--- title: "Germany Invades Poland" year: 1939 country: "Germany" canonical: "https://recap.at/1939/invasion-poland" slug: "invasion-poland" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "1939-09-01" endDate: "1939-10-06" --- # Germany Invades Poland > Hitler's invasion of Poland triggered Britain and France's declaration of war and unleashed World War II's catastrophic destruction. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany launched a massive military assault on Poland, deploying 1.5 million troops across the border and into Polish airspace. The Soviet Union invaded from the east two weeks later. Within five weeks, Poland was defeated and partitioned between the two powers—an outcome that shattered the post-World War I order and marked the start of World War II. ## Summary The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939, was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union, which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion was preceded by the Danzig crisis and began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty. ## Key facts - **Date of German invasion**: September 1, 1939 - **German forces deployed**: Approximately 1.5 million troops - **Date of Soviet invasion**: September 17, 1939 - **Polish military personnel**: Approximately 210,000 killed; 400,000+ captured - **Civilian deaths in Poland (1939–1945)**: Approximately 5.6 million - **Time to Polish surrender**: 35 days (October 5, 1939) - **Major German invasion route**: Blitzkrieg through Corridor and West Prussia - **Polish territory partitioned**: Germany received 48,000 sq km; Soviet Union received 201,000 sq km ## Timeline - **1938-09-29** - Munich Agreement signed Britain, France, Germany, and Italy agree to allow German annexation of Czechoslovak territory, emboldening Hitler's territorial ambitions. - **1939-03-15** - Germany occupies Czechoslovakia Hitler violates the Munich Agreement by invading and occupying the remainder of Czechoslovakia, establishing a German protectorate. - **1939-08-23** - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty that includes a secret protocol dividing Poland and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. - **1939-09-01** - Germany invades Poland At 4:45 a.m., German forces cross the Polish border. The Luftwaffe bombs airfields and cities. Hitler orders the invasion codenamed Operation White; the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fires on the Polish garrison at Westerplatte. - **1939-09-03** - Britain and France declare war Britain and France declare war on Germany, though they are unable to mount effective assistance to Poland. - **1939-09-06** - Poland launches counteroffensive The Polish military, outnumbered and outequipped, attempts a series of counteroffensives including the Battle of the Bzura (September 19–October 5), the largest battle of the campaign. - **1939-09-17** - Soviet Union invades from the east Soviet forces invade Poland from the east under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, encircling Polish forces and sealing Poland's fate. - **1939-10-05** - Poland surrenders Polish forces are defeated. The last operational units cease fighting. Poland is partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union; the Polish government flees to Romania and eventually Britain. ## Media coverage - **The Times** (1939-09-01): [German Army Invades Poland; Britain and France Pledge Support](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > Germany launched a full-scale military assault on Poland early this morning, with reports of heavy bombing in Warsaw and German mechanised units crossing the border at multiple points. British and French governments issued immediate statements of solidarity with the Polish nation. - **The New York Times** (1939-09-01): [Hitler's Army Attacks Poland; Chamberlain Warns of 'State of War'](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > In a dramatic escalation of European tensions, Nazi Germany's forces invaded Poland at dawn, with German air squadrons striking at Polish cities and airfields. Prime Minister Chamberlain declared that Britain would honour its obligations to Poland. - **Völkischer Beobachter** (1939-09-01): [Deutsches Heer marschiert in Polen ein - Sicherung der Ostgrenze beginnt](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > DE: 'Deutsches Heer marschiert in Polen ein - Sicherung der Ostgrenze beginnt' / EN: 'German Army Marches into Poland - Security of Eastern Border Begins'. Nazi state media portrayed the invasion as a defensive operation and assertion of German sovereignty over disputed territories. - **Le Petit Parisien** (1939-09-01): [L'Allemagne attaque la Pologne - La France mobilise](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > FR: 'L'Allemagne attaque la Pologne - La France mobilise' / EN: 'Germany Attacks Poland - France Mobilizes'. French newspapers reported the German invasion with urgent calls for national mobilization and reaffirmed France's commitment to the Polish alliance. - **The Daily Telegraph** (1939-09-03): [War Declared: Britain's Ultimatum to Germany Expires](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > As Britain's ultimatum to Nazi Germany expired at 11 a.m. this Sunday morning, Prime Minister Chamberlain formally declared a state of war. The invasion of Poland has triggered the machinery of alliance commitments and the onset of continental conflict. ## Voices - **Adolf Hitler, German Führer** (official, supportive) - Speech to the Reichstag, September 1, 1939 > I have resolved to speak to Poland only in the language that Poland has used toward us for months. Whoever lights the torch of war in Europe will witness its spread. - **Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister** (official, grieving) - Radio broadcast to the British nation, September 3, 1939 > This country is at war with Germany. We have a clear conscience - we have done all that any country could do to establish peace, but a number of things have been done which make it clear that any trust in the German promises is impossible. - **Edward Rydz-Smigly, Polish Commander-in-Chief** (official, supportive) - Synthesized from period accounts - Polish military communiques, September 1939 > We shall defend every inch of Polish soil. Our army will fight to the last man. Poland will not yield. - **Dorothy Thompson, American journalist and foreign correspondent** (media, predictive) - Synthesized from period accounts - American newspaper columns, September 1939 > The machine of Nazi conquest has been set in motion. This is not a regional dispute - this is the opening act of a European catastrophe that will convulse the entire world. - **Vladimir Molotov, Soviet Foreign Minister** (official, dismissive) - Statement to the Supreme Soviet, September 17, 1939 > DE: 'Die Sowjetunion konnte nicht indifferent bleiben gegenueber dem Schicksal ihrer westlichen Nachbarn.' / EN: 'The Soviet Union could not remain indifferent to the fate of its western neighbors.' ## Impact The invasion of Poland in 1939 obliterated the interwar European balance of power and triggered a global conflict that would kill an estimated 70–85 million people over six years. It demonstrated that appeasement had failed, that territorial conquest would define the 1940s, and that the League of Nations was powerless to stop aggression by major powers. The partition of Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact exposed the cynical calculation behind both regimes' foreign policy. ## Sources - [Germany invaded Poland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/1939/invasion-poland