POLAND ATTACKED BY GERMANY, WORLD WAR II BEGINS
Wielun, Poland (JFK+50) On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler launched an attack on Poland marking the beginning of a second world war.
The invasion began at 4:40 a.m. with the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, conducting a bombing raid on Wielun*. Most of the town was destroyed and 127 civilians were killed.
Five minutes later, a German battleship fired on the Polish military transit depot in Dazig on the Baltic Sea.
Poland had guarantees of French and British military support which led to those countries declaring war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
While Poland had almost as many soldiers, she was far over-matched in military hardware. The Germans had 3600 armored vehicles to only 750 for the Poles.
The battle for Poland lasted one month but World War II lasted almost six years and cost tens of millions of lives.
*Wielun is located in south-central Poland. It was once an important urban trade center. Today it is an important transportation hub.
SOURCE
"75 years ago, Hitler invaded Poland. Here's how it happened," by Timothy B. Lee, September 1, 2014, www.vox.com/
