German Invasion of Poland — War Begins
At 4:45 a.m. on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland without a declaration of war, opening with a simulated Polish attack on a German radio station staged by the SS. Britain and France, who had guaranteed Polish independence after the conquest of Czechoslovakia in March, delivered ultimatums that expired on 3 September, and the Second World War began. The Wehrmacht's Blitzkrieg tactics — fast-moving armour supported by Stuka dive-bombers in the role of airborne artillery — overwhelmed Polish defences with a speed that shocked the world. On 17 September the Soviet Union invaded from the east under the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed the previous month. Warsaw surrendered on 27 September. Poland was partitioned between Germany and the USSR for the fourth time in its history, its government fleeing to form a government-in-exile in London. The campaign exposed the bankruptcy of France's passive defensive strategy and demonstrated a new form of mechanised warfare that would define the next six years.
- Year: 1939 CE
- Category: Military
