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RESTRICTED DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PAMPHLET No. 20-255
The
German Campaign
In Poland
(1939)By
Robert M. Kennedy
Major, Infantry
United States Army
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY APRIL 1956
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WASHINGTON 25, D.C., 18 April 1956Department of the Army Pamphlet 20-255 is published for the information and guidance of all concerned.
[AG 385 (14 Sep 55)]
BY ORDER of Wilber M. Brucker, Secretary of the Army:
MAXWELL D. TAYLOR,
General, United States Army,
Chief of Staff.OFFICIAL:
JOHN A. KLEIN,,
Major General, United States, Army,
The Adjutant General.
CONTENTS
Credit.
Foreword v Preface vii PART ONE. THE BACKGROUND OF THE CONFLICT 1 Chapter 1. Polish-German Relations to March 1939 1 General 1 The Versailles Trety and the Rise of Hitler 2 The Polish-German Nonaggression Pact 3 The Austrian and Czechoslovak Crises 4 The Revival of German Claims against Poland 6 2. German Military Developments to March 1939 8 The Treaty Restrictions 8 The Reichswehr 9 The Army 10 The Navy 14 The Covert Air Force 16 The National Socialists in Power 17 The Wehrmacht 20 The New Army 22 Expansion 22 The Westwall 25 Mobilization 26 Divisional Organization 28 Command Organization 31 The New Navy 33 The New Air Force 35 The German Military Situation in March 1939 36 3. Events Leading up to the Outbreak of Hostilities 38 General 38 The Annual Military Directive, 1939-40 39 Diplomatic Developments, April-July 41 Events, 1-22 August 42 The Pact with the Russians 44 PART TWO. POLAND'S POSITION AND GERMANY'S PREPARATIONS FOR THE ATTACK 47 Chapter 4. The Polish State and the Armed Forces 47 Government 47 Population and Economy 48 Topography 48 The Armed Forces 50 General 50 The Army 51 The Navy 54 Defense Plan and Dispositions 55 5. The German Plan and Preliminary Movements 58 April-May 1939 58 The OKH Operation Order of 15 June 1939 60 The OKW Timetable 63 Lofistical Support 64 The Navy and Air Force 68 The Concentration of Forces 70 The Period of Indecision 73 PART THREE. OPERATIONS IN POLAND 78 Chapter 6. Attack and Breakthrough 78 The Opening of the Attack 78 Army Group North, 1-3 September 79 The Opening Battles 79 Third Army Operations, 2 September 80 Fourth Army Operations, 2 September 81 The Junction of Third and Fourth Armies 82 Army Group South, 1-6 September 83 The Advance to the Warta (Warthe) 83 The Advance across the Polish Plain and into Galicia 85 The Air Force and Navy 88 7. The Destruction of the Polish Army 91 General 91 Army Group North, 4-17 September 92 Operations in Western Poland 92 Operations in Eastern Poland 94 Operations at Brzesc 98 The Intervention of the Russians 99 Army Group South, 7-17 September 100 Eighth Army 101 Tenth Army 103 Fourteenth Army 106 8. The End of the Campaign 109 General 109 The Battles for Warsaw and Modlin 109 Early Surrender Overtures 109 Initial German Attacks 110 The Eighth Army Attack 111 The Capture of Modlin 113 Gdynia and Hela 114 The Evacuation of Eastern Poland 116 The Army Group North Area 117 The Army Group Soth Area 118 Results of the Campaign 120 9. The Intervention of the Soviet Union 122 Diplomatic Negotiations 122 The Red Army's Intervention Forces 124 10. The Fourth Partition and German Occupation of Poland 126 11. Conclusions 130 General 130 Lessons Learned by the Wehrmacht 131 Matériel 131 Organization 133 Equipment 133 Training and Tactics 134 Air Support 135 Bibliographical Note 136 Chronology of Events 138 Rank Designations of German General and Flag Officers 141 Figure 1--Mr. Julius Weber.
Figure 2--Gen Hubert Lanz, Gebirgsjaeger (Bad Nauheim, 1954).
All others are from Department of Defense files.