"Much of what we know about the September campaign of" Topic

…1939 is wrong

"Thrills, spills, heroism, villainy, betrayal: all of human life is there! Seriously, the September campaign of 1939 has a good claim to be the forgotten campaign of the Second World War. Outside of Poland, precious little is known about it – and most of what we think we know is wrong. So this talk will aim to illuminate, educate and set some of the mythology straight. It's a much more interesting and nuanced story than many of us would think.

I've always been attracted to those areas of history that are relevant but, for various reasons, have been ignored. The September campaign falls squarely into that category: it had a total death toll of around 200,000, so was hardly a side show; it saw many of the hideous innovations that would feature in the later conflict, and – of course – it was the campaign that brought Britain and France into the war, transforming it into a world war. So, there is a lot there to discuss – which makes it all the more surprising that it has traditionally been ignored…"
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Amicalement
Armand

I have always been fascinated by the Polish Campaign of 1939. Despite being attacked from the north, west and south (and later the east by the Russians) they held out for 36 days. They fought well, inflicted far more casualties than was expected. They destroyed 674 German tanks (approximately 25% of the AFV force fielded) and 564 aircraft (approximately 42% of the German air force fielded).

Compared to France 1940, which was attacked mostly along a single front, which had a numerical advantage over the Germans in both men and AFVs, a massive defensive line, and nearly the entire British army along with them. And France held out for only 10 days longer than Poland.

I know it comes down to leadership, strategy and tactics. But on paper, France 1940 could have been the beginning of yet another standstill war, fought over a few miles, spread out over multiple years. Instead, it was a massive loss for the allies.

Polish are really brave!….

Amicalement
Armand

Yes, they fought as well as they could based on situation. With the Germans coming in from the West and the USSR from the East.

Plus even though the Germans were "perfecting" Blitzkrieg, per se. As with many armies at that time, the Poles really were not prepared to fight a modern mobile combined arms force. Like the Germans.