How did Poland hold out longer than France.

[cubsfan6506]

I'm wondering during WW2 how did poland hold out longer than Frnace. France had both britian and itself defending it. While Poland stood alone. Poland had to contend with The Soviets and the Germans. While france only had to deal with germany. So how did Poland hold out longer, France's military was superior.

 

[Little Raven]

Because France was supremely outmaneuvered. Germany had just built one of the greatest armies the world had ever seen, staffed by an officer corps the likes of which the world has yet to match, and armed with an offensive strategy few had even imagined, let alone seen. Poland was just the warm-up round...you know, working the kinks out of the system. France got the real deal.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

The Soviets did not enter the war until the Germans had already beat Poland's military.

Poland was a training ground for France. The Germans were still sorting out the details of Blitzkreig warfare; they screwed up quite a bit in the Fall WeiB.

For France, they had the "Phony War" to finish building the Panzer IV, which they hardly had any of for Fall WeiB, they mostly used the outdated Panzer II and III.

France's main defense was the Maginot Line, they fully expected the Germans to break against it like waves on a cliff. They obviously didn't, and got the flanking of the century, quite literally.

 

[thenooblet22]

France was politcally unstable and was relying on outdated weaponry. The end.

 

[nonconformist]

We had sodding useless officers, and an inept government.

 

[BEHIND_THE_MASK]

Obviously the answer is clearly this:::

They're French! What did you expect.

But being a Pole/Russian (Which is sorta weird seeing as how in a way I screwed myself over more then once ) I think the answer may be that the Poles didn't suffer as much in the first World War as France did. The War had only ended a few decades ago and France was still scared morally. The Poles had morale and put up a stubborn resistance.

I dont know, just my theory.

 

[nivi]

They built a big defensive line, then decided, "nah, lets not finish it, the germens are gentlemen, surely they will not attack our weak point". But..in French.

 

[BEHIND_THE_MASK]

They built a big defensive line, then decided, "nah, lets not finish it, the germens are gentlemen, surely they will not attack our weak point".

They weren't atacked by Germans... they were attacked by Nazis.

 

[Leonel]

I would think that Poland saw the situation they were in from a mile away and thought they'd bulk up as there are two major powers with imperial ambitions next door.

Plus I got the impression that the French eventually put all their faith in that defensive line and not in mobile defenses (tanks, infantry, etc), not taking into account that the Germans may invade the BeNeLux area to bypass the wall. And so when the Germans went around the wall, I figure the French literally asked themselves "WHAT THE HECK DO WE DO NOW?!?"

 

[Catharsis]

The French have made losing wars into an art form. If anyone can lose a war, it's them.

 

[nivi]

They weren't atacked by Germans... they were attacked by Nazis.

My bad...??


Are you kidding?

"WHAT THE HECK DO WE DO NOW?!?"

"Duh, surrender, sir!"

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I would think that Poland saw the situation they were in from a mile away and thought they'd bulk up as there are two major powers with imperial ambitions next door.

Plus I got the impression that the French eventually put all their faith in that defensive line and not in mobile defenses (tanks, infantry, etc), not taking into account that the Germans may invade the BeNeLux area to bypass the wall. And so when the Germans went around the wall, I figure the French literally asked themselves "WHAT THE HECK DO WE DO NOW?!?"

Well if you've ever seen that part of France at that time, there's really nothing TO defend, just rolling hills; there's no real line of defense for you to use. Once the Nazis got through the Ardennes, it was easy street right up to Paris; the French never had time to dig trenches like they did last time those plains saw war.

 

[BEHIND_THE_MASK]

I would think that Poland saw the situation they were in from a mile away and thought they'd bulk up as there are two major powers with imperial ambitions next door.

Plus I got the impression that the French eventually put all their faith in that defensive line and not in mobile defenses (tanks, infantry, etc), not taking into account that the Germans may invade the BeNeLux area to bypass the wall. And so when the Germans went around the wall, I figure the French literally asked themselves "WHAT THE HECK DO WE DO NOW?!?"

France did depend on the line far to much.

The German Blitzkreig had a major weakness which the French could have used. Had they cut off the over-extended line and cut off the supply lines then the Panzers would have been isolated without fuel.

Plus, the French like most of the world made the mistake of how they managed their armors... They seperated it so as to accomadate the infantry. This negated any effect it could have had in defence as the massed German Armor cut them to shred.

 

[taper]

I think part of it was Poland was expecting an attack, and prepared for the invasion from several directions, while France was sure the Germans would break on the Maginot Line.

To continue the French bashing, France and Poland had a MPP, so France launched the Saar Offensive into Germany after the Polish Invasion. They marched a few miles into Germany, occupied some deserted villages, and then retreated.

 

[BEHIND_THE_MASK]

My bad...??


Are you kidding?

No...

I feel that though the Nazi Army was made up of Germans, the nazis were completly diffrent then the First World War Germans.

The Nazi's were monsters, the German soldiers were the remnants of a crushed society who had suffered from depression since the First Wars end.

Its like a poor man becoming rich... He gets a taste of the good life and wants more, so he grabs what he can... corrupting himself ever further.

 

[Guangxi]

They're French! What did you expect.

Spoiler :

"They're German/Italian/Austrian/Spanish/Italian/Polish/Prussian/Russian/Dutch! what did you expect."

They weren't atacked by Germans... they were attacked by Nazis.

rrrright. and these nazis came from... mars?

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

IIRC, Britain and France were fully expecting an attack through Belgium, thanks to the previous German attempt in the First World War. Their mistake was to expect the Germans to ignore the Ardennes region (all hills and forests, not good for armoured attacks) and hit from western Belgium, which is where the BEF was located.

Of course, Germany did push through the Ardennes, and from there could surround both the French/British divisions at the coast (leading to Dunkirk) and the troops at the Maginot line. All very sneaky and what not.

 

[BEHIND_THE_MASK]

Spoiler :

"They're German/Italian/Austrian/Spanish/Italian/Polish/Prussian/Russian/Dutch! what did you expect."

rrrright. and these nazis came from... mars?

Shall I explain Sarcasm... I'm actually a big fan of the French.

Naxis made up the majority. Not every single German was a Nazi, sure the Germans fought the war but ultimately it would be wrong to consider every last German a Nazi.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

No...

I feel that though the Nazi Army was made up of Germans, the nazis were completly diffrent then the First World War Germans.

The Nazi's were monsters, the German soldiers were the remnants of a crushed society who had suffered from depression since the First Wars end.

Its like a poor man becoming rich... He gets a taste of the good life and wants more, so he grabs what he can... corrupting himself ever further.

I think it was a different world in 1939 than it was in 1914. The first time around, we were still in the "old" world, where gentlemen fought eachother in a gentlemanly way, and you could do things like call a cease-fire and play soccer in no-man's land, and go visit the other fellows for tea, and then go back to shooting at them the next day. You could give the enemy's greatest ace a proper, respectful, military burial, and not because you were expected to, but because you wanted to.

But the old world ended with the Great War, and true modern warfare would soon take over. I don't excuse the Third Reich as being Nazis but not Germans, because the people fighting were just as much Germans as they were Nazis. Because the Nazis were a nationalist party, and not a normal poltical party, you can't seperate the two like you might be able to separate Soviet Russia and the Russian Federation.

 

[Masquerouge]

If there is one thing that the French governments of back then should really be mocked for, it's that incredibly stupid idea that the Germans would quietly crash down on the Maginot line, and would not be bright enough to figure out, "hey! Let's go around through Belgium!".
The general mood in France in the first half of the 20th century was "incredibly arrogant and blindingly jingoistic".
The story of the Maginot line, as seen from the French side, was "If you build it, they'll come"