts to break out of its encirclement. The offensive fails by the 18th; 170,000 surrender. Sept. 15,1939- German armies surround Warsaw. Sept 17, 1939- Soviet armies invade Poland from the east. Sept 19, 1939- Meeting of German and Soviet invading armies at Brest-Litovsk. Sept 22, 1939- Soviet Troops take Lvov. Sept 27, 1939- Warsaw surrenders. Sept 28, 1939- Modlin area: 10 Polish divisions, encircled for 18 days, surrender. Oct 6, 1939- End of Polish resistance. -A. A. Evans and David Gibbons |