History of War – October 2019

At 8.00pm,on 31 August1939,SS

menundertheleadershipof MajorAlfred

Naujocks,attackeda radiostationin the

Germanbordertownof Gleiwitz,posingas

Polishirregulars.Afterlockingthestaffin

thebasement,theyattemptedto broadcast

anincendiarymessage,in Polish,overthe

airwavesto announcethatGermanyhadbeen

attackedbythePoles.Theclinchingdetailwas

thebloodiedcorpseof FranciszekHoniok,a

well-knownadvocateforthePolishcausein

UpperSilesia,whichwasleftat thesite.By

morning,ashisforcesrolledintoPoland,Hitler

wouldtelltheworldthatGermanywasthe

victimandwasnow“returningfire”.

Yetif Hitlerhadhopedthatthisapparent

perfidywouldserveto swaytheBritish

andFrenchawayfromtheiralliancewith

Poland,hewasto bemistaken.In thedays

thatfollowedhewaspresentedwithtwo

ultimatums– fromLondonandParis–

demandingthathewithdrawhisforcesor face

war.Whenherefusedwarwasdulydeclaredon

3 September1939.Hitlerhadmiscalculated,

hehadexpectedthewesternpowers– weak

andcorruptastheywere,to hismind– to back

down.Totheircredit,theydidnot.

But,though‘nationalhonour’wouldnot

allowtheBritishandFrenchto abandonPoland

to itsfateentirely,it wasnotenoughto bring

aboutanymeaningfulintervention.Though

theBritishandFrenchwaxedlyricalabout

Polishheroismin noblyresistingfascism,

theydidlittleto assisttheirally.TheRAF

undertooksomedesultorybombingof German

navalinstallations,butotherwiseresortedto

leafletingraids,whichpointlesslyimploredthe

Germanpeopleto ceaseanddesist.

TheFrenchwerenomoredetermined.

Thoughtheyhadmadeconcretecommitments

to Polandin high-leveltalksearlierin 1939,

promisingto attackGermanywithinthree

weeksof theopeningof anoffensiveagainst

thePoles,theyrestrictedthemselvesto a few

tentativeprobingadvancesin theareaof the

Saar,beforewithdrawing.Forallthekindwords

fromitsallies,Polandwouldbeleftto itsfate.

Poland,then,foughtonalone,butwasnever

informedthatit hadbeenabandoned.So,

whilePolishforcesdesperatelybattledthe

Germansin thePolishCorridor,or at Mławaon

thenorthernapproachesto Warsaw,or in the

engagementsat Mokra,or aroundŁódzand

Piotrkówto thesouthwest,theydidsoin the

earnestexpectationthattheirsacrificewas

significant.Thatit waspartof a widerAllied

effortandthathelpwasonitsway.

So,theyfoughton,evenafterKraków,the

formercapital,fellon6 September,andafter

GermanspearheadsreachedWarsawonthe

eveningof the8 September.Theyfoughton

evenaftertheirairforcewassweptfrom

theskiesbythesleek,morepowerfulmachines

of theLuftwaffe.

Theyevenfoughtback.Ontheafternoonof

9 SeptemberPolishforcesstrucksouthward

acrosstheBzurariver,westof Warsaw,

smashingintotheflankof theGermanarmies

headingforthecapital.Exploitingthebenefit

of surprisetheymadeconsiderableheadway,

liberatinga numberof townsandvillagesbefore

thelinewasstabilised.Overthetendaysthat

followedGermanunitswithdrawnfromthe

WarsawsuburbsdrovePolishforcesbackto

theirstartingpositions.

A LuftwaffeBf-110fliesoverPolish

airspaceduringtheinvasion

Above: Polish civilians moments before

death by firing squad

Above: Hitler’s forces were strongly supported by

armoured and motorised divisions

DEFENDING AGAINST THE BLITZKRIEG