History - War at a Glance

Germany and the Soviet Union Invade Poland On August 23, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression pact in Moscow. Under terms of the pact, Germany controls Lithuania; the Soviet Union controls Finland, Estonia, and Latvia; and the two split Poland roughly in half. Later revisions place Lithuania under Soviet control in exchange for greater German control in Poland. Neither side announces the pact’s existence for almost a month. At 0445 hours on September 1, 1939, 53 German divisions smash into Poland. By September 6, the German Tenth Army is east of Lodz and the Fourteenth Army has captured Krakow. Two days later, the Tenth Army roars into the suburbs of Warsaw. The Poles refuse a surrender demand on September 16. The next day, Soviet forces sweep into Poland from the east; there are almost no Polish forces to oppose the Red Army. Warsaw surrenders on September 27, and by October 3, 1939, most Polish resistance is crushed. About 900,000 Polish soldiers are taken prisoner; roughly 200,000 are killed or wounded. The Germans report 8,100 dead and 27,300 wounded, the Soviets far fewer. While the German plan of attack is for the most part conventional, two aspects stand out. One is air power; the German air force (Luftwaffe) wreaks havoc not only on Polish military targets but on bridges, roads, and railroads as well. The other is the tank (panzer) divisions; tanks, self-propelled guns, and motorized infantry are massed together into divisions, some of which advance over 50 miles a day. While official reports downplay the panzer’s role, some field commanders see the tank’s true potential in action.