POLES HOLD GERMANS IN BATTLE FOR WARSAW (9/7/39)

Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz | 9/7/39 | Otto D. Tolischus, Hanson W. Baldwin, G.H. Archambault, P.J. Philip, Ferdinand Kuhn Jr.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime”.)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

A key to the map symbols is on my profile.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

First Lord’s Minutes

[Homer_J_Simpson]

07/09/1939: Polish forces trying to hold the line at the Narew River, start to collapse. Krakow surrenders to German troops. The German 10th Army closes ever nearer to Warsaw. A deeper defensive line is prepared by the Poles at the Bug River, as their battered armies begin a withdrawal toward that line. The BBC commences daily radio broadcasts in Polish.

http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-europe/eastern-europe/eastern-europe-index-1939.htm

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Chopin’s Polonaise in A, Op.40 No.1, ' Military '

[Homer_J_Simpson]

The Developments in Europe – 2
Poles Halt Tanks – 2-5
Bulletins on European Conflict – 3
Nazis Place Honor Guard At the Tomb of Pilsudski – 4
Westerplatte Defenders – 6
Nazi Army’s Speed Seen As a Surprise – 6-7
Nazis in Ecuador Plan A Secret Dash for Home – 8
Blow At Westwall – 10-11
French See Reich Invaded This Time – 12
U. S. Mails To Europe Will Be Continued – 12
First Nazi Planes Approach England – 13
New ‘Leaflet Raid’ is Made By British – 13-14
A Neutrality Step – 15-16
On Two Fronts (Editorial) - 17

[Uncle Chip]

Thanks for posting these —

[Huck]

Interesting. So the Republican position was neutrality—stay out of it.

[Huck]

Re: your tagline...here's Mencken's version:

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

H. L. Mencken

[abb]

“Someday Louisiana is going to get ‘good government.’ And when they do, they ain’t going to like it.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Long
Earl Kemp Long (August 26, 1895 – September 5, 1960) was an American politician and three-time Democratic governor of Louisiana, who termed himself the “last of the red hot poppas” of politics, referring to his stump-speaking skills. He served from 1939–1940, 1948–1952, and 1956–1960.

[abb]

http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/poland.htm
The fort at Danzig fell on September 7, after a week of direct fire from German battleships.

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1939/sep39/07sep39.htm
Thursday, September 7, 1939
On the Western Front... French patrols cross the frontier into Germany near Saarbrucken, marking the beginning of the Saar offensive. A total of 11 divisions advance along a 32 km frontage. There is negligible German opposition. The French mobilization is too slow and their tactical system too inflexible to permit any grander offensive operation. These gentle probes continue until September 17th when a larger advance is supposed to be made but is in fact cancelled because the Polish collapse makes it pointless.

In Poland... The Polish naval base at Westerplatte, a enclave in Danzig, surrenders after renewed German bombardment after being besieged since September 1st. The Polish command decides that it will be impossible to hold the line of the Narew River although the order to do so has only been in force for one day. The forces in the Narew area are to retire to the Bug River. The German Schleswig-Holstein begins daily bombardment of Hela, a Polish naval base.

In Berlin... Hitler meets with Admiral Erich Raeder, Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, and orders that “in order not to provoke neutral countries, the United States in particular, it is forbidden to torpedo passenger steamers, even when sailing in convoy. Warfare against French merchant ships, attacks on French warships and mine laying off French ports is prohibited.” The order is in response to the sinking of the Athenia.

In Germany... The death penalty is decreed for anyone “endangering the defensive power of the German people.”

In London... General Viscount Gort, VC, is appointed to command the British Expeditionary Force.

In the North Atlantic... The first British Atlantic convoys set out. The convoy system has already been reintroduced on the East Coast. Although escorts can only be provided as far as 12.5 degrees west, they do provide effective protection against U-Boats. Many of the faster ships and some particularly slow ones do not sail in convoy at this stage or later in the war. During 1939, almost all U-Boat successes are from such “independents.”

[abb]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saar_Offensive
Saar Offensive

http://warandgame.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/french-invasion-of-the-saar-september-1939/
FRENCH INVASION OF THE SAAR, (SEPTEMBER 1939)

[CougarGA7]

Very good report here. Including the German official position that Churchill ordered the Athena sunk. Nothing on the Saar is being reported in Berlin, not surprisingly.

CBS - William L. Shirer Reporting from Berlin

[abb]

Reading this one now.

http://www.amazon.com/Murrow-Life-Times-M-Sperber/dp/0881910082
Murrow: His Life and Times (Hardcover)

Quite a bit about Shirer in it.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Very good report here. Including the German official position that Churchill ordered the Athena sunk. Nothing on the Saar is being reported in Berlin, not surprisingly.

CBS - William L. Shirer Reporting from Berlin

I like that one. After carrying Shirer around in my head all this time it is most satisfying to hear his voice as he does his thing on the radio.

[CougarGA7]

I believe it. Looks like a good read too. My reading list had grown exponentially since we have started this. What’s worse is I cant really get to it since right now I’m already reading 7 books simultaneously for my masters. I’m hoping to get some pleasure reading done come December.

I just finished up “Midway” by Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya last night and I highly recommend it if you want a glimpse into the Japanese perspective on that battle. I also wrote a book review yesterday on “The American Civil War and the Origins of Modern Warfare” by Edward Hagerman. Not very relevant for our WWII discussions by I will say that you can see the genesis of trench warfare and specifically holding and turning maneuvers that were prominent in WWI (Though I think the Europeans probably learned more from Moltke and the Franco Prussian War than from the American Civil War). That book also covers the birth of the Signal Corps which will be very important in WWII. My only criticism of the book was it spent way too much time on supply statistics.

[CougarGA7]

Putting his politics aside he had a very unique perspective of this whole thing. I keep “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by my bed so I will discipline myself to keep up with the current date in that book among all the other reading I’m doing.

[abb]

Most of my reading the past couple of years is journalism and media history. If we conservatives are going to fully utilize our new tools (the internet, blogs, twitter, etc) we need to know all the tricks the State-Run Media has used over the years.

[CougarGA7]

That’s a very good point. The more you know the better. Most of my reading is on military matters mostly around World War II. I’m working on a Master’s in Military History that I should have completed by late summer next year. Then its off on my doctorate.

[henkster]

Cougar

You should read “Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway.” If offers a different perspective on Japanese operations than Fuchida.

As for the press releases regarding the war in Poland, it appears the news is no longer putting the brave front that the Poles are holding off the German onslaught. Even though there are reports of the Poles holding their positions, it’s pretty clear in the analysis of operations that the German airpower and tanks are destroying the Polish army.