This page will be used for Mr. Webber's P.R.S. students to complete assignments and to communicate with fellow students on issues surrounding our 10th grade World History class.
In 1939, Poland ceased to exist. The country was attacked on all sides by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The Polish army attempted to defend the country, but days after the attack, the country surrendered. The Polish actually expected Germany to attack them. They were in the process of mounting defenses and training soldiers when the actual attack occurred. Despite this, however, the Polish had anticipated the attack to occur in 1942, so they were at a major military disadvantage. Poland was crushed within days. Under foreign rule, the Polish people were treated as inferior compared to the conquerors. Poland could be called Germany’s test ground. In Poland, the Germans started concentration camps and severely hurt the Polish Jews. Also, Poland was taken over in days; this is an example of the blitzkrieg method of warfare. In the long term, the damage inflicted on Poland was a deep wound and it took many years to heal. For the Germans, Poland was a success story. Their blitzkrieg method worked and so did their concentration camps. The success in Poland gave Germany the confidence to proceed in the takeover of other nations. In the long term though, the invasion of Poland hurt Germany. France and Great Britain declared war on Germany after the takeover; therefore, the German invasion of Poland could be considered the event that began World War II. World War II eventually caused great losses to Germany. She lost the war, and countless resources and human lives. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland, but it is they are less remembered compared to the Germans. The Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, invaded and took over half of Poland while Germany controlled the other half. This was a secret part of the treaty signed with Germany. Stalin knew Germany would attack the Soviet Union eventually, but he needed time to prepare. Temporarily being allied with Hitler gave him time and a half of a country to act as a buffer between Germany and the Soviet Union. Eventually, the Soviet Union did fight the axis powers, and this was instrumental in the ending of World War II. The end of the war left the Soviets powerful and on the winning side. The downside, however, was the heavy losses and debts they suffered. For Great Britain, the attack on Poland was a wakeup call. They realized that Germany was not going to behave and that war was unavoidable. Great Britain declared war on Germany after the attack of Poland. This resulted in debt, loss of lives, and loss of resources. The British suffered much in World War II and the attack on Poland started it all. It also took Great Britain a considerable amount of time to recover. The invasion of Poland also influenced the United States. The German invasion of Poland began World War II. World War II seriously affected the United States. During the war, the United States lost men and resources, and gained expensive debts. The war did have a positive effect on the United States though. With World War II, the Great Depression ended. This was a good development for the United States and many other countries as well.
In 1939 during the beginning of World War II Poland Was invaded on all sides by both the German and Soviet Forces. The Polish country was expecting an attack from Germany so it gave them a chance to fight back. The invasion began a day after the Gleiwitz accident; they invaded from the north, south and west. The Polish forces retreated from their forward bases near Polish-German border to stronger lines of defense to the east. They then retreated to the south-east and continued to hold out until the French and British forces could arrive, unfortunately their defense plan was ruined when the Soviets invaded Poland as well. The invasion was one of the most significant battles of the War and can be considered the battle that began the Second World War the invasion was a wakeup call for England and the rest of the world meaning that Germany meant business and that they would not be taken down without a long and bloody fight. A large portion of Poland will be wiped out during this war; this was a catalyst for war and formed the Allies and the Axis in the end. But not everything was completely awful; WWII stopped the great depression in America and other countries because of the large increase in supply and demand. But war did cause a rapid population drop and some towns became completely devoid of men, the world has yet to fully recover from World War II.
Invasion of Poland On September first 1939, Hitler and Stalin’s forces invade Poland. Hitler uses a blitzkrieg offensive to assault the Polish troops and within 18 days of the attack the poles had fallen. It was decided upon in the non-aggression treaty between Hitler and Stalin that their countries would divide up Poland until it disappeared. It was called the Ribentropp-Molotov pact The Germans would go into 60% on the Western side and the Russians would go into the remaining 40% on the other side. Within six weeks Poland no longer existed. To the Poles this was the worst thing that could possibly have happened. They were subjected to horrible treatment, especially Polish Jews. Just before the invasion Hitler told his generals, "Kill without pity or mercy all men, women and children of Polish race and language." Otto R. Tannenberg, a German author, once wrote, “War must leave nothing to the vanquished but their eyes to weep with..." One announcement in German occupied Poland reminded Poles of this statement saying: “Poles who have not yet realized that they are the vanquished and we the victors . . . will be exposing themselves to the most severe penalties (Death).” The losses that Poland’s population suffered during the war were proportionately by far the greatest of any nation participating in WWII. The country lost 6.5 million of its previous 35 million. 3 million of the 3.3 million Polish Jews were murdered, that is 90% of the Jewish population. Additionally, 200,000 were sent to Germany for ‘Germanization’, and 75%, 150,000 never returned to their families in Poland. In October of 1939, just two months after the initial invasion, Germany annexed the former Polish territories that were along Germany’s eastern border. These included West Prussia, Poznan, Upper Silesia, and the former Free City of Danzig. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941, they gained the remainder of Poland, and the country stayed under German occupation until January 1945.
For Germany, Poland was a splendid example of the effectiveness of their Blitzkrieg method of attack. It meant an increase in land and power. It also meant the acquisition of German speakers, which was important to Hitler, who had promised to unite all that could speak the superior language. However, Hitler had not been expecting England and France to do anything in response to the invasion due to the previous appeasement and extreme aversion to anything violent. He was shocked therefore when both of countries declared war on Germany. In the long run the invasion of Poland severally hurt Germany because it was the catalyst that began World War Two, which Germany lost. The Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on September 17, 1939. They knew that eventually Hitler would forsake their agreement, but Stalin waited to dissolve the partnership until he had taken his half of Poland. He was successful in the takeover and this proved to be a great victory for the Soviet Union’s Red Army. Russia called the invasion the "the liberation campaign", but really they just wanted more land, more power, and more people to rule. The attack led to the assimilation of millions of Poles, western Ukrainians, and western Belarusians into the Soviet Ukrainian and Belorussian republics. In November of the same year, the soviet government annexed the territory and declared that the 13.5 million Poles who lived there were now Russians. On September third, just three days after the invasion of Poland, France and Great Britain were forced to declare war on Germany. The years of naïve appeasement and intolerance for violence had finally caught up to Great Britain. Now they had to fight a war that was almost on their doorstep and that they were wholly unprepared for. Their demilitarization meant that they were not the military power that they once were. This led to what is often referred to as “The Phoney War”, the seven months after Britain declared war in which nothing happened. During this time period, Britain was beginning its war preparations. At the end of this time period Hitler attacked and defeated both Denmark and Norway. He planned to use these countries as a base for an attack on Great Britain. Now, Britain had no choice but to defend herself from the Nazi War Machine. In the long run, Great Britain and her allies were able to defeat Germany but it came with a heavy loss of life. At this point in the war the United States was remaining neutral. They considered it a European war and did not believe that it concerned them. It was not until December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, that America wanted to enter the World War. When Hitler officially declared war on the United States four days later we immediately responded by joining the Allies in their war against Germany. Eventually, the Axis Powers were defeated, but, just like England, it came with a price.
In the summer of 1939, Hitler negotiated a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union which stated that Poland would be divided between the two power, which allowed for Germany to attack Poland with support from Stalin. The polish army was completely unprepared for the new warfare which surrounded them. Within weeks of the invasion, the Polish army was easily defeated. There were more than 2,000 german tanks and over 1,000 planes which broke the Polish defenses which were stationed across the boarder. After many weeks of bombing and heavy shelling, Poland surrendered to Germany on September 28, 1939. About 100,000 Polish soldiers escaped to England out of fear for Hitler's rule. Under the Nazi's appointed Hans Frank as Governor General of Poland, over 6 million Poles - Nearly 22% of Poland's population, died during the invasion including 3 million Jews. This was due to one of the aspects of German policy: "The German minority living in this ethnically mixed region was required to adhere to strict codes of behavior and was held accountable for all unauthorized contacts with their Polish and, even more so, their Jewish neighbors. The system of control and repression strove to isolate the various ethnic (‘racial’) groups, encouraging denunciations and thus instilling fear in the populace." Sixteen days after the Germans had invaded Poland, the Soviet Union had invaded from the East since Hitler and Stalin secretly agreed that they would both invade Poland while Russia also invaded Finland and Baltic countries. They were able to annex the territory under its control and made 13.5 million Polish citizens as citizens of the Soviet Union. Overall this invasion was a great success for the Soviet’s Red Army. They were able to capture 452,500 Polish soldiers and take them as prisoners of war. For the Germans this was a great success. Not only did were they able to rule and control Poland along with the Soviet Union, but they also set up various concentration camps which were able to exterminate many jews. Upon invasion, they used an effective method called the 'blitzkrieg' or 'lightening war', which was "when a country used all of its military resources simultaneously to overwhelm the opponent" (Mr. Webber, History Notes). Great Britain originally did not think that the Germans would keep on taking land and the German takeover of Poland came as a complete shock. After the invasion, Britain, as well as France, declared war on Germany once they realized that Hitler needed to be stopped or else he would continue to conquer one country after the next and become the strongest power in Europe. Although the United States was not directly involved in the invasion, this event still is considered the ‘spark’ of WWII which the U.S. was heavily involved in. The U.S. suffered very little during the war, even though they lost many men, because they became a formidable manufacturing power. This also led the United States into a period of wealth in industry, technology, and agriculture.
Poland Invasion In 1939, both Germany and the Soviet Union, who had signed a treaty that allied them, invaded Poland. The Polish attempted to defend their country, but it fell to the Germans and Russians within weeks. Although the polish anticipated the attack they believed that it would be in 1942; thus the attack caught them somewhat by surprise, and the polish did not have time to fully prepare. The Polish suffered severely from the attack; the Germans brutally defeated them using the blitzkrieg method of warfare and killed 6 million Polacks, including 3 million Jews. The war was a great success for the Germans, proving the effectiveness of the blitzkrieg method of warfare and allowed them to set up concentration camps in Poland. In the long run WWII, proved to be tragic for Germany, as the Germans lost the war, suffering many human and resource losses. The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin invaded Poland along with Germany and was able to share half of it with Germany. This worked well in Russia’s plan, because Joseph Stalin knew that Germany would eventually change sides and fight the Soviet Union. Poland served as a buffer between Germany and the Soviet Union, and allowed Russia to play a key role in fighting the axis powers in WWII. Great Britain was unaware that Germany would continue to take land, and the invasion of Poland alerted Britain to the threat of Germany. Immediately after the invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. WWII led to debt, loss of life and resources. Although not directly involved in the Poland invasion, the invasion sparked WWII in which the United States lost men, resources, and developed heavy national debt. Eventually the war had a positive effect on the United States, and at the wars end the United States was able to pull out of the Great Depression.
With the cooperation of Russia, Hitler began his aggressive, surprise invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. A new military strategy, blitzkrieg, was utilized. This method involved using all of a nation’s military resources concurrently to take over the opponent. While Hitler and his forces tended to Poland, Stalin addressed Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Following the attack, Phony War ensued for seven months.
The effects of the invasion of Poland were devastating to Poland. Many Jews were removed, killed, or placed into ghettos with atrocious conditions. The country was divided and ruled partially by Germany and partially by Russia. During this time period, the Polish Underground State formed, and eventually merged with the Polish Armed Forces. In the long term, Poland was defeated in World War 2 and lost much of its territory. Soviet influence remained prevalent and led to continuing communist rule for 40 years. The invasion of Poland yielded beneficial effects for Germany. Hitler succeeded in his mission of uniting more German speaking people and expanding Germany’s borders, all for the purpose of dominating Europe and eventually the world. His new war methods (blitzkrieg) proved effective. Spirits were high in Germany. Though this invasion was originally advantageous, in the long term Germany lost the war.Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, the UK (and France) declared war upon Germany. The US involved itself later. Both the UK and US failed to help Poland institute a democratic government at the end of World War 2, leading to Polish communist rule. The British benefitted from Polish war technology, such as the Enigma cipher.The Soviet Union gained territory with their invasion of Poland, a short two weeks after Germany’s. Poland acted as protection for Russia, and it provided a cushion between Germany and Russia. Stalin lost some support because his followers perceived Hitler negatively and viewed Stalin as a positive force. Stalin was stooping to Hitler’s level. In the short term, Stalin’s alliance with Hitler was viewed in an extremely negative light.
In 1939, Germany further increased its boundaries by stretching its forces all the way out to Poland. Against the Polish the German forces utilized its blitzkrieg method, sending all forces at once, which consisted of more than 2,000 panzer tanks and heavy aircraft. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland because the leader of Russia, Joseph Stalin, signed an agreement with Hitler that stated that he could regain the territory that Russia lost in WWI if he helped Hitler. Germany did not formally declare war on Poland, the German army just attacked and took over very quickly. In Poland, the casualties, both civilian and military, were tremendously high. The civilian losses alone reaches 200,000, while the casualties of the military were around 60,000. Other Polish troops either escaped Poland to avoid capture and placement into German concentration camps. 420,000 troops were captured by Germany, and 240,000 by the Soviet Union. Since Poland had surrendered Germany very quickly after the start of the invasion, Poland was under Hitler’s rule and occupied by German soldiers, The invasion of Poland was very successful to Germany. Germany’s blitzkrieg method worked very well against the Polish forces and the invasion was a quick success. After Poland had surrendered to the German and Soviet forces, Germany and the Soviet Union annexed Poland and split up the land amongst themselves. Germany also established multiple concentration camps in Poland, the famous Auschwitz among them. These concentration camps held many of the millions of Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. Germany also acquired more than 400,000 Polish troops as prisoners of war. The invasion of Poland was very significant to the Soviet Union. Since Joseph Stalin had agreed to Hitler’s non-aggression pact and did his part of the deal, he was able to conquer the northern Baltic states that Russia had lost to Germany at the end of World War I. Russia also gained prisoners of war from Poland too. However, the non-aggression pact with Germany was short lived since Hitler would invade Russia after the start of WWII and Russia will fight against Germany and the rest of the axis powers for the remainder of the war. Britain and other European countries were shocked that Germany had invaded Poland without a formal declaration of war. Britain and France both declared war on Germany very soon after the invasion of Poland, which would create a war that no country expected. In this war, Britain suffered nearly 600,000 casualties. The invasion of Poland did not have a direct effect of the United States, however it further influenced the presidents to actually get into the war. The United States didn’t actually declare war on Germany, Italy, and Japan until 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. WWII stopped the Great Depression in America even though there were a large amount of American casualties.
The Soviet and German invasion of Poland created short term effects on Poland, Germany, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and England. One of the more obvious effects on Poland was the extreme loss of life it suffered during the initial invasion (Hitler himself ordered his armies to "kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish descent or language... only in this way can we achieve the living space we need." (qtd. in ww2db.com) as well as during the following years of the Holocaust. Also, Poland was divided into two, with one portion governed by the Soviet Union and the other by Germany for the duration of the war.
Germany was given control of previously owned territory, which gave more power and moral to the government. Also, after the success of the invasion, Hitler and the Nazis knew that their method of blitzkrieg worked. This military method would prove vital to many of their successes during WWII.
The USSR’s alliance with Germany made the people of the Soviet Union resentful towards the fact that they were on the losing and “evil” side of the war. Also, while the Soviet Union was in control in Poland, the Soviets were able to use many Poles to create a strong army that would aid them in the war.
The invasion of Poland also created many long-term effects on Poland, Germany, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and England. Although Poland was reunited after the end of WWII, the effects of Soviet rule stayed with the country. Poland remained sovietized, in other words Communist, for the next 40 years.
The invasion could have created devastation long-term effects on Germany. The fact that France stood by and did nothing as Germany invaded Poland could have possibly changed the course of the war. While Germany was using the majority of its forces on the invasion of Poland, militarily strong France could have created a disaster for Hitler and his troops. This could have changed the outcome of the war drastically. However, France didn’t do anything to attack Germany, in fear of another war, and Germany was able to maintain control for another six years, until the end of the war in 1945.
The Soviet Union’s short-term alliance with Germany created long term problems. This short partnership (along with the fact that Russia was Communist, like Germany) caused the Allies to consider the USSR as an Axis power, even when Hitler turned on Stalin.
A long-term effect on Great Britain was the lasting alliance it created between Poland and Britain. Although Poland remained Communist for 40 years after the war, it would still always remember Britain coming to its aid after the invasion. Another obvious long-term effect on Great Britain, the US, as well as the Soviet Union and Germany was the fact that the invasion of Poland was the event that caused Great Britain and other countries to declare war on Germany. Although the US didn’t enter the war until the attack on Pearl Harbor, there wouldn’t have been a war to enter without the spark that set it off.
On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union launched an attack on Poland. Germany justified this attack by falsifying a report that said Poland had attacked a German radio station. From the air, Germany began bombing Polish airfields, and from the sea, German boats were attacking Polish defenses. Germany and the Soviet Union’s combined military strength easily overpowered Poland. In all, Germany and the Soviet Union had about 2,500,000 troops versus Poland’s 280,000 troops. Apart from soldiers, Germany’s weapon were also more advanced than the Poles. Germany had the most advanced tanks of the time, while Poland relied mainly on its cavalry for mobility. Germany’s naval and air force were also far more superior than Poland’s. Early in the invasion, Hitler implemented a strategy known as the Blitzkrieg, which is an all out attack which is meant to overwhelm the enemy’s defenses and disrupt the rear positions. The invasion ended on October 5 of the same year. The Germans had a lost about 8,000 men, while the Poles lost nearly 70,000. Obviously, the results of the invasion had horrible effects of Poland. They lost a large number of men and half their population was forced to flee the country. Many Poles went to France and Britain where they would later fight in order to stop Germany. For the Soviets and Germany this was a great success. Stalin was able to take over 400,000 Polish soldiers as prisoners of war and Germany took control of Poland. They also set up several concentration camps in order to exterminate the Jewish population. Poland was then divided among the Soviet Union, Germany, Lithuania, and Slovakia. Hitler’s takeover of Poland prompted both Britain and France to declare war on Germany to put a stop to Hitler’s plans. Later, the United States would join and ultimately end the war.
The Invasion of Poland On September 1, 1939 the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, and the Polish army was defeated in less than two weeks. At 6am Poland was invaded by all side, north, south, and west with a succession of bombing raids. As the Germans advanced, Polish forces left their forward bases of operation near the Polish-German border to establish more lines of defenses in the east. On the same day at 8am Poland requested immediate military aid from France and Britain. It wasn’t until noon on September 3rd that Britain declared war on Germany, accompanied by France. The invasion of Poland was a short, victorious war for the Germans for two reasons. First of all, Hitler first armored corps defeated the Polish forces in a blitzkrieg offensive. Second, Hitler deduced that France and British prime ministers were weak and indecisive leaders, who would want a peace settlement rather than war. In the long term the invasion of Poland weakened Germany because they lost World War II and innumerous resources and lives. For the Soviet Union the invasion of Poland was a great success because they were able to capture many polish soldiers and take them as prisoners of war. Under Joseph Stalin, they took half of Poland while Germany controlled the other half. This was part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was a non-aggression pact between the two countries pledging neutrality by either party if the other were attacked by a third party. The long term effect was that the Soviet Union ended World War II, which left them powerful and on the winning side. Great Britain declared war on Germany because they knew that they could not avoid the war and realize that Germany was not going to stop their behavior. Great Britain lost lots of lives and resources that resulted in debt. Also the attack on Poland caused the British to suffer throughout the war. In the long term effect was that it took the country a large amount of time to recover. Even though the United States was not part of the invasion, it subsequently began World War II, which the U.S. was actively involved. The country lost many soldiers and resources, but there was a positive outcome. The Great Depression had ended, which led to a period of wealth.
The September 1, 1939 invasion of Poland, also known as the “September Campaign,” “1939 Defensive Campaign,” and “Poland Campaign,” began the Second World War. Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin invaded Poland from opposite sides to overpower the country. Hitler had previously signed a treaty stating that he would not invade any more countries; this violation of the treaty forced Great Britain at long last to declare war against Nazi Germany. The USSR and Germany displayed the beginnings Soviet Russia and Germany both gained new territory, and Germany successfully tested its Blitzkrieg (“Lightning War”) strategy. Hitler would use this tactic of overloading the enemy with attacks from all types of military forces for the remainder of the war. “Poland” ceased to exist, as it was divided and annexed by the Soviets and the Nazis. Families were torn apart and the Polish army became fugitives in their own country. The United States was not immediately affected by the invasion of Poland, although the country did begin supplying Great Britain and France with ammunition. Submarine warfare was rampant after this invasion and official declaration of war, and it took down many American merchant ships.
In the long-term, Poland lost a large percentage of its population to Hitler’s concentration camps. The Jewish population of Poland was more or less decimated, and the non-Jewish population had heavy losses as well. 150,000-200,000 Poles were killed and another 320,000 were deported. Poland went through a period of instability due to the constant shifting of power between the Germans and the Soviets. The Germans learned the successes of the Blitzkrieg strategy, which they used against many other countries including Norway, Denmark, and France. Eventually, however, they lost the war caused by this invasion, meaning that for the second time in about thirty years they were forced to make concessions. The USSR did not remain in alliance with Germany for very long, so this war actually helped them to become a major recognized world power (as demonstrated in its being established as one of the Big 5 countries). Great Britain and the United States both learned that appeasement was not effective, causing major changes in their foreign policies. World War II also lifted all countries involved, particularly the United States, out of global economic depression. Additionally, all countries involved made huge military and scientific advances, most notably atomic warfare. These advances sparked the already competitive atmosphere between Communist and Capitalist nations into a “Cold War.”
The German invasion of Poland during WWII had multiple effects. The short term effects were the occupation of Poland, the continued advancement of the German army, and more acquisitions that the Soviet Union were not party to. The long term effects were much more drastic. The invasion of Poland led to the outbreak of war that eventually became known as WWII. The Soviet Union, which felt that it was not getting the fair spoils of war, began to more seriously engage in the conflict. The advent of war meant many more deaths for the Germans, Soviets, and British. The long term outbreak of war also led to American involvement, after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. In this way, the successful invasion of Poland had the long term effects of initiating WWII and causing deaths among the armies and civilian populations of many countries.
When Poland was attacked, it was critically affected. Germany started the attack Poland with a force that surrounded the entire country. Poland eventually had no way of escaping the brutal attack as it was engulfed in its own enemies. In the long term, it gave the German the upper hand because Hitler was able to successfully invade the country and kill many of the innocent citizens of Poland.
At the time of the invasion, it was definitely a success for Germany because they were able to enter and take over the entire country of Poland. Using the Blitzkrieg method of invasion they were able to remain victorious. However, Germany did not remain successful for as long as the country may have planed. This led to fighting with both France and Britain and can be considered to have played a large role in the beginning of the Second World War.
The Soviet Union was originally siding with Germany at the beginning of the invasion. Assuming this was the successful power in the war, the USSR felt a sense of victory until realizing that they were on the side of the war that was losing. They made the decision to break apart from their alliance with Germany. The choice to switch sides made their role in the invasion of Poland distinguishable and respectable. In the long term, they resided on the side of victory and opposed German rule.
Great Britain was on the force opposing Germany during the Invasion of Poland. The invasion led them to attack Germany and is thought to be a strongly influential cause of World War II. The position Great Britain held both during the invasion of Poland and throughout World War II left them on the “good” side of this conflict.
The United States was the least directly effected by the Invasion of Poland. The United States continued to remain neutral force throughout this particular conflict. The United States joined the battle after being bombed by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor.
The invasion of Poland was the trigger that started World War II. After this event, both France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Some nations suffered major losses, some had tremendous gains, and some weren’t immediately affected at all.
Poland suffered tremendous losses from Germany’s invasion. The invasion of Poland was Germany’s first major use of the Blitzkrieg, which is a strategy that requires a nation to use all of its available personnel, tanks, and aircraft to swiftly attack the other nation and catch it by surprise. This totally surprised and demoralized the scarcely prepared Polish. Partially as a result of this devastation, Poland did not play a large part in World War 2, and was conquered by the German regime. They were liberated by the Soviets in 1945.
Germany’s new Blitzkrieg method proved to be very effective in Poland and they completely dominated the unprepared nation. Also, they were very much prepared for France and Britain’s declaration of war. The German army was built up and ready to go, but France and Britain’s were not. This was a total victory for the German’s in the short-run. However, in the long-run, the invasion of Poland (keeping in mind that Germany specifically promised that they wouldn’t invade Poland) resulted in the war. If Germany had chosen to attack other places, they may have been better off in the long-run.
As a result of the invasion, the USSR obtained this new territory and was able to control it until the end of the war. However, the USSR and Germany had some very bad relationship-issues and decided it would be best to see other people. As a result, the USSR joined the allies and decided in 1945 that it did not want Poland any longer. This was seen by the world as a very good deed since it was decided by the international community that Germany was kind of a jerk and the USSR was better off without it and its (what were essentially) peace-incentives.
Britain was super pissed that Germany had invaded Poland. They wanted to avoid fighting for as long as possible, but Germany had broken enough promises. All hope of friendship was gone. They kept invading regions and countries that the League of Nations asked them not to, but Germany didn’t want to play fairly. As a result, Britain declared war. In the beginning, they were not at all ready to fight. However, after about half a year, there was all out war. Though both nations suffered major losses, Britain eventually ended up winning and left Germany seriously upset.
The United States was not immediately affected by the invasion of Poland. They did not join the war until much later. However, the invasion did bring a somewhat mild shock to the United States although it wasn’t as big as the reaction that Western Europe had. The United States, once again, saw this basically as a European issue and did not want to interfere. However, in the long-run, it obviously did end up dragging them into the war. The United States was not as affected by the war as many of the European nations, but its involvement in the war itself had a tremendous impact on the future.
Poland - Germany invaded Poland the first of September, 1939. The Polish were defeated within weeks. The Germans had more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes. They easily broke through Polish defenses along the border and continued on to Warsaw. After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 28, 1939. The Soviet Union and Germany signed the Ribentropp-Molotov pact, which split up Poland, giving 60% to Germany and the remaining to the Soviet Union.
Germany - Hitler experimented with his new attack method, blitzkrieg, during the invasion of Poland. It was tremendously successful and encouraged Germany to continue on in annexing other nations. Hitler acquired more german speaking citizens from Poland, fueling his campaign to unite all German people. Unfortunately for Hitler, he was not expecting a violent reaction from the Allies, who declared war of Germany. He had been appeased when he took the Sudantenland, the Rhineland, Austria and the Czech Republic; and was surprised when he found himself in war with many other countries.
Soviet-Union - The Soviet Union obtained and maintained the land they received in Poland until 1945. At that time, they switched alliances and decided to give up the land they held in Poland.
Britain - Britain had lost a whole generation of men in World War I and the country was still getting back up on its feet. Britain wanted to avoid another war at all costs, but could not overlook Hitlers blatant disregard to the promises he had made. Britain declared war in 1939, but found herself unprepared to fight. She managed to scrape together a somewhat effective military the 7 months before the fighting began. Ultimately, Britain and the allies proved to be the stronger force and managed to overcome Germany.
United States - The United States regarded Germany and its expansionism very much as a European problem. They did not want to lose more men to another war which did not include them. They were concerned by the invasion of Poland, but did not involve themselves. Once the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor though, America quickly joined the war and helped end it.
The Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 had many effects. In the short term, some Polish citizens welcomed the Soviets as liberators for the Jews and other forsaken groups of people feared not the Germans while they remained under Soviet rule. Others in Poland strongly resisted Soviet rule and organized protests and uprisings. France and England were, once again, hesitant to take action for fear of disturbing the peace they had clung onto for so many years. They were also slightly swayed towards not taking drastic action against the Germans and the Soviets when they learned that Turkey, a country they both wanted to maintain a good relationship with, supported the Soviet invasion. France and England also saw trade opportunities in the Soviet takeover of Poland. Germany and the Soviets had, in taking over Poland, opened up a direct line of attack on France. The Soviets also gained a large amount of forced support in their expedition towards spreading communism. In the long term, France and England began planning for a war against Germany and Russia.
With the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a nonaggression treaty that also detailed the division of north and eastern Europe, Germany and Russia were quick to utilize their alliance and on September 1st, 1939 commenced a two front invasion of Poland. The German battleplan called blitzkrieg, which entailed concentrating the vast majority of ones forces to rapidly overwhelm enemy ranks, was used in perfect conjunction with the Russian invasion on September 17th to force a total retreat of all Polish troops to Romania.
Poland was ravaged by the “total war” tactics used by the Germans, thousands of citizens were slain along with multiple towns and most of the countries infrastructure were completely destroyed as a result. After having completed the campaign, Russia and Germany proceeded to divvy up the newly acquired country. Great Britain and France who had sworn to protect Poland if it should come under attack would declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II. The United States had sworn no such allegiance and Poland and remained settled across the Atlantic, preferring to think of the upcoming conflict as a European war solely.
On 1 September 1939, Germany began its invasion of its neighbor to the east, Poland. Germany was able to attack Poland not only from the west, but also from the north and south, due to its connections with East Prussia, Czech, and Slovakia. The Polish were expecting an attack from the Germans, but not so soon, and were forced to fall back to more fortified defenses. However, the Polish had not expected a Russian invasion, so when the Soviets invaded from the west on 17 September 1939, the Polish defensive plan was rendered obsolete. Polish troops had no choice but to evacuate to neutral Romania, allowing Germany and the Soviet Union to gain full control of Poland on 8 October 1939. Poland was devastated. The “total war” mindset of German and Soviet forces called for destruction and killing of both military and civilian property and persons. Germany, controlling eastern Poland, terrorized Polish Jews and implemented whatever laws they deemed appropriate on Polish civilians. The Soviet Union, controlling western Poland, immediately began transforming the area into a communist state. An estimated 150,000-200,000 Polish civilians died due to the invasion and Poland’s government was torn to pieces. The European Allies declared war on Germany just two days after it invaded Poland, though they did little to aid Poland and halt the invasion. Had the Allies done more to stop the invasion, Germany may have been stopped there and WWII may have been avoided. Germany’s victory over Poland gave it the confidence to invaded and eventually occupy France, which, once again, may have been avoided had the Allies put more effort towards the aid of the Polish. The United States, at this point, still viewed this as a European conflict and remained out of the war. Germany gained much, and lost little from its invasion of Poland, and may have been able to keep it, had it not later invaded Russia. In the end, Russia gained little from its invasion of Russia, because eventually it sided with the Allies against Germany.
The German invasion of Poland was extremely quick, with a German victory within days. The Germans used their most efficient military tactic, Blitzkrieg, or lightening war which involved attacking very quickly with tanks and planes as well as ground forces. The Germans were assisted by the Russians who were also planning to take over the territories they lost in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. These countries included Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. The German take over of Poland was a major event in the Holocaust because of the high Jewish population in Poland. Some of the most infamous ghettos, such as the Warsaw ghetto, and some of the worst concentration camps, such as Auschwitz were in Poland. The German success in Poland energized the for the coming war and strengthened their determination to fight. This was not the first time that the Germans and their allies tested out the waters for global domination, Germany had taken Czechoslovakia and the Rhineland, Japan had conquered Manchuria, Korea and large swaths of China, and Italy took control of Ethiopia, but it was the first time the European community reacted to the threat of impending war. Two days after the invasion, England and France declared war on Germany, although they would not take action for many months. The invasion of Poland forced France and Britain into war, making them end the appeasement that had been occurring for many years in regards to German expansion. Britain and France had to rearm quickly to fight against the Nazis, and were not completely rearmed when they began to fight. This led to the takeover of France and the bombing of Britain from Norway. For the Soviet Union, the invasion of Poland was the precursor to their own campaign to retake territory, which they did fairly successfully until Germany invaded Russia and the treaty between them ended. Following the invasion, Russia joined the Allies to defeat Germany. For the United States, Europe was a far off place and they chose to stay out of the war for many years. The invasion of Poland meant little to the US and they did not enter the war until the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.
Poland saw great defeat after the invasion, as Germany used the event as a way to test its new military strategy of Blitzkrieg. This technique required all the available military to enforce a surprise attack on the other army, without giving them any time to prepare. This tactic was successful for the Germans, and Poland suffered greatly. After only about a month, Poland surrendered and both Germany and the Soviet Union took control of the country.
Germany saw mostly positive effects of the invasion since they came out victorious. Germany’s Blitzkrieg method was a success, so they felt completely prepared to defend themselves from France and Britain. Once they realized France and Britain had nowhere near as strong an army as Germany, the Germans saw this as a complete victory. However, Hitler broke his promise to not invade Poland, and his actions would eventually cause an outbreak of war in Europe.
The Soviet Union fought alongside Germany in the invasion, and obtained control of a large section of Poland. However, the Soviet Union eventually decided to switch sides and join the allies, and by doing so give up its territory in Poland. This was seen as a positive action for the USSR by most of Europe.
As a result of World War I, Britain lost an entire generation of its army. Britain hoped to avoid another European war at all costs, however Germany’s invasion on Poland inspired Britain to piece together an army and defeat the Germans. When Britain first declared war, they were nowhere near ready to fight Germany’s strong army. However, after about six months, Britain scraped together the best army they could, and went to war. Both countries suffered major loses, but Britain came out victorious.
The Invasion of Poland did not have much direct effect on the United States. Even though it did shock them, they saw it as a European problem, and did not want to get too involved in the matter. After considering the horrific impact World War I had on the United States army, they did not want to see major losses in the military again. Their direct involvement in the war came later, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
Poland was attacked in 1939 by the Germans and the Soviet Union and fell to their great military powers. This greatly affected countries in Europe and eventually countries all over the rest of the world with the beginnings of World War II. Poland was greatly affected since they were invaded and ruled by the Germans. Poland also had many Jewish people of which about 3 million died during the invasion. Some Polish troops escaped and fled to Britain in fear of the German Nazi rule. Germany was greatly affected as well as they had conquered a new territory, which was quite influential and a large step for the Germans at this point in their conquest. This created an alliance with the Soviet Union as they used combined efforts to take the Polish. The whole takeover was very successful and Hitler was able to exterminate more Jewish people in the many concentration camps set up in Poland. The Soviet Union shared the glory with the Germans whilst in battle with the Baltic States. On the other side the British were shocked by the invasion of Poland by the Germans as they had promised that they would not invade any more nations. Though the League of Nations had strived for peace and had waited, hoping that no war would be necessary, the Germans were relentless and broke all the promises they made. This did not make the British happy and as a result the British entered the war. They had not wanted to with images of World War I lingering in their minds, but the Germans had to be stopped. Finally the United States was affected also. As Britain was an ally in World War I the united states would surely be effected too. Though the United States did not enter the war until much later, the invasion of Poland affected Western Europe and would eventually affect the rest of the world too.
Germany: The non-aggression pact with Poland was not popular with the extremely nationalistic German people. The Hitler supporters resented that Poland had acquired former German provinces. Hitler formed the non-aggression pact to deceive the French and Polish military alliance until the German forces could rearm. During this time, he plotted the invasion of Poland. Using the battle strategy called Blitzkrieg, the German and Soviet troops obliterated the Polish defense. The German military alone was far superior to the Polish defense and was heavily armed with tanks, dive bombers, and foot soldiers. The terror-bombing used by the German military was the key instrument it the fall of Poland because they inflicted tremendous civilian casualties and by that time, the German air force was the best trained and equipped pilots in the world. This success for the Germans was pivotal because it triggered the allies involvement in WWII, reclaimed large amounts of territory, and showed the world the true threat of Hitler and the new Germany.
Poland: The Polish lack of mobility and poor choice to move troops closer to the border cost them any chance of victory. Warsaw was lost due to the shift south. This made it easy for the enemy to take it. Poland was crushed after the invasion and suffered extreme territorial losses to both Germany and the Soviet Union. The strong and independant nation that Poland had been after WWI was gone. However, many non-ethnic Poles welcomed the invasion, seeing them as liberators.
Soviet Union: The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East 16 days after the Germans had invaded and many Polish citizens viewed the Soviet invasion as the lesser of two evils. This view changed soon for the Soviet troops were not gracious occupiers,The Soviets killed thousands of prisoners of war. They did not honor the terms of surrender, capturing the Polish troops once they had laid down their arms. The Soviet military even tortured many Polish officers in prisons to gain information. In total, an estimated 150,000 Polish citizens died under Soviet rule through the duration of the war.
Great Britain: The same day Germany and the Soviet Union signed their treaty, Great Britain and Poland signed the British-Polish Pact of Mutual Assistance. This guaranteed that the British would protect Polish independence. After the invasion, Britain was bound by this contract to declare war on Germany.
The United States: The invasion of Poland dragged the United States into WWII which both pulled the country out of the Great Depression and yielded tremendous debts.
In late August 1939, Russia and Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Named after the Soviet and German Foreign ministers, this pact was also known as the Treaty of Non-Aggression between the Soviet Union and Germany. Just weeks later, on September 1st, 1939 the two countries began a partnered invasion of Poland.
Hours Previous to the invasion of Poland, on August 31st of the same year, German Nazis disguised themselves as Poles and staged an attack on the German radio station, Sender Gleiwitz. This attack, known as the Gleiwitz Incident, was one of many similar attacks executed under Operation Himmler. Operation Himmler was a series of disruptive incidents that were intended to project the presence of Polish violence against Germany. These apparent attacks were portrayed to justify the invasion of Poland.
On September 1st, 1939, Germany began the invasion of Poland. German forces pushed inward from the north, south, and west using the blitzgrieg method and forcing the Poles to retreat to eastward defenses closer to the Polish-German border. The Poles lost to Germany in the Battle of Bzura and prepared to fight again in the southeast with support from France and Britain. Soon after, the Soviets attacked Poland during the invasion of the Kresy. Help had not arrived from Britain or France. The Poles won the later Battle of Szak but the simple victory was not enough to save them. The Polish defeat by the Soviets in the battle of Kock led another Polish retreat this time into Romania, a neutral zone. The Germans and Soviets deemed the invasion of Poland successful although the Poles never formally surrendered.
The invasion of Poland led to many political changes in the country. The Germans and Soviets divided Poland into territories. The Nazis, the Soviets, Lithuania and Slovakia all gained domination of an area. The German portion of the Polish land was established under General Government (*Hitler also attempted to unify all German speakers including starting with those living in Poland). The Russian portion of Poland began a sovietization campaign including staged elections in order to strengthen Soviet occupation. The Lithuanian chapter in Poland was established as a Soviet sphere of Influence. Overall, the invasion of Poland and the political movements within the occupied country were enough to launch World War II.
Assuming WWI to be the war that would end all wars, European Nations and the US were not expecting another major conflict. Because of no previous intervention by the League of Nations over occupation and attacks, German Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, was not expecting a conflict either. However when the League of Nations chose to make a move, the 1945 result was ultimately catastrophic.
A shocked Britain and France declared war on Germany in 1939 and although they stood by for the 7month duration of the ‘Phony War’, their later engagements after recognizing the potential extent of German terror and domination led to unforgivable casualties and losses. America did not join Britain and France in the cause against Germany until later in the war similarly to WWI, when the war hit home. Literally, the bombing of Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor in 1941 spurred The US to declare war on Germany.
After World War II, the Russian communism example was looked down upon. President Truman would later sign a doctrine about communist containment that would set an example for the rest of the world but also spur wars to come. Germany after WWII was a broken nation after enduring intense internal issues, concentration camps and a now more terrible reputation. Other countries involved all lost numerous lives. Aside from loses, the sciences stepped into a new realm with the development of an atomic bomb in many countries. Women gained more rights in America and women’s suffrage would later become a more wide spread trend. After WWII America saw overall growth in its industry and technology.
In 1939, Poland ceased to exist. The country was attacked on all sides by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The Polish army attempted to defend the country, but days after the attack, the country surrendered.
ReplyDeleteThe Polish actually expected Germany to attack them. They were in the process of mounting defenses and training soldiers when the actual attack occurred. Despite this, however, the Polish had anticipated the attack to occur in 1942, so they were at a major military disadvantage. Poland was crushed within days. Under foreign rule, the Polish people were treated as inferior compared to the conquerors. Poland could be called Germany’s test ground. In Poland, the Germans started concentration camps and severely hurt the Polish Jews. Also, Poland was taken over in days; this is an example of the blitzkrieg method of warfare. In the long term, the damage inflicted on Poland was a deep wound and it took many years to heal.
For the Germans, Poland was a success story. Their blitzkrieg method worked and so did their concentration camps. The success in Poland gave Germany the confidence to proceed in the takeover of other nations. In the long term though, the invasion of Poland hurt Germany. France and Great Britain declared war on Germany after the takeover; therefore, the German invasion of Poland could be considered the event that began World War II. World War II eventually caused great losses to Germany. She lost the war, and countless resources and human lives.
The Soviet Union also invaded Poland, but it is they are less remembered compared to the Germans. The Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, invaded and took over half of Poland while Germany controlled the other half. This was a secret part of the treaty signed with Germany. Stalin knew Germany would attack the Soviet Union eventually, but he needed time to prepare. Temporarily being allied with Hitler gave him time and a half of a country to act as a buffer between Germany and the Soviet Union. Eventually, the Soviet Union did fight the axis powers, and this was instrumental in the ending of World War II. The end of the war left the Soviets powerful and on the winning side. The downside, however, was the heavy losses and debts they suffered.
For Great Britain, the attack on Poland was a wakeup call. They realized that Germany was not going to behave and that war was unavoidable. Great Britain declared war on Germany after the attack of Poland. This resulted in debt, loss of lives, and loss of resources. The British suffered much in World War II and the attack on Poland started it all. It also took Great Britain a considerable amount of time to recover.
The invasion of Poland also influenced the United States. The German invasion of Poland began World War II. World War II seriously affected the United States. During the war, the United States lost men and resources, and gained expensive debts. The war did have a positive effect on the United States though. With World War II, the Great Depression ended. This was a good development for the United States and many other countries as well.
In 1939 during the beginning of World War II Poland Was invaded on all sides by both the German and Soviet Forces. The Polish country was expecting an attack from Germany so it gave them a chance to fight back. The invasion began a day after the Gleiwitz accident; they invaded from the north, south and west. The Polish forces retreated from their forward bases near Polish-German border to stronger lines of defense to the east. They then retreated to the south-east and continued to hold out until the French and British forces could arrive, unfortunately their defense plan was ruined when the Soviets invaded Poland as well. The invasion was one of the most significant battles of the War and can be considered the battle that began the Second World War the invasion was a wakeup call for England and the rest of the world meaning that Germany meant business and that they would not be taken down without a long and bloody fight. A large portion of Poland will be wiped out during this war; this was a catalyst for war and formed the Allies and the Axis in the end. But not everything was completely awful; WWII stopped the great depression in America and other countries because of the large increase in supply and demand. But war did cause a rapid population drop and some towns became completely devoid of men, the world has yet to fully recover from World War II.
ReplyDeleteInvasion of Poland
ReplyDeleteOn September first 1939, Hitler and Stalin’s forces invade Poland. Hitler uses a blitzkrieg offensive to assault the Polish troops and within 18 days of the attack the poles had fallen. It was decided upon in the non-aggression treaty between Hitler and Stalin that their countries would divide up Poland until it disappeared. It was called the Ribentropp-Molotov pact The Germans would go into 60% on the Western side and the Russians would go into the remaining 40% on the other side. Within six weeks Poland no longer existed.
To the Poles this was the worst thing that could possibly have happened. They were subjected to horrible treatment, especially Polish Jews. Just before the invasion Hitler told his generals, "Kill without pity or mercy all men, women and children of Polish race and language." Otto R. Tannenberg, a German author, once wrote, “War must leave nothing to the vanquished but their eyes to weep with..." One announcement in German occupied Poland reminded Poles of this statement saying: “Poles who have not yet realized that they are the vanquished and we the victors . . . will be exposing themselves to the most severe penalties (Death).” The losses that Poland’s population suffered during the war were proportionately by far the greatest of any nation participating in WWII. The country lost 6.5 million of its previous 35 million. 3 million of the 3.3 million Polish Jews were murdered, that is 90% of the Jewish population. Additionally, 200,000 were sent to Germany for ‘Germanization’, and 75%, 150,000 never returned to their families in Poland.
In October of 1939, just two months after the initial invasion, Germany annexed the former Polish territories that were along Germany’s eastern border. These included West Prussia, Poznan, Upper Silesia, and the former Free City of Danzig. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941, they gained the remainder of Poland, and the country stayed under German occupation until January 1945.
For Germany, Poland was a splendid example of the effectiveness of their Blitzkrieg method of attack. It meant an increase in land and power. It also meant the acquisition of German speakers, which was important to Hitler, who had promised to unite all that could speak the superior language. However, Hitler had not been expecting England and France to do anything in response to the invasion due to the previous appeasement and extreme aversion to anything violent. He was shocked therefore when both of countries declared war on Germany. In the long run the invasion of Poland severally hurt Germany because it was the catalyst that began World War Two, which Germany lost.
ReplyDeleteThe Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on September 17, 1939. They knew that eventually Hitler would forsake their agreement, but Stalin waited to dissolve the partnership until he had taken his half of Poland. He was successful in the takeover and this proved to be a great victory for the Soviet Union’s Red Army. Russia called the invasion the "the liberation campaign", but really they just wanted more land, more power, and more people to rule. The attack led to the assimilation of millions of Poles, western Ukrainians, and western Belarusians into the Soviet Ukrainian and Belorussian republics. In November of the same year, the soviet government annexed the territory and declared that the 13.5 million Poles who lived there were now Russians.
On September third, just three days after the invasion of Poland, France and Great Britain were forced to declare war on Germany. The years of naïve appeasement and intolerance for violence had finally caught up to Great Britain. Now they had to fight a war that was almost on their doorstep and that they were wholly unprepared for. Their demilitarization meant that they were not the military power that they once were. This led to what is often referred to as “The Phoney War”, the seven months after Britain declared war in which nothing happened. During this time period, Britain was beginning its war preparations. At the end of this time period Hitler attacked and defeated both Denmark and Norway. He planned to use these countries as a base for an attack on Great Britain. Now, Britain had no choice but to defend herself from the Nazi War Machine. In the long run, Great Britain and her allies were able to defeat Germany but it came with a heavy loss of life.
At this point in the war the United States was remaining neutral. They considered it a European war and did not believe that it concerned them. It was not until December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, that America wanted to enter the World War. When Hitler officially declared war on the United States four days later we immediately responded by joining the Allies in their war against Germany. Eventually, the Axis Powers were defeated, but, just like England, it came with a price.
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ReplyDeleteIn the summer of 1939, Hitler negotiated a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union which stated that Poland would be divided between the two power, which allowed for Germany to attack Poland with support from Stalin. The polish army was completely unprepared for the new warfare which surrounded them.
ReplyDeleteWithin weeks of the invasion, the Polish army was easily defeated. There were more than 2,000 german tanks and over 1,000 planes which broke the Polish defenses which were stationed across the boarder. After many weeks of bombing and heavy shelling, Poland surrendered to Germany on September 28, 1939. About 100,000 Polish soldiers escaped to England out of fear for Hitler's rule. Under the Nazi's appointed Hans Frank as Governor General of Poland, over 6 million Poles - Nearly 22% of Poland's population, died during the invasion including 3 million Jews. This was due to one of the aspects of German policy: "The German minority living in this ethnically mixed region was required to adhere to strict codes of behavior and was held accountable for all unauthorized contacts with their Polish and, even more so, their Jewish neighbors. The system of control and repression strove to isolate the various ethnic (‘racial’) groups, encouraging denunciations and thus instilling fear in the populace."
Sixteen days after the Germans had invaded Poland, the Soviet Union had invaded from the East since Hitler and Stalin secretly agreed that they would both invade Poland while Russia also invaded Finland and Baltic countries. They were able to annex the territory under its control and made 13.5 million Polish citizens as citizens of the Soviet Union. Overall this invasion was a great success for the Soviet’s Red Army. They were able to capture 452,500 Polish soldiers and take them as prisoners of war.
For the Germans this was a great success. Not only did were they able to rule and control Poland along with the Soviet Union, but they also set up various concentration camps which were able to exterminate many jews. Upon invasion, they used an effective method called the 'blitzkrieg' or 'lightening war', which was "when a country used all of its military resources simultaneously to overwhelm the opponent" (Mr. Webber, History Notes).
Great Britain originally did not think that the Germans would keep on taking land and the German takeover of Poland came as a complete shock. After the invasion, Britain, as well as France, declared war on Germany once they realized that Hitler needed to be stopped or else he would continue to conquer one country after the next and become the strongest power in Europe.
Although the United States was not directly involved in the invasion, this event still is considered the ‘spark’ of WWII which the U.S. was heavily involved in. The U.S. suffered very little during the war, even though they lost many men, because they became a formidable manufacturing power. This also led the United States into a period of wealth in industry, technology, and agriculture.
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ReplyDeletePoland Invasion
ReplyDeleteIn 1939, both Germany and the Soviet Union, who had signed a treaty that allied them, invaded Poland. The Polish attempted to defend their country, but it fell to the Germans and Russians within weeks. Although the polish anticipated the attack they believed that it would be in 1942; thus the attack caught them somewhat by surprise, and the polish did not have time to fully prepare. The Polish suffered severely from the attack; the Germans brutally defeated them using the blitzkrieg method of warfare and killed 6 million Polacks, including 3 million Jews. The war was a great success for the Germans, proving the effectiveness of the blitzkrieg method of warfare and allowed them to set up concentration camps in Poland. In the long run WWII, proved to be tragic for Germany, as the Germans lost the war, suffering many human and resource losses.
The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin invaded Poland along with Germany and was able to share half of it with Germany. This worked well in Russia’s plan, because Joseph Stalin knew that Germany would eventually change sides and fight the Soviet Union. Poland served as a buffer between Germany and the Soviet Union, and allowed Russia to play a key role in fighting the axis powers in WWII.
Great Britain was unaware that Germany would continue to take land, and the invasion of Poland alerted Britain to the threat of Germany. Immediately after the invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. WWII led to debt, loss of life and resources.
Although not directly involved in the Poland invasion, the invasion sparked WWII in which the United States lost men, resources, and developed heavy national debt. Eventually the war had a positive effect on the United States, and at the wars end the United States was able to pull out of the Great Depression.
With the cooperation of Russia, Hitler began his aggressive, surprise invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. A new military strategy, blitzkrieg, was utilized. This method involved using all of a nation’s military resources concurrently to take over the opponent. While Hitler and his forces tended to Poland, Stalin addressed Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Following the attack, Phony War ensued for seven months.
ReplyDeleteThe effects of the invasion of Poland were devastating to Poland. Many Jews were removed, killed, or placed into ghettos with atrocious conditions. The country was divided and ruled partially by Germany and partially by Russia. During this time period, the Polish Underground State formed, and eventually merged with the Polish Armed Forces. In the long term, Poland was defeated in World War 2 and lost much of its territory. Soviet influence remained prevalent and led to continuing communist rule for 40 years. The invasion of Poland yielded beneficial effects for Germany. Hitler succeeded in his mission of uniting more German speaking people and expanding Germany’s borders, all for the purpose of dominating Europe and eventually the world. His new war methods (blitzkrieg) proved effective. Spirits were high in Germany. Though this invasion was originally advantageous, in the long term Germany lost the war.Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, the UK (and France) declared war upon Germany. The US involved itself later. Both the UK and US failed to help Poland institute a democratic government at the end of World War 2, leading to Polish communist rule. The British benefitted from Polish war technology, such as the Enigma cipher.The Soviet Union gained territory with their invasion of Poland, a short two weeks after Germany’s. Poland acted as protection for Russia, and it provided a cushion between Germany and Russia. Stalin lost some support because his followers perceived Hitler negatively and viewed Stalin as a positive force. Stalin was stooping to Hitler’s level. In the short term, Stalin’s alliance with Hitler was viewed in an extremely negative light.
In 1939, Germany further increased its boundaries by stretching its forces all the way out to Poland. Against the Polish the German forces utilized its blitzkrieg method, sending all forces at once, which consisted of more than 2,000 panzer tanks and heavy aircraft. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland because the leader of Russia, Joseph Stalin, signed an agreement with Hitler that stated that he could regain the territory that Russia lost in WWI if he helped Hitler. Germany did not formally declare war on Poland, the German army just attacked and took over very quickly.
ReplyDeleteIn Poland, the casualties, both civilian and military, were tremendously high. The civilian losses alone reaches 200,000, while the casualties of the military were around 60,000. Other Polish troops either escaped Poland to avoid capture and placement into German concentration camps. 420,000 troops were captured by Germany, and 240,000 by the Soviet Union. Since Poland had surrendered Germany very quickly after the start of the invasion, Poland was under Hitler’s rule and occupied by German soldiers,
The invasion of Poland was very successful to Germany. Germany’s blitzkrieg method worked very well against the Polish forces and the invasion was a quick success. After Poland had surrendered to the German and Soviet forces, Germany and the Soviet Union annexed Poland and split up the land amongst themselves. Germany also established multiple concentration camps in Poland, the famous Auschwitz among them. These concentration camps held many of the millions of Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. Germany also acquired more than 400,000 Polish troops as prisoners of war.
The invasion of Poland was very significant to the Soviet Union. Since Joseph Stalin had agreed to Hitler’s non-aggression pact and did his part of the deal, he was able to conquer the northern Baltic states that Russia had lost to Germany at the end of World War I. Russia also gained prisoners of war from Poland too. However, the non-aggression pact with Germany was short lived since Hitler would invade Russia after the start of WWII and Russia will fight against Germany and the rest of the axis powers for the remainder of the war.
Britain and other European countries were shocked that Germany had invaded Poland without a formal declaration of war. Britain and France both declared war on Germany very soon after the invasion of Poland, which would create a war that no country expected. In this war, Britain suffered nearly 600,000 casualties.
The invasion of Poland did not have a direct effect of the United States, however it further influenced the presidents to actually get into the war. The United States didn’t actually declare war on Germany, Italy, and Japan until 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. WWII stopped the Great Depression in America even though there were a large amount of American casualties.
The Soviet and German invasion of Poland created short term effects on Poland, Germany, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and England. One of the more obvious effects on Poland was the extreme loss of life it suffered during the initial invasion (Hitler himself ordered his armies to "kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish descent or language... only in this way can we achieve the living space we need." (qtd. in ww2db.com) as well as during the following years of the Holocaust. Also, Poland was divided into two, with one portion governed by the Soviet Union and the other by Germany for the duration of the war.
ReplyDeleteGermany was given control of previously owned territory, which gave more power and moral to the government. Also, after the success of the invasion, Hitler and the Nazis knew that their method of blitzkrieg worked. This military method would prove vital to many of their successes during WWII.
The USSR’s alliance with Germany made the people of the Soviet Union resentful towards the fact that they were on the losing and “evil” side of the war. Also, while the Soviet Union was in control in Poland, the Soviets were able to use many Poles to create a strong army that would aid them in the war.
The invasion of Poland also created many long-term effects on Poland, Germany, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and England. Although Poland was reunited after the end of WWII, the effects of Soviet rule stayed with the country. Poland remained sovietized, in other words Communist, for the next 40 years.
The invasion could have created devastation long-term effects on Germany. The fact that France stood by and did nothing as Germany invaded Poland could have possibly changed the course of the war. While Germany was using the majority of its forces on the invasion of Poland, militarily strong France could have created a disaster for Hitler and his troops. This could have changed the outcome of the war drastically. However, France didn’t do anything to attack Germany, in fear of another war, and Germany was able to maintain control for another six years, until the end of the war in 1945.
The Soviet Union’s short-term alliance with Germany created long term problems. This short partnership (along with the fact that Russia was Communist, like Germany) caused the Allies to consider the USSR as an Axis power, even when Hitler turned on Stalin.
A long-term effect on Great Britain was the lasting alliance it created between Poland and Britain. Although Poland remained Communist for 40 years after the war, it would still always remember Britain coming to its aid after the invasion. Another obvious long-term effect on Great Britain, the US, as well as the Soviet Union and Germany was the fact that the invasion of Poland was the event that caused Great Britain and other countries to declare war on Germany. Although the US didn’t enter the war until the attack on Pearl Harbor, there wouldn’t have been a war to enter without the spark that set it off.
On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union launched an attack on Poland. Germany justified this attack by falsifying a report that said Poland had attacked a German radio station. From the air, Germany began bombing Polish airfields, and from the sea, German boats were attacking Polish defenses. Germany and the Soviet Union’s combined military strength easily overpowered Poland. In all, Germany and the Soviet Union had about 2,500,000 troops versus Poland’s 280,000 troops. Apart from soldiers, Germany’s weapon were also more advanced than the Poles. Germany had the most advanced tanks of the time, while Poland relied mainly on its cavalry for mobility. Germany’s naval and air force were also far more superior than Poland’s. Early in the invasion, Hitler implemented a strategy known as the Blitzkrieg, which is an all out attack which is meant to overwhelm the enemy’s defenses and disrupt the rear positions. The invasion ended on October 5 of the same year. The Germans had a lost about 8,000 men, while the Poles lost nearly 70,000. Obviously, the results of the invasion had horrible effects of Poland. They lost a large number of men and half their population was forced to flee the country. Many Poles went to France and Britain where they would later fight in order to stop Germany. For the Soviets and Germany this was a great success. Stalin was able to take over 400,000 Polish soldiers as prisoners of war and Germany took control of Poland. They also set up several concentration camps in order to exterminate the Jewish population. Poland was then divided among the Soviet Union, Germany, Lithuania, and Slovakia. Hitler’s takeover of Poland prompted both Britain and France to declare war on Germany to put a stop to Hitler’s plans. Later, the United States would join and ultimately end the war.
ReplyDeleteThe Invasion of Poland
ReplyDeleteOn September 1, 1939 the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, and the Polish army was defeated in less than two weeks. At 6am Poland was invaded by all side, north, south, and west with a succession of bombing raids. As the Germans advanced, Polish forces left their forward bases of operation near the Polish-German border to establish more lines of defenses in the east. On the same day at 8am Poland requested immediate military aid from France and Britain. It wasn’t until noon on September 3rd that Britain declared war on Germany, accompanied by France.
The invasion of Poland was a short, victorious war for the Germans for two reasons. First of all, Hitler first armored corps defeated the Polish forces in a blitzkrieg offensive. Second, Hitler deduced that France and British prime ministers were weak and indecisive leaders, who would want a peace settlement rather than war. In the long term the invasion of Poland weakened Germany because they lost World War II and innumerous resources and lives.
For the Soviet Union the invasion of Poland was a great success because they were able to capture many polish soldiers and take them as prisoners of war. Under Joseph Stalin, they took half of Poland while Germany controlled the other half. This was part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was a non-aggression pact between the two countries pledging neutrality by either party if the other were attacked by a third party. The long term effect was that the Soviet Union ended World War II, which left them powerful and on the winning side.
Great Britain declared war on Germany because they knew that they could not avoid the war and realize that Germany was not going to stop their behavior. Great Britain lost lots of lives and resources that resulted in debt. Also the attack on Poland caused the British to suffer throughout the war. In the long term effect was that it took the country a large amount of time to recover.
Even though the United States was not part of the invasion, it subsequently began World War II, which the U.S. was actively involved. The country lost many soldiers and resources, but there was a positive outcome. The Great Depression had ended, which led to a period of wealth.
The September 1, 1939 invasion of Poland, also known as the “September Campaign,” “1939 Defensive Campaign,” and “Poland Campaign,” began the Second World War. Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin invaded Poland from opposite sides to overpower the country. Hitler had previously signed a treaty stating that he would not invade any more countries; this violation of the treaty forced Great Britain at long last to declare war against Nazi Germany. The USSR and Germany displayed the beginnings Soviet Russia and Germany both gained new territory, and Germany successfully tested its Blitzkrieg (“Lightning War”) strategy. Hitler would use this tactic of overloading the enemy with attacks from all types of military forces for the remainder of the war. “Poland” ceased to exist, as it was divided and annexed by the Soviets and the Nazis. Families were torn apart and the Polish army became fugitives in their own country. The United States was not immediately affected by the invasion of Poland, although the country did begin supplying Great Britain and France with ammunition. Submarine warfare was rampant after this invasion and official declaration of war, and it took down many American merchant ships.
ReplyDeleteIn the long-term, Poland lost a large percentage of its population to Hitler’s concentration camps. The Jewish population of Poland was more or less decimated, and the non-Jewish population had heavy losses as well. 150,000-200,000 Poles were killed and another 320,000 were deported. Poland went through a period of instability due to the constant shifting of power between the Germans and the Soviets. The Germans learned the successes of the Blitzkrieg strategy, which they used against many other countries including Norway, Denmark, and France. Eventually, however, they lost the war caused by this invasion, meaning that for the second time in about thirty years they were forced to make concessions. The USSR did not remain in alliance with Germany for very long, so this war actually helped them to become a major recognized world power (as demonstrated in its being established as one of the Big 5 countries). Great Britain and the United States both learned that appeasement was not effective, causing major changes in their foreign policies. World War II also lifted all countries involved, particularly the United States, out of global economic depression. Additionally, all countries involved made huge military and scientific advances, most notably atomic warfare. These advances sparked the already competitive atmosphere between Communist and Capitalist nations into a “Cold War.”
John Heenan
ReplyDeleteThe German invasion of Poland during WWII had multiple effects. The short term effects were the occupation of Poland, the continued advancement of the German army, and more acquisitions that the Soviet Union were not party to. The long term effects were much more drastic. The invasion of Poland led to the outbreak of war that eventually became known as WWII. The Soviet Union, which felt that it was not getting the fair spoils of war, began to more seriously engage in the conflict. The advent of war meant many more deaths for the Germans, Soviets, and British. The long term outbreak of war also led to American involvement, after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. In this way, the successful invasion of Poland had the long term effects of initiating WWII and causing deaths among the armies and civilian populations of many countries.
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ReplyDeleteWhen Poland was attacked, it was critically affected. Germany started the attack Poland with a force that surrounded the entire country. Poland eventually had no way of escaping the brutal attack as it was engulfed in its own enemies. In the long term, it gave the German the upper hand because Hitler was able to successfully invade the country and kill many of the innocent citizens of Poland.
ReplyDeleteAt the time of the invasion, it was definitely a success for Germany because they were able to enter and take over the entire country of Poland. Using the Blitzkrieg method of invasion they were able to remain victorious. However, Germany did not remain successful for as long as the country may have planed. This led to fighting with both France and Britain and can be considered to have played a large role in the beginning of the Second World War.
The Soviet Union was originally siding with Germany at the beginning of the invasion. Assuming this was the successful power in the war, the USSR felt a sense of victory until realizing that they were on the side of the war that was losing. They made the decision to break apart from their alliance with Germany. The choice to switch sides made their role in the invasion of Poland distinguishable and respectable. In the long term, they resided on the side of victory and opposed German rule.
Great Britain was on the force opposing Germany during the Invasion of Poland. The invasion led them to attack Germany and is thought to be a strongly influential cause of World War II. The position Great Britain held both during the invasion of Poland and throughout World War II left them on the “good” side of this conflict.
The United States was the least directly effected by the Invasion of Poland. The United States continued to remain neutral force throughout this particular conflict. The United States joined the battle after being bombed by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor.
The invasion of Poland was the trigger that started World War II. After this event, both France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Some nations suffered major losses, some had tremendous gains, and some weren’t immediately affected at all.
ReplyDeletePoland suffered tremendous losses from Germany’s invasion. The invasion of Poland was Germany’s first major use of the Blitzkrieg, which is a strategy that requires a nation to use all of its available personnel, tanks, and aircraft to swiftly attack the other nation and catch it by surprise. This totally surprised and demoralized the scarcely prepared Polish. Partially as a result of this devastation, Poland did not play a large part in World War 2, and was conquered by the German regime. They were liberated by the Soviets in 1945.
Germany’s new Blitzkrieg method proved to be very effective in Poland and they completely dominated the unprepared nation. Also, they were very much prepared for France and Britain’s declaration of war. The German army was built up and ready to go, but France and Britain’s were not. This was a total victory for the German’s in the short-run. However, in the long-run, the invasion of Poland (keeping in mind that Germany specifically promised that they wouldn’t invade Poland) resulted in the war. If Germany had chosen to attack other places, they may have been better off in the long-run.
As a result of the invasion, the USSR obtained this new territory and was able to control it until the end of the war. However, the USSR and Germany had some very bad relationship-issues and decided it would be best to see other people. As a result, the USSR joined the allies and decided in 1945 that it did not want Poland any longer. This was seen by the world as a very good deed since it was decided by the international community that Germany was kind of a jerk and the USSR was better off without it and its (what were essentially) peace-incentives.
Britain was super pissed that Germany had invaded Poland. They wanted to avoid fighting for as long as possible, but Germany had broken enough promises. All hope of friendship was gone. They kept invading regions and countries that the League of Nations asked them not to, but Germany didn’t want to play fairly. As a result, Britain declared war. In the beginning, they were not at all ready to fight. However, after about half a year, there was all out war. Though both nations suffered major losses, Britain eventually ended up winning and left Germany seriously upset.
The United States was not immediately affected by the invasion of Poland. They did not join the war until much later. However, the invasion did bring a somewhat mild shock to the United States although it wasn’t as big as the reaction that Western Europe had. The United States, once again, saw this basically as a European issue and did not want to interfere. However, in the long-run, it obviously did end up dragging them into the war. The United States was not as affected by the war as many of the European nations, but its involvement in the war itself had a tremendous impact on the future.
Poland - Germany invaded Poland the first of September, 1939. The Polish were defeated within weeks. The Germans had more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes. They easily broke through Polish defenses along the border and continued on to Warsaw. After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 28, 1939. The Soviet Union and Germany signed the Ribentropp-Molotov pact, which split up Poland, giving 60% to Germany and the remaining to the Soviet Union.
ReplyDeleteGermany - Hitler experimented with his new attack method, blitzkrieg, during the invasion of Poland. It was tremendously successful and encouraged Germany to continue on in annexing other nations. Hitler acquired more german speaking citizens from Poland, fueling his campaign to unite all German people. Unfortunately for Hitler, he was not expecting a violent reaction from the Allies, who declared war of Germany. He had been appeased when he took the Sudantenland, the Rhineland, Austria and the Czech Republic; and was surprised when he found himself in war with many other countries.
Soviet-Union - The Soviet Union obtained and maintained the land they received in Poland until 1945. At that time, they switched alliances and decided to give up the land they held in Poland.
Britain - Britain had lost a whole generation of men in World War I and the country was still getting back up on its feet. Britain wanted to avoid another war at all costs, but could not overlook Hitlers blatant disregard to the promises he had made. Britain declared war in 1939, but found herself unprepared to fight. She managed to scrape together a somewhat effective military the 7 months before the fighting began. Ultimately, Britain and the allies proved to be the stronger force and managed to overcome Germany.
United States - The United States regarded Germany and its expansionism very much as a European problem. They did not want to lose more men to another war which did not include them. They were concerned by the invasion of Poland, but did not involve themselves. Once the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor though, America quickly joined the war and helped end it.
The Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 had many effects. In the short term, some Polish citizens welcomed the Soviets as liberators for the Jews and other forsaken groups of people feared not the Germans while they remained under Soviet rule. Others in Poland strongly resisted Soviet rule and organized protests and uprisings. France and England were, once again, hesitant to take action for fear of disturbing the peace they had clung onto for so many years. They were also slightly swayed towards not taking drastic action against the Germans and the Soviets when they learned that Turkey, a country they both wanted to maintain a good relationship with, supported the Soviet invasion. France and England also saw trade opportunities in the Soviet takeover of Poland. Germany and the Soviets had, in taking over Poland, opened up a direct line of attack on France. The Soviets also gained a large amount of forced support in their expedition towards spreading communism. In the long term, France and England began planning for a war against Germany and Russia.
ReplyDeleteWith the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a nonaggression treaty that also detailed the division of north and eastern Europe, Germany and Russia were quick to utilize their alliance and on September 1st, 1939 commenced a two front invasion of Poland. The German battleplan called blitzkrieg, which entailed concentrating the vast majority of ones forces to rapidly overwhelm enemy ranks, was used in perfect conjunction with the Russian invasion on September 17th to force a total retreat of all Polish troops to Romania.
ReplyDeletePoland was ravaged by the “total war” tactics used by the Germans, thousands of citizens were slain along with multiple towns and most of the countries infrastructure were completely destroyed as a result. After having completed the campaign, Russia and Germany proceeded to divvy up the newly acquired country. Great Britain and France who had sworn to protect Poland if it should come under attack would declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II. The United States had sworn no such allegiance and Poland and remained settled across the Atlantic, preferring to think of the upcoming conflict as a European war solely.
On 1 September 1939, Germany began its invasion of its neighbor to the east, Poland. Germany was able to attack Poland not only from the west, but also from the north and south, due to its connections with East Prussia, Czech, and Slovakia. The Polish were expecting an attack from the Germans, but not so soon, and were forced to fall back to more fortified defenses. However, the Polish had not expected a Russian invasion, so when the Soviets invaded from the west on 17 September 1939, the Polish defensive plan was rendered obsolete. Polish troops had no choice but to evacuate to neutral Romania, allowing Germany and the Soviet Union to gain full control of Poland on 8 October 1939.
ReplyDeletePoland was devastated. The “total war” mindset of German and Soviet forces called for destruction and killing of both military and civilian property and persons. Germany, controlling eastern Poland, terrorized Polish Jews and implemented whatever laws they deemed appropriate on Polish civilians. The Soviet Union, controlling western Poland, immediately began transforming the area into a communist state. An estimated 150,000-200,000 Polish civilians died due to the invasion and Poland’s government was torn to pieces.
The European Allies declared war on Germany just two days after it invaded Poland, though they did little to aid Poland and halt the invasion. Had the Allies done more to stop the invasion, Germany may have been stopped there and WWII may have been avoided. Germany’s victory over Poland gave it the confidence to invaded and eventually occupy France, which, once again, may have been avoided had the Allies put more effort towards the aid of the Polish. The United States, at this point, still viewed this as a European conflict and remained out of the war.
Germany gained much, and lost little from its invasion of Poland, and may have been able to keep it, had it not later invaded Russia. In the end, Russia gained little from its invasion of Russia, because eventually it sided with the Allies against Germany.
The German invasion of Poland was extremely quick, with a German victory within days. The Germans used their most efficient military tactic, Blitzkrieg, or lightening war which involved attacking very quickly with tanks and planes as well as ground forces. The Germans were assisted by the Russians who were also planning to take over the territories they lost in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. These countries included Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. The German take over of Poland was a major event in the Holocaust because of the high Jewish population in Poland. Some of the most infamous ghettos, such as the Warsaw ghetto, and some of the worst concentration camps, such as Auschwitz were in Poland. The German success in Poland energized the for the coming war and strengthened their determination to fight.
ReplyDeleteThis was not the first time that the Germans and their allies tested out the waters for global domination, Germany had taken Czechoslovakia and the Rhineland, Japan had conquered Manchuria, Korea and large swaths of China, and Italy took control of Ethiopia, but it was the first time the European community reacted to the threat of impending war. Two days after the invasion, England and France declared war on Germany, although they would not take action for many months. The invasion of Poland forced France and Britain into war, making them end the appeasement that had been occurring for many years in regards to German expansion. Britain and France had to rearm quickly to fight against the Nazis, and were not completely rearmed when they began to fight. This led to the takeover of France and the bombing of Britain from Norway.
For the Soviet Union, the invasion of Poland was the precursor to their own campaign to retake territory, which they did fairly successfully until Germany invaded Russia and the treaty between them ended. Following the invasion, Russia joined the Allies to defeat Germany.
For the United States, Europe was a far off place and they chose to stay out of the war for many years. The invasion of Poland meant little to the US and they did not enter the war until the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.
Poland saw great defeat after the invasion, as Germany used the event as a way to test its new military strategy of Blitzkrieg. This technique required all the available military to enforce a surprise attack on the other army, without giving them any time to prepare. This tactic was successful for the Germans, and Poland suffered greatly. After only about a month, Poland surrendered and both Germany and the Soviet Union took control of the country.
ReplyDeleteGermany saw mostly positive effects of the invasion since they came out victorious. Germany’s Blitzkrieg method was a success, so they felt completely prepared to defend themselves from France and Britain. Once they realized France and Britain had nowhere near as strong an army as Germany, the Germans saw this as a complete victory. However, Hitler broke his promise to not invade Poland, and his actions would eventually cause an outbreak of war in Europe.
The Soviet Union fought alongside Germany in the invasion, and obtained control of a large section of Poland. However, the Soviet Union eventually decided to switch sides and join the allies, and by doing so give up its territory in Poland. This was seen as a positive action for the USSR by most of Europe.
As a result of World War I, Britain lost an entire generation of its army. Britain hoped to avoid another European war at all costs, however Germany’s invasion on Poland inspired Britain to piece together an army and defeat the Germans. When Britain first declared war, they were nowhere near ready to fight Germany’s strong army. However, after about six months, Britain scraped together the best army they could, and went to war. Both countries suffered major loses, but Britain came out victorious.
The Invasion of Poland did not have much direct effect on the United States. Even though it did shock them, they saw it as a European problem, and did not want to get too involved in the matter. After considering the horrific impact World War I had on the United States army, they did not want to see major losses in the military again. Their direct involvement in the war came later, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
Poland was attacked in 1939 by the Germans and the Soviet Union and fell to their great military powers. This greatly affected countries in Europe and eventually countries all over the rest of the world with the beginnings of World War II. Poland was greatly affected since they were invaded and ruled by the Germans. Poland also had many Jewish people of which about 3 million died during the invasion. Some Polish troops escaped and fled to Britain in fear of the German Nazi rule. Germany was greatly affected as well as they had conquered a new territory, which was quite influential and a large step for the Germans at this point in their conquest. This created an alliance with the Soviet Union as they used combined efforts to take the Polish. The whole takeover was very successful and Hitler was able to exterminate more Jewish people in the many concentration camps set up in Poland. The Soviet Union shared the glory with the Germans whilst in battle with the Baltic States.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side the British were shocked by the invasion of Poland by the Germans as they had promised that they would not invade any more nations. Though the League of Nations had strived for peace and had waited, hoping that no war would be necessary, the Germans were relentless and broke all the promises they made. This did not make the British happy and as a result the British entered the war. They had not wanted to with images of World War I lingering in their minds, but the Germans had to be stopped. Finally the United States was affected also. As Britain was an ally in World War I the united states would surely be effected too. Though the United States did not enter the war until much later, the invasion of Poland affected Western Europe and would eventually affect the rest of the world too.
Germany:
ReplyDeleteThe non-aggression pact with Poland was not popular with the extremely nationalistic German people. The Hitler supporters resented that Poland had acquired former German provinces. Hitler formed the non-aggression pact to deceive the French and Polish military alliance until the German forces could rearm. During this time, he plotted the invasion of Poland. Using the battle strategy called Blitzkrieg, the German and Soviet troops obliterated the Polish defense. The German military alone was far superior to the Polish defense and was heavily armed with tanks, dive bombers, and foot soldiers. The terror-bombing used by the German military was the key instrument it the fall of Poland because they inflicted tremendous civilian casualties and by that time, the German air force was the best trained and equipped pilots in the world. This success for the Germans was pivotal because it triggered the allies involvement in WWII, reclaimed large amounts of territory, and showed the world the true threat of Hitler and the new Germany.
Poland:
The Polish lack of mobility and poor choice to move troops closer to the border cost them any chance of victory. Warsaw was lost due to the shift south. This made it easy for the enemy to take it. Poland was crushed after the invasion and suffered extreme territorial losses to both Germany and the Soviet Union. The strong and independant nation that Poland had been after WWI was gone. However, many non-ethnic Poles welcomed the invasion, seeing them as liberators.
Soviet Union:
The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East 16 days after the Germans had invaded and many Polish citizens viewed the Soviet invasion as the lesser of two evils. This view changed soon for the Soviet troops were not gracious occupiers,The Soviets killed thousands of prisoners of war. They did not honor the terms of surrender, capturing the Polish troops once they had laid down their arms. The Soviet military even tortured many Polish officers in prisons to gain information. In total, an estimated 150,000 Polish citizens died under Soviet rule through the duration of the war.
Great Britain:
The same day Germany and the Soviet Union signed their treaty, Great Britain and Poland signed the British-Polish Pact of Mutual Assistance. This guaranteed that the British would protect Polish independence. After the invasion, Britain was bound by this contract to declare war on Germany.
The United States:
The invasion of Poland dragged the United States into WWII which both pulled the country out of the Great Depression and yielded tremendous debts.
In late August 1939, Russia and Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Named after the Soviet and German Foreign ministers, this pact was also known as the Treaty of Non-Aggression between the Soviet Union and Germany. Just weeks later, on September 1st, 1939 the two countries began a partnered invasion of Poland.
ReplyDeleteHours Previous to the invasion of Poland, on August 31st of the same year, German Nazis disguised themselves as Poles and staged an attack on the German radio station, Sender Gleiwitz. This attack, known as the Gleiwitz Incident, was one of many similar attacks executed under Operation Himmler. Operation Himmler was a series of disruptive incidents that were intended to project the presence of Polish violence against Germany. These apparent attacks were portrayed to justify the invasion of Poland.
On September 1st, 1939, Germany began the invasion of Poland. German forces pushed inward from the north, south, and west using the blitzgrieg method and forcing the Poles to retreat to eastward defenses closer to the Polish-German border. The Poles lost to Germany in the Battle of Bzura and prepared to fight again in the southeast with support from France and Britain. Soon after, the Soviets attacked Poland during the invasion of the Kresy. Help had not arrived from Britain or France. The Poles won the later Battle of Szak but the simple victory was not enough to save them. The Polish defeat by the Soviets in the battle of Kock led another Polish retreat this time into Romania, a neutral zone. The Germans and Soviets deemed the invasion of Poland successful although the Poles never formally surrendered.
The invasion of Poland led to many political changes in the country. The Germans and Soviets divided Poland into territories. The Nazis, the Soviets, Lithuania and Slovakia all gained domination of an area. The German portion of the Polish land was established under General Government (*Hitler also attempted to unify all German speakers including starting with those living in Poland). The Russian portion of Poland began a sovietization campaign including staged elections in order to strengthen Soviet occupation. The Lithuanian chapter in Poland was established as a Soviet sphere of Influence. Overall, the invasion of Poland and the political movements within the occupied country were enough to launch World War II.
Assuming WWI to be the war that would end all wars, European Nations and the US were not expecting another major conflict. Because of no previous intervention by the League of Nations over occupation and attacks, German Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, was not expecting a conflict either. However when the League of Nations chose to make a move, the 1945 result was ultimately catastrophic.
A shocked Britain and France declared war on Germany in 1939 and although they stood by for the 7month duration of the ‘Phony War’, their later engagements after recognizing the potential extent of German terror and domination led to unforgivable casualties and losses. America did not join Britain and France in the cause against Germany until later in the war similarly to WWI, when the war hit home. Literally, the bombing of Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor in 1941 spurred The US to declare war on Germany.
After World War II, the Russian communism example was looked down upon. President Truman would later sign a doctrine about communist containment that would set an example for the rest of the world but also spur wars to come. Germany after WWII was a broken nation after enduring intense internal issues, concentration camps and a now more terrible reputation. Other countries involved all lost numerous lives. Aside from loses, the sciences stepped into a new realm with the development of an atomic bomb in many countries. Women gained more rights in America and women’s suffrage would later become a more wide spread trend. After WWII America saw overall growth in its industry and technology.