Along with the attack on Westerplatte 1,8 German soldiers and 1640 planes set off for Poland. We were able to put out only 1 million soldiers and 400 planes. The polish defense plan predicted a relatively long defense of the western borders in anticipation of the western allies. England and France declared war against Germany on September 30th 1939, but did not begin any actions. During the 30 days of defense war Poland faced not only Germany but also USSR, which on the strength of an earlier agreement: Ribbentrop – Molotov from September 9th 1939 attacked the Polish eastern border. In the same day, the president, the head chief and the government left the country. The last battle of the September campaign (2-5 of October 1939) was fought in Kocko by the Separate Operation Group “Polesie” with gen. F. Kleeberg. Because of the war Poland was under occupation of the Germans and the Soviets.
The Germans captured 48% of the country’s territory and c.a. 20 million inhabitants, USRR - 50% and 14,3 million inhabitants. Germans incorporated the Pomerania, Poznań district, part of the Kujawskie and Cracow district, part of Mazovia and Kileszczyzna, Zaolzie and Kielecczyna to the Reich, and with the remaining lands they formed the General Province. In the west, lands taken from the RP were incorporated into Belorussia and Ukraine. Forced labor, mass transportation to hard labors in Germany, confiscate of national property, displacement of the inhabitants from locations intended for German colonization, elimination of the Polish intelligence and military, mass executions and pacification towards the polish were used on the lands of German occupation. In labor camps (such as Dachau, Oświęcim) the inhabitants of occupied countries were exterminated, 1,5 million people died there. The policy of eliminating the landed gentry, intelligence and the military cadre was also conducted by the Russians, who murdered 20 thousand war prisoners in the camps of Kozielsko, Ostaszków and Starobielsko. After introducing the obligatory soviet citizenship, the Polish were conscripted into the Red Army.
After the failure in September the Polish fought in defense of France: in Lorraine, on the Maginot Line - the I Division of Grenadiers (gen. B. Duch), in Alsace the II Division of Pedestrian Shooters (gen. B. Prugar - Ketling), in Champagne the X Brigade of Artillery Cavalry (gen. S. Maczek),the Separate Brigade of Shooters of Podhale (gen. Z. Bohusz- Szyszko) in Narvik, Norway. In the battle for England from August to October 1940 divisions 302 and 303 shot down 273 German planes. Polish destroyers: Burza (Storm), Grom (Thunder), Błyskawica (Lightning), Piorun (Thunderbolt), Orkan (Hurricane), Garland and the submarine – Orzeł (Eagle) fought on the Atlantic covering the convoy and tracing German ships; Sokół (Falcon)and Dzik (Bore) - on the Mediterranean sea. In Africa from 1940 the Separate Brigade of Shooters of Karpacz (gen. S. Kopański) took part in the defense of the Tobruk fortress in Libya (1941).
Despite the occupation and repressions the Polish ran covert activity forming the underground military – The Country’s Army (AK) and the Peasant Battalions, which formally were subjected to the Polish government in London. The ranks of AK in 1943 amounted to c.a. 300thousand soldiers. During 1942 – 1944 the AK created sabotage and diversion, inter alia: 300 artillery actions in the defense of the Polish on Zamojszczyzna; in the action in Arsenal, Warsaw the AK liberated 20 prisoners held by Gestapo, they committed a successful assassination on the chief of SS F. Kutcher. After the aggression of Germans towards USRR in 1942 a Polish army was formed there, but the disagreements with the Russians caused gen. W. Anders to evacuate it (67 thousand soldiers and 47 thousand civilians) to Iran. This army was the beginning of the II corps which commanded by Anders fought as part of the 8th British Army. In May 1944 the Polish opened a way to Rome for the allies, capturing Monte Cassino, then Ancona and Bologna. In the Normand invasion (1944) the I Armored Division with general S. Maczek fought in Falaise, captured Breda in Holland and ended their combat trace in Wilhelmshaven in Germany. The I Parachute Brigade took part in the biggest aerial landing operation in Arnhem in September 1944.
When relations between the USRR and the Polish emigration government broke, the Polish communists gained permission from Stalin (may 1943) to organize in Siedlce over Oka river a division of T. Kościuszko (gen. Z. Berling) which was eliminated in October 1943 in the battle of Lenino. Further actions on the eastern front were carried by the I People’s Army of the Polish Military (LWP) (gen. Z. Berling), which in summer of 1944 fought bloody battles over Vistula River ( warecko – magnuszewski frontal) and then liberated the Polish land ending their combat trace in Berlin.
The failure of Germany and the USSR taking over the strategic initiative on the eastern front (1943), the establishment of the Polish Committee of National Liberation – a government constituted of Polish communists supported by Russians and the approach of the Red Army and the LWP to the border, contributed to the break out of a rebellion in Warsaw (September 1944). Its aim was to liberate the capital from Germans and to pose as hosts toward the approaching Russians. During 63 days of courageous but unfair battle with a neutral pose of the allied, 20 thousand soldiers of AK, 180 thousand civilians and 2,6 thousand soldiers of the LWP who, with gen. Berling, arrived offering help, died.
The failure of the rebellion, offensive of Russians, who in January 1945 liberated Warsaw and quickly moved north and north-west, caused the participants of the Jałtańska conference (February 19455) to agree to form a coalition government constituted of communists supported by the USRR and the members of the London government to conduct free election. The eastern border of Poland would run along the Curzon line (Bug River), Poland was granted Eastern Prussia, upper and lower Silesia. These decisions were confirmed by the conference in Podczan (July-August 19454). The II World War caused Poland to lose 6 million citizens; in 1946 the number of inhabitants amounted to less than 24 million people; the border changes caused loss of 76 thousand km2 of the territory (20% of the state from before the war); present state - 312,7 thousand km2.
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Origin of Poland. The early feudal monarchy in Poland (10th -12th century) | The unification and restoration of the country in the 14th century. | The Jagiellonian age | The 17th century – 100 years of war | Poland in the age of collapse. | Loss of independence | I World War | Poland revived 1918 - 1939 | II World War | 1945-1989
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We recommend site about II World War (site available in polish)
