The Crisis

These are the times that try men's souls. The Summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.

Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon the goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.

Thomas Paine

Germany Invades Poland
Friday, September 1, 1939

In Poland... At 0445 hours German forces invade Poland without a declaration of war. The operation is code named Fall Weiss (Plan White). The Germans allot 52 divisions for the invasion (some 1.5 million men), including the 6 armored divisions and all their motorized units. Of the divisions left to defend against an Anglo-French front, only about 10 are regarded by the Germans as being fit for any kind of action. General Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, is in command of the campaign. Bock leads Army Group North, consisting of the 4th Army (Kuchler) and 3rd Army (Kluge); Rundstedt leads Army Group South, consisting of 8th Army (Balskowitz), 10th Army (Reichenau) and 14th Army (List). Air support comes from two Air Fleets, commanded by Kesselring and Lohr, which have around 1,600 aircraft.

Army Group South, advancing from Silesia, is to provide the main German attacks. The 8th Army on the left is to move toward Poznan, the principal thrust is to be delivered by 10th Army which is to advance in the center to the Vistula River between Warsaw and Sandomierz, while 14th Army on the right moves toward Krakow and the Carpathian flank. The 4th Army from East Prussia is to move south toward Warsaw and the line to the Bug River to the east; 3rd Army is to cross the Polish Corridor and join 4th Army in moving south.

The Poles have 23 regular infantry divisions prepared with 7 more assembling, 1 weak armored division and an inadequate supply of artillery. They also have a considerable force of cavalry. The reserve units were only called up on August 30th and are not ready for combat. In the air, almost all the 500 Polish planes are obsolete and prove unable to blunt the impact of the German attack. During the day, the Luftwaffe launches air strikes on Warsaw, Lodz and Krakow.

The Polish Commander in Chief, Marshal Rydz-Smigly, has deployed the stronger parts of his army in the northwestern half of the country, including large forces in the Poznan area and the Polish Corridor. He hopes to hold the Germans to only gradual gains. All along the front the superior training, equipment and strength of the Germans quickly brings them the advantage in the first battles. Many Polish units are overrun before their reinforcements from the reserve mobilization can arrive.

At sea, as in the air, Polish technical inferiority leads to crushing early defeats. Three of the four Polish destroyers manage to leave for Britain before hostilities begin and later one submarine also escapes. On the first day the old pre-Dreadnought battleship, Schleswig-Holstein, bombards the Polish naval base at Westerplatte.

In Berlin... Officials claim that Polish army regulars started firing on Germans along the frontier and that the fire was returned beginning at 0445 hours. Hitler addresses the Reichstag during the day, declaring "I am determined to eliminate from the German frontiers the element of insecurity, the atmosphere which permanently resembles that of civil war."

From Warsaw... The Polish government appeals for British and French intervention under the terms of the Mutual Assistance Treaties.

In London... The British government demands a German withdrawal from Poland.

In Britain... Because of the fear of air attacks, the evacuation of young children from London and other supposedly vulnerable areas is begun. General mobilization is proclaimed. (The Royal Navy was mobilized on August 31st.) Air Raid Precautions (ARP) are introduced and a "blackout" enforced from sunset. British railways are taken under government control.

In Paris... The French government demands a German withdrawal from Poland.

In France... General mobilization and a "state of siege" (martial law) are proclaimed.

In Rome... The Italian government announces that it will not take any military initiative.

In the Soviet Union... The armed forces are mobilized and the draft age is lowered from 21 to 19.

In Washington... President Roosevelt calls for a ban on indiscriminate bombing of civilians and undefended towns.

In Oslo... The Norwegian government declares its neutrality.

In Bern... The Swiss government declares its neutrality.

In Helsinki... The Finnish government declares its neutrality.

Blitzkrieg in the West
Friday, May 10, 1940

On the Western Front... The Germans launch Operation Gelb, the offensive in the west. Army Group C (Leeb) holds the German frontier opposite the French Maginot Line while Army Group A (Rundstedt) makes the main attack through the Ardennes and Army Group B (Bock) makes a secondary advance through Belgium and Holland to draw the main British and French forces north.

During the day, Army Group A strikes, with three armored corps in the lead, heading for Sedan, Montherme and Dinant. The advance is rapid and the little opposition, mostly French cavalry, is thrown aside. To the north, Army Group B carries out parachute landings deep inside Holland, which do much to paralyze Dutch resistance. While German units cross the Maas River near Arnhem and the Belgian fort at Eben Emael is put out of action by a German airborne force which lands its gliders literally on top of it.

The fort is meant to cover the crossings of the Albert Canal nearby and this is not achieved. The Luftwaffe gives powerful support. At the end of the day the German advance has gone almost exactly according to plan.

Meanwhile, the Allied Plan D provides for the French 1st Army Group ( General Billotte), consisting of the British Expeditionary Force ( General Lord Gort) and the French 7th Army (General Giraud) to advance to the line of the Dyle River and the Meuse River above Namur, to be joined there by the Belgian forces and on the left to link with the Dutch.

General Gamelin is the Allied Supreme Commander and General George's commands the armies on the French Northeast Front.

The Allies react quickly to the German attacks as soon as they hear of them from the Belgians. By the evening much of the Dyle line has been occupied but the troops find that there are no fortifications to compare with the positions they have prepared along the Franco-Belgian frontier during the Phony War period.

Some of the reserve is therefore committed to strengthen the line. Some of the advance forces of French 7th Army make contact with the Germans in southern Holland and are roughly handled.

In Britain...Churchill visits the King and officially takes office as Prime Minister.

In Norway... British forces are sent south from Harstad to Mo-i-Rana to join the small units trying to delay the German advance to relieve the Narvik force. Some of these units are now engaged at Mosjoen.

In Iceland... British troops land on the island. They are the advance elements of a force which is to set up a destroyer and scout-plane base to help in the convoy battles in the Atlantic. Equally, they will prevent the Germans using the island to aid their U-boat campaign.

Luftwaffe Launches Offensive on Britain
Tuesday, August 13, 1940

Over Britain... This is Adlertag (Eagle Day) which is to mark the beginning of the all-out Luftwaffe offensive against the RAF. The German objective is to cripple the British defenses and clear the sky over southern England within four days and, then, to eliminate RAF resistance completely within four weeks.

The events of Eagle Day go strongly in favor of the RAF. The Germans fly about 1500 sorties. 1000 were by fighters, and the British about 700 were exclusively by fighters. The Germans lose 45 planes, the British only 13 and from these six pilots are able to return to their units and new machines.

German Afrika Korps Arrives in Tripoli
Friday, February 14, 1941

In North Africa... The first units of what will become the Afrika Korps begin to land at Tripoli. The advance guard is a battalion of light infantry and an antitank unit.

In the North Atlantic... The Admiral Hipper returns to Brest, having sunk a total of eight ships on its cruise.

In Germany... Hitler meets the Yugoslav Premier Cvetkovic and his foreign minister at Berchtesgaden to urge them to join the Tripartite Pact. They still refuse to commit their country, in the hope that Hitler will soon be preoccupied with relations with the Soviet Union and that they can get aid from Britain and the USA.

In East Africa... The 22nd East African Brigade takes Kismayu with fire support from the cruiser Shropshire and other smaller vessels. Elsewhere in Somaliland the British advance is also rapid.

German Declares War on USSR
Sunday, June 22, 1941

On the Eastern Front... Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on the Soviet Union, begins. Despite the massive preparations spread over many months and the numerous indications Stalin receives from many sources, the Soviet forces are taken almost completely by surprise and lose very heavily in the first encounters.

The Germans have assembled almost 140 of their own divisions, including 17 Panzer and 13 motorized divisions. These forces are organized in three army groups: Army Group North (Field Marshal Leeb), Army Group Center (Field Marshal Bock) and Army Group South (Field Marshal Rundstedt).

Altogether, the Germans deploy over 3,000,000 men, 7100 guns, 3300 tanks, 625,000 horses and 2770 aircraft. The Red Army has 230 divisions (170 of which are in the west, 134 facing the Germans). The Soviet forces are organized into Northwest Front (Kuznetsov), West Front (Pavlov), Southwest Front (Kirpono) and South Front (Tyulenev). They include 24,000 tanks and 8000 aircraft.

On the first day of the attack almost everything goes the German way. The attack begins at 0300 hours with advances on the ground and simultaneous air strikes. The Luftwaffe begins its operations very early in order to be over the Soviet bases exactly at zero hour. By noon the Soviet Air Force has lost around 1200 planes. The land battle is equally successful. The panzer spearhead Army Group North advances 40 miles during the day and Army Group Center captures most of the Bug River bridges intact. Army Group South forces based in Hungary and Romania do not attack during the day.

From London... Churchill broadcasts saying that help will be given to the Soviet Union. He says, "Any state who fights Nazism will have our aid... It follows therefore that we shall give whatever help we can to Russia."

In Syria... There is heavy fighting in and around Marjayoun (June 22-29th) in which the Australians eventually drive the Vichy French forces into retreat.