1. The German Invasion of Poland

2. The Road To War Hitler plans a fake attack to start the war
“I shall give a propagandist reason for starting the war, no matter whether it is plausible or not. The victor will not be asked, later on, whether he told the truth or not. In … a war, it is not the Right that matters, but Victory.”

3. The Polish Invasion Sept. 1, 1939- Hitler invades Poland
Responds to the attack by regular Polish troops on the Gleiwitz transmitter
Without a declaration of war
56 German divisions all across 1,250 mile frontier
spread Polish forces very thin
Was told to withdraw by Sept. 3 or face war
Sept. 3, 11:15 a.m. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces on national radio they were at war with Germany

4. The Blitzkrieg

5. The Blitzkrieg
Germans introduced something new in the history of warfare- the blitzkrieg
Lightning war
Based on two key weapons
Tank and airplane
German Luftwaffe (air force) destroyed Polish air force while most of it is on the ground

6. The Blitzkrieg
Luftwaffe bombed bridges, roads, railways, and radio stations, and concentrated Polish troops

7. The Blitzkrieg
Once Polish Air Force annihilated, German tanks, called Panzer units, were to roll in
Tanks destroyed: roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, telegraph stations, and airfields

8. The Blitzkrieg Poles try to stop Nazi panzers with their Calvary
Marks the end of the era of mounted Calvary

9. The Blitzkrieg After the tanks were armored cars and motorcycle troops
Finally foot soldiers or infantry sent in

10. The Blitzkrieg
Germans also unleash calculated terror on civilian population
Use stuka dive bombers
Drove terrified civilians out into the roads
Caused mass confusion

11. The Blitzkrieg
Three SS Death’s Head regiments followed the infantry advance to conduct “police and security” measures behind the German lines
Whole villages burned to the ground
Rules of War ignored by Germany

12. The Allies
France was thought to possess the most powerful army in Europe
Pull back behind their own defensive position, the Maginot Line
England only had a few divisions of men to spare
Allies could not come to Poland’s aid fast enough

13. Poland’s Defeat Sept. 16, 1939- Warsaw was surrounded
Sept. 17, Soviet forces invade from East
Sept. 28, Germany and U.S.S.R agree to divide Poland into spheres of influence
Oct. 5, direct Polish resistance comes to an end

14. Poland’s Defeat
It was not lack of courage, but massively superior German power, that led to the defeat of Poland.
Remained under German occupation until January, 1945

15. The Defeat of Poland
In Soviet Union, 1.5 million Poles were transported to labor camps
Captured Polish officers shot at secret forest sites
Katyn forest

16. The Defeat of Poland Germans herded Polish Jews into ghettos
Were starved and cruelly offered hopes of survival
Most were shot or gassed
2,000 concentration camps in Poland

17. Reactions of Britain and France
Shock at the fall of Warsaw
Deep sympathy with the fate of the Poles
Amazement at speed of German advance
Anger at the Soviets, who one month earlier had been independent, at their part in the partition of Poland
Shame for not having helped

18. Reactions of Britain and France
Fear that Germany may turn “lightening war” on the West