Invasion of Poland

The German and Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939 destroyed the Polish state and began the European phase of World War II.

Fall Weiss: The German operational plan for invading Poland in 1939. It organized the initial assault that opened the campaign on September 1.
Nazi Germany: The German state under Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship from 1933 to 1945. Its leadership used the invasion to expand eastward and dismantle the Polish state.
Adolf Hitler: The dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. He ordered the invasion and pursued the destruction of independent Poland.
World War II: A global war fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Axis powers and the Allies. Germany’s attack on Poland led Britain and France to declare war, starting the European conflict.
Polish resistance movement in World War II: The clandestine military and civilian organizations that opposed occupation in Poland during World War II. The collapse of regular defense did not end Polish resistance to German and Soviet rule.
Soviet invasion of Poland: The Soviet Union’s military occupation of eastern Poland beginning September 17, 1939. Its eastward attack completed Poland’s encirclement by the two invading powers.
Second Polish Republic: The independent Polish state that existed from 1918 until its occupation in World War II. Its borders and strategic position shaped the demands and plans that preceded the invasion.
Joseph Stalin: The leader of the Soviet Union from the late 1920s until 1953. He ordered Soviet forces into eastern Poland under the secret terms of the 1939 pact.
Soviet occupation of eastern Poland: The Soviet Union’s occupation and annexation of eastern Polish territories from 1939 to 1941. It followed the invasion and imposed Soviet rule on territories assigned to Moscow in 1939.
Battle of France: The German campaign that defeated France and its allies in May and June 1940. Unlike Poland’s 1939 campaign, France’s defeat came after months of a wider European war.

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