Chapter 2 - Shot by Both Sides
Poland
August - September 1939
Of course Germany couldn't just attack Poland out of the blue, that would look far too suspicious. The German leadership was aware of this and took steps to create a believable
causes belli. This took place in the form of Operation Himmler, a series of false-flag attacks throughout 1939 in order to present a state of affairs in which Poland was aggressing Germany, rather than the other way round. This Operation culminated on 31 August 1939 in the Gleiwitz incident, a staged attack against the Gleiwitz radio tower led by
SS-Sturmbannführer Alfred Naujocks, with the goal of seizing the tower and broadcasting an anti-German propaganda message. In order to make it more believable, 43-year-old Franciszek Honiok was murdered by the SS, dressed up in a Polish uniform and filled with bullet holes to keep up the appearance of Polish aggression.
SS-Sturmbannführer Alfred Naujocks, the instigator of the Gleiwitz incident
Franciszek Honiok, the first fatality of the coming war
Needless to say, the rest of the world was not convinced by this Polish “attack”, not that they had much time to react anyway due to the next day’s more dramatic turn of events.
At 04:45 on 1 September 1939, German battleship Schleswig-Holstein fired on the Polish military transport depot at Westerplatte, although some German units had crossed the border even earlier. The first shots had been fired. The war had begun.
SMS Schleswig-Holstein firing on Westerplatte, September 1939
The response from Britain and France was one of immediate condemnation, and both nations soon delivered ultimatums to Hitler demanding immediate withdrawal from Poland. But Hitler did not withdraw, and as such, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. They were joiuned by the British Dominions of South Africa on 6th and Canada on the 10th. With the exception of the pitiful Saar Offensive, which ended by 16 September, there was no direct aid given to Poland by the Anglo-French Allies. With the Western Allies and Germany now at war, Stalin prepared to fulfil his side of the deal. On 15 September, Molotov and Japanese Ambassador Shigenori Tōgō concluded a ceasefire agreement that ended the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. With any "second front" threat posed to the USSR by Japan now removed, Stalin ordered the Red Army to invade Poland on 17 September.
With the entry of over 800,000 Red Army troops into Poland, the Polish government finally decided that the war in Poland itself was lost. The 25-battalion
Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza (Border Protection Corps) was ordered by Rydz-Śmigły to fall back and not engage the Soviets and the rest of the Polish army was evacuated into Romania where it would make its way into France. Meanwhile, in London and Paris, a political storm was taking shape.
Edward Rydz-Śmigły, General Inspector of the Polish Armed Forces
When the Soviets crossed the border, they acted in violation of the Anglo-Polish and Franco-Polish military alliances, the former of which specifically called for mutual defence against attacks by a "European Power". What that term meant had been left deliberately ambiguous in order to prevent negotiations back in August from breaking down. Now, it had to be decided, was Britain now at Russia as well, or would they leave eastern Poland to Stalin's mercy? After Stalin's invasion began, Polish Ambassador Raczyński meant Foreign Secretary Halifax in order to discover the British government's reaction. In this matter he was told that it would be decided following a meeting of the war cabinet [1].
On the evening of the 17th, the war cabinet met in Downing Street to discuss Russia's intervention in Poland. At first, it seemed that only the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchll, and Secretary of State for War, Leslie Hore-Belisha, who believed that war with the Soviet Union was something to prepare for, with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain advocating restraint in trying to balance out cabinet opinion. Foreign Secretary Halifax brought up the issue of the British guarantee, and whether the term "European Power" included Russia or not. Initially, Chamberlain was sceptical of declaring war on Russia. He hoped that Stalin could eventually be drawn into an alliance with Britain against Hitler, but as the night wore on this view began to wane. Eventually, by 11:00 that night, a decision had been made. Britain would deliver an ultimatum to Stalin the next day just as they had done with Hitler on 2 September. The terms would be almost identical, calling for the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Poland by 12:00 on 19 September. If these terms were not met or if no indication was given by the Soviet government that they would be undertaken, then Britain would declare war on the Soviet Union.
Chamberlin's war cabinet, September 1939
Standing: Sir Kingsley Wood, Winston Churchill, Leslie Hore-Belisha, and Lord Hankey.
Sitting: Viscount Halifax, Sir John Simon, Neville Chamberlain, Sir Samuel Hoare, and Lord Chatfield
The next morning, Chamberlain contacted French Prime Minister Daladier to inform him of the British position. Daladier immediately approved and gave assurances that France would join him in the ultimatum. At 13:30 Moscow time, British Ambassador Sir William Seeds and his French equivalent Paul-Émile Naggiar received important telegrams from their governments containing the terms of the ultimatum and instructions to deliver them immediately. Later that afternoon, both men met with Molotov to deliver the terms. The meeting between the three men was brief but formal, and the ambassadors soon departed to pack their belongings and leave Moscow for their home countries.
Sir William Seeds, British Ambassador to the Soviet Union
Vyacheslav Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union
The ultimatum was delivered to promptly delivered to Stalin. Upon reading the terms, he was quite surprised by the actions of the British and French governments. He had no war plans specifically against them, and the Anglo-French Allies had no real means of fighting him either. He instructed Molotov to ignore the ultimatum. As the deadline rolled around, no announcement from Moscow was received. Chamberlain announced on the BBC on 19 September 1939 at 18:00 that the United Kingdom was now at war with the Soviet Union. The French government made similar announcements at the same time. Whilst the Allies had just enhanced their images as the protectors of freedom against totalitarianism, the war had just moved into a new phase. Soon, its true magnitude would show.
Meanwhile, back in Poland, the military situation continued to deteriorate. Despite order's not to engage, the Poles and Soviets fought each other on many occasions, such as the Battle of Grodno and the Soviets executed numerous Polish officers and POWs. By 28 September, the Soviets were encountering German units advancing from the west. Poland was now completely defeated. The last defenders on the Hel Peninsula held out until surrendering on 2 October whilst the last major Polish units to surrender were General Kleeberg's forces following the Battle of Kock on 6 October. The Polish campaign was now over. The world was dividing into two camps with the British and French in one camp, and what appeared to be a quickly-emerging German-Soviet alliance in the other.
Footnotes
- [1] In OTL, Raczyński was rebuffed and told that any decision to go to war with Russia would be Britain's alone.
Announcement
I have been uploading quite eagerly over the last couple of days. The writing of this timeline won't continue at this same speed however. I do need to concentrate on my studies as my primary focus, so I will be slowing the pace down to one new update per week as my goal from here on in.
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