September 1 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II. On this day, Germany attacked Poland.
Specific plans for the use of the Wehrmacht in the war against Poland were developed in Germany in April June 1939. The strategic plan and tasks of the troops in Operation Weiss were set out in the directive on the strategic concentration and deployment of ground forces dated June 15, 1939: “The purpose of the operation is the destruction of the Polish armed forces. The political leadership demands that the war be started with sudden, powerful blows and achieve early success ".
Two army groups were deployed to carry out Operation Weiss. In Pomerania and East Prussia Army Group North (commander - Colonel General Fedor von Bock) was deployed as part of the 3rd (commander - Colonel General Georg von Küchler) and 4th (commander - Colonel General Gunther von Kluge) armies. Army Group South (commander - Colonel General Gerd von Runstedt) was concentrated in Silesia and Slovakia, consisting of the 8th (commander - Colonel General Johann Blaskowitz), 10th (commander - Colonel General Walter von Reichenau) and 14 th (commander - Colonel General Wilhelm List) armies. It was Army Group South that was to deliver the main blow in the operation.
By September, the German command managed to complete the mobilization and deploy in the east 37 1/3 infantry (of which 14 (37.8%) were reserve), 4 light infantry, 1 mountain infantry, 6 tank and 4 2/3 motorized divisions and 1 cavalry brigade (82, 6% of planned forces). In addition, border units with a total number of 93.2 thousand people were subordinated to the ground forces.
Army Group North was supported by the 1st Air Fleet (commanded by General Albert Kesselring), which consisted of 746 aircraft (of which 720 were combat-ready); in addition, the command of the army group was subordinate to the flying units, which had 94 aircraft (83 combat-ready), and naval aviation consisted of 56 aircraft (51 combat-ready). The 4th Air Fleet (commanded by General Alexander Löhr), which had 1,095 aircraft (1,000 combat-ready), interacted with Army Group South, and flying units of 240 aircraft (186 combat-ready) were subordinate to the ground units.
The concentration and mobilization of the Wehrmacht was carried out in compliance with camouflage and disinformation measures, so as not to provoke retaliatory actions from Poland. However, Polish intelligence generally correctly established the number of troops deployed on the border. German groups. From the end of February 1939 Polish command began to develop a specific plan for war with Germany - “West”. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, changes were made to this document to take into account the current situation. The formation of the Anglo-Franco-Polish coalition, which began in March 1939, led to the fact that the Polish military planning was based on the calculation that England and France would support Poland in the war with Germany.
The Polish armed forces were tasked with a stubborn defense to ensure the mobilization deployment and concentration of their troops, and then launch a counteroffensive, since it was believed that by this time England and France would force Germany to pull their troops to the west.
To implement this plan, it was planned to deploy 39 infantry divisions, 3 mountain infantry, 11 cavalry, 10 border and 2 armored motorized brigades. These troops were to be organized into seven armies, three task forces and an invasion corps. Operational groups "Narev" (2 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry brigades), "Wyszkow" (2 infantry divisions) and the army "Modlin" (2 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry brigades; commander - Brigade General Emil Przedzimirski-Krukovich) were deployed against East Prussia. The “Pomože” army was concentrated in the “Polish corridor” (5 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry brigade; commander - Brigade General Vladislav Bortnovsky), part of whose forces were intended to capture Danzig. The Poznan Army was deployed in the Berlin direction (4 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry brigades; commander - Division General Tadeusz Kutsheba). The border with Silesia and Slovakia was covered by the Lodz Army (5 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry brigades; commander - Division General Juliusz Rummel), the Krakow Army (7 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry brigade and 1 tank battalion; commander - Brigade General Antoni Schilling) and army "Carpathians" (1st infantry division and border units; commander - Brigade General Kazimierz Fabrycy). In the rear south of Warsaw, the Prussian army was deployed (7 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry brigade and 1 armored brigade; commander - division general Stefan Domb Bernacki). In the areas of Kutno and Tarnow, 2 infantry divisions were concentrated in reserve. Thus, the Polish army had to deploy evenly on a wide front, which made repelling massive Wehrmacht attacks problematic.
By the morning of September 1, Poland deployed 22 2/3 infantry divisions, 3 mountain infantry, 10 cavalry and 1 armored motorized brigades on the border. Besides, in central regions The country concentrated 3 infantry divisions (13th, 19th, 29th) and the Vilna Cavalry Brigade, the remaining formations continued to mobilize or were on the move along the railways.
Estimated divisions: Germany - 53.1; Poland - 29.3.
Personnel (thousands of people): Germany - 1516; Poland - 840.
Guns and mortars: Germany - 9824; Poland - 2840.
Tanks: Germany - 2379; Poland - 475.
Aircraft: Germany - 2231, Poland - 463.
At 4.30 am on September 1, 1939, the German Air Force launched a massive attack on Polish airfields; at 4.45 am, the training artillery ship (former battleship) Schleswig Holstein opened fire on the Westerplatte peninsula in Gdansk Bay, at the same time German ground forces crossed the Polish border.
Due to difficult weather conditions, the 1st Air Fleet was able to lift only a small part of the aircraft into the air in the morning hours. At 6 o'clock, German paratroopers began an operation to capture the bridge over the Vistula near the city of Tczewa (German name - Dirschau) 50 km south of Gdansk. By 7.30, the Polish defense was broken through, but at the moment when the Wehrmacht soldiers had already captured the bridge, the Polish captain commanding its defense managed to activate the explosive device. The bridge collapsed into the river.
On southern section front, three aviation groups of the 4th Air Fleet attacked airfields in Katowice and Krakow, where they destroyed 17 Polish aircraft and hangars. As the sun rose the weather improved. New air squadrons were involved in the attacks, but the attempt to take Polish aviation completely by surprise failed, since the German Air Force was unable to attack all Polish air bases at the same time. Air supremacy was seized by German aviation in the following days due to the quantitative and technical superiority of German aircraft over Polish ones.
With the start of the military attacks air force The ground forces also went on the offensive. They crossed the border and, having delivered their first blow, began fighting with Polish units defending forward positions. On September 1, German troops entered Danzig, which was declared part of the Third Reich. However, the Polish military warehouses at Westerplatte at the mouth of the Vistula, despite attacks and shelling from land and sea, could not be captured. There, 182 Polish soldiers defended themselves in concrete and field fortifications, armed with 4 mortars, 3 guns and 41 machine guns. For a week, the Poles resisted almost 4 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers, and only when the ammunition ran out and the Germans used flamethrowers did the Poles capitulate on September 7 at 10.15.
Three main centers of struggle formed in the northern sectors of the German-Polish front. One - in the Mlawa area, where the Modlin army fought against the main forces of the 3rd German Army, advancing from East Prussia to the south; the second - northeast of Grudziadz, where the right-flank formations of the Polish army "Pomoże" fought with the German 21st army corps the same 3rd Army; the third - in the area of the "Polish corridor", where the left-flank group of the Pomože army met the attacks of the main forces of the 4th German Army.
Frontal attacks by three German infantry and one tank divisions on the Mława defensive positions, defended by the Polish 20th Infantry Division and the Masovian Cavalry Brigade, did not bring the Germans the expected success. Rapid breakthrough 3rd German army it didn’t work out for Pułtusk and Warsaw. The Polish group "Wschud" also quite successfully repelled the attacks of the 21st Army Corps on Grudziadz.
The 4th German Army advancing from Pomerania had the 19th Motorized Corps as a strike group. The Pomože armada that opposed it had only the 9th Infantry Division and the Czersk task force located just to the north in the western part of the corridor. At dawn, two motorized and one tank divisions of the 19th Motorized Corps, as well as two infantry divisions, moved towards them. German troops had an overwhelming superiority over the Polish ones, and yet the German offensive initially met stubborn resistance. The Uhlan regiment of the Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade, in deployed formation, attacked the German 20th Motorized Division, but, met by armored vehicle fire, died, led by its commander. The advance detachment of the Polish 9th Infantry Division twice repulsed attacks by large German forces and then retreated to the main position.
At the headquarters of the Pomože Army, the main events were expected in the north, in the Danzig area. Therefore, the news received from aerial reconnaissance about the advance of a large German tank column in the south, from the Sepolno area, came as a complete surprise to the army commander, General Bortnovsky. With the onset of darkness, the Germans broke the resistance of the Polish infantry and an advanced tank detachment broke through 90 km to Svekatovo. German troops achieved success relatively quickly in this corridor.
On the southern sector of the German-Polish front, the main blow in the direction of Czestochowa and Warsaw was delivered by the 10th Army, which had greatest number tank and motorized formations. The army's task was to reach the Vistula as soon as possible in the area between the mouths of the Bzura and Wieprz rivers. The 8th Army was deployed to the north. It had the task of attacking Lodz, as well as covering the northern flank of the 10th Army. The 14th Army was to strike in the direction of Krakow, defeat enemy forces in Upper Silesia, seize crossings on the Dunajec River and develop an offensive towards Sandomierz, trying to prevent the creation Polish defense on the borders of the San and Vistula rivers.
The 10th Army was opposed by the main forces of the Polish army "Lodz" and part of the forces of the army "Krakow". Particularly stubborn battles ensued on that section of the front where the 10th Army attacked with the 16th Motorized Corps. 4th tank division from 8 o'clock in the Mokra area attacked the Volyn cavalry brigade. The German advance detachment was driven back by the Uhlan regiment. Two hours later, the same cavalry regiment repelled a repeated tank attack with artillery fire. There were 12 German tanks left on the battlefield. Around noon, German units again went on the attack without reconnaissance. The tanks moved in dense formations and came under fire from Polish batteries. At about 3 p.m., the 4th Panzer Division resumed attacks by the Volyn Brigade. A compact mass of German tanks and motorized infantry, supported by fire from six batteries, attacked the 12th and 21st Uhlan regiments east of the village of Mokra and soon reached the Klobucka area. Towards evening, the commander of the Polish cavalry brigade organized a counterattack. The counterattack was successful - the German tanks retreated.
On the left flank of the Lodz army, into an 8-kilometer open space at the junction with the Krakow army, the 1st German tank division was advancing. Moving forward, it created a threat to the flanks of the Lodz and Krakow armies.
At the same time, the troops of the Krakow Army entered into action, meeting the attack directly at the main positions advanced to the border. By the evening of September 1, the northern and central sections of the Krakow army were broken through.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
In Great Britain, the BBC television broadcast was interrupted (an American cartoon about Mickey Mouse was on air), and the announcer announced the beginning of the German-Polish war.
The extraordinary IV session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the Law on General Military Duty.
The territory of the MPR is completely cleared of Japanese troops.
Counselor of the German Embassy in the USSR G. Hilge conveyed the request of the OKW leadership to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov. The point was that the radio station in Minsk, in its free time from broadcasting, would transmit conventional call signs “for urgent aeronautical experiments”, and during the broadcast would repeat the word “Minsk” as often as possible.
The third stage of mobilization began in Belgium.
Italy declared its neutrality in the “German-Polish War” and proposed negotiations between the interested parties.
Representatives of the British and French governments discussed the possibility of convening a conference to revise the Treaty of Versailles.
General mobilization was announced in France.
The Swiss government declared neutrality in the outbreak of war.
The Swedish government declared neutrality in the outbreak of war.
2 September - The Army Service Act for men aged 18 to 41 came into force in the UK.
In France, the police destroyed all Russian emigrant organizations, their leaders were arrested.
The French government approached Germany with a proposal to convene a conference on the Polish issue, and before that conclude a truce.
W. Churchill was appointed Minister of the Navy.
In the Bydgoszcz area, 300 ethnic Germans died in clashes with Polish troops.
In Great Britain, the evacuation of women and children from large cities began in the face of expected German air raids.
The Viceroy declared India a belligerent. The prerogatives of provincial governors were restored in full and supplemented by the right to dissolve governments. The Indian Defense Act gave law enforcement forces additional powers to crack down on anti-government forces. Congressist governments in the provinces resigned in protest against these decisions. Muslim League governments were appointed in Assam, North West Frontier Province and Sindh. The Viceroy stated that the “Federal Scheme” of 1935, which had caused so much criticism, was completely abolished, and after the war, a new constitution would be developed at a conference of representatives of parties, communities and principalities, but nothing was said about the nature of this constitution.
The German Air Force received orders to attack naval forces Great Britain and France, but refrain from bombing their territory.
Siam declared neutrality in the outbreak of war.
September 4 - Japan issued a statement that it does not intend to intervene in the conflict in Europe in any form.
During an unsuccessful raid by British aviation against naval facilities in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel, 7 aircraft were lost.
The governments of France and Poland entered into an agreement on a military-political alliance.
The Iranian government declared its neutrality in the outbreak of war and its desire to defend it by force of arms.
The South African parliament rejected a proposal for neutrality in the European war. The government of Prime Minister Herzog, a representative of the Nationalist Party, resigned.
The British government discussed the issue of Norwegian neutrality in the outbreak of war. War Minister W. Churchill demanded that Narvik be blocked and minefields placed in Norwegian territorial waters.
English police arrest about 400 Abwehr agents, most of who were British subjects. Among those arrested was the super-agent of the 1st World War, Franz von Rintelen.
The Abwehr intensified its anti-British activities, focusing on the supply of explosives to Irish and Welsh separatists for sabotage in the British defense industry and on ships of the Royal Navy and merchant fleet in neutral ports.
The Argentine government declared neutrality in the outbreak of war.
September 5 - The American administration announced US neutrality in the German-Polish conflict and the extension of the Neutrality Law of 1937, which prohibited the supply of military equipment to warring countries, to the German-Polish conflict. At his first press conference, Roosevelt was asked what the boundaries of US territorial waters were. He answered evasively: “To the extent that US interests require.” The reporter insisted: “Do they reach the Rhine?” The President laughed: “I was only talking about salt water.”
The Ministry of Information was created in Great Britain.
The Polish government moved from Warsaw to Lublin.
In South Africa, United Party representative Smuts forms a coalition government.
September 6 - The 1st convoy left the USA - 36 ships in 9 parallel columns of 4 each, surrounded by escort ships.
The Union of South Africa declared war on Germany.
Hitler gave an incendiary speech in the Reichstag in which he called on the Volksdeutsche of Eastern Europe to move to Germany.
September 7 - partial mobilization began in 7 military districts of the USSR. A total of 2,610,136 people were drafted.
Assessing the outbreak of war in Europe, Stalin, in a conversation with the leadership of the Comintern, stated that “the war is going on between two groups of capitalist countries (poor and rich in terms of colonies, raw materials, etc.) for the redivision of the world, for domination over the world! We are not averse to ", so that they have a good fight and weaken each other. It would not be bad if the position of the richest capitalist countries (especially England) is undermined by the hands of Germany. Hitler, without understanding this and not wanting to, upsets and undermines the capitalist system... We can maneuver, push "one side against the other, so that they can be better torn apart. The non-aggression pact helps Germany to some extent. The next point is to push the other side."
At a meeting with Hitler, the option of starting negotiations with Poland was considered, subject to its break with England and France. At the same time, it was supposed to preserve the independence of the central and eastern parts of Poland and achieve the independence of Western Ukraine.
In the UK, a law has been issued on state control over the employment of citizens.
September 8 - US President Roosevelt announced the state of limited state of emergency and ordered measures to strengthen national defense.
Conclusion of an electoral truce by the British parliamentary parties for the duration of the war.
The British government has stated that it considers Slovakia to be territory occupied by Germany.
September 9 – in the ECCI Directive addressed to everyone communist parties, it was proposed “to launch a decisive offensive everywhere against the treacherous policy of Social Democracy.”
German troops executed 1,500 Poles in Bydgoszcz.
The command of the Polish army issued an order for a general retreat.
Production of B-25 Mitchell aircraft began in the USA.
Iraq torn diplomatic relations with Germany.
September 13 - The high command of the German armed forces, through the headquarters of the operational leadership, ordered the return of qualified workers from the armed forces to the military industry.
The beginning of the general offensive of Japanese troops in China.
September 14 - Pravda wrote: “... some ten days have passed and it can already be said that Poland suffered a military defeat, which led to the loss of almost all of its political and economic centers. The Polish state turned out to be so weak and incapable that at the very first military failures it began to crumble.”
Japanese troops launched an offensive in a southerly direction, moving towards Changsha, but were met with resistance and retreated.
The Working Committee of the Indian National Congress confirmed the party's position: the Congress sympathizes with the victims of aggression, but maintains a free hand; the British government must immediately announce that India will gain independence after the war; to enable Indians to take an active part in the war effort, a national government under the Viceroy.
September 15 - an agreement was signed between the USSR, Mongolia and Japan to cease hostilities. The USSR and Japan entered into an agreement on mutual recognition of the borders of Mongolia.
German troops took Brest and Lublin.
Dressed in Polish military uniform Abwehr special forces saboteurs under the command of Lieutenant Langer seize the bridge over the Vistula and hold it until the main group of troops arrives.
September 16 - The British Admiralty announced the beginning of the use of the convoy system in merchant shipping. The first convoy left Halifax for England.
The Polish government left Warsaw.
A German submarine sank a British aircraft carrier off the Hebrides.
Start liberation campaign Soviet troops to Poland.
German troops in Poland were ordered to stop on the line Skole - Lviv - Vladimir-Volynsky - Brest - Bialystok.
The Polish government moved to Romania.
September 18 - Lord W. Joyce (“Lord How-How”) began pro-fascist propaganda, broadcasting to Great Britain from Germany.
Soviet troops met with German troops in Brest.
Soviet troops entered Vilnius.
September 19 - an Anglo-French note was received in Moscow, which demanded to stop the advance of Soviet troops and withdraw them from Poland. This note was ignored by the Soviet government.
British planes scatter leaflets over German territory.
Pravda wrote: Berlin. (TASS). The German population unanimously welcomes the decision of the Soviet government to take under protection its related to the Soviet people Belarusian and Ukrainian population of Poland. On the street, near shop windows and special boards where maps of Poland are posted, people crowd all day. The movement of Red Army units is indicated on the map by red Soviet flags.
Polish President Ignacy Moszycki and the Polish government fled to Romania and were interned by the Romanian authorities.
A. Hitler, speaking in Danzig, said that the Poles are not capable of governing themselves.
September 21 - Armand Calinescu, Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated by members of the fascist Iron Guard. A representative of the monarchical National Renaissance Front, G. Agresanu, was appointed as the new prime minister.
A. Bochum was elected Prime Minister of Lebanon.
The creation of a ghetto for local Jews in Poland begins.
September 21-22 - establishment of a demarcation line between Soviet and German troops in Poland.
Joint parade of Soviet and German troops in Brest.
Soviet troops entered Bialystok and Lvov.
In Poland, the former commander-in-chief of the German army, Baron Werner von Fritsch, was killed by an unknown person.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 177 of September 23, those drafted into the Red Army in September were declared mobilized “until further notice.”
September 23 - October 3 - Consultative meeting of the foreign ministers of the American states in Panama, which adopted the “General Declaration of Neutrality” and a joint declaration of the United States and Latin American countries on the creation of a “security zone” in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean; the boundaries of the zone should be 300 miles from the coast. At a meeting of foreign ministers, all American states, with the exception of Canada, declared neutrality in the Second World War.
September 24 – at a meeting in the German General Staff according to the results Polish campaign von Bock said: “We don’t even have approximately the infantry that we had in 1914. The soldiers lack offensive impulse and lack initiative. Everything is based on the command staff, and hence the loss of officers. The machine guns at the front line are silent, because the machine gunners are afraid of being discovered.”
Visit of the Turkish Foreign Ministry S. Salakoglu to the USSR.
The first attack by German aircraft on British ships.
September 27 - on behalf of the OKW, a regulation was issued on the exemption of workers from conscription German army if they are indispensable in production.
In Germany, the Main Directorate of Reich Security (RSHA) was created, headed by R. Heydrich.
According to the British Air Ministry, 18 million anti-fascist leaflets have been dropped on Germany since the beginning of the war. The headlines of one of the leaflets: “Wanted! For murder, kidnapping, theft and arson. Adolf Hitler, aka Adolf Schicklgruber."
Prohibition of the Communist Party of Syria and Lebanon.
The US Congress passed the Neutrality Act.
September 28 - Molotov and Ribbentrop signed the Soviet-German Treaty of Friendship and Borders. The Soviet and German governments also issued a joint statement calling on Great Britain and France to cease hostilities.
A Soviet-Estonian mutual assistance agreement was signed in Moscow, which provided the USSR with bases for aviation and artillery for 25 thousand military personnel.
German troops occupied Warsaw. The bombing killed 10 thousand city residents.
In occupied Warsaw, Hauptmann Bulanga's unit (Abwehr) discovers 6 trucks with a file cabinet and an archive of Polish counterintelligence in the ruins of the fortifications of the Legion Fort. As a result of operational search activities, the Gestapo arrests several hundred secret Polish employees and re-recruits a certain part of the agents.
A representative of the monarchical National Renaissance Front, C. Argetoanu, was appointed Prime Minister of Romania.
September 30 – in Romania, Polish President Ignacy Moszycki resigns from his post in favor of Senate Speaker Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, who is in France.
V. Sikorski created the Polish government in exile in London.
By September 1939, 292 Soviet strategic bombers arrived in China.
September - the Turkish government proposed to the USSR a plan for limited military-political cooperation in the Balkans and Black Sea. The draft Mutual Assistance Pact proposed by Ankara provided for the parties to provide mutual support in the event of a violation of peace in the region in all cases, except those where this would involve Turkish actions directed directly against Great Britain and France. The signing of the agreement did not take place.
In India, the Muslim League said it would reject any draft constitution that would create a "single all-India federation."
84.6 thousand Polish soldiers and officers crossed the Polish-Romanian border, who then formed the cadres of Polish military units in the French and British armies.
All German nationals were interned in France, incl. political emigrants from Germany.
2 thousand German nationals were interned in Great Britain.
The separatist movement intensified in Brittany. The French court sentenced its leaders F. Labovet and O. Mordel to death penalty, but they managed to escape to Germany.
Argentina declared its neutrality in the outbreak of war.
Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.
New Zealand authorities interned the German population of Western Samoa.
The French colonial authorities of Algeria banned the activities of the Algerian Communist Party and the Party of the Algerian People.
Start of research in Germany within the framework of the “Uranium Project”.
The size of the Bulgarian army is 78 thousand people.
Most of the Japanese prisoners of war who returned from Soviet captivity after the end of the fighting at Khalkhin Gol were subject to prosecution.
Autumn - During a trip to Washington in 1939, US Ambassador to Japan Grew met twice with President Roosevelt. Grew wrote in his diary: “I have clearly stated my opinion, which is that if we once impose sanctions on Japan, we will have to carry them through to the end, and that end could conceivably be war. I also stated that if we stop supply of oil to Japan, and if Japan comes to the conclusion that it is unable to obtain sufficient oil for its national security from other commercial sources, then it will in all likelihood send a fleet to seize the Netherlands East Indies." “In that case, we can easily block the path of her fleet,” the president replied.
October 1 – British Minister of War W. Churchill, speaking on the radio, approved the occupation by Soviet troops Western Belarus and Western Ukraine.
Communist deputies of the French parliament called on the government to begin peace talks with Germany.
Senator Pitman has put forward legislation to circumvent the 1937 embargo act. The motivation for this “act of assistance to democracies” read: “The conditions in which industry and the working masses find themselves in the country are now so difficult that further restrictions on our exports will lead to bankruptcy of a significant part of our country.”
October 3 - Kulishenko's group on 9 DB-3s delivered to China carried out a raid on the airfield naval aviation(“Base W”) in Hankou (raid range 1500 km), also used by army aviation pilots. On that day, a ceremonial meeting of new aircraft transported from Japan was being prepared at the air base; representatives of the fleet command and city authorities gathered. The exact location of objects at the enemy airfield was unknown, as was the air defense system. It was decided to take off during the day with additional reconnaissance on site, counting on surprise and high altitude. DB-Z appeared over Hankou at an altitude of 8700 m. There was no camouflage at the airfield; the planes stood in four rows, wing to wing. Having bombed with "hundreds", Kulishenko's pilots destroyed, according to Japanese data, 50 aircraft and 130 people personnel. Another 300 were wounded. The fire at the gas storage facility lasted for more than three hours. The anti-aircraft guns did not reach the DB-Z, and the only fighter that took off (Saburo Sakai) was unable to catch up with them. Seven senior officers from captain 1st rank and above were killed, 12 were wounded. Among the latter was Rear Admiral Tsukahara, commander of the Japanese air fleet. Mourning was declared and the airfield commandant was shot. In the second raid on Hankow (October 14), a strike group of 12 DB-3s was attacked high altitude, barely having time to get bombed. Perhaps the Soviet bombers were attacked by A8V-1 fighters, or, as our pilots called them, I-98 - 2RA-VZ, sold to the Japanese by the American company Seversky. In the raids on Hankow, according to the enemy, at least 140 aircraft were burned, our losses amounted to 3 aircraft.
October 6 - Hitler, during a speech in the Reichstag, proposed a plan for a peace settlement. October 7 - G. Himmler is appointed Imperial Commissioner for the Settlement of the German Race.
French Prime Minister Daladier rejected the German peace offer.
October 8 – by decree of the Reich Chancellor of the German Empire, the Poznań, Pomeranian, Silesian, Lodz voivodeships of Poland, as well as part of the Kieleck and Warsaw voivodeships, were included in Germany, and the General Government of occupied Polish lands was created in the remaining territory captured by the German army.
October 10 - French Finance Minister P. Reynaud confronted the liaison officer between the General Staff and the French Foreign Ministry, Lieutenant Colonel Paul de Villelum specific question: Is the French Air Force “able to bomb oil fields and refineries in the Caucasus from Syria?” In Paris it was understood that these plans should be carried out in close cooperation with the British.
Signing an agreement on mutual assistance between the USSR and Lithuania. The USSR transfers Vilno to Lithuania, which until that moment was part of Poland.
October 11 - the beginning of Soviet-Finnish negotiations on the creation of Soviet military bases in Finland, the mobilization of reservists in Finland.
An order of the NKVD of the USSR approved the “Instructions on the establishment of operational registration of anti-Soviet elements identified by intelligence agents.”
October 12 - the creation of the Central Bureau of Immigration in Germany, whose competence included issues of immigration and naturalization of the Volksdeutsche.
British Prime Minister Chamberlain rejected the German peace offer.
Proposal of the Soviet government to the Finnish government to conclude a mutual assistance agreement.
October 16 – establishment by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the medal “ Golden Star" - insignia of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
October 18 - Roosevelt banned the use of US ports to fight German submarines.
OKW directive ordering German troops on the Western Front to refrain from active hostilities.
Creation of a Jewish ghetto in Lublin.
October 19 - the signing of a mutual assistance agreement between England, France and Turkey, which became the basis for the development at the level of experts of the three countries of plans for striking the USSR from Turkish territory during the Soviet-Finnish War. The US Ambassador in Paris, W. Bullitt, was informed of plans to strike Baku by the head of the French government, E. Daladier, and other French politicians. He telegraphed to Washington about the possibility of "bombing and destroying Baku" being discussed in Paris.
An OKW directive was issued on the strategic deployment of forces for operations in the West.
A request was sent from the Minister of National Defense and Armed Forces of France and the 2nd Department of the General Staff to the French military attaché in the USSR Antoine about the theater of military operations in the South Caucasus.
October 21 - German-Italian agreement on the resettlement of persons recognizing themselves as Germans from South Tyrol to Germany (in total, 74 thousand Germans were resettled).
October 24 – Speaking in Danzig, German Reich Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop said: “The process of consolidation German people completed in Europe. The injustice of Versailles has been eliminated." Gauleiter Danzig Forster, who spoke after him, declared the Kashubians (a Northern Polish ethnic group numbering 188 thousand people) a people of German origin.
October 25 - in response to the demand of the British government to observe the naval blockade of Germany, the NKID of the USSR stated: “The Soviet government considers it unacceptable to deprive the civilian population of food, fuel and clothing and thereby subject children, women, the elderly and the sick to all kinds of deprivation and starvation by declaring war indemnity for consumer goods."
In the Polish General Government, German law was introduced while maintaining Polish law.
October 27 - by resolution of the USSR Defense Committee, a project was approved, according to which the construction of a large series of destroyers began in 1939. The lead ship was laid down at plant 200 in Nikolaev on November 20, 1939. In 1940, at plant 402 in Molotovsk the "Osmotelny" and "Okhotnik" were laid down, and at plant 199 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur - "Impressive" and "Hardy" " and "Bossy."
Deputies of the People's Assembly of Western Ukraine adopted the Declaration on the inclusion of Western Ukraine into the USSR.
October 28 - anti-German demonstrations in Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Kladno and other cities of Bohemia and Moravia under the slogans: “We want freedom!”, “German police are German pigs!” 700 people were arrested.
October 31 - letter from the British Minister of Supply to the Foreign Secretary. The letter pointed out the vulnerability of Soviet oil sources, the largest of which was Baku, followed by Grozny and Maykop.
October - The Dobama Asiayon Party and the Sinyeta (Poor People) party led by Ba Mo, together with several other organizations, formed the Burma Freedom Bloc.
The Libyan emigration in Egypt began to focus on Great Britain in its struggle against the Italian colonialists.
Elections to the People's Assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, which proclaimed Soviet Power and appealed to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a request to accept them into the Soviet Union.
There are 125.4 thousand Polish prisoners of war in the NKVD camps.
Late October - the British Chiefs of Staff Committee considered the issue of “the positive and negative aspects of England’s declaration of war on Russia.”
At the V session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were accepted into the USSR and reunited with the Ukrainian and Belarusian SSRs.
Danzig annexed to the German Empire.
November 4 - Roosevelt signed the Pitman Bill, allowing Great Britain and France to purchase weapons under the "pay and carry" scheme.
November 5 - Brauchitsch attempted to persuade Hitler to postpone the invasion of France, but his arguments were not accepted.
November 6 - British Foreign Secretary G. L. Ismay sent a copy of the letter from the Minister of Supply to the Military Chiefs of Staff, the Intelligence Subcommittee to verify the facts stated, and the Joint Planning Subcommittee to study the strategic side of the problem and prepare a draft report.
November 7 - The tentative date for the invasion of France - November 12 - was postponed to November 15 due to bad weather. The delays continued for the next 2 months.
King Leopold of Belgium and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands approached King George of Great Britain with a proposal to immediately make peace with Germany.
November 8 - unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler. A few minutes after the Fuhrer’s speech in the “historic” basement of a Munich beer hall, powerful explosion, which killed several old NSDAP members and seriously damaged the building.
The UK government told the government Republic of Lithuania that it will continue to consider the Vilna region part of the territory of Poland.
November 10 - Head of the Political Department of the Red Army, Army Commissar 1st Rank L.Z. Mehlis, at a meeting with Soviet writers, stated that “Germany is doing a generally useful thing, shaking the British Empire. Its destruction will lead to the general collapse of capitalism - that’s clear.”
In France, a government decree was adopted on the mandatory approval by the Ministry of Labor of the governing bodies of trade unions.
November 11 – Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain addressed women British Empire with a call to take part in the war as much as possible.
November 15 - Japanese troops during the offensive in South China captured Nanjing and cut the railway between Hanoi and Changsha.
Anti-German demonstrations in Prague.
The Soviet government announced diplomatic recognition of Slovakia.
The light cruiser Tenryu moved to Maizuru to be converted into an air defense cruiser. At the same time, the light cruiser Tatsuta arrived in Yokosuka for the same purposes. The Japanese military command considered their main enemy to be long-range Soviet TB-3 bombers.
November 16 – a Soviet-German agreement “On the evacuation of the Ukrainian and Belarusian population from the territories of the former Poland that were transferred to the zone” was concluded in Moscow state interests Germany, and the German population from the territories of the former Poland, which were transferred to the zone of state interests of the USSR.”
November 17 – after the death of Ecuadorian President A. Mosquera Narvaez, the representative of the Liberal Party, C. A. Arroyo del Rio, became the interim head of government.
The French government officially recognized the Czechoslovak National Committee, led by E. Benes, as the legitimate government of Czechoslovakia in exile.
Great Britain and France created the Economic Coordination Committee to ensure the rational use of resources for the military needs of both countries.
November 18 - The French government decided to create concentration camps for political prisoners and interned foreigners.
November 21 - according to the German-Slovak agreement, the Cieszyn district, previously seized by Poland, was returned to Slovakia.
November 24 - G. Tatarescu, a representative of the monarchical National Renaissance Front, was appointed Prime Minister of Romania.
Incident on the Soviet-Finnish border near the village of Mainile.
November 27 - The operational department of the General Staff of the Finnish Army in a note “Defensive Capabilities of Finland” stated that “the capture of Finland will be an extremely difficult task even for a power like the USSR, and with the help of vigorous work to strengthen the defense, the solution to this problem can be made impossible.”
November 28 – The USSR denounced the non-aggression pact with Finland and recalled its ambassador from Helsinki.
Together with the Kriegsmarine High Command, the Abwehr is exploring the possibility of secretly transporting saboteurs to Ireland by submarine.
November 29 - Spain and Germany entered into a secret agreement to provide Spanish ports for German warships to enter.
Certification of the population of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus and their acquisition of Soviet citizenship. Soviet citizenship was also offered to 300 thousand Jewish refugees from the German occupation zone of Poland. 25 thousand Jewish refugees refused.
November – mass anti-colonial demonstrations in the capital of Bahrain, Manama, demanding the introduction of a constitution.
The leaders of the Muslim movement in Bosnia demanded that the Yugoslav government create autonomy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
NKVD employee P. Sudoplatov sent a memo to Beria and Molotov on the need for a special status for Galicia within the Ukrainian SSR. Molotov agreed with Sudoplatov’s arguments.
December 1 - Pravda reported that on this day in Terijoki, by agreement of representatives of left-wing parties and rebel Finnish soldiers, a new government of Finland was formed - People's Government The Finnish Democratic Republic led by O. Kuusinen. The USSR immediately recognized the new government.
Representative of the National Progressive Party R. Ryti was elected Prime Minister of Finland.
Conclusion of the German-Slovak dispatch agreement work force from Slovakia to Germany.
December 2 - White House press release on Finnish war issues: "The American government and the American people have for some time condemned the policy of bombing and machine gun fire civilian population from the air. The Government believes that no material assistance should be provided until the end of unprovoked bombings and that the US aircraft industry and exporters of aircraft, aircraft equipment and materials should bear this fact in mind before negotiating contracts for the export of such items to the countries responsible for the bombing. these unprovoked bombings" - a "moral embargo" was declared on supplies to the USSR.
December 5 - US President F. D. Roosevelt demanded that Congress increase military spending to $1.3 billion.
The British War Cabinet prepared documents on the creation of a “system against the USSR” in the Near and Middle East.
December 8 – the pro-American Manuel Prado, a representative of the Conservative Coalition, became the President of Peru.
The Soviet government declared “the coast of Finland and the adjacent waters from the mouth of the Tornionioki River, in the north of the Gulf of Bothnia, to the meridian 23°5 G east longitude in the Gulf of Finland” to be blocked. 11 Soviet submarines entered the position. But the submariners were unable to achieve any significant success.
The US government opposed British attempts to impose a naval blockade on Germany because these measures violated free trade.
December 11 – Representative of the Liberal Party A.F. de Cordova Neto became President of Ecuador.
The League of Nations made a proposal to the USSR to begin negotiations on the settlement of relations with Finland. The Soviet government rejected this proposal.
December 13 – a naval battle between the German battleship Admiral Graf Spree and the English squadron began near La Plata Bay.
The League of Nations declared the USSR an aggressor country.
December 14 - The League of Nations expelled the USSR and called on member states of this organization to provide all possible assistance to Finland. The composition of the Council of the League of Nations was also updated: in addition to the permanent members - Great Britain and France - Belgium, Bolivia, Greece, Domingo, Egypt, Iran, China, Peru, Finland, South Africa and Yugoslavia were elected as non-permanent members.
Hitler ordered plans to begin the invasion of Norway.
December 16 – a military coup took place in Panama. The pro-American President J. D. Arosemena was overthrown. Power passed to the representative of the anti-American National Revolutionary Party, E. Fernandez.
A television program dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the first television program was broadcast from Moscow.
December 17 - in the neutral port of Montevideo, the team scuttled the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, blocked by the British. Captain Hans Langsdorff committed suicide.
December 18 – A.S. Boyd Briceño, a representative of the National Revolutionary Party, was appointed interim president of Panama. Panama announced the end of the US protectorate.
Hitler met in Berlin with the leader of the Norwegian National Socialists V. Quisling and promised him financial assistance, and in case coup d'etat in Norway - military assistance.
December 19 - The Supreme Allied Command, at the suggestion of the Chief of the British General Staff W. Ironside, considered the possibility of sending international forces to Finland.
The British Ambassador in Ankara H. Knatchbull-Hugessen reported on negotiations between English, French and Turkish representatives on strengthening Turkish troops at the Soviet borders at the expense of Anglo-French supplies and about secret Turkish measures to prepare an anti-Soviet uprising of the local population in the Soviet border areas.
Directive of the Governor General of Poland G. Frank on the organization of school affairs in the General Government. The network of German schools was expanded and private schools were banned.
December 20 - American airline Consolidated received an order for 200 Catalina aircraft - the largest single order for naval aircraft since the end of the First World War.
The British government officially recognized the Czechoslovak National Committee, led by E. Benes, as the legitimate government of Czechoslovakia in exile.
December 24 - French military attache to the USSR, General Pallas Auguste Antoine, in response to a request dated December 19 from the French Minister of National Defense and Armed Forces and the 2nd Department of the Bureau of the General Staff French army sent information to Paris about the theater of Soviet operations in the South Caucasus.
Pope Pius XII called on the warring countries of Europe to begin peace negotiations.
December 29 - A German agent - an IRA and Abwehr liaison officer - and the leader of the Irish separatists, James Byrne, were arrested in Ireland.
Soviet troops on the northern sector of the Finnish front near Suomussalmi are surrounded and defeated by Finnish troops.
December 31 - English General S. Butler arrived in Ankara to discuss the problems of Anglo-Turkish military cooperation, primarily against the USSR, in particular the issue of the British using airfields and ports in Eastern Turkey.
The number of Soviet armed forces was 3,568 thousand people.
December – The Emir of Kuwait promulgates a new constitution providing for the creation of a 20-member Legislative Council.
In 1939, American doctors discovered that blood plasma can serve as a replacement for blood during transfusions.
There are 19 thousand televisions in the UK, 20 thousand in the USA.
Of the 960 thousand Czechs living in the Sudetenland and other Czech territories annexed by Germany in 1938, 200 thousand people moved to the territory of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
Many European countries began broadcasting in foreign languages (including Vatican Radio).
November 30, 1939 Soviet Union started a war with Finland. Having started the war, the Soviet leadership counted on a quick victory and the creation of the so-called People's Republic of Finland. But these plans did not materialize.
The war was preceded by unsuccessful negotiations on territorial issue. The USSR, in exchange for part of the territory of Karelia, wanted to receive the Karelian Isthmus in order to move the border away from Leningrad (it was located 30 km from the city). The Finnish government did not agree.
The fighting lasted three and a half months. Suffering huge losses, the Red Army units managed to overcome the Finnish defensive fortifications - the Mannerheim Line. On March 12, 1940, a peace treaty was signed between Finland and the USSR. The Karelian Isthmus with the cities of Vyborg and Kexholm (Korela, Priozersk) passed to the USSR. A Soviet military base was located on the leased Hanko Peninsula. The sixteenth republic was formed in the Soviet Union - the Karelo-Finnish SSR, which existed until 1956. Finland defended its independence. In the fall of 1940, Hitler's troops were brought into its territory.
Losses of the parties
For mistakes political leadership The soldiers and commanders paid with their lives. Red Army losses in Soviet-Finnish war amounted to about 300 thousand people, including about 100 thousand dead. Finnish losses were an order of magnitude smaller, but in proportion to the population they were equal to the US losses in the war of 2.5 million soldiers.
While the important events of the Second World War were developing in the East of Europe, in the West "strange war", as one French journalist called it. The strange thing was that here, against 4.5 million French soldiers, there were 800 thousand German soldiers, and half of the latter were just beginning to concentrate. English French troops in fact, they did not take any decisive action. German military leadership realized all the risks that Hitler was taking, but he psychologically calculated everything accurately.
- April 1940 - capture of Denmark by German troops and occupation of Norway.
- May 10, 1940 - German troops attack France, the beginning of Hitler's Western campaign.
- May 14, 1940 - Dutch surrender.
- May 28, 1940 - surrender of Belgium, encirclement of Anglo-French troops in the area of the city of Dunkirk.
- June 22, 1940 - signing of the Franco-German truce in the Compiegne Forest. Occupation by Germany of two-thirds of the territory of France, including Paris, and the formation of the pro-fascist regime of General Petain on the remaining territory.
In conditions " strange war“For the Nazi government, the importance of Swedish ore, Romanian oil, Norwegian ports and unhindered access to them increased. The British, realizing this, are making an attempt to mine the approaches to the Norwegian port of Narvik. In reply April 9, 1940 German troops with sea and airborne landings occupy all the most important points in Denmark and Norway.
Norway finds itself under the control of the German occupation administration, Denmark becomes a German protectorate. After Denmark surrendered, British troops occupied its overseas territories (Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland) to prevent the Germans from getting there.
On May 10, under the impression of the failure of the British in Norway, the cabinet of N. Chamberlain was sent into retirement. It was replaced by a coalition government led by Winston Churchill.
In June 1940, pro-communist forces in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, relying on the support of Soviet troops, took power into their own hands. In August 1940, these countries became part of the USSR. A significant part of the population initially reacted positively to what was happening. They were primarily confused by the growing aggressiveness of Nazi Germany. But soon thousands of citizens of the Baltic republics were repressed, a significant part were exiled. All this gave rise to deep dissatisfaction with the Soviet order.
In June 1940, the USSR presented Romania with a demand to transfer to it the former province of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia, captured by Romania in 1918, and Northern Bukovina, which was part of Austria-Hungary. Two months later, the Moldavian SSR was formed, and Northern Bukovina became part of Ukraine.
On June 10, 1940, Mussolini, contrary to the opinion of the military, entered the war against France and Great Britain. It seemed to the Italian dictator that his dream of a “Roman Mediterranean Empire” was about to become a reality. Italy's territorial claims were large: Nice, Corsica, Tunisia, French Somalia, Algeria, Morocco. Mussolini believed that Italy's leading role in the Mediterranean would be emphasized by the annexation of part of the Yugoslav lands.
As a result, in 1941, Rommel achieved, although resounding, partial success. Germany was involved in another "outsider" (given Hitler's main goal) campaign.
Capture of Romania
The plan for the Italian “parallel war” included striking Greece and Yugoslavia, but in August 1940 Hitler informed Mussolini that an invasion of the Balkans was not advisable at the moment because Great Britain had to be defeated first.
In world history, it is generally accepted that the date of the start of World War II is September 1, 1939, when the German military struck Poland. The consequence of this was its complete occupation and annexation of part of the territory by other states. As a result, Great Britain and France announced their entry into the war with the Germans, which marked the beginning of the creation. From these days, the European fire flared up with uncontrollable force.
Thirst for military revenge
The driving force behind Germany's aggressive policy in the thirties was the desire to revise the European borders established in accordance with 1919, which legally consolidated the results of the war that ended shortly before. As you know, Germany, during an unsuccessful military campaign, lost a number of lands that previously belonged to it. Hitler's victory in the 1933 elections is largely due to his calls for military revenge and the annexation of all territories inhabited by ethnic Germans into Germany. Such rhetoric found a deep response in the hearts of voters, and they gave him their votes.
Before the attack on Poland (September 1, 1939), or rather a year before that, Germany carried out the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria and the annexation of Czechoslovakia. To implement these plans and protect himself from possible opposition from Poland, Hitler concluded a peace treaty with them in 1934 and over the next four years actively created the appearance of friendly relations. The picture changed dramatically after the Sudetenland and large parts of Czechoslovakia were forcibly annexed to the Reich. The voices of German diplomats accredited in the Polish capital also began to sound in a new way.
Germany's claims and attempts to counter it
Before September 1, 1939, the main territorial claims Germany to Poland were, firstly, its lands adjacent to Baltic Sea and separating Germany from East Prussia, and secondly, Danzig (Gdansk), which at that time had the status of a free city. In both cases, the Reich pursued not only political interests, but also purely economic ones. In this regard, the Polish government was under active pressure from German diplomats.
In the spring, the Wehrmacht captured that part of Czechoslovakia that still retained its independence, after which it became obvious that Poland would be next in line. In the summer, negotiations between diplomats from a number of countries took place in Moscow. Their task was to develop measures to ensure European security and create an alliance directed against German aggression. But it was not formed due to the position of Poland itself. In addition, good intentions were not destined to come true due to the fault of the other participants, each of whom had their own plans.
The consequence of this was the now infamous treaty signed by Molotov and Ribbentrop. This document guaranteed Hitler non-interference from the Soviet side in the event of his aggression, and the Fuhrer gave the command to begin hostilities.
The state of the troops at the beginning of the war and provocations on the border
Invading Poland, Germany had a significant advantage both in the number of personnel of its troops and in their technical equipment. It is known that by this moment they Armed forces numbered ninety-eight divisions, while Poland had only thirty-nine on September 1, 1939. The plan to seize Polish territory was codenamed "Weiss".
To implement it to the German command a reason was needed, and in connection with this, the intelligence and counterintelligence service carried out a series of provocations, the purpose of which was to blame the outbreak of the war on the inhabitants of Poland. Employees special department The SS, as well as criminals recruited from various German prisons, dressed in civilian clothes and armed with Polish weapons, carried out a series of attacks on German targets located along the entire border.
Start of war: September 1, 1939
The reason created in this way was quite convincing: protecting one’s own national interests from outside encroachment. Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, and soon Britain and France became involved. The land front line stretched for one thousand six hundred kilometers, but, in addition, the Germans used their navy.
From the first day of the offensive, the German battleship began shelling Danzig, where a significant amount of food supplies was concentrated. This city became the first conquest that the Second World War brought to the Germans. World War. On September 1, 1939, his ground assault began. By the end of the first day, the annexation of Danzig to the Reich was announced.
The attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 was carried out by all the forces at the disposal of the Reich. It is known that cities such as Wieluń, Chojnitz, Starogard and Bydgosz were subjected to massive bombardment almost simultaneously. Vilyun suffered the heaviest blow, where one thousand two hundred inhabitants died that day and seventy-five percent of the buildings were destroyed. Many other cities were also seriously damaged by fascist bombs.
Results of the outbreak of hostilities in Germany
In accordance with the previously developed strategic plan, on September 1, 1939, an operation began to eliminate Polish aviation from the air, based at military airfields in different parts countries. By this, the Germans contributed to the rapid advance of their ground forces and deprived the Poles of the opportunity to redeploy combat units by rail, as well as complete the mobilization that had begun shortly before. It is believed that on the third day of the war, Polish aviation was completely destroyed.
German troops developed their offensive in accordance with the “Blitz Krieg” plan - lightning war. On September 1, 1939, having carried out their treacherous invasion, the Nazis advanced deep into the country, but in many directions they met desperate resistance from inferior Polish units. But the interaction of motorized and armored units allowed them to deal a crushing blow to the enemy. Their corps moved forward, overcoming the resistance of the Polish units, disunited and deprived of the opportunity to contact the General Headquarters.
Allied Betrayal
In accordance with the agreement concluded in May 1939, the Allied forces were obliged from the first days of German aggression to provide assistance to the Poles by all means available to them. But in reality it turned out completely different. The actions of these two armies were later called the “strange war.” The fact is that on the day when the attack on Poland occurred (September 1, 1939), the heads of both countries sent an ultimatum to the German authorities demanding an end to hostilities. Having not received a positive response, French troops crossed the German border in the Saare area on September 7.
Having not encountered any resistance, they, however, instead of developing a further offensive, considered it best for themselves not to continue the hostilities that had begun and return to starting positions. The British generally limited themselves to only drawing up an ultimatum. Thus, the Allies treacherously betrayed Poland, leaving it to the mercy of fate.
Meanwhile, modern researchers are of the opinion that in this way they missed a unique chance to stop fascist aggression and save humanity from a large-scale, multi-year war. With all my military power Germany at that moment did not have sufficient forces to fight a war on three fronts. France will pay dearly for this betrayal next year, when fascist units will march through the streets of its capital.
First major battles
Within a week, Warsaw was subjected to a fierce enemy attack and found itself, in fact, cut off from the main army units. She was attacked by the sixteenth tank corps Wehrmacht. With great difficulty, the city's defenders managed to stop the enemy. The defense of the capital began, lasting until September 27. The subsequent capitulation saved it from complete and inevitable destruction. Over the entire previous period, the Germans took the most decisive measures to capture Warsaw: in just one day, September 19, 5,818 aerial bombs were dropped on it, which caused colossal damage to unique architectural monuments, not to mention people.
A major battle in those days took place on the Bzura River, one of the tributaries of the Vistula. Two Polish armies dealt a crushing blow to units of the 8th Wehrmacht division advancing on Warsaw. As a result of this, the Nazis were forced to go on the defensive, and only reinforcements that arrived in time to them, providing a significant numerical superiority, changed the course of the battle. could not resist the forces superior to them. About one hundred and thirty thousand people were captured, and only a few managed to escape from the “cauldron” and break through to the capital.
Unexpected turn of events
The defense plan was based on the confidence that Great Britain and France, fulfilling their allied obligations, would take part in hostilities. It was assumed that Polish troops, having retreated to the southwest of the country, they will form a powerful defensive bridgehead, while the Wehrmacht will be forced to move some troops to new frontiers - for a war on two fronts. But life made its own adjustments.
A few days later, the forces of the Red Army, in accordance with the additional secret protocol of the Soviet-German non-aggression agreement, entered Poland. The official motive for this action was to ensure the safety of Belarusians, Ukrainians and Jews living in eastern regions countries. However actual result The introduction of troops was the annexation of a number of Polish territories to the Soviet Union.
Realizing that the war was lost, the Polish high command left the country and carried out further coordination of actions from Romania, where they immigrated by crossing the border illegally. In view of the inevitability of the occupation of the country, Polish leaders, giving preference to Soviet troops, ordered their fellow citizens not to resist them. This was their mistake, committed due to ignorance of the fact that the actions of both their opponents were carried out according to a pre-coordinated plan.
The last major battles of the Poles
Soviet troops worsened the already critical situation of the Poles. In that difficult period Their soldiers suffered two of the most difficult battles that have occurred in the entire time that has passed since Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939. Only the fighting on the Bzura River can be put on a par with them. Both of them, with an interval of several days, took place in the area of the city of Tomaszow Lubelski, now part of the Lublin Voivodeship.
The Poles' combat mission was to break through the German barrier blocking the path to Lvov with the forces of two armies. As a result of long and bloody battles, the Polish side suffered heavy losses, and more than twenty thousand Polish troops were captured by the Germans. As a result of this, Tadeusz Piskora was forced to announce the surrender of the central front he led.
The battle of Tamaszow Lubelski, which began on September 17, soon resumed with new strength. Polish troops took part in it Northern Front, pressed from the west by the Seventh Army Corps of the German General Leonard Wecker, and from the east by units of the Red Army, operating with the Germans according to a single plan. It is quite clear that, weakened by previous losses and deprived of communication with the combined arms leadership, the Poles could not resist the forces of the allies attacking them.
The beginning of guerrilla warfare and the creation of underground groups
By September 27, Warsaw was completely in the hands of the Germans, who managed to completely suppress the resistance of army units in most of the territory. However, even when the entire country was occupied, the Polish command did not sign the act of surrender. A widespread operation was launched in the country, led by career army officers who had the necessary knowledge and combat experience. Moreover, even during the period active resistance In response to the fascists, the Polish command began to create an extensive underground organization called “Service for the Victory of Poland.”
Results of the Polish Wehrmacht campaign
The attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 ended in its defeat and subsequent partition. Hitler planned to create a puppet state from it with territory within the borders of the Kingdom of Poland, which was part of Russia from 1815 to 1917. But Stalin opposed this plan, as he was an ardent opponent of any Polish state formation.
The German attack on Poland in 1939 and the subsequent complete defeat of the latter made it possible for the Soviet Union, which was an ally of Germany in those years, to annex territories with an area of 196,000 square meters to its borders. km and due to this increase the population by 13 million people. The new border separated areas densely populated by Ukrainians and Belarusians from areas historically inhabited by Germans.
Speaking about the German attack on Poland in September 1939, it should be noted that the aggressive German leadership generally managed to achieve its plans. As a result of military operations, the borders advanced all the way to Warsaw. By decree of 1939, a number of Polish voivodeships with a population of more than nine and a half million people became part of
Formally, only a small part of the former state remained, subordinate to Berlin. Krakow became its capital. During long period(September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) Poland had practically no opportunity to pursue any independent policy.
The first major defeat of the Wehrmacht was the defeat of the fascist German troops in the Battle of Moscow (1941-1942), during which the fascist “blitzkrieg” was finally thwarted and the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht was dispelled.
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a war against the United States with the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 8, the USA, Great Britain and a number of other countries declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The entry of the United States and Japan into the war affected the balance of forces and increased the scale of the armed struggle.
In North Africa in November 1941 and in January-June 1942, military operations were carried out with varying success, then until the autumn of 1942 there was a lull. In the Atlantic, Germanic submarines continued to cause great damage to the Allied fleets (by the fall of 1942, the tonnage of sunken ships, mainly in the Atlantic, amounted to over 14 million tons). On Pacific Ocean At the beginning of 1942, Japan occupied Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Burma and inflicted a major defeat to the English fleet in the Gulf of Thailand, the Anglo-American-Dutch fleet in the Javanese operation and established supremacy at sea. The American Navy and Air Force, significantly strengthened by the summer of 1942, in naval battles in the Coral Sea (May 7-8) and Midway Islands(June) defeated the Japanese fleet.
Third period of the war (November 19, 1942 - December 31, 1943) began with a counteroffensive of Soviet troops, which ended with the defeat of the 330,000-strong German group during the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943), which marked the beginning of a radical change in the Great Patriotic War and had a great influence on further move throughout the Second World War. The mass expulsion of the enemy from the territory of the USSR began. The Battle of Kursk (1943) and the advance to the Dnieper completed a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War. The Battle of the Dnieper (1943) upset the enemy’s plans for waging a protracted war.
At the end of October 1942, when the Wehrmacht was fighting fierce battles in Soviet-German front, Anglo-American troops intensified military operations in North Africa, conducting the El Alamein operation (1942) and the North African landing operation (1942). In the spring of 1943 they carried out the Tunisian operation. In July-August 1943, Anglo-American troops, taking advantage of the favorable situation (the main forces of the German troops took part in the Battle of Kursk), landed on the island of Sicily and took possession of it.
July 25, 1943 fascist regime In Italy collapsed, on September 3 she concluded a truce with the allies. Italy's withdrawal from the war marked the beginning of the collapse fascist bloc. On October 13, Italy declared war on Germany. Nazi troops occupied its territory. In September, the Allies landed in Italy, but were unable to break the defenses of the German troops and suspended active operations in December. In the Pacific and Asia, Japan sought to retain the territories captured in 1941-1942, without weakening the groups on the borders of the USSR. The Allies, having launched an offensive in the Pacific Ocean in the fall of 1942, captured the island of Guadalcanal (February 1943), landed on New Guinea, and liberated the Aleutian Islands.
Fourth period of the war (January 1, 1944 - May 9, 1945) began with a new offensive of the Red Army. As a result of crushing blows by Soviet troops Nazi invaders were expelled from the Soviet Union. During the subsequent offensive, the USSR Armed Forces carried out a liberation mission against European countries and played with the support of their peoples decisive role in the liberation of Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria and other states. Anglo-American troops landed on June 6, 1944 in Normandy, opening a second front, and began an offensive in Germany. In February, the Crimean (Yalta) Conference (1945) of the leaders of the USSR, USA, and Great Britain took place, which examined issues of the post-war world order and the participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.
In the winter of 1944-1945 Western Front Nazi troops defeated the Allied forces during the Ardennes Operation. To ease the position of the Allies in the Ardennes, at their request, the Red Army began its winter offensive ahead of schedule. Having restored the situation by the end of January, allied forces During the Meuse-Rhine operation (1945), they crossed the Rhine River, and in April they carried out the Ruhr operation (1945), which ended in the encirclement and capture of a large enemy group. During the Northern Italian Operation (1945), the Allied forces, slowly moving north, with the help of Italian partisans, completely captured Italy in early May 1945. In the Pacific theater of operations, the Allies carried out operations to defeat Japanese fleet, liberated a number of islands occupied by Japan, approached Japan directly and cut off its communications with the countries of Southeast Asia.
In April-May 1945, the Soviet Armed Forces defeated Berlin operation(1945) and the Prague operation (1945) the last groupings of Nazi troops met with the Allied forces. The war in Europe is over. On May 8, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered. May 9, 1945 became Victory Day over Nazi Germany.
At the Berlin (Potsdam) Conference (1945), the USSR confirmed its agreement to enter the war with Japan. For political purposes, the United States carried out atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan and began military operations on August 9. During the Soviet-Japanese War (1945) Soviet troops, having defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army, eliminated the center of aggression on Far East, liberated Northeast China, North Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, thereby accelerating the end of World War II. On September 2, Japan surrendered. The Second World War is over.
The Second World War was the largest military conflict in human history. It lasted 6 years, 110 million people were in the ranks of the Armed Forces. More than 55 million people died in World War II. Greatest casualties suffered by the Soviet Union, which lost 27 million people. Damage from direct destruction and destruction material assets on the territory of the USSR amounted to almost 41% of all countries participating in the war.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources