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The Invasion of Poland, 1939 (in Poland also "'''the September Campaign'''," "''Kampania wrześniowa''," and "'''the 1939 Defensive War'''," "''Wojna obronna 1939 roku''"; in Germany, "'''the Poland Campaign'''," "''Polenfeldzug''," codenamed " ''Fall Weiss'' ," "Case White," by the German General Staff, and sometimes called "'''the Polish-German War of 1939'''"), which precipitated World War II , was carried out by Nazi Germany , the Soviet Union and a small German-allied Slovak contingent. The invasion of Poland marked the start of World War II In Europe as Poland's western allies, the United Kingdom , Australia and New Zealand 1, Declared War on Germany on September 3 , soon followed by France , South Africa and Canada , Among Others . The invasion of Poland began September 1 , 1939 , one week after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact , and ended October 6 , 1939 , with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying the entirety of Poland. Following a 2004 )]. On , Germany and the Soviet Union had completely overrun Poland, although the Polish government never surrendered. In addition, Poland's remaining land and air forces were evacuated to neighboring Romania and Hungary . Many of the exiles subsequently joined the recreated Polish Army in allied France , French-mandated Syria , and the United Kingdom . In the aftermath of the September Campaign, a Resistance Movement was formed. Poland's Fighting Forces Continued To Contribute to Allied military operations and did so throughout the duration of World War II. Germany captured the Soviet-occupied areas of Poland when it invaded the Soviet Union on June 22 1941 , and lost the territory in 1944 to an advancing Red Army. Over the course of the war, Poland lost over 20% of its pre-war population under an occupation that marked the end of the Second Polish Republic . OPPOSING FORCES See Also: Opposing forces in the Polish September Campaign Germany heavy fighter.]] Germany had a significant numerical advantage over the Polish and had developed a significant military prior to the conflict. The '' Heer '' (Army) had some 2,400 Tank s organized into six Panzer divisions, utilizing a new Operational Doctrine . It held that these divisions should act in coordination with other elements of the military, punching holes in the enemy line and isolating selected enemy units which would be Encircled And Destroyed . This would be repeated and followed up by less mobile mechanized infantry and foot soldiers. The '' Luftwaffe '' (Air Force) provided both tactical and strategic Air Power , particularly Dive Bomber s that attacked and disrupted the enemy's supply and communications lines. Together the new operational methods were nicknamed '' Blitzkrieg '' (lightning war). Historian Basil Liddell Hart and A. J. P. Taylor conclude "Poland was a full demonstration of the Blitzkrieg theory"B.H.Hart & A.J.P Taylor, p41. dive bombers.]] dive bombers, 1,100 conventional bombers (mainly of the He 111 and Dornier Do 17 type), and an assortment of 550 transport and 350 reconnaissance aircraftBombers of the Luftwaffe, Joachim Dressel and Manfred Griehl,Arms and Armour, 1994Bombers of the Luftwaffe, Joachim Dressel and Manfred Griehl,Arms and Armour, 1994 The Flying pencil, Heinz J. Nowarra, Schiffer Publishing,1990,p25. In total, Germany had close to 4,000 aircraft, all up to modern standards. Almost the entire strength of the ''Luftwaffe'' was committed to the campaignA History of World War Two, A.J.P Taylor,Octopus, 1974, p35. Due to its participation in the Spanish Civil War , the '' Luftwaffe '' was probably the most experienced, best trained and well equipped air force in the world in 1939. Poland light tank.]] fighter.]] medium bomber.]] Between 1936 and 1939, Poland invested heavily in Industrialization in the Central Industrial Region . Preparations for a defensive war with Germany were ongoing for many years, but most plans assumed fighting would not begin before 1942. To raise funds for industrial development, Poland was selling much of the modern equipment it produced. In 1936 a National Defence Fund was set up collect funds necessary for improving fighting ability of the Polish Armed forces. The Polish Army had about a million soldiers but less than half were mobilized by September 1 . Latecomers sustained significant casualties when public transport became targets of the ''Luftwaffe''. The Polish military had fewer armoured forces than the Germans, and these units, being dispersed within the infantry, were unable to effectively engage the enemy. Experiences in the Polish-Soviet War shaped Polish Army organisational and operational doctrine. Unlike the Trench Warfare of the First World War , the Polish-Soviet War was a conflict in which the Cavalry 's mobility played a decisive role. Poland acknowledged the benefits of mobility but was unwilling to invest heavily in many of the expensive and unproven new inventions since then and make these additions to its armed forces. In spite of this, Polish Cavalry Brigade s were used as a mobile Mounted Infantry and had some successes against both German infantry and German cavalry. The Polish Air Force (''Lotnictwo Wojskowe'') was at a severe disadvantage against the German ''Luftwaffe'' although it was ''not'' destroyed on the ground. Although the Polish Air Force lacked modern Fighter Aircraft , its pilots were among the world's best-trained, a fact that was proven a year later in the Battle Of Britain , in which the Poles played a major part in beating the ''Luftwaffe''. Michael Alfred Peszke , ''Polish Underground Army, the Western Allies, and the Failure of Strategic Unity in World War II'', McFarland & Company, 2004, ISBN 0-7864-2009-X, Google Print, p.2 Overall, the Germans enjoyed numerical and qualitative aircraft superiority. Poland had only about 600 modern aircraft. The Polish Air Force had about 185 PZL P.11 and some 95 PZL P.7 Fighters , 175 PZL.23 Karaś B, 35 Karaś A, and by September over 100 PZL.37 Łoś were produced. Additionally there were over a thousand obsolete transport, Reconnaissance and training aircraft. However for the September Campaign only some 70% those aircraft were mobilised. Only 36 PZL.37 Łoś Bomber aircraft were deployed for action. All those aircraft were of indigenous Polish design, with the bombers being more modern than fighters according to the Ludomil Rayski air force expansion plan relying on the strong bomber force. Polish fighter aircraft were a generation older than their German counterparts. The Polish PZL P.11 fighter, produced in the early 1930s, was capable of only 365 km/h (about 220 mi/hr), far less than German bombers; to compensate, the pilots relied on the P-11 maneuvrability and high diving speed. The Polish Navy was a small fleet comprising of Destroyer s, Submarine s and smaller support vessels. Most Polish surface units followed Operation Peking , leaving Polish ports on August 20 and escaping to the North Sea to join with the British Royal Navy . 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. In addition, many Polish Merchant Marine ships joined the British merchant fleet and took part in wartime Convoy s. The tank force consisted of two armoured brigades, four independent tank battalions and some 30 companies of TKS tankettes attached to infantry divisions and cavalry brigades. Soviet Union Slovakia ORDER OF BATTLE Order Of Battle of Poland:
Order of battle of invading forces:
PRELUDE TO THE CAMPAIGN " in northern Poland.]] See Also: Causes of World War II The Nazi Party , led by Adolf Hitler , took power in Germany in 1933. At first, Hitler pursued a Policy of Rapprochement with Poland, culminating in the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact of 1934. Early foreign policy worked to maneuver Poland into the Anti-Comintern Pact , forming a cooperative front against the Soviet Union. Germany sought to grab hold of Soviet territory, acquire Lebensraum and expand Großdeutschland . Poland would be granted territory of its own, to its northeast, but the concessions the Poles were expected to make meant that their homeland would become largely dependant on Germany, functioning as little more than a client state. Some felt Polish independence would eventually be threatened altogether.[http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0631186018&id=S2hBXzB7XaYC&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&printsec=8&dq=anti-comintern+Poland&sig=IFzcgJe_r1_ODdLAzYbk4xveCzY In addition to Soviet territory, the Nazis were also interested in establishing a new border with Poland because the German Exclave of East Prussia was separated from the rest of the Reich by the " Polish Corridor ." Many Germans also wanted to incorporate the Free City Of Danzig into Germany. While Danzig had a predominantly German population, the Corridor constituted land long disputed between Poland and Germany. After the Treaty Of Versailles , Poland acquired the Corridor and this led to shifts in the region's population. Hitler sought to reverse this trend and made an appeal to German Nationalism , promising to "liberate" the Germans still in the Corridor, as well as Danzig, since the port city was under the control of the League Of Nations . Poland participated in the Partition Of Czechoslovakia that followed the Munich Agreement as it coerced Czechoslovakia to surrender the city of Český Těšín by issuing an ultimatum to that effect on September 30, which was accepted by Czechoslovakia on the first of October.Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN 1997, vol. VI, 981. In 1938, Germany began to increase its demands for Danzig while proposing that a roadway be built in order to connect East Prussia with Germany proper, running through the Polish Corridor. Poland rejected this proposal, fearing that after accepting these demands, it would become increasingly subject to the will of Germany and eventually lose independence as the Czechs had.[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/yellow/ylbk113.htm The Poles also distrusted Hitler and his intentions.[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/yellow/ylbk113.htm] At the same time, Germany's collaboration with anti-Polish Ukrainian nationalists from the Organization Of Ukrainian Nationalists further weakened German credibility in Polish eyes, which was seen as an effort to isolate and weaken Poland. The British were also aware of this. On March 30 , Poland was backed by a guarantee from Britain and France , though neither country was willing to pledge military support in Poland's defense. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his Foreign Secretary , Lord Halifax , still hoped to strike a deal with Hitler regarding the Free City of Danzig (and possibly the Polish Corridor), and Hitler hoped for the same. By again resorting to Appeasement , Chamberlain and his supporters believed war could be avoided and hoped Germany would agree to leave the rest of Poland alone. German hegemony over Central Europe was also at stake. signs the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact . Behind him stand (left) German Foreign Minister Joachim Von Ribbentrop and (right) Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin .]] With tensions mounting, Germany turned to aggressive diplomacy, unilaterally withdrawing from both the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact of 1934 and the London Naval Agreement of 1935 on April 28 , 1939 . In early 1939, Hitler had already issued orders to prepare for a possible "solution of the Polish problem by military means." Another crucial step towards war was the surprise signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23 , the denouement of secret Nazi-Soviet talks held in Moscow which capitalized on France and Britain's own failure to secure an alliance with the Soviet Union. As a result, Germany neutralized the possibility of Soviet opposition in a potential campaign against Poland. In a secret protocol of this pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed to divide Eastern Europe, including Poland, into two spheres of influence; the western third of the country was to go to Germany and the eastern two-thirds to the Soviet Union. The German assault was originally scheduled to begin at 04:00 on August 26 . However, on August 25 , the Polish-British Common Defence Pact was signed as an annex to the Franco-Polish Military Alliance . In this accord, Britain had committed itself to the defence of Poland, guaranteeing to preserve Polish independence. At the same time, the British and the Poles were hinting to Berlin that they were willing to resume discussions - not at all how Hitler hoped to frame the conflict. Thus, he wavered and postponed his attack until September 1 , managing to halt the entire invasion "in mid-leap", with the exception of a few units that were outside communication lines, towards the south (the Nazi press announced that fanatical Slovakians were behind the cross border raid). On and cross border troop movements signalled that war was imminent. On , he announced that he did not have the full power to sign, and Ribbentrop dismissed him. It was then broadcasted that Poland had rejected Germany's offer, and negotiations with Poland came to an end.see: ''Final Report By the Right Honourable Sir Nevile Henderson'', p. 16-18 On August 30 , the Polish Navy sent its destroyer Flotilla to Britain executing Operation Peking . On the same day, Marshal Of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły announced Mobilization of Polish troops. However, he was pressured into revoking the order by the French, who apparently still hoped for a diplomatic settlement, failing to realize that the Germans were fully mobilized and concentrated at the Polish border. During the night of August 31 the Gleiwitz Incident (" Polish " attack on the radio station) was staged near the German border city of Gleiwitz , in Upper Silesia . On August 31 , 1939 , Hitler ordered hostilities against Poland to start at 4:45 the next morning. Because of the prior discontinuation, Poland managed to mobilise only 70% of its planned forces, and many units were still forming or moving to their designated frontline positions. DETAILS OF THE CAMPAIGN , 1939 , and the German plan.]] Plans German plan The German plan Fall Weiss , for what became known as the September Campaign, was created by General Franz Halder , Chief Of The General Staff , and directed by General Walther Von Brauchitsch , the Commander In Chief of the upcoming campaign. The plan called for the start of hostilities before the Declaration Of War , which pursued a traditional doctrine of mass encirclement and the destruction of enemy forces. Germany's material advantages, including the use of modern airpower and tanks, were to be of great advantage. The infantry - far from completely mechanized but fitted with fast moving artillery and logistic support - was to be supported by German Tanks and small numbers of truck-mounted infantry (the Schützen regiments, forerunners of the Panzergrenadier s) 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. The pre-war ''armored idea'' (which an American journalist in 1939 dubbed Blitzkrieg ), which was advocated by some generals including Heinz Guderian , would have had the armor blasting holes in the enemy's front and ranging deep into the enemy's rear areas, but in actuality, the campaign in Poland would be fought along more traditional lines. This stemmed from conservatism on the part of the German high command, who mainly restricted the role of armor and mechanized forces to supporting the conventional infantry divisions. Poland was a country well suited for mobile operations when the weather cooperated - a country of flat Plain s with long frontiers totalling almost 5,600 kilometres (3,500 mi), Poland had long borders with Germany on the west and north (facing East Prussia ) of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 mi). Those had been extended by another 300 kilometres (500 mi) on the southern side in the aftermath of the Munich Agreement of 1938; the German incorporation of Bohemia And Moravia and creation of the German Puppet State of Slovakia meant that Poland's southern flank was exposed to invasion. German planners intended to fully utilise their advantageously long border with the great enveloping manoeuvre of Fall Weiss. German units were to invade Poland from three directions:
All three assaults were to converge on Warsaw , while the main Polish army was to be Encircled and destroyed west of the Vistula . Fall Weiss was initiated on September 1 1939 , and was the first operation of the Second World War in Europe. Polish plan 1939 .]] The Polish defense plan, '' Zachód '' (''West''), was shaped by political determination to deploy forces directly at the German-Polish border, based upon London 's promise to come to Warsaw's military aid in the event of invasion. Moreover, with the nation's most valuable Natural Resource s, Industry and highly populated regions near the western border ( Silesia region), Polish policy centered on the protection of such regions, especially since many politicians feared that if Poland should retreat from the regions disputed by Germany (like the Polish Corridor, cause of the famous "Danzig or War" ultimatum), Britain and France would sign a separate peace treaty with Germany similar to the Munich Agreement of 1938. In addition, none of those countries specifically guaranteed Polish borders or Territorial Integrity . On those grounds, Poland disregarded French advice to deploy the bulk of their forces behind the natural barriers of the wide Vistula and San rivers, even though some Polish generals supported it as a better strategy. The ''Zachód'' plan did allow the Polish armies to retreat inside the country, but it was supposed to be a slow retreat behind prepared positions near rivers ( Narew , Vistula and San), giving the country time to finish its mobilisation, and was to be turned into a general Counteroffensive when the Western Allies would launch their own promised offensive. The Polish Army's most pessimistic fall-back plan involved retreat behind the river San to the southeastern Voivodship s and their lengthy defence (the Romanian Bridgehead plan). The British and French estimated that Poland should be able to defend that region for two to three months, while Poland estimated it could hold it for at least six months. This Polish plan was based around the expectation that the Western Allies would keep their end of the signed alliance treaty and quickly start an offensive of their own. However, neither the French nor the British government made plans to attack Germany while the Polish campaign was fought. In addition, they expected the war to develop into Trench Warfare much like World War I had, forcing the Germans to sign a peace treaty restoring Poland's borders. The Polish government, however, was not notified of this strategy and based all of its defence plans on promises of a quick relief action by their Western Allies 2 3. The plan to defend the borders contributed vastly to the Polish defeat. Polish forces were stretched thin on the very long border and, lacking compact defence lines and good defence positions along unadvantegeous terrain, Mechanized German Forces often were able to encircle them. In addition, Supply Line s, were often poorly protected. Approximately one-third of Poland's forces were concentrated in or near the Polish Corridor (in northwestern Poland), where they were perilously exposed to a Double Envelopment — from East Prussia and the west combined and isolated in a pocket. In the south, facing the main avenues of a German advance, the Polish forces were thinly spread. At the same time, nearly another one-third of Poland's troops were massed in reserve in the north-central part of the country, between the major cities of Łódź and Warsaw, under commander in chief Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły . The Poles' forward concentration in general forfeited their chance of fighting a series of delaying actions, since their army, unlike some of Germany's, traveled largely on foot and was unable to retreat to their defensive positions in the rear or to staff them before they were overrun by German mechanized columns. The political decision to defend the border was not the Polish high command's only strategic mistake. Polish pre-war ", Nr 1141 ( 10 October 2004 ). Phase 1: German invasion '' shells Poland's Westerplatte .]] 's Wola district, September 9 , 1939 .]] 1939 .]] painted on a German and a bombed Polish Army column during the Battle Of The Bzura .]] Following several German-staged incidents (; the Battle Of The Border had begun. Later that day, the Germans opened fronts along Poland's western, southern and northern borders, while German aircraft began raids on Polish cities. Main routes of attack led eastwards from Germany proper through the western Polish border. A second route carried supporting attacks from East Prussia in the north, and a co-operative German- Slovak tertiary attack by units (Army "Bernolak") from the territory of German-allied Slovakia in the south. All three assaults converged on the Polish capital of Warsaw. The Allied governments declared war on Germany on September 3 ; however, they Failed To Provide Poland with any meaningful support. The German-French border had A Few Minor Skirmishes , although the majority of German forces, including eighty-five percent of their armoured forces, were engaged in Poland. Despite some Polish successes in minor border battles, German technical, operational and numerical superiority forced the Polish armies to withdraw from the borders towards Warsaw and Lwów . The ''Luftwaffe'' gained Air Superiority early in the campaign. By destroying communications the Luftwaffe increased the pace of the advance which overran Polish airstrips and early warning sites and causing logistical problems for the Poles. Many Polish Air Force units were now low on supplies, 98 of their number withdrew into neutral (at that time) Romania E.R Hooton, p87. The Polish initial strength of 400 had been reduced to just 54 by 14 September and air opposition virtually ceasedE.R Hooton, p87. By September 3 , when Günther Von Kluge in the north had reached the Vistula (some 10 kilometres from the German border at that time) river and Georg Von Küchler was approaching the Narew River, Walther Von Reichenau 's armour was already beyond the Warta river; two days later his left wing was well to the rear of Łódź and his right wing at the town of Kielce ; and by September 8 one of his armoured corps was on the outskirts of Warsaw, having advanced 225 kilometres (140 mi) in the first week of war. Light divisions on Reichenau's right were on the Vistula between Warsaw and the town of Sandomierz by September 9 , while List, in the south, was on the river San above and below the town of Przemyśl . At the same time, Guderian led his 3rd Army tanks across the Narew, attacking the line of the Bug River already encircling Warsaw. All the German armies had made progress in fulfilling their parts of the Fall Weiss plan. The Polish armies were splitting up into uncoordinated fragments, some of which were retreating while others were delivering disjointed attacks on the nearest German columns. Polish forces abandoned regions of Pomerania , Greater Poland and Silesia in the first week of the campaign. Thus the Polish plan for border defence was proven a dismal failure. The German advance as a whole was not slowed down, and the Germans moved quickly, overwhelming secondary positions. On September 10 , the Polish commander in chief, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły , ordered a General Retreat to the southeast, towards the so-called Romanian Bridgehead . Meanwhile, the Germans were tightening their encirclement of the Polish forces west of the Vistula (in the Łódź area and, still farther west, around Poznań ) and also penetrating deeply into eastern Poland. Warsaw, under heavy aerial bombardment since the first hours of the war, was attacked on September 9 and was Put Under Siege on September 13 . Around that time, advanced German forces had also reached the city of Lwów, a major Metropolis of eastern Poland. 1,150 German aircraft bombed Warsaw on September 24 . The largest battle during this campaign, the Battle Of Bzura , took place near the Bzura river west of Warsaw and lasted from September 9 to September 19 . Polish armies ''Poznań'' and ''Pomorze'', retreating from the border area of the Polish Corridor, attacked the flank of the advancing German 8th army, but the counterattack failed after initial success. After the defeat, Poland lost its ability to take the initiative and counterattack on a large scale. German air power was instrumental during the battle. The ''Luftwaffe'''s offensive broke what remained of Polish resistance in an "awesome demonstration of air power"E.R Hooton, p91. The Luftwaffe quickly destroyed the bridges across the Bzura river. Afterward the Polish forces were trapped out in the open, and were attacked by wave after wave of Stukas, dropping 50 kg 'light bombs' which caused huge numbers of casualties. The Polish flak positions ran out of ammunition and they retreated to the forests but were then 'smoked out' by the Heinkel He 111 and Dornier Do 17 s dropping 100 kg incendiaries. The Luftwaffe had left the Army with the simple task of mopping up survivors. The ''Stukageschwaders'' alone dropped 388 Tonnes of bombs during this battleE.R Hooton, p91. The Polish government (of president Ignacy Mościcki ) and the high command (of Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły) left Warsaw in the first days of the campaign and headed southeast, arriving in Brześć on September 6 . General Rydz-Śmigły ordered the Polish forces to retreat in the same direction, behind the Vistula and San rivers, beginning the preparations for the long defence of the Romanian bridgehead area. Phase 2: Soviet aggression , 1939 .]] From the beginning of the Polish campaign, the German government repeatedly asked . It was agreed that the USSR 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 USSR had openly supported German aggression, and Molotov stated after the Polish defeat: ''Germany, which has lately united 80 million Germans, has submitted certain neighboring countries to her supremacy and gained military strength in many aspects, and thus has become, as clearly can be seen, a dangerous rival to principal imperialistic powers in Europe - England and France. That is why they declared war on Germany on a pretext of fulfilling the obligations given to Poland. It is now clearer than ever, how remote the real aims of the cabinets in these countries were from the interests of defending the now disintegrated Poland or Czechoslovakia''Molotov's report on March 29, 1940 http://www.histdoc.net/history/molotov.html .]] . Such manifestations were not spontaneous, but usually organized by activists of By and Belarusian minorities of eastern Poland in view of Polish imminent collapse. Vyacheslav Molotov delivered a speech on September 17 1939 :
Polish border defence forces in the east, known as the ''. Internet Archive, 16.10.03. Retrieved 16 July 2007. Organization Of Ukrainian Nationalists rose against the Poles, and communist partisans organised local revolts, robbing and murdering Poles. Those movements were quickly disciplined by the NKVD . The Soviet invasion was one of the decisive factors that convinced the Polish government that the war in Poland was lost. Prior to the Soviet attack from the east, the Polish military's fall-back plan had called for long-term defence against Germany in the southern-eastern part of Poland, while awaiting relief from a Western Allies attack on Germany's western border. However, the Polish government refused to surrender or negotiate a peace with Germany and ordered all units to evacuate Poland and reorganize in France. Meanwhile, Polish forces tried to move towards the Romanian bridgehead area, still actively resisting the German invasion. From September 17 to September 20 , the Polish Armies ''Kraków'' and ''Lublin'' were crippled at the Battle Of Tomaszów Lubelski , the second largest battle of the campaign. The city of Lwów capitulated on September 22 because of 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. Despite a series of intensifying German attacks, Warsaw—defended by quickly reorganised retreating units, civilian volunteers and Militia —held out until its capitulation on September 28 . The Modlin Fortress north of Warsaw capitulated on September 29 after An Intense 16-day Battle . Some isolated Polish Garrison s managed to hold their positions long after being surrounded by German forces. Westerplatte enclave's tiny garrison capitulated on September 7 , and Oksywie garrison Held until September 19 ; Hel Was Defended until October 2 . Despite a Polish victory at the Battle Of Szack , after which the Soviets executed all the NCOs and officers they had managed to capture, the Red Army reached the line of rivers Narew , Western Bug, Vistula and San by September 28 , in many cases meeting German units advancing from the other side. Polish defenders on the Hel Peninsula on the shore of the Baltic Sea held out until October 2 . The last operational unit of the Polish Army, General Franciszek Kleeberg 's '' Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna "Polesie" '', capitulated after the 4-day Battle Of Kock near Lublin on October 6 , marking the end of the September Campaign. Civilian losses The Polish September Campaign was an instance of Total War that was repeated continuously throughout World War II. Consequently, civilian casualties were high during and after combat. From the start of the campaign, the ''Luftwaffe'' attacked civilian targets and columns of refugees along the roads to wreak havoc, disrupt communications and target Polish morale. Apart from the victims of the battles, the German forces (both SS and the regular ''Wehrmacht'') are credited with the Mass Murder of several thousands of Polish POWs and civilians. Also, during a planned Operation Tannenberg , nearly 20,000 Poles were shot in 760 mass execution sites by special units, the '' Einsatzgruppen '', in addition to regular ''Wehrmacht'', SS and '' Selbstschutz ''. Altogether, the civilian losses of Polish population amounted to 150,000 while German civilian losses amounted to roughly 5,000. Aftermath At Ciepielów by the German 15th Motorized Regiment.]] , soldiers hold a victory parade on Warsaw 's ''Aleje Ujazdowskie'', which was watched by Adolf Hitler .]] At the end of the September Campaign, Poland was divided among Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Lithuania and Slovakia . Nazi Germany Annexed Parts Of Poland , while the rest was governed by the so-called General Government . On September 28 , another secret German-Soviet Protocol modified the arrangements of August: all Lithuania was to be a Soviet sphere of influence, not a German one; but the dividing line in Poland was moved in Germany's favor, to the Bug River. Even though water barriers separated most of the spheres of interest, the Soviet and German troops met each other on numerous occasions. The most remarkable event of this kind happened in Brest-Litovsk on September 22 . The German 19th panzer corps under the command of Heinz Guderian had occupied Brest-Litovsk, which lay within the Soviet sphere of interest. When the Soviet 29th Tank Brigade under the command of S. M. Krivoshein approached Brest-Litovsk, the commanders negotiated that the German troops would withdraw and the Soviet troops would enter the city saluting each other. Кривошеин С.М. ''Междубурье. Воспоминания.'' Воронеж, 1964. (Krivoshein S. M. ''Between the Storms. Memoirs.'' Voronezh, 1964. in Russian); Guderian H. ''Erinnerungen eines Soldaten'' Heidelberg, 1951 (in German — ''Memoirs of a Soldier'' in English) Just three days earlier, however, the parties had a more damaging encounter near Lviv , when the German 137th Gebirgsjägerregimenter (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 German troops left the area, and the Red Army troops entered L'viv on September 22 . At '', Winter 1999-2000.. About 65,000 Polish troops were killed in the fighting, with 420,000 others being captured by the Germans and 240,000 more by the Soviets (for a total of 660,000 prisoners). Up to 120,000 Polish troops escaped to Neutral Romania (through the Romanian Bridgehead) and Hungary , and another 20,000 escaped to Latvia and Lithuania, with the majority eventually making their way to France or Britain. Most of the Polish Navy succeeded in evacuating to Britain as well. German personnel losses were less than their enemies (~16,000 KIA ). Neither side—Germany, the Western Allies or the Soviet Union—expected that the German invasion of Poland would lead to the war that would surpass World War I in its scale and cost. It would be months before Hitler would see the futility of his peace negotiation attempts with Great Britain and France, but the culmination of combined European and Pacific conflicts would result in what was truly a "world war". Thus, what was not visible to most politicians and generals in 1939 is clear from the historical perspective: The Polish September Campaign marked the beginning of the Second World War In Europe , which combined with the Japanese Invasion Of China in 1937 and the Pacific War in 1941, formed the cataclysm known as World War II. The invasion of Poland led to Britain and France to declare war on Germany on September 3 ; however, they did little to affect the outcome of the September Campaign. This lack of direct help during September 1939 led many Poles to believe that they had been Betrayed By Their Western Allies . .]] On s like Auschwitz , in concentation camps, and in numerous ad hoc massacres where civilians were rounded up, taken to a nearby forest, machine-gunned, and then buried, regardless of whether they were actually dead or not. The Red Army occupied the Polish territories with mostly Ukrainian and Belarusian population. Soviets, met at the beginning as liberators by local people, shortly after started to introduce communist ideology in the area. This led to a powerful anti-Soviet resistance in the West Ukraine. Soviet Occupation between 1939 and 1941 resulted in the death or Deportation of least 1.8 million former Polish citizens, when all who were deemed dangerous to the communist regime were subject to Sovietization , forced resettlement, imprisonment in Labour Camp s (the Gulag s) or murdered, like the Polish officers in the Katyn Massacre . Part of these casualties were retributions for the attacks of the Ukrainian nationalists on the Polish villages in the West Ukraine, where vengeful feeling was particularly strong. Soviet atrocities commenced again after Poland was "liberated" by the Red Army in 1944, with events like the persecution of the Home Army soldiers and execution of its leaders ( Trial Of The Sixteen ). Myths , Warsaw.]] There are several common misconceptions regarding the Polish September Campaign:
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