slovak invasion of poland

Since most of the Polish forces were engaged with the German armies, which were more to the north of the southern border, the Slovak invasion met only weak . Contrary to the 1,009 cars and trucks and 4,842 horses in the average German infantry division, the average Polish infantry division had 76 cars and trucks and 6,939 horses. Gerd von Rundstedt's 35 divisions attacked southern Poland. Now, 79 years later many people don't know that over 50,000 Slovak soldiers invaded Poland alongside Germany, resulting in the Polish regions of Spisz and Orawa, inhabited by 34,500, being incorporated into Slovakia. But to protect Russia from the Nazi threat, it was clearly necessary that Russian armies should stand on this line. Around then, the Luftwaffe attacked a number of military and civilian targets, including Wielu, the first large-scale city bombing of the war. All Slovak units were pulled back until the end of September 1939. None of the parties to the conflictGermany, the Western Allies or the Soviet Unionexpected that the German invasion of Poland would lead to a war that would surpass World War I in its scale and cost. With tensions mounting, Germany turned to aggressive diplomacy. [Note 5] However, for the September Campaign, not all of those aircraft were mobilized. Meanwhile, Polish forces tried to move towards the Romanian Bridgehead area, still actively resisting the German invasion. In any case, this line exists and, consequently, the Eastern front has been created, which Nazi Germany will not dare to attack[115], On 23 May 1939, Hitler explained to his officers that the object of the aggression was not Danzig, but the need to obtain German Lebensraum and details of this concept would be later formulated in the infamous Generalplan Ost. Hitler had already issued orders to prepare for a possible "solution of the Polish problem by military means" through the Case White scenario. [99], The Polish Campaign was the first action by Hitler in his attempt to create Lebensraum (living space) for Germans. The Polish Air Force consisted of a 'Bomber Brigade', 'Pursuit Brigade' and aircraft assigned to the various ground armies. During Operation Tannenberg, a campaign of ethnic cleansing organized by multiple elements of the German government, tens of thousands of Polish civilians were shot at 760 mass execution sites by the Einsatzgruppen. In fact, the Soviets agreed not to aid France or the UK in the event of their going to war with Germany over Poland and, in a secret protocol of the pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed to divide Eastern Europe, including Poland, into two spheres of influence; the western one-third of the country was to go to Germany and the eastern two-thirds to the Soviet Union. Western accounts of the September campaign have stressed the shock value of the panzers and Stuka attacks, they have, tended to underestimate the punishing effect of German artillery on Polish units. Polish tanks: 100880, 100 is the number of modern tanks, while the 880 number includes older tanks from the World War I era and. The Corridor had become a part of Poland after the Treaty of Versailles. The Polish determination to deploy forces directly at the German-Polish border, prompted by the Polish-British Common Defence Pact, shaped the country's defence plan, "Plan West". Zaloga and Madej[138], For more details on the invasion by the Soviet Union, see, Combat between Polish cavalry and German tanks, Various sources contradict each other so the figures quoted above should only be taken as a rough indication of the strength estimate. One-third of Poland's forces were massed in or near the Polish Corridor, making them vulnerable to a double envelopment from East Prussia and the west. Poland has outright announced that it wants to give . Hitler sought to use this as casus belli, a reason for war, reverse the post-1918 territorial losses, and on many occasions had appealed to German nationalism, promising to "liberate" the German minority still in the Corridor, as well as Danzig. French and participating Allies to German forces in the Battle of France: 2,862,000 soldiers, 13,974 guns, 3,384 tanks, 3,099 aircraft 2 (Allies) to 3,350,000 soldiers, 7,378 guns, 2,445 tanks, 5,446 aircraft (Germany). The south-Slovak part of Czechoslovakia had contained a substantial Hungarian population (Slovakia had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary). Then, the Polish forces were trapped out in the open and were attacked by wave after wave of Stukas, dropping 50kg (110lb) light bombs, which caused huge numbers of casualties. Polish defenders on the Hel Peninsula on the shore of the Baltic Sea held out until 2 October. It was assumed that the Polish Army, fighting in the initial phase of the war alone, would have to defend the western regions of the country. That is guaranteed not only by Germany, but also guaranteed by Russia. Bombers also attacked cities, causing huge losses amongst the civilian population through terror bombing and strafing. Historian Steven Zaloga in Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg (2004): If a single image dominates the popular perception of the Polish campaign of 1939, it is the scene of Polish cavalry bravely charging the Panzers with their lances. On 8 and 13 September 1939, the German military district in the area of Posen, commanded by general Alfred von Vollard-Bockelberg[de], and West Prussia, commanded by general Walter Heitz, were established in conquered Greater Poland and Pomerelia, respectively. [Note 6] Soviet diplomacy had lied that they were "protecting the Ukrainian and Belarusian minorities of eastern Poland since the Polish government had abandoned the country and the Polish state ceased to exist".[91]. [120], According to the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, Soviet occupation between 1939 and 1941 resulted in the death of 150,000 and deportation of 320,000 of Polish citizens,[118][121] when all who were deemed dangerous to the Soviet regime were subject to Sovietization, forced resettlement, imprisonment in labor camps (the Gulags) or murdered, like the Polish officers in the Katyn massacre. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German-Soviet Frontier Treaty. However, in many places, German units crossed the Polish border even before that time. When the Soviet 29th Tank Brigade (commanded by Semyon Krivoshein) approached, the commanders agreed that the German troops would withdraw and the Soviet troops would enter the city, saluting each other. "At 5 am the Slovak army crossed the borders" - was written in the journal of the "Janosik" division 8.On this day, gen. atlo gave an order in which he said: "Determined Germany needs determined friends, with our sacrifice we will earn the posterity . [32] The British were also wary of Germany's increasing strength and assertiveness threatening its balance of power strategy. The defensive line ran between Posk and Putusk, respectively north-west and north-east of Warsaw. [16][111] Just three days earlier, however, the parties had a more hostile encounter near Lww (Lviv, Lemberg), when the German 137th Gebirgsjgerregimenter (mountain infantry regiment) attacked a reconnaissance detachment of the Soviet 24th Tank Brigade; after a few casualties on both sides, the parties turned to negotiations. The discrepancy in German casualties can be attributed to the fact that some German statistics still listed soldiers as missing decades after the war. Mezi svtovmi vlkami 19181938", Opava 2004, 21. The recently-created Slovak Republic joined the attack, and Field Army Bernolk contributed over 50,000 soldiers in three divisions. However, contrary to German propaganda, it was not destroyed on the groundin fact it was successfully dispersed before the conflict started and not a single one of its combat planes was destroyed on the ground in the first days of the conflict. Only in this way can we obtain the living space we need. At the same time, Guderian led his 3rd Army tanks across the Narew, attacking the line of the Bug River that had already encircled Warsaw. [128], In 1939, only 10% of the Polish army was made up of cavalry units. The Polish armies Pozna and Pomorze, retreating from the border area of the Polish Corridor, attacked the flank of the advancing German 8th Army, but the counterattack failed despite initial success. A large German army will have to be left behind to monitor it. The Polish plan for border defence was a dismal failure. In spite of this, Polish cavalry brigades were used as mobile mounted infantry and had some successes against both German infantry and cavalry. [21][22] Poland would be granted territory to its northeast in Ukraine and Belarus if it agreed to wage war against the Soviet Union, but the concessions the Poles were expected to make meant that their homeland would become largely dependent on Germany, functioning as little more than a client state. [108] On 28 September, another secret GermanSoviet protocol modified the arrangements of August: all of Lithuania was shifted to the Soviet sphere of influence; in exchange, the dividing line in Poland was moved in Germany's favour, eastwards towards the Bug River. Many Germans also wanted the urban port city of Danzig and its environs (comprising the Free City of Danzig) to be reincorporated into Germany. The German side described all this as an incident "caused by an insane individual" (see Jabonkw incident). [18] While some dissident elements within the Weimar Republic had long sought to annex territories belonging to Poland, it was Hitler's own idea and not a realization of any pre-1933 Weimar plans to invade and partition Poland,[19] annex Bohemia and Austria, and create satellite or puppet states economically subordinate to Germany. Meanwhile, the increased number of overflights by high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and cross-border troop movements signaled that war was imminent. [82] By 8 September, one of Reichenau's armoured corps, having advanced 225km (140mi) during the first week of the campaign, reached the outskirts of Warsaw. By 17 September, the Polish defence had already been broken and the only hope was to retreat and reorganize along the Romanian Bridgehead. However, Polish military planners failed to foresee the speed of the German advance and assumed that Armia Prusy would need to be fully mobilized by 16 September. Moreover, Poland had to deal with damage caused by World War I. There will be fighting.[36]. [112] On 7 September 1939, just a few days after France and Britain joined the war against Germany, Stalin explained to a colleague that the war was to the advantage of the Soviet Union, as follows:[113], A war is on between two groups of capitalist countries for the redivision of the world, for the domination of the world! It coerced Czechoslovakia to surrender the region of esk Tn by issuing an ultimatum to that effect on 30 September 1938, which was accepted by Czechoslovakia on 1 October. British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax said they were only obligated to declare war on Germany due to the first clause of the Anglo-Polish Agreement in 1939.[114]. Fear of enemy action against the flanks of the advance, fear which was to prove so disastrous to German prospects in the west in 1940 and in the Soviet Union in 1941, was present from the beginning of the war. Friends of the Wehrmacht. They had been lengthened by another 300km (190mi) on the southern side in the aftermath of the 1938 Munich Agreement. That strategy also left supply lines poorly protected. We would prefer that the Russian armies stand in their present positions as friends and allies of Poland, rather than as invaders. The Slovak invasion of Poland (1939) occurred during Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland.The recently created Slovak Republic joined the attack and the Slovak field army (Field Army Bernolk) contributed over 50,000 soldiers in three divisions.The Slovakians met only weak resistance and suffered minimal losses. [56] Poland acknowledged the benefits of mobility but was unable to invest heavily in many of the expensive, unproven inventions since then. The series of border violations, which are unbearable to a great power, prove that the Poles no longer are willing to respect the German frontier."[27]. [60], Overall, the Germans enjoyed numerical and qualitative aircraft superiority. It was then broadcast that Poland had rejected Germany's offer, and negotiations with Poland came to an end. How can they demand the rights of independent states? [37]. Lww capitulated on 22 September because of the Soviet intervention; the city had been attacked by the Germans over a week earlier, and in the middle of the siege, the German troops handed operations over to their Soviet allies. The different attitude of the Anglo-French allies of Poland towards Nazi Germany and the USSR was argued at this time, for example, by the future head of the British government, Churchill: Russians were guilty of gross treachery during the recent negotiations, but Marshal Voroshilov's demand that the Russian armies, if they were allies of Poland, should occupy Vilnius and Lvov was a perfectly reasonable military demand. Rydz-migy ordered them to fall back and not to engage the Soviets. Cheerful German and Slovak soldiers posing with Ukrainian civilians in Komacza, Poland, in 1939, List of Czechoslovakia interwar period weapons, List of World War II military equipment of Poland, List of German military equipment of World War II, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slovak_invasion_of_Poland&oldid=1133878787. The partitioning powers did not invest in the development of industry, especially in the armaments industry in ethnically Polish areas. We realize now that in England and France this German and Russian co-operation is considered a terrible crime. In addition, some Polish politicians supported Hungary in its effort to include areas that were inhabited mostly by Hungarians. Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota. [57], An average Polish infantry division consisted of 16,492 soldiers and was equipped with 326 light and medium machine guns, 132 heavy machine guns, 92 anti-tank rifles and several dozen light, medium, heavy, anti-tank and anti-airplane field artillery. Soldiers of the Slovakian Army being decorated by Slovak Minister of Defence, Ferdinand atlo after the Invasion of Poland. [116][117] The invasion decimated urban residential areas, civilians soon became indistinguishable from combatants, and the forthcoming German occupation (both on the annexed territories and in the General Government) was one of the most brutal episodes of World War II, resulting in between 5.47 million and 5.67 million Polish deaths[118] (about one-sixth of the country's total population, and over 90% of its Jewish minority)including the mass murder of 3 million Polish citizens (mainly Jews as part of the final solution) in extermination camps like Auschwitz, in concentration camps, and in numerous ad hoc massacres, where civilians were rounded up, taken to a nearby forest, machine-gunned, and then buried, whether they were dead or not. Poland's most valuable natural resources, industry and population were along the western border in Eastern Upper Silesia. Despite their quick retreat, nearly a third of the Uhlans were killed or wounded.[127]. During this interim period, the Germans learned that France and Britain had failed to secure an alliance with the Soviet Union against Germany, and that the Soviet Union was interested in an alliance with Germany against Poland. [Note 7] Furthermore, the Polish Army was preparing the Romanian Bridgehead, which would have prolonged Polish defence, but the plan was invalidated by the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939.[135]. The invasion is also known in Poland as the September campaign (Polish: kampania wrzeniowa) or 1939 defensive war (Polish: wojna obronna 1939 roku) and known in Germany as the Poland campaign (German: berfall auf Polen, Polenfeldzug). [79], France and Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September, but failed to provide any meaningful support. He photographed the beginning of the war by using one roll of colour film (Kodachrome) and much black-and-white film. By 1937, Germany began to increase its demands for Danzig, while proposing that an extraterritorial roadway, part of the Reichsautobahn system, be built in order to connect East Prussia with Germany proper, running through the Polish Corridor. [28] This region had a Polish majority and had been disputed between Czechoslovakia and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. [106] Roughly 1,250 German civilians were also killed during the invasion. Not only did the government escape, but also the national gold supply was evacuated via Romania and brought to the West, notably London and Ottawa. Various sources contradict each other so the figures quoted above should only be taken as a rough indication of losses. The infantry, far from completely mechanized but fitted with fast-moving artillery and logistic support, was to be supported by Panzers and small numbers of truck-mounted infantry (the Schtzen regiments, forerunners of the panzergrenadiers) to assist the rapid movement of troops and concentrate on localized parts of the enemy front, eventually isolating segments of the enemy, surrounding, and destroying them. I believe England thinks this co-operation perfidious because the co-operation of democratic England with bolshevist Russia failed, while National Socialist Germany's attempt with Soviet Russia succeeded. Italian reporter Indro Montanelli promptly published an article in the Corriere della Sera, on the brave and heroic Polish cavalry men, who charged German tanks with sabres and lances. Latecomers sustained significant casualties when public transport became targets of the Luftwaffe. [69], Poland's terrain was well suited for mobile operations when the weather co-operated; the country had flat plains, with long frontiers totalling almost 5,600km (3,500mi), Poland's long border with Germany on the west and north, facing East Prussia, extended 2,000km (1,200mi). On September 7, the division stopped its advance 30km inside Polish territory. It was rejected by Poland, whose arguments, despite their naturalness, cannot be considered satisfactory in the light of current events. Later, the division was pulled back, with one battalion remaining until September 29 to occupy Zakopane, Jurgw and Javorina. In late 1938, the Polish Air Force also ordered 300 advanced PZL.46 Sum light bombers, but due to a delay in starting mass production, none of them were delivered before 1 September. [100][101], From the first day of invasion, the German air force (the Luftwaffe) attacked civilian targets and columns of refugees along the roads to terrorize the Polish people, disrupt communications and target Polish morale. Quarterly Journal of Speech 91, no.1 (February 2005): 3762, sfn error: no target: CITEREFButler2001 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFRossino2003 (. Germany attacked from three directions on land. In August 1939, Leixner joined the Wehrmacht as a war reporter, was promoted to sergeant and, in 1941, published his recollections. Further successes cannot be achieved without bloodshed. : Slovak invasion of Poland and August Horislav kultty The invasion of Poland was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union; which marked the beginning of World War II. After the defeat, Poland lost its ability to take the initiative and counterattack on a large scale. The Polish intentions were defending the western regions that were judged as indispensable for waging the war, taking advantage of the propitious conditions for counterattacks by reserve units and avoiding it from being smashed before the beginning of Franco-British operations in Western Europe. The book was originally issued by Franz Eher Nachfolger, the central publishing house of the Nazi Party. Prior to this, on November 2, 1938, a part of Slovakia containing a substantial Hungarian population (due to its having been part of Hungary between 1001 and 1920) was taken by the . [38] The British Cabinet was pleased that negotiations had been agreed to but, mindful of how Emil Hcha had been forced to sign his country away under similar circumstances just months earlier, regarded the requirement for an immediate arrival of a Polish representative with full signing powers as an unacceptable ultimatum. In the evening the Pomeranian Uhlans encountered contingents of the advancing German 20th Infantry Division of Heinz Guderian's XIX Army. Thus, any strategic exploitation of the armoured idea was still-born. [89] It was agreed that the Soviets would relinquish its interest in the territories between the new border and Warsaw in exchange for inclusion of Lithuania in the Soviet "zone of interest". The Poles feared that their independence would eventually be threatened altogether;[22] historically Hitler had already denounced the right of Poland to independence in 1930, writing that Poles and Czechs were a "rabble not worth a penny more than the inhabitants of Sudan or India. [92][93] The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists rose against the Poles, and communist partisans organized local revolts, robbing and killing civilians. That made Polish defeats during the German invasion come as a shock to the civilian population. .: , 1991. . [54] In 1936, a National Defence Fund was set up to collect funds necessary for strengthening the Polish Armed forces. Hitler demanded that Poland be conquered in six weeks, but German planners thought that it would require three months. Media in category "Slovak invasion of Poland (1939)" The following 15 files are in this category, out of 15 total. At 04:45, the old German pre-dreadnought battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish military transit depot at Westerplatte, in the Free City of Danzig, on the Baltic Sea. The Polish Air Force, despite being significantly outnumbered and with its fighters outmatched by more advanced German fighters, remained active until the second week of the campaign, inflicting significant damage on the Luftwaffe. Polish to German forces in the September Campaign: 1,000,000 soldiers, 4,300 guns, 880 tanks, 435 aircraft (Poland) to 1,800,000 soldiers, 10,000 guns, 2,800 tanks, 3,000 aircraft (Germany). Submarine forces participated in Operation Worek, with the goal of engaging and damaging German shipping in the Baltic Sea, but they had much less success. [94] Those movements were quickly disciplined by the NKVD. Mobile and available in significant quantity, artillery shattered as many units as any other branch of the Wehrmacht. The German-French border saw only a few minor skirmishes, and most German forces, including 85% of armoured forces, were engaged in Poland. (Also, 2,000 died fighting Polish troops as members of ethnic German militia forces such as the Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz, which was a fifth column during the invasion.)[107]. Oslon and Cloud,"A Question of Honor" p. 50, Bombers of the Luftwaffe, Joachim Dressel and Manfred Griehl, Arms and Armour, 1994, The Flying pencil, Heinz J. Nowarra, Schiffer Publishing, 1990, p. 25, A History of World War Two, A.J.P. Most of the Polish Navy succeeded in evacuating to Britain as well. Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota (eds.). At one stage, the Poles were driven from Putusk, and the Germans threatened to turn the Polish flank and thrust on to the Vistula and Warsaw. [77], As the prospect of conflict increased, the British government pressed Marshal Edward migy-Rydz to evacuate the most modern elements of the Polish Navy from the Baltic Sea. August Horislav kultty (August 7, 1819 - May 29, 1892) was a Slovak writer, pedagogue ethnographer and director of a first Slovak Gymnasium in Revca. On 22 August, just over a week before the onset of war, Hitler delivered a speech to his military commanders at the Obersalzberg: The object of the war is physically to destroy the enemy. It would allow the Germans to advance in between two Polish Army groups in the line between Berlin and Warsaw-Lodz, and Armia Prusy would then move in and repulse the German spearhead, trapping it. Lithuania received the city of Vilnius and its environs on 28 October 1939 from the Soviet Union. The Polish defensive plan called for a strategy of encirclement. The German troops left the area, and the Red Army troops entered Lww on 22 September. The Soviets executed numerous Polish officers, including prisoners of war like General Jzef Olszyna-Wilczyski. Additionally, 160,000 reservists were called up, with 115,000 entering service until September 20, 1939. Germany had a substantial numeric advantage over Poland and had developed a significant military before the conflict. 2951. 204/Churchill U. [13] The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the MolotovRibbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. Taylor, Octopus, 1974, p. 35, Adam Kurowski 'Lotnictwo Polskie 1939' 129. Download Images of Slovak invasion of poland 1939 - Free for commercial use, no attribution required. In case of invasion, the invading forces will be destroyed," the representative of the military intelligence of Ukraine concluded. That led to some Polish troops being encircled or taking a stand against overwhelming odds when they thought they were actually counterattacking or would soon receive reinforcements from other victorious areas. However, partly because of the earlier stoppage, Poland finally managed to mobilize only about 70% of its planned forces (only about 900,000 of 1,350,000 soldiers planned to mobilize in first order), and because of that many units were still forming or moving to their designated frontline positions. [50][51] In total, Germany had close to 4,000 aircraft, most of them modern. When the final mobilization started, it added to the confusion.[42]. All of the German armies made progress in fulfilling their parts of the plan. On March 14, 1939, the Slovak Republic was created as a client state of . 7TP vol.II, Janusz Magnus#1, Militaria 317, Warszawa 2009. [129], The Polish Air Force was not destroyed on the ground in the first days of the war. France invaded a small part of Germany in the Saar Offensive, and the Polish army was effectively defeated even before the British Expeditionary Force could be transported to Europe, with the bulk of the BEF in France by the end of September.