The Sound of Drums - A British Hearts of Iron AAR
Part Nineteen
15th September - 4th October 1939
German High Command clearly never intended to take on Warsaw directly. Protected by heavily urbanised districts, rivers and no less than 8 infantry divisions, a direct assault would be no less than a suicidal charge. Instead, Von Rundstedt planned to encircle the city with the armoured divisions available to him, allowing an attack to Warsaws vulnerable east at best, or a simple besieging of the city at worst.
Planned encirclement of Warsaw
Expecting little Polish resistance after its initial routing, German forces were shocked to find that their enemy had rallied and was now putting up an effective defence at last. In the south, the province of Radom saw heavy fighting as the Polish defences refused to yield to Rundstedts opening attack, instead fighting a slow withdrawal for two days. The reasons for such a defence became clear on the 18th, when the Polish 10th Armia struck at the German invaders north of Warsaw, achieving total surprise and managing to secure the province of Lonza once more.
Continued hope for Polands survival came with another German defeat, this time in the province of Lublin, where Rundstedt had launched his main sweeping attack to secure positions behind Warsaw. Already exhausted after the defeat in Radom, General von Leebs Third Armeekorps simply couldnt hope to achieve any sort of victory there. However there was one small contingency plan available to the Germans - unleash the armoured reserves!
Britain and France meanwhile, slowly continued their own mobilisation plans in relative safety. With the BEF deployed, there was little to do but wait for reinforcements - ANZAC forces were underway from Australia and New Zealand, totalling 7 divisions in all, and talk had begun of sending infantry divisions designated for the Home Island defence to France. It was a remarkably pleasant war for Britain, and the Cabinet were shocked when German bombers made their way to Plymouth on the 21st and attempted to bombard the transport fleet docked there.
Those filthy Germans bomb Plymouth harbour! And miss. And take out 13-19 George Street instead. And that nice baker shop run by Mr. Newman.
The gloves were now off! Outraged, the Cabinet gave Air Marshall e350tb full permission to retaliate however he pleased. He sent his entire strategic force - three bomber wings - into the heart of Germanys industrial base on the Rhine, bombing Frankfurt on the 23rd. He was supported by the airforce of France who, apparently just as outraged at Germanys dastardly strike, began a week-long bombardment against the enemy. In all cases every attack achieved minimal results, but it was good to be in the thick of things once more.
Similarly, Poland continued to contribute to the war by fighting for its very survival. The German gamble had paid off - Rommels LVI Panzer Division succeeded where von Leebs army could not and had smashed into Lublin He did not stop there, and instead pushed even further east, creating a salient into Kowel by the 24th. A dangerous position to be in, and one that could have been easily pushed back by the Polish forces in the south if it werent for the news that Germany had brought in assistance from the most unlikely of nations. On the 23rd September the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland.
Polish High Command was now in total confusion. Eastern Poland was completely undefended, but the only major forces at their disposal were those defending Warsaw or the south. They would not need to make any decision on what to do next though, the initiative was now firmly Germanys, and they were quick to make up for their mistakes in the previous week. The Battle of Warsaw began on the 25th September, being attacked simultaneously in the north, as well as from the south-east thanks to Rommels earlier victories. The defenders of the city had no chance, breaking a mere two days later, with the city falling on the 29th.
Poland falls to Germany and the Soviet Union.
Poland formally surrendered on the 3rd October, though its ability to fight had ended nearly a week before. There had been a brief hope of survival after the initial failures, but new German tactics, as well as its shocking pact with its ideological enemies in Russia broke whatever spirit was left. The Eastern Front was lost
