Poland is located in the middle of Europe, bordering powerful Germany in the west and the socialist Soviet Union in the east. This special geographical position adjacent to a powerful country seems to be doomed to the disastrous fate of Poland. Before the 20th century, it was divided up three times by Russians and Germans, and it was not until after World War I that it regained its independence.
After the defeat of Germany in World War I, according to the Treaty of Versailles, the territory of eastern Germany was allocated to Poland. These territories allocated to Poland include the long and narrow "Polish Corridor". Danzig at the end of the corridor has become a demilitarized international free city and one of the largest and most important seaports in the Baltic Sea. There are 654.38+0 Dovander people living here, who are separated by Poland and far from the motherland. Therefore, Germans have been worried about losing Danzig and the "corridor" area.
After Hitler came to power, he vowed to avenge this arrow. Perhaps in his view, Poland is more unforgivable than France. More importantly, Poland is located in the eastern part of Europe, bordering the Soviet Union in the east, Germany in the west, Czechoslovakia in the south and the Baltic Sea in the north, and its strategic position is very important. And Poland was the most powerful country among the European allies at that time. If Germany occupies Poland, it will not only gain a lot of military and economic resources, but also greatly improve its strategic position; It can not only eliminate the worries of attacking Britain and France, but also establish a base for attacking the Soviet Union.
The ambitious Hitler rearmed at an extremely fast speed, and in just a few years, he turned Germany from a humiliated person under the Treaty of Versailles into the strongest military power in Europe.
From 1938 to 10, Germany repeatedly asked Poland to return its territory, asked Poland to hand over the "Polish Corridor" and Danzig, and transferred the road and railway construction rights of the "Polish Corridor" to Germany, which was sternly rejected by the Polish government.
1March 939 15, Hitler quickly annexed Czechoslovakia without bloodshed, and Poland was the next target of aggression. Hitler gave the armed forces a top secret order code-named "White Plan". Its goal is to invade Poland by surprise at the end of August or early September this year, and at the same time, it is required that this time should not be changed.
Hitler seems to have calculated the psychology of Britain and France. He said to the generals: "I learned from the leaders of Britain and France at the Munich conference. They are not people who can fight a world war at all. Besides, why should they fight us? They will not die for a small Poland! "
However, on March 23, Britain and France formally formed a military alliance and ensured Poland's security. With the guarantee of Britain and France, Poland is more determined.
1On July 28th, 939, Hitler learned an important news that the British and French military delegation would go to Moscow and form an alliance with Germany.
Germany is located in the middle of Europe, and the military taboo is that the eastern front and the western front fight at the same time. No matter how arrogant Hitler was, he would never dare to violate this principle and foolishly put himself in an embarrassing situation of exhaustion. If he wants to invade Poland and prepare for war with Britain and France on the western front, he must stabilize the former Soviet Union on the eastern front. Similarly, the purpose of Britain and France is to mobilize the former Soviet Union on the Eastern Front and force Hitler to retreat for fear of fighting on two fronts.
Both sides put the biggest bet on the Soviet Union. For Stalin, there is no question of which side to fall to for the time being. Now that Britain, France and Germany are at your fingertips, he just wants to use this historical opportunity to make the most favorable decision for the Soviet Union. At present, Stalin does not want to get involved in the struggle between the two sides without adequate preparation. "Because of the struggle between capitalist countries, he acts as cannon fodder for one side." In addition, in addition, the Soviet Union proposed to defend Poland and resist Nazi invasion, so it allowed Soviet troops to enter Poland, which was rejected by the Polish government because they were as vigilant as the Germans. This decision of Poland made Stalin determined.
On August 23rd, 1939, Nazi German Foreign Minister ribbentrop rushed to the Kremlin to meet Stalin. That night, the two sides signed a Soviet-German non-aggression treaty, which took effect immediately after signing, and reached a secret protocol to carve up Poland. Hitler temporarily relieved the worries of fighting on two fronts, and he was ready to let Poland go.
On the night of August 3 1939, a German SS dressed in Polish military uniform and posing as a Polish army attacked radio Grewitz on the German border, and abused Germany in Polish on the radio, leaving several bodies dressed in Polish military uniforms. Then, all German radio stations broadcast the news that "Germany was suddenly attacked by Poland".
At 4: 45 a.m. on September 1 65439, German bombers roared to Poland, targeting Polish troops, arsenals, airports, railways, roads and bridges. A few minutes later, Poles tasted the largest air raid in human history. Polish cities and ports were bombed by German warplanes, and the capital Warsaw was not spared. After about 1 hour, the German ground forces launched an all-out attack from the north, west and southwest. The close cooperation between the air and the ground made Poland and even the whole world understand the benefits of "blitzkrieg" for the first time.
The Polish army was caught off guard, and in less than 48 hours, the Polish Air Force was destroyed. Countless guns, cars and other heavy equipment that could not be retreated were immediately destroyed, transportation hubs and command centers were destroyed, and the troops were in chaos. The Germans took advantage of the situation and, under the leadership of armored troops and motorized troops, quickly broke through the Polish defense line from several major sections.
After the war, the Polish ambassador to Britain quickly called the British government to report that Poland had been attacked by air. The German ambassador denied the fact of the explosion, but it was soon officially confirmed. The king of England drove to Downing Street to visit Prime Minister Chamberlain. When the Prime Minister and his wife drove to the House of Representatives, the parliament was in the final discussion and decided to go to war against the leaders of Nazi rule instead of the German people.
I remember a year ago, Britain thought that war could be avoided as long as Hitler's demands were met. Prime Minister Chamberlain has always believed that the European war should be avoided at all costs. At that time, he said to the British people: "In my opinion, the smooth settlement of the Czechoslovakia issue is only a prelude to the European peace initiative. This morning, I also had talks with German Chancellor Hitler. This is the document we signed. " However, a year later, Prime Minister Chamberlain's dream of maintaining peace during his tenure was shattered.
At this moment, Britain is ready for war. The king of England took off his royal costume and put on his air force uniform. Churchill also joined the wartime cabinet, and the whole country was happy that he could once again dedicate his experience and ability to the country. The army went into emergency readiness and all the children were evacuated from London.
At 9: 00 am on September 3, Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that Germany provide a truce guarantee before 1 1 in the morning, otherwise Britain would declare war on Germany. At noon, France also sent a similar ultimatum to Germany, and the deadline was 5 pm, but Hitler ignored the ultimatum from Britain and France. As a result, Britain and France declared war on Germany one after another, and the Second World War broke out in an all-round way.
After the Germans broke through the Polish defense line, they rushed into the hinterland of Poland at a speed of 50 to 60 kilometers per day. This is an unprecedented mechanized unit in the history of human war. Poles fought tenaciously, horses against tanks, rifles against artillery, and in desperate struggles again and again, they staged a massacre with great disparity in strength.
On the other hand, although Britain and France have millions of soldiers on the western front, they have been behind the fortifications, holding horses and not declaring war. This so-called war was later called "strange war" or "sit-in war". Churchill sneered afterwards: "Paris and London thought they could hide their debts by sitting still."