The German War machine takes on her first victim - the sovereign nation of Poland.
The Invasion of Poland effectively began the Second World War. German mechanized and airborne components poured over the border in well-coordinated fast-moving land offensives and accurate air attacks in what became known as the "Lightning War" or Blitzkrieg. The Poles put up a valiant defense of their country but they - and soon the whole of Europe - would prove no match for the might of the Nazi war machine. To add insult to injury, the Soviet Red Army assaulted the sovereign nation from the East.
Polish army forces were simply outmatched by the German Panzer units and, though finding some limited success in the air, the Polish Air Force became quickly outnumbered against the German Luftwaffe. In the end, Poland would be divided up in two halves by her conquerors.
Total Events: 17
1939 Thursday August 31st
Adolph Hitler provides the final orders for the invasion of Poland.
1939 Friday September 1st
German airborne elements begin bombardment of Polish defensive targets. At 6:00 AM, 50 German divisions making up Army Group North and Army Group South flood into Poland. Army Group South's mission is the capture of the Polish capital of Warsaw.
1939 Sunday September 3rd
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces that Britain is officially at war with Germany.
1939 Friday September 8th
German ground forces arrive at the outskirts of the Polish capital of Warsaw, covering an astounding 200 miles in a single week.
1939 Saturday September 9th
Polish Poznan army units launch a counter-offensive against the German army at Kutno on the Bzura.
1939 Sunday September 10th
Polish forces at the Modline fortress some 20 miles north of Warsaw fall under siege to the German Army.
1939 Sunday September 17th
Soviet army elements begin their invasion of Poland from the east. Attacks occur near Vilnius and Bialystok.
1939 Sunday September 17th
Polish resistance at the Bzura River north of Lodz finally surrender to the Germans. Some 170,000 Polish prisoners are taken captive.
1939 Monday September 18th
The Polish government flees into Romania.
1939 Monday September 18th
The Polish city of Vilnius falls to the Soviet army.
1939 Tuesday September 19th
German and Soviet army elements finally meet one another in Poland at Brest-Litovsk.
1939 Friday September 22nd
The Polish city of Bialystok falls to the Soviet Army.
1939 Friday September 22nd
The Polish City of Lwow falls to the Soviet Army.
1939 Wednesday September 27th
The Polish capital of Warsaw officially falls.
1939 Thursday September 28th
Polish forces fighting it out at the Modline fortress officially surrender.
1939 Friday September 29th
The German-Soviet Boundary Friendship Treay is signed between German representative von Ribbentrop and Soviet representative Molotov. Poland is divided into a western zone under German control and an eastern zone under Soviet control.
1939 Monday October 2nd
The last valiant gap of Polish resistance - numbering some 4,500 soldiers under the command of Admiral Unruh - north of Danzig on the Pubwysep Hela peninsula falls to the Germans.
