Perhaps a variant of this design as an MMG or vehicle machine gun?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karabin_maszynowy_obserwatora_wz.37
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karabin_maszynowy_obserwatora_wz.37
I've read about that but never found hard evidence. In any case, sure, bombing Berlin is going to enrage Parisians and the French government. So what. We're talking about the most that might be done, here, not what would have been likely taking into account misplaced political cautiousness.
I shouldn't be surprised, but I still am, every time I see how much importance is given to rivet-counting. Seriously, some MG with a slightly different mechanism or rate of fire, or some slightly more powerful aircraft engine is going to make a significant difference?
The obvious trump card would be accepting a Polish-French-British-Soviet alliance. With our hindsight, even if the Soviet troops moved in and didn't, after the German defeat, relinquish some border region in the East, that doesn't hold a candle to what happened to Poland historically. But with the knowledge decision makers had at the time, this borders ASB territory.
Barring that, here you go:
1. Drop the destroyers. However small, they serve no purpose. Build a couple more submarines instead, a handful of fast torpedo boats, and use the balance for the Wojsko Polskie.
2. Reduce the number of bombers. No need to spend more on more or better fighters; the Lotnictwo Wojskowe is a wasting asset anyway and it did, in OTL, cause enough attrition to the Luftwaffe. That's the max one can expect in any case.
3. Cut down the number of cavalry brigades. Really not needed. Four should suffice.
4. With all the money thus spared, organize first two armored brigades, with just about any kind of light tank in the tank battalion, provided it comes with a 37mm gun at least. Truck-mounted infantry, motorized artillery a bit more abundant than in OTL, AA battery. With the balance, improve signals and communications, then motorize a couple of infantry divisions, and if possible a bit of the artillery in general. If you still have money, add AA batteries (even light caliber ones are OK), and more standard AT batteries (no need to change guns, just add numbers, ammunition, motorization). If you can still spare something, buy mines. Any spare change, upgrade all the tankettes to a 20mm gun.
5. Don't wait to mobilize. And put everything West save the ON, if the Soviets come in you're toast anyway, your best bet is to delay the Germans enough to have the French involved and Stalin doubting whether the time has come.
6. Fight only delaying actions in Pomerania initially, don't deploy too far forward. This is costly, politically, but necessary.
7. Use the ON and reserve units that aren't on the Eastern border to attack Prussia on multiple sides. It doesn't matter if they don't make much headway, the point is to have the Germans worried and counter their narrative of success all along the front.
8. Use those few bombers for a demonstrative night raid on Berlin and another on Bratislava. Sure, the enemy will retaliate on your cities - they'll bomb them anyway starting on day one, and much worse, so, again for propaganda purposes, do that.
.... So what. We're talking about the most that might be done, here, not what would have been likely taking into account misplaced political cautiousness.
Makes sense. For the Light tank, I'd say either the Vickers 6 Tonner or a Czech design.
... Even if the Polish decision makers opted for a go-for-broke strategy, they'd draw a line at being the first ones to attack, which is what your night operation before the German attack is.
Perhaps. But again, there doesn't seem to have been much desired to really modify the basic design with something like belt feeding.Not botching the licence agreement would help. There would be more available, perhaps time to modify the design earlier.
German propaganda was working overtime, tho ineptly, to set up the Poles as the aggresors. The British and French governments were coming to recognize or accept the evidence the Germans intended to destroy the Polish nation.
So Hispano-Suiza getting a little less greedy and a simplified PZL 23 could help Polish Air Force in a realtively cheap way (better fighters with better engines and slighly more light bombers).Ok, lets start with airplanes:
1. Hispano-Suiza engines.
2. Fighters
3. Light bombers - PZL-23
I'll post more later.
So better AT capacities. more 37mm bofors and more AT rifles allocated to each units. Again a plausible solution and not the costliest one.Re tanks. Everyone loves tank technology. But in 1939 the German tanks were still vulnerable to a good anti tank rifle. Anti tank rifles are vastly cheaper than tanks.
I thought Weygand had proposed to the Poles a plan where Poznan was to be evacuated without fighting because it was estimated indefensible and way too prone to create a dangerous salientThey were in the context of the German Army of 1939. Polish strategy & operations were based on the world of 1938 or earlier. I don't know if they understood the changes or not, but they lacked time to adapt.
Interesting stuff but it would require a Ridz Smigly SI.Given a early enough PoD, say 1936, here is my near ASB fantasy list.
Poles consult with IBM & other US calculating machine companies like NCR to advance their penetration of the Enigma system. This equipment and special radio units scatter false messages through the German signals networks the morning of the attack, and jam a few key frequencies. By flooding the low level, non Enigma encrypted networks with deception messages the Germans must consider all that compromised and consider emergency replacement of their radio codes below division level. While the Poles would want to avoid reveling their penetration of the Enigma system the damage to the lower grade systems could be significant.
Stand up a Polish version of the Brandenberg organization. Poles who could pass well enough as German to infiltrate and sabatoge communications & command nodes.
Prepare commando type units to supplement the above with preemptive raids.
Train the Polish bomber force for night ops. Use it in a preemptive strike against German airfields before dawn. Follow up with dawn operations by lighter bombers and single engine aircraft over the nearer German airfields. While the size of the Polish AF wont destroy a lot this can severely disrupt German air ops for 48 to 72 hours. A well enough trained bomber force may be able to repeat the stunt another early morning.
Polish forward deployed units follow the commando raids with some spoiling attacks, diversion and deceptions. Long range artillery strikes at known German concentrations with the aim of disruption.
While all this wont cause a lot of physical damage to enemy field forces it has the potiential to badly disrupt their operations for 2-3 or more days. Success in up to half these items can sow doubt and long term problems in the upper levels of the German command hierarchy.
So more support from others countries. Perhaps a deal with USSR in order to make them wait. The longer Stalin waits, the longer the Germans are bled in Poland. Perhaps securing Slovakian neutrality? At least Poland wouldn't have to worry about Slovak unit or German forces in Slovakia: a shorter front is always better than a longer one. AND Romania. If Romania becomes a true ally instead of an already very benevolent neutral, that could help Poland in the Carpathians.I shouldn't be surprised, but I still am, every time I see how much importance is given to rivet-counting. Seriously, some MG with a slightly different mechanism or rate of fire, or some slightly more powerful aircraft engine is going to make a significant difference?
The obvious trump card would be accepting a Polish-French-British-Soviet alliance. With our hindsight, even if the Soviet troops moved in and didn't, after the German defeat, relinquish some border region in the East, that doesn't hold a candle to what happened to Poland historically. But with the knowledge decision makers had at the time, this borders ASB territory.
.
Mostly technically doable, still essentially ASB. Even if the Polish decision makers opted for a go-for-broke strategy, they'd draw a line at being the first ones to attack, which is what your night operation before the German attack is.
I thought Weygand had proposed to the Poles a plan where Poznan was to be evacuated without fighting because it was estimated indefensible and way too prone to create a dangerous salient
...
So Hispano-Suiza getting a little less greedy and a simplified PZL 23 could help Polish Air Force in a realtively cheap way (better fighters with better engines and slighly more light bombers).
Small arms won't change the course of the war significantly. Also, it says in your link that the Johnson LMG was designed in 1940. Even if they could get it, is it really a serious improvement over the BAR, which the Poles already had?One option might be to have the Poles adopt the .276 Pedersen round, rifle, and Johnson LMG in the 1920s...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.276_Pedersen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedersen_rifle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1941_Johnson_machine_gun
Depends, as it was the Poles were seriously experimenting with semi-automatic battle rifles and had the BAR while investing heavily in their own homegrown light mortar.Small arms won't change the course of the war significantly. Also, it says in your link that the Johnson LMG was designed in 1940. Even if they could get it, is it really a serious improvement over the BAR, which the Poles already had?
Why? They were already subject to conscription in the Polish army where they'd be most useful anyway.You've got 3,310,000 Jews in Poland by 1938. Presumably half are adults. With the level of hindsight this thread suggests and start date of 1920s, let's raise a Jewish Legion, like the Brits did https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Legion At least they get a fighting chance.
Next, mine the Polish border. Place explosives under the bridges. Stock pile food. And arm every man and woman.
Lastly, delay the Soviets. Talk to Stalin, make overtures of addressing USSR issues with Poland.... anything that can slow down the Soviet advance until the German one is a mess.
So more support from others countries. Perhaps a deal with USSR in order to make them wait. The longer Stalin waits, the longer the Germans are bled in Poland. Perhaps securing Slovakian neutrality? At least Poland wouldn't have to worry about Slovak unit or German forces in Slovakia: a shorter front is always better than a longer one. AND Romania. If Romania becomes a true ally instead of an already very benevolent neutral, that could help Poland in the Carpathians.
You've got 3,310,000 Jews in Poland by 1938. Presumably half are adults. With the level of hindsight this thread suggests and start date of 1920s, let's raise a Jewish Legion, like the Brits did https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Legion At least they get a fighting chance.
Next, mine the Polish border. Place explosives under the bridges. Stock pile food. And arm every man and woman.
Lastly, delay the Soviets. Talk to Stalin, make overtures of addressing USSR issues with Poland.... anything that can slow down the Soviet advance until the German one is a mess.
Not just because Slovakia is German puppet but because of mistakes of Polish foreign policy in 1938. There was very strong pro Polish wing in Hlinka's Party, however with Polish occupation of parts of Kysuce, Orava and Spis it was basically death and Bratislava was able if not to gain support (war against Poland wasn't very popular) at least present the war against Poland as liberation war.Slovakia is impossible. It's a German puppet state, existing because Hitler said so. Forget about that.