"LUFTWAFFE LAUNCHES BOMBING RAID ON WIELUN"

WORLD WAR II BEGINS AS GERMANY INVADES POLAND

Wielun, Poland (JFK+50) On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland marking the beginning of the Second World War.  Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe launched a bombing raid at 4:40 a.m. on the town of Wielun*.  

Minutes later a German battleship opened fire on the military transit depot located in Danzig on the Baltic Sea.

 At 8:00 a.m. German troops marched on Mokra followed by attacks on the northern, southern & western borders of Poland. 

Germany and France declared war on Germany two days later following by the Soviet invasion of Poland two weeks later. 

*Wielun is located in south central Poland.  Most of the town's center was destroyed in the German bombing raid of 1939.  127 civilians were killed.  It was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan 19, 1945.

JFK+50 NOTE

The bombing of Wielun is considered by many to be the first major action of WWII.  The Polish town had no anti-aircraft weapons so was defenseless against the German Luftwaffe.  46,000 kgs of bombs were dropped on civilian targets in a 9 hour period.

SOURCE

"World War II Began 75 Years Ago Today," JFK+50, September 1, 2014, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

Bombing of Wielun

1939

from a Polish postcard

PD

"LUFTWAFFE CONDUCTS BOMBING RAID ON WIELUN"

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/ 

   

 

Wielun, Poland

 September 1 1939 

After Luftwaffe Bombing Raid