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Polish Defence War of 1939

Invasion of Poland
Part of the European Theatre of World War II
Battle of Poland.png
From left to right: Luftwaffe preparing to bomb Wieluń, SMS Schleswig-Holstein attacking the Westerplatte, Wehrmacht soldiers destroying the Polish-German border post, German tank and armored car formation, German and Soviet troops shaking hands following the invasion, Bombing of Warsaw.
Date 1 September – 6 October 1939
(1 month and 5 days)
Location Poland, Eastern Germany, and the Free City of Danzig
Result

Decisive German and Soviet victory

Territorial
changes
Polish territory divided among Germany, the Soviet Union, Lithuania and Slovakia. Free City of Danzig annexed by Germany.
Belligerents
Soviet Union Soviet Union (After 17 September, see details) Poland1
Commanders and leaders
Nazi Germany

Ferdinand Čatloš
(Army Bernolák)

Soviet Union
Units involved
Strength

Germany:
60 divisions,
6 brigades,
9,000 guns,
2,750 tanks,
2,315 aircraft
Slovakia:
3 divisions
Joined on 17 September:
Soviet Union:
33+ divisions,
11+ brigades,
4,959 guns,
4,736 tanks,
3,300 aircraft


Total:
1,500,000 Germans,
466,516 Soviets,
51,306 Slovaks
Grand total: 2,000,000+

Poland:
39 divisions (some of them were never fully mobilized and concentrated),
16 brigades,
4,300 guns,
880 tanks,
400 aircraft


Total: 1,000,000
Casualties and losses

Germany:
16,343 killed,
3,500 missing,
30,300 wounded
Slovakia:
37 killed,
11 missing,
114 wounded


Soviet Union:
1,475 killed or missing,
2,383 wounded
or:
5,327 killed, missing and wounded


Total casualties: 59,000
Poland:
66,000 dead
133,700 wounded
660,000–690,000 captured
859,700–889,700 total casualties
1 The  United Kingdom and  France declared war on Germany on 3 September, but their assistance to Poland was very limited

Decisive German and Soviet victory

Ferdinand Čatloš
(Army Bernolák)

Germany:
60 divisions,
6 brigades,
9,000 guns,
2,750 tanks,
2,315 aircraft
Slovakia:
3 divisions
Joined on 17 September:
Soviet Union:
33+ divisions,
11+ brigades,
4,959 guns,
4,736 tanks,
3,300 aircraft

Poland:
39 divisions (some of them were never fully mobilized and concentrated),
16 brigades,
4,300 guns,
880 tanks,
400 aircraft

Germany:
16,343 killed,
3,500 missing,
30,300 wounded
Slovakia:
37 killed,
11 missing,
114 wounded

Soviet Union:
1,475 killed or missing,
2,383 wounded
or:
5,327 killed, missing and wounded

The Invasion of Poland, known in Poland as the September Campaign (Kampania wrześniowa) or the 1939 Defensive War (Wojna obronna 1939 roku), and in Germany as the Poland Campaign (Polenfeldzug) or Fall Weiss ("Case White"), was a joint invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the Free City of Danzig, and a small Slovak contingent, that marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, while the Soviet invasion commenced on 17 September following the Molotov-Tōgō agreement that terminated the Russian and Japanese hostilities in the east on 16 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty.


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