8-Sep-39: Germans Penetrate Warsaw Suburbs; London Proclaims Expanded Blockade; US Declares Limited National Emergency
The German Fourth Panzer Division of von Reichenau’s Tenth Army penetrates Ochota, a suburb of Warsaw. The division advanced 225 km in the one week of the war. Other elements of the Tenth Army are heavily engaged around Radom, 60 miles south of the capital, encircling about 60,000 Polish troops to the west of the city.
General List’s 14th Army reaches the San River to the north and south of Przemysl, while General Guderian’s Nineteenth Panzer Corps attacks along the Bug River east of Warsaw.
Warsaw’s garrison commander, General Czuma, goes on the radio and defiantly proclaims, “We shall fight to the last ditch!” Over 100,000 civilians are engaged in digging trenches on the outskirts of Warsaw.
In the west, five Curtiss Hawk fighters of l’Armee de l’Air (the French air force) claim to shoot down two out of a group of five Messerschmitt Me109 German Luftwaffe fighters.
In the Sudetenland, Sudeten German National Socialists under party leader Karl Henlein suspend talks with the Prague government following incidents at Mahrisch Ostrau prison, where Czech police took action against Henleinists demonstrating outside. The party issues a communiqué declaring:
“The incidents at Mahrisch Ostrau show that the Government is not sufficiently in control of the situation to begin and to conclude discussions in peace. The action of the police in Mahrisch Ostrau is in such contradiction to the Government’s plan that deeds must be valued before words.”
The Czech government had made far-reaching concessions in a proposal on 6-Sept., but they were rejected by the Sudeten party.
In London, the British government, claiming that the Germans have declared unrestricted submarine warfare (based on the sinking of the Athenia), announces a long-range naval blockade of Germany, broadening the original blockade announced on 3-Sept. The government also recreates the convoy system for merchant ships; they will use three protected routes, two from Liverpool and one from the Thames to the Atlantic, and one from the Thames and the Firth of Forth to the Atlantic.
In Executive Order 125, Proclamation 2352, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a state of “limited national emergency.” Roosevelt says the war in Europe “imposes on the United States certain duties with respect to the proper observance, safeguarding and enforcement” of its neutral status “and the strengthening of the national defense within the limits of peacetime authorizations.” All military forces are authorized to increase their enlisted manpower and to recall reservists to active duty.
4-Sep-39 — Germans Take Cracow, Push Toward Warsaw; First RAF Raid; Propaganda War Heats Up
On the fourth day of the war, the British Royal Air Force Bomber Command makes its first attack against Germany — a daylight raid with 29 Blenheim and Wellington bombers on warships in the Heligoland Bight. The German ship Admiral Scheer, a Deutschland class heavy cruiser (or pocket battleship) is hit three times, but the bombs fail to go off. The cruiser Emden is damaged by when a Blenheim bomber is shot down and crashes into it. Seven bombers are lost in this first RAF raid of the war.
In northern Poland, the Polish Modlin Army, having put a stubborn defense around the city of Mlawa, if forced to retreat. In southern Poland, Gen. Reichenau’s German 10th Army has advanced more than 50 miles since the beginning of the invasion and crosses the River Pilica just a few miles south of Warsaw. The Fourth Army, directed by Gen. von Kluge crosses the Polish corridor to German East Prussia. The Third Army under Gen. Kuchler pushes south from East Prussia and threatens the River Narev above the Warsaw. The Eighth Army under Gen. Blaskowitz passes north of Lodz, while Gen. List’s 14th Army forces Polish forces to abandon the city of Cracow and begin pushing west.
Over the city of Lodz, German Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me109 fighters destroy 11 Polish fighters and 3 bombers.
In the west, the first shots between French and German forces are fired; the clashes are limited to skirmishing in the “No Man’s Land” between the French Maginot Line and the German Siegfried Line. Meanwhile, British navy destroyers land advance elements of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at Cherbourg.
The propaganda aspect of the war begins to heat up. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcasts a message in German to the Germans, explaining his government’s position denouncing the National Socialist regime. In an article published in the Vokischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the National Socialist party, German Minister of Propaganda and Enlightenment Dr. Josef Goebbels claims that the sinking of the SS Athenia was arranged by British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill in order to “create an incident between Germany and the United States.”
In Tokyo, the Japanesse government declares its neutrality and notes that Japan will “concentrate her efforts on a settlement of the China affair.”
3-Sep-39 — British, French Declare War on Germany; U-Boat Sinks Ocean Liner Athenia.
At 09:00, British Ambassador to Germany Sir Neville Henderson delivers an ultimatum to Berlin stating that if hostilities in Poland do not stop by 11:00, a state of war will exist between Great Britain and Germany. Germany does not respond and at 11:15, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain goes on the radio to announce to the British people that they are at war with Germany.
Paul Schmidt, German translator to Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, as well as Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler, is chosen by Ribbentrop to receive Henderson alone and is thus an eyewitness to an exceptionally historical moment. According to Schmidt:
“I … stood in Ribbentrop’s office ready to receive Henderson punctually at 9 o’clock. Henderson was announced as the hour struck. He came in looking very serious, shook hands, but declined my invitation to be seated, remaining solemnly standing in the middle of the room.
“‘I regret that on the instructions of my Government I have to hand you an ultimatum for the German Government,’ he said with deep emotion, and then, both of us still standing up, he read out the British ultimatum. ‘More than twenty-four hours have elapsed since an immediate reply was requested to the warning of September 1st, and since then the attacks on Poland have been intensified. If His Majesty’s Government has not received satisfactory assurances of the cessation of all aggressive action against Poland, and the withdrawal of German troops from that country, by 11 o’clock British Summer Time, from that time a state of war will exist between Great Britain and Germany.’
“When he had finished reading, Henderson handed me the ultimatum and bade me goodbye, saying: ‘I am sincerely sorry that I must hand such a document to you in particular, as you have always been most anxious to help.’ I too expressed my regret, and added a few heartfelt words. I always had the highest regard for the British Ambassador.”
Schmidt then conveys the ultimatum to the Reichskanzlei, where most of the members of the Cabinet and the leading men of the National Socialist Party are collected in the room next to Hitler’s office, anxiously awaiting his news. “There was something of a crush and I had difficulty in getting through to Hitler,” said Schmidt.
“When I entered the next room Hitler was sitting at his desk and Ribbentrop stood by the window. Both looked up expectantly as I came in. I stopped at some distance from Hitler’s desk, and then slowly translated the British Government’s ultimatum. When I finished, there was complete silence. Hitler sat immobile, gazing before him. He was not at a loss, as was afterwards stated, nor did he rage as others allege. He sat completely silent and unmoving.
“After an interval which seemed an age, he turned to Ribbentrop, who had remained standing by the window. ‘What now?’ asked Hitler with a savage look, as though implying that his Foreign Minister had misled him about England’s probable reaction. Ribbentrop answered quietly: ‘I assume that the French will hand in a similar ultimatum within the hour.’
“As my duty was now performed, I withdrew. To those in the anteroom pressing round me I said: ‘The English have just handed us an ultimatum. In two hours a state of war will exist between England and Germany.’ In the anteroom, too, this news was followed by complete silence.
“Goering turned to me and said: ‘If we lose this war, then God have mercy on us!’ Goebbels stood in a corner, downcast and self-absorbed. Everywhere in the room I saw looks of grave concern, even amongst the lesser Party people.”
At 17:00 in Paris, the French declare war before their ultimatum expires. The Australian and New Zealand governments declare war on Germany. The Belgians declare their neutrality; King Leopold assumes command of the army.
Back in London, Chamberlain forms a War Cabinet, including Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty and Anthony Eden as Secretary for the Dominions. Churchill and Eden had been the most prominent opponents of Chamberlain’s appeasement policy. The government announces the formation of a Ministry of Economic Warfare and the implementation of a blockade of German ports.
At 11:35, the first air-raid warning sirens sound in London, but it is a false alarm. The three-day evacuation of one-and-a-half million civilians from the larger cities to the country is complete. British Royal Air Force aircraft drop six million leaflets on cities in northern Germany and the Ruhr in the first of a series of propaganda raids.
Meanwhile in Poland, the Polish Lodz Army is now in retreat after being beaten in the Battles of the Border by the German Army Group South. The German 10th Army under General von Reichenau crosses the Warta River; the 14th Army under General List is converging on Krakow in southwest Poland. The Germans also take the city of Czestochowa. In the north, a few Polish units invade German East Prussia but German forces cut them off and surround them. The German Luftwaffe has now effectively destroyed the entire Polish Air Force.
Action on the high seas begins as the British passenger liner, SS Athenia, on its way to Canada, is torpedoed by the German submarine U-30 off the northwest coast of Ireland. The Germans have mistakenly identified Athenia as an auxiliary cruiser. Of the 1,400 people (including 316 Americans) on board, 112 die, including 28 Americans. The German government is supposedly unaware of the sinking until later in the month. Britain interprets the sinking as the start of unrestricted submarine warfare, just as in World War I. The Germans reportedly have 39 out of 58 U-Boats at sea. German Admiral Karl Doenitz, head of U-Boats, had projected that a fleet of 300 submarines would be needed in order to be successful against Britain.
2-Sep-39 — British, French Deliver Ultimatums to Germans; Invasion Continues Successfully; Other Countries Declare Their Neutrality.
As the second day of the war begins, British Ambassador to Germany Sir Nevile Henderson delivers a last warning to Germany; similar action was taken by M. Robert Coulondre on behalf of the French Government. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop receives Sir Henderson at 09:40 and said he will refer the British Government’s communication to Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain tells Parliament:
“The British Ambassador in Berlin has been instructed to hand to the German Government a communication stating:
“Unless the German Government are prepared to give assurances that the German Government have suspended aggressive action against Poland and are prepared promptly to withdraw their forces from Polish territory, the Government in the United Kingdom will without hesitation fulfill their obligation to Poland.”
“If the reply to this last warning is unfavorable, and I do not suggest it is likely to be otherwise, his Majesty’s Ambassador is instructed to ask for his passports. In that case we are ready.”
The National Service Act is passed, allowing for the conscription of all men aged 19-41 throughout Britain.
The French hold deliberations on the Polish invasion throughout the day and decides to transmit a similar ultimatum to Germany, declaring that it will fulfill its obligations to Poland as well. The British Royal Air Force Advanced Air Striking Force of 10 bomber squadrons arrives in France.
The Swiss government orders a general mobilization; the Irish government in Dublin declares its neutrality. Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini declares Italian neutrality and calls for a five-power peace conference. Hitler rejects the offer to mediate the German-Polish dispute (made on 31-Aug.) and the proposal for a peace conference.
In Berlin, the German government announces that Norwegian neutrality will be respected, provided that Britain and France do the same.
Meanwhile in Poland, troops of German Army Group South (under the command of Gen. Gerd von Rundstedt) cross over the Warta River in many places after rapid but expensive victories in the battles of the border. Krakow is now near the front line.
In the north, the Fourth Army (under Gen. von Kluge) makes contact with the Third Army (under Gen. Kuchler) which is invading from East Prussia. Two Polish divisions are destroyed while attempting to pull back through the Danzig Corridor.
The Luftwaffe is spreading chaos in the Polish rear. Polish regular troops often find themselves posted too far forward; the German advance is soon behind them, preventing movement of reserves and completely destroying any remaining communications.
There are six air raids on the Polish capital, Warsaw.
In Washington, D.C., President Franklin D. Roosevelt states that it is his firm intention to keep the United States out of any general war.
21:00 1-Sep-39 — First Day of Polish Invasion Draws to a Close; Germans Mostly Successful.
German and Polish military order of battle, 1-Sep-39
The first day of the war is drawing to a close. General mobilization has been declared in Britain and France; the French also declare martial law. British naval reservists and the rest of army and R.A.F. reservists are also called up. Evacuation of British children continues; it involves three million people and is expected to take three days.
On the Polish front, at the scene of the earliest action of the war on the Westerplatte north of Danzig, a completely surrounded Polish Military Transit Depot, manned by only 182 soldiers, faces an overwhelming German force of more than 3,000 soldiers attacking from land, sea and air. Over seven days, the defense of Westerplatte will prove to be an inspiration to Poland while successful German advances continue elsewhere.
In Danzig itself, Polish militiamen have defended the Danzig Post Office for some 15 hours against assaults by the SS Heimwehr Danzig (SS of the city Danzig), local SA formations and special units of Ordnungspolizei (Danzig police). All but four of the defenders will be sentenced to death by a German military court as partisans on 5 October and will be executed.
The Battle of Tuchola Forest begins and will be fought for four days, ending in a major German victory. Due to lack of coordination and poor command of forces on the Polish side and German numerical and tactical superiority, the Germans manage to cripple the Polish Army of Pomerania and connect mainland Germany with East Prussia, breaking through the Polish Corridor south of Danzig.
Near the village of Mokra, northwest of Częstochowa, Poland, the Poles score one of the few victories of the campaign. The German Fourth Panzer Division is forced back to its initial positions in Opatów and Wilkowiecko, and only the 12th Schützen Regiment manages to reach the rail crossing at Izbiska. However, upon learning that the German 1st Panzer Division has managed to take Kłobuck, Polish forces are withdrawn overnight southeastwards, to the village of Łobodno located north-east of Kłobuck, and then to the second line of defense, 12 km to the east.
In Chojnice, Poland, a detached unit of the Polish army, Chojnice Detached Group under Colonel Tadeusz Majewski, part of the Czersk Operational Group under Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki, attempts to defend the city of Chojnice, a major regional communications center, in order to protect the southern flank of Army Pomorze. German attacks are repulsed throughout much of the day, but around 16:00-17:00 in the afternoon, the units receive orders to fall back towards Rytel, ceding the city to the Germans.
At the Battle of Lasy Królewskie (Battle of the Royal Forests) near Janowo and Krzynowołga Mała, Polish Uhlan cavalry (elements of 11. Pułk Ułanów Legionowych) encounter German cavalry units and charge them; melee combat with sabers ensues.
15:00 1-Sep-39 — Hitler Addresses Reichstag, Justifies Invasion; Berlin “Calm, Apathetic”
15:00 – German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler has addressed the Deutsche Reichstag and informed them of the invasion of Poland, as well as the justifications for it.
Assembled at 10 a.m., the Reichstag greets Hitler, who declares:
“For months we have been suffering under the torture of a problem which the Versailles Diktat created. A problem which has deteriorated until it has become intolerable for us. Danzig was and is a German city. The [Polish] Corridor was and is German. Danzig was separated from us. The corridor was annexed by Poland. As in other German territories [outside Germany] the east German minorities have been ill-treated in the most distressing manner … I attempted to bring about, by making proposals for revisions, an alteration in this intolerable position.
“It is a lie when the outside world says that we only tried to carry our revisions through by pressure. I have, not once but several times, made proposals for the revision of intolerable conditions. All these proposals have been rejected … In the same way I have also tried to solve the problem of Danzig, the Corridor etc … by proposing peaceful discussion … I then formulated at last the German proposals, and I must repeat that there is nothing more modest and loyal than these proposals.
“These answers have been refused. Not only were they answered first with mobilisation, but with increased terror against our German compatriots and with a slow strangling of the Free City of Danzig — economically, politically, and in recent weeks by military and transport means.
“I made one more final effort to accept a proposal for mediation on the part of the British Government. They proposed, not that they themselves should carry on the negotiations, but rather that Poland and Germany should come into direct contact and once more pursue negotiations. I accepted this proposal and worked out a basis for those negotiations which are known to you. For two whole days I sat with my government and waited to see if it was convenient for the Polish Government to send a plenipotentiary or not. Last night they did not send us a plenipotentiary, but instead informed us through their ambassador that they were still considering whether and to what extent they were in a position to go into the British proposals …
“If the German Government and its leader patiently endured such treatment Germany would deserve only to disappear from the political stage. I therefore, decided late last night, and informed the British Government that, in these circumstances I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us …
“When statesmen in the West declare that this affects their interests, I can only regret such a declaration. We ask nothing of these Western states and will never ask anything. I have declared that the frontier between France and Germany is a final one. I have repeatedly offered friendship and the closest co-operation to Britain, but this cannot be offered from one side only …
“I will not make war against women and children. I have ordered my air force to restrict itself to attacks on military objectives. If, however, the enemy thinks he can from that draw “carte blanche” on his side to fight by other methods he will receive an answer that will deprive him of hearing and sight.”
Hitler causes pandemonium in the Reichstag when he informs the deputies:
“This night for the first time Polish regular soldiers fired on our own territory. Since 5:45 a. m. we have been returning the fire, and from now on bombs will be met with bombs. Whoever fights with poison gas will be fought with poison gas. Whoever departs from the rules of humane warfare can only expect that we shall do the same. I will continue this struggle, no matter against whom, until the safety of the Reich and its rights are secured.”
After the speech, CBS veteran journalist William Shirer (on the right above, with Edward R. Murrow), broadcasts details of the day’s events back to the U.S.
He notes in the broadcast, which is heavily censored by the Germans:
“A word about Americans here. Our Embassy today gave Americans a last chance to get out by a special train which will take them to the Danish border tomorrow morning. At Flensburg, where the train stops on the German side of the frontier, the passengers will be taken across the border in busses. All the wives and children of Embassy and Consulate staff members will be evacuated on that train tomorrow. The Embassy tonight distributed gas masks to its staff.”
After the broadcast, back at his home, Shirer writes in his diary:
“It’s a ‘counter-attack!’ At dawn this morning Hitler moved against Poland. It’s a flagrant, inexcusable, unprovoked act of aggression … A grey morning with overhanging clouds. The people in the street were apathetic when I drove to the Rundfunk for my first broadcast at eight fifteen a.m. Across from the Adlon the morning shift of workers was busy on the new I.G. Farben building just as if nothing had happened. None of the men bought the Extras which the newsboys were shouting.
“Along the east-west axis the Luftwaffe were mounting five big anti-aircraft guns to protect Hitler when he addresses the Reichstag at ten a.m. … Throughout the speech, I thought as I listened, ran a curious strain, as though Hitler himself were dazed at the fix he had got himself into and felt a little desperate about it. Somehow he did not carry conviction and there was much less cheering in the Reichstag than on previous, less important occasions.
“… He sounded discouraged when he told the Reichstag that Italy would not be coming into the war because ‘we are unwilling to call in outside help for this struggle. We will fulfill this task by ourselves.’”
“… Tomorrow Britain and France probably will come in and you have your second World War. The British and French tonight sent an ultimatum to Hitler to withdraw his troops from Poland or their ambassadors will ask for their passports. Presumably they will get their passports.”
The invasion of Poland, in what will become known as Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”), is just over 12 hours old.
14:00 1-Sep-39 — Invasion of Poland Gathers Speed; 1,850,000 German Troops Attack 1,000,000 Polish Forces
14:00 – The details of the German invasion of Poland are becoming clearer. The invading force consists of five armies and reserves (14 Infantry, 1 Panzer and 2 Mountain Divisions), all under command of General Walther von Brauchitsch, attacking from three directions – Silesia/Moravia and Slovakia, Western Pomerania and East Prussia.
In total, the attacking Wehrmacht musters 1,850,000 soldiers, 3,100 tanks and 10,000 artillery pieces, along with 2,085 airplanes (grouped in two Luftflotte (air fleets). Also attacking is the Kriegsmarine Ost (East) Group, which supports ground units and faces the Polish Navy.
There are two principal army groups being used by the Germans:
1. Army Group South, under the command of Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt. Army Group South consists of General Blaskowitz’s 8th, General von Reichenau’s 10th and General-Colonel List’s 14th Army. The group has 18 Infantry, 4 Slovak Infantry, 1 Mountain divisions, 2 Motorized, 4 Light Motorized, 4 Panzer divisions and it is attacking from the direction of Silesia/Moravia and Slovakia (into southern and western Poland). The group has over 2000 tanks and 800 armored cars.
2. Army Group North is under the command of Colonel General Fedor von Bock. General Gunther von Kluge’s 4th Army is part of the group and has 8 Infantry, 2 Motorized and 1 Panzer divisions; it is attacking from Western Pomerania (into northern and western Poland). General Georg von Kuechler’s 3rd Army has 11 Infantry and 1 Panzer divisions and is attacking from East Prussia (into northern Poland). Army Group North has 600 tanks and 200 armored cars.
The attack thrust of the two army groups are directed mainly towards the capital, Warsaw; they also aim for the destruction of Polish forces west of of the river Vistula.
The attacking force also held advantage by being able to attack Poland from three directions at once. Germans also had a well-established spy network and could count on help of many ethnic Germans living in Poland. In addition, Germans very well knew Polish rail and road network as being the ones who build it.
To resist the invasion, the Poles are mustering seven armies (Modlin – General Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski; Pomorze – General Bortnowski; Poznan – General Kutrzeba; Lodz – General Rommel; Krakow – Genereal Szilling; Lublin – General Piskor; and Karpaty – General Fabrycy). There is a single fully operational group (Narew – General Mlot-Fijalkowski) and a single army of reserves (Prusy – General Dab-Biernacki) and three partially operational groups (Wyszkow, Tarnow and Kutno).
The Polish forces are under the command of Marshal Edward Smigly-Rydz. There are 39 Infantry Divisions, 11 Elite Cavalry Brigades, 3 Mountain Brigades and 2 Armored-Motorized Brigades, along with other units. Army Lodz, Krakow and Karpaty have 241 tanks and 32 armored cars. Army Pomorze, Poznan, Modlin and 4 operational groups have 234 tanks and 52 armored cars. Reserve formations have some 185 tanks. There are 1,000,000 Polish soldiers under arms on 1-Sep, with some 900 tanks and 4,300 artillery pieces along with approximately 435 aircraft.
08:00 1-Sep-39 — German Troops Attack Near Mokra, Poland; Battle of the Border Begins
German and Polish military order of battle, 1-Sep-39
08:00 — German troops, still without a formal declaration of war issued, attack near the Polish town of Mokra. The Battle of the Border begins.
04:40 1-Sep-39 — World War Two Begins as Germans Invade Poland; Hostilities Commence at 04:40 with Attack on Wielun.
Wielun, Poland, after the initial German attack
04:40 — World War II begins with the implementation ordered by German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler of Fall Weiss (Case White) the Wehrmacht’s operational plan for the invasion of Poland. Luftwaffe (German Air Force) aircraft attack the Polish town of Wieluń, destroying 75% of the city and killing close to 1,200 people, most of them Polish civilians.
04:45 — The German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opens fire on the Polish military transit depot at Westerplatte in the Free City of Danzig on the Baltic Sea.