Posted on 09/01/2006 4:47:18 AM PDT by mainepatsfan
This Day In History - World War II September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland
On this day in 1939, German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air, as Adolf Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. World War II had begun.
The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war--what would become the "blitzkrieg" strategy. This was characterized by extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy's air capacity, railroads, communication lines, and munitions dumps, followed by a massive land invasion with overwhelming numbers of troops, tanks, and artillery. Once the German forces had plowed their way through, devastating a swath of territory, infantry moved in, picking off any remaining resistance.
Once Hitler had a base of operations within the target country, he immediately began setting up "security" forces to annihilate all enemies of his Nazi ideology, whether racial, religious, or political. Concentration camps for slave laborers and the extermination of civilians went hand in hand with German rule of a conquered nation. For example, within one day of the German invasion of Poland, Hitler was already setting up SS "Death's Head" regiments to terrorize the populace.
The Polish army made several severe strategic miscalculations early on. Although 1 million strong, the Polish forces were severely under-equipped and attempted to take the Germans head-on with horsed cavaliers in a forward concentration, rather than falling back to more natural defensive positions. The outmoded thinking of the Polish commanders coupled with the antiquated state of its military was simply no match for the overwhelming and modern mechanized German forces. And, of course, any hope the Poles might have had of a Soviet counter-response was dashed with the signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Nonaggression Pact.
If only John Kerry had been around. He would have prevented WWII by sitting down with Hitler and talking to him.
It was Bush's fault!!
Well ask any moonbat and they'll tell you how the Bush family were big backers of the Third Reich.
The West could have stopped Hitler in 1936 at the cost of at most a few thousand dead. By waiting until 1939 the cost rose to 55 million. Something to think about the next time the UN calls for more diplomacy in dealing with Iran.
I'm waiting for the book & movies to come out.
One of the most underrated things about WWII is the contribution of the Poles to the ultimate defeat of the Germans.
Hitler couldn't sleep he was so nervous when he ordered his troops into the Rhineland. Then the French didn't do a damn thing.
It's also Emma M. Nutt Day
When : September 1st
Emma M. Nutt Day celebrates the first woman telephone operator in America.
Emma Nutt became the first woman telephone operator on September 1, 1878. She loved the job, and worked at it for 33 years.
This special day celebrates the world of telephone operators. It was a very important job for many decades. Today, the position has been eliminated being replaced by automation in telephone systems.
Yup. Those that could fought the Germans right till the end of the war. Stalin of course let the Germans crush the Polish home army so he wouldn't have to deal with them after the war.
Another of the most underrated things about WWII is that in 1939, Britain and France issued declarations of war in order to defend Poland's sovereignty. In 1945, Britain and France (and America for that matter) had no problem in giving the sovereignty of Poland over to the Soviet Union.
Chamberlain tried to do a deal with Hitler before he invaded Poland. When they finally invaded on Sept 1st 1939 it was clear no deal would work and the Brits declared war on Hitler on Sept 2nd 1939. We didn't declare war on him for another 2 years, so i don't think we've got any right to be smug about Chamberlains mistake.
One of the most underrated things about WWII is the contribution of the Poles to the ultimate defeat of the Germans.
They exchanged one tyrant for another.
No doubt. If we'd have been willing to back them up Hitler never would have been free to launch his war.
Much of it covers the negotiations between Germany and The Soviet Union including the secret protocol papers.
It is extremely well written and most enjoyable.
And his partner Fatboy Kennedy would have had Dad set up the meeting.
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