Blitzkrieg unleashed : the German invasion of Poland 1939

480 Pages·2008·6.59 MB·English

by  Hargreaves

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by
Pen & Sword Military
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright © Richard Hargreaves
9781781598382

The right of Richard Hargreaves to be identified as Author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.

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available from the British Library
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Abbreviations Used in References
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Prologue: The Polish Danger is Greater than Ever
CHAPTER ONE - A Certain Foreboding
CHAPTER TWO - One Hundred Powder Kegs
CHAPTER THREE - Is It War or Peace?
CHAPTER FOUR - A Very Beautiful September Day is Beginning
CHAPTER FIVE - Pluck the Enemy Capital Like a Ripe Fruit
CHAPTER SIX - Much Blood has Flowed
CHAPTERSEVEN - The Lord Struck Them Down With Man, Steed and
Wagon
CHAPTER EIGHT - The Edelweiss Becomes the Scourge of the Enemy
CHAPTER NINE - Putting Death to the Test
CHAPTER TEN - Shoot Them to the Last Pole
CHAPTER ELEVEN - A Boiling Kettle of Fire and Blood
CHAPTER TWELVE - A Chain of Tragedies
Epilogue: It Is God’s Will For Us To Live
Advance in Poland
Appendix
Maps
Bibliography
Index
And we have seen – and experienced – tragic scenes: German soldiers burning,
torching, plundering, without giving it a second thought. Mature men, who are
not in the slightest bit aware that what they are doing contravenes laws and
conventions and offends the honour of the German soldier.

– Oberstleutnant Heinrich von Nordheim, Warsaw, October 12 1939

Regarding the course of the Polish campaign all that needs saying is that it
demonstrated the tremendous potency of Germany’s young Wehrmacht on such
a scale that the whole world sat up and took notice.

– Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, Munich, November 7 1943

It is a characteristic of man that he gladly forgets bad times and recalls those
much dearer happy times – every detail of which he can still recall years later.
Perhaps it is good for our health that time locks away so many brutal blows of
fate sent our way and with the help of subsequent happier times, even allows us
to overlook the scars which have been left behind. But there are also periods in
our lives which we should never forget – first of all to protect us from the same
again and, secondly, so that we may enjoy happier times having survived such
misery.

– German Major
Abbreviations Used in References
AOK Armeeoberkommando – staff of an army in the field
BA-MA Bundesarchiv-Militär Archiv – Bundesarchiv Military
Archive, Freiburg
CSDIC Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre
DBFP Documents on British Foreign Policy
DGFP Documents on German Foreign Policy
Div Division
FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States
HGr Heeresgruppe – Army Group
IWM Imperial War Museum, London
Kdo Kommando – command
KTB Kriegstagebuch – war diary
NA National Archives, Kew
NCA Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression
NHB Naval Historical Branch, Portsmouth
NO/NOKW Documents prepared for the Nuremberg Trials
OKH Oberkommando des Heeres – German Army High Command
OKW
OKW
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht – German Armed Forces
High Command
Pz Panzer
TB Tagebuch – diary
VfZ Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
Author’s note German ranks throughout, with the exception of
Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal), have been left in their original language.
An explanation of the comparative ranks can be found in the appendix. Except
for places commonly known in English, towns and villages are referred to by
both their German and Polish names. Polish Army units are italicised to avoid
confusion with German formations.