External link: Film footage of the Invasion of Poland
(Scroll to foot of linked page for historical film archive)
Blitzkrieg in Poland
Following the annexation of Czechoslovakia, Hitler turned his attention to Poland. In March, 1939, he declared that the non aggression pact signed in 1934 was void and that the issue of ownership of Danzig had to be dealt with. Diplomatic activity heightened as the European powers attempted to prevent a German invasion of Poland. The French had a long standing agreement with the Poles, dating back to 1921. The British sought to discourage German aggression by pledging to use force to protect Poland in the case of an invasion. Both sides now turned to Stalin. Hitler won the race to ally with the Soviet Union. On 23rd August 1939 the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was agreed. Unknown to the bemused outside world, this agreement contained a clause that agreed to the partitioning of Poland between the two powers in the event of a war in Poland. That war would come but one week later.
On 1st September 1939, German forces invaded Poland. Blitzkrieg was now put into practice.
German forces attacked on a number of fronts. The map below illustrates these assaults. Black arrows indicate primary assaults, red arrows indicate a secondary assault. The arrows to the right hand side of the map, coming from the East into Poland, signify the Soviet advance into Poland that followed the German invasion.
