Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of 1939 PDF
Preview Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of 1939
Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page i (cid:2) Poland Betrayed Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page ii OTHER TITLES IN THE CAMPAIGN CHRONICLES SERIES Armada 1588 John Barratt Passchendaele: The Hollow Victory Martin Marix Evans The Viking Wars of Alfred the Great Paul Hill Caesar’s Gallic Triumph Peter Inker The Battle of North Cape Angus Konstam Salerno 1943: The Invasion of Italy Angus Konstam The Gas Attack: Ypres 1915 John Lee The Battle of the Berezina Alexander Mikaberidze The Battle of Borodino Alexander Mikaberidze The German Offensives of 1918 Ian Passingham Attack on the Somme: Haig’s Offensive 1916 Martin Pegler Dunkirk and the Fall of France Geoffrey Stewart Napoleon’s Polish Gamble: Eylau and Friedland 1807 Christopher Summerville The Siege of Malta 1940–1942 David Williamson The Battle of the River Plate Richard Woodman Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page iii Campaign Chronicles Poland Betrayed The Nazi-Soviet Invasions 1939 (cid:2) David G. Williamson Campaign Chronicles Series Editor Christopher Summerville Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page iv To Alex and Sarah First published in Great Britain in 2009 by Pen &Sword Military an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd 47 Church Street Barnsley South Yorkshire S70 2AS Copyright © text David G. Williamson 2009 Copyright © maps Christopher Summerville 2009 ISBN 978 1 84415 926 0 The right of David G. Williamson to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. Typeset in Sabon by Phoenix Typesetting,Auldgirth,Dumfriesshire Printed and bound in England by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the imprints of Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Family History, Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe Local History, Pen & Sword Select, Pen&Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing. For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page v (cid:2) Contents Maps and Illustrations viii Acknowledgements x Background 1 Poland: The Crucified Nation 1 Emergence of the New Poland 1918–20 2 Enemies of the New Polish State 6 Development of Poland 1919–38 8 The Re-Emergence of Germany and Russia as Major Military Powers 10 Germany Rearms 10 Development of Soviet Armed Forces 14 Rebirth of Poland’s Armed Forces 1919–39 17 Air Defence 23 The Navy 25 Industrial Mobilization 26 Poland’s Triumph: Breaking the Nazi Codes 30 From the Anschluss to the Seizure of Teschen 32 Poland, Danzig and the British Guarantee 36 The German Response 40 Too Little and Too Late 41 Polish Civil Defence Preparations 1938–39 47 v Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page vi Poland Betrayed Plans ‘W’ and ‘Z’ 48 Polish Air and Naval Plans 52 Fall Weiss 54 Countdown to War 56 The Nazi-Soviet Pact 58 War Postponed for a Week 60 Campaign Chronicle 63 Preliminary Incidents 63 31 August 1939: The Wehrmacht’s Orders 64 1–17 September: Fighting in Danzig, Westerplatte and the Coastal Regions 65 1–6 September: Rout of the Polish Air Force 69 1–7 September: The Land War 80 Elimination of the Corridor 80 Massacres and Reprisals in Bydgoszcz 83 The German Advance from East Prussia 85 All Quiet in the Pozna÷ Salient 86 The German Breakthrough in the South-west 87 Britain and France Declare War 97 8–17 September: Battle of the Bzura 100 10–20 September: The Situation Elsewhere 107 7–27 September: The Siege of Warsaw 110 17 September: The Soviets Intervene 116 17–30 September: The Russo-Polish War 120 The Soviet Occupation of Lwów 125 21–28 September: Germany and Russia Decide Poland’s Fate 128 22 September–6 October: Mopping Up 129 19 September–2 October: Modlin and the Hel Peninsula 130 17–30 September: Exodus of the Fortunate Few 132 vi Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page vii Contents 31 August–14 October: The Polish Navy Escapes to Britain 136 September–December 1939: Escape from Internment 140 October 1939–May 1940: The Poles Fight On 144 Aftermath 151 The German Zones 151 The Russian Zone 155 Prisoners of War 157 Katy÷ 159 Resistance 160 Assessment 163 Appendices Appendix I: Chronology of Major Events 171 Appendix II: Biographies of Key Figures 177 Appendix III: Glossary and Abbreviations 185 Appendix IV: Orders of Battle 187 Appendix V: Survivors’ Reminiscences 197 Sources 219 Index 223 vii Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page viii (cid:2) Maps and Illustrations Maps Poland 1939 xi Conclusion of the Campaign xii Illustrations Danzig 1939 Ribbentrop and Molotov Sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact Marshal Edward Rydz-×migªy Marshal Edward Rydz-×migªy General Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Wªadysªaw Sikorski German Soldiers Remove the Frontier Barrier with Poland Germans Troops Trot into Poland Motorized Infantry Facilitated the Rapid German Advance German Troops Take Cover German Troops in Tarnów Polish Cavalrymen Amid the Ruins of Sochaczew German Motorized Column German Mounted Reconnaissance Unit Adolf Hitler is Presented with the Captured Banner of a Polish viii Poland Betrayed - P D F.qxd 29/01/2009 15:30 Page ix Maps and Illustrations Cavalry Regiment Polish PoWs Following the Battle for Westerplatte Polish Officer of the Vanquished Westerplatte Garrison Polish PoWs at Kutno Discarded Polish Helmets and Weapons German and Soviet Top Brass Meet at Biaªystok German and Russian Troops Fraternize at Brze±„ on 19 September 1939 Heinz Guderian Discusses the Nazi-Soviet Demarcation Line Germans in Action at Pªta Oksywska Hitler Picks his Way Through the Rubble of Westerplatte German Trenches Before Warsaw SS Colonel Sepp Dietrich Welcomes Hitler to Poland German Troops in Action Before Warsaw German Troops Enjoy a Smoke During a Break in the Fighting Warsaw Resists Warsaw Falters Warsaw Falls Surrender of the Hel Peninsula The Führer’s Motorcade Passes the Saski Palace in Warsaw German Victory Parade in Warsaw German Troops Goose-step Across Warsaw Inside a German PoW Camp Massacre at Bochnia Beaten but not Broken ix
Description:The list of books you might like
