✦ History

Invasion of Poland

September 1 – October 6, 1939

Result German–Soviet victory

Nazi Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, and the Soviet Union invaded from the east on 17 September under the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic overran Polish defenses, and the campaign ended on 6 October with Poland divided between Germany and the Soviet Union. The invasion marked the beginning of World War II in Europe.

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Battles and events 23

September 1–16, 1939
Slovak invasion of Poland Slovak victory Poland
September 1, 1939
Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig Danzig/German victory Polish Post Office in the Free City of Danzig
September 1, 1939
Bombing of Wieluń Wieluń
September 1–3, 1939
Battle of Mława German victory Uniszki Zawadzkie Georg von Küchler
September 1–7, 1939
Battle of Westerplatte German victory Westerplatte Wilhelm Henningsen, Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt, Gustav Kleikamp
September 1, 1939
Battle of Danzig Bay German victory Pomeranian Voivodeship
September 1–27, 1939
Bombing of Warsaw in World War II Warsaw
September 1939
Battle of the Border German victory Poland
September 2–6, 1939
Battle of Borowa Góra German victory Bełchatów
September 6, 1939
Battle of Tomaszów Mazowiecki German victory Tomaszów Mazowiecki
September 7–10, 1939
Battle of Wizna German victory Łomża Heinz Guderian
September 7–10, 1939
Battle of Łomża (1939) German victory Łomża Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
September 8–28, 1939
Siege of Warsaw (1939) German victory Warsaw Johannes Blaskowitz, Georg von Küchler
September 8–9, 1939
Battle of Radom German victory Iłża Walter von Reichenau
September 9–19, 1939
Battle of the Bzura German victory Kutno Gerd von Rundstedt, Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Günther von Kluge
September 9 – October 2, 1939
Battle of Hel German victory Hel Peninsula Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt
September 13–29, 1939
Battle of Modlin German victory Modlin Hermann Hoth, Werner Kempf, Adolf Strauss
September 14–18, 1939
Battle of Kobryń Inconclusive Kobryn Heinz Guderian
September 18–19, 1939
Battle of Wilno (1939) Soviet victory Vilnius
September 20–24, 1939
Battle of Grodno (1939) Soviet victory Hrodna
September 28, 1939
Battle of Szack Polish victory Shatsk
October 1, 1939
Battle of Wytyczno Soviet victory Wytyczno
October 2–5, 1939
Battle of Kock (1939) German victory Kock

Key commanders

Axis 22

Adolf Hitler Ordered German invasion Joseph Stalin Ordered Soviet Invasion Hermann Göring Commander, Luftwaffe Semyon Timoshenko Commanded the Ukrainian Front in the Soviet invasion Gerd von Rundstedt military commander Fedor von Bock military commander Albert Kesselring military commander Franz Halder military commander Günther von Kluge military commander Walther von Brauchitsch military commander Johannes Blaskowitz military commander Georg von Küchler military commander Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb military commander Walter von Reichenau military commander Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt military commander Hermann Hoth military commander Werner Kempf military commander Adolf Strauss military commander Heinz Guderian military commander Wilhelm Henningsen military commander Gustav Kleikamp military commander Nikolaus von Falkenhorst military commander

Allies 4

Neville Chamberlain Declared war, British Prime Minister Edward Rydz-Śmigły military commander Tadeusz Kasprzycki military commander Wacław Stachiewicz military commander