Hello everyone,
I was reading German Grand Admiral Eric Raeder’s memoirs and came upon something interesting. Admiral Raeder writes that during the 1920’s “Poland had built up a strong army, superior both in numbers and equipment to our limited (German) army of 100,000. Danzig, which had been denied to Poland by the Peace Treaty, was an open, defenseless city, which Poland was seeking every possible means to dominate. It was not beyond the bounds of possibility that Poland might some day seize the city by force, and ultimately do the same with East Prussia, which was cut off by the Polish Corridor. The armed seizure of Memel by Lithuanian volunteers and of Vilna by Polish volunteers in 1920, neither of which any other powers had contested, made it seem quite possible that the same fate could overtake Danzig and East Prussia unless Germany was in position to offer immediate and energetic resistance. And since Poland had a close alliance with France, Germany would have to reckon on meeting French forces as well as Polish, if Poland staged a surprise attack on Danzig or East Prussia.”
He later goes on to say that “the Polish-French military alliance of 1926 stipulated that the French government would provide a squadron of two battleships, four cruisers, four destroyers, three submarines and one minelayer, for the defense of Poland.”
My alternate history, what if, is a German-Polish war in the 1920’s. It would pit a weak Germany army and navy VS a strong Polish army with French naval support. I was also wondering if the Soviet Union or the Baltic States would have had any impact.
Here are some states I found
Due to Versailles Treaty
German Army- 100,000 men
Germany Navy- 24 ships total: six pre-dreadnought battleships, six cruisers and 12 destroyers
Polish Army- 700,000 men
French Naval Forces- two modern battleships, four cruisers, four destroyers, three submarines and one minelayer
I was reading German Grand Admiral Eric Raeder’s memoirs and came upon something interesting. Admiral Raeder writes that during the 1920’s “Poland had built up a strong army, superior both in numbers and equipment to our limited (German) army of 100,000. Danzig, which had been denied to Poland by the Peace Treaty, was an open, defenseless city, which Poland was seeking every possible means to dominate. It was not beyond the bounds of possibility that Poland might some day seize the city by force, and ultimately do the same with East Prussia, which was cut off by the Polish Corridor. The armed seizure of Memel by Lithuanian volunteers and of Vilna by Polish volunteers in 1920, neither of which any other powers had contested, made it seem quite possible that the same fate could overtake Danzig and East Prussia unless Germany was in position to offer immediate and energetic resistance. And since Poland had a close alliance with France, Germany would have to reckon on meeting French forces as well as Polish, if Poland staged a surprise attack on Danzig or East Prussia.”
He later goes on to say that “the Polish-French military alliance of 1926 stipulated that the French government would provide a squadron of two battleships, four cruisers, four destroyers, three submarines and one minelayer, for the defense of Poland.”
My alternate history, what if, is a German-Polish war in the 1920’s. It would pit a weak Germany army and navy VS a strong Polish army with French naval support. I was also wondering if the Soviet Union or the Baltic States would have had any impact.
Here are some states I found
Due to Versailles Treaty
German Army- 100,000 men
Germany Navy- 24 ships total: six pre-dreadnought battleships, six cruisers and 12 destroyers
Polish Army- 700,000 men
French Naval Forces- two modern battleships, four cruisers, four destroyers, three submarines and one minelayer