The entry of Polish troops into Czechoslovakia 1938. Blitzkrieg Poland

The occupation of Czechoslovakia was the logical conclusion of the process of eliminating the independence of the country. The first step in this process was the annexation of the Sudetenland, which took place between 1 and 10 October 1938 as a result of the Munich Agreement. At the same time, as one of the leading Czech newspapers Narodni Listy wrote back in April 1938, “the fact of the existence of Greater Germany must be accepted as quickly as possible.”

Taking advantage of the numerical and military advantage, Germany annexed the Sudetenland, 90% populated by Germans, who, in the words of Ernst Nolte, "rooted in the opinion that they suffered injustice on the part of the Czechs, and not on the part of universal historical processes" and tried to defend "their privileged position ", being in fact "the remnants of the medieval East German colonization." Slovakia, in turn, renounced its rights to the southern and eastern regions of the country, 87% populated by ethnic Hungarians. The territory of Czechoslovakia was reduced by 38%, the country turned into a narrow and long, easily vulnerable stump state, which actually became a dependent protectorate of Germany. German troops were 30 km from Prague. In addition, on December 3, 1938, a secret agreement was concluded with Czechoslovakia, according to which she could not "keep fortifications and barriers on the border with Germany." The fate of the remaining territory of the country was thus a foregone conclusion.

March 1939 Hitler summoned the Czechoslovak President Emil Hacha to Berlin and invited him to accept the German occupation of the Czech Republic. Hácha agreed to this, and the German army invaded Czech territory almost without any resistance. The only attempt at an organized armed rebuff was made by the company of Captain Karel Pavlik in the town of Mistek (the so-called battle for the Chayankov barracks).

In March 1939, Bohemia and Moravia were declared a protectorate of Germany by Hitler's personal decree. The chief executive of the protectorate was the Führer-appointed Reichsprotektor (German: Reichsprotektor). On March 21, 1939, Konstantin von Neurath was appointed the first Reich Protector. There was also a formal post of president of the protectorate, which was occupied by Emil Hacha throughout its existence. The personnel of departments similar to ministries were staffed by officials from Germany. Jews were expelled from public service. Political parties were banned, and many leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia moved to the Soviet Union.

Occupation of Poland

On the Polish lands annexed to Germany, a "racial policy" and resettlement were carried out, the population was classified into categories with different rights in accordance with their nationality and origin. Jews and Gypsies, according to this policy, were subject to complete annihilation. After the Jews, the Poles were the most disenfranchised category. National minorities had a better position. Persons of German nationality were considered a privileged social group.

In the General Government with its capital in Krakow, an even more aggressive "racial policy" was pursued. The oppression of everything Polish and the persecution of the Jews soon caused strong contradictions between the military service authorities and the political and police executive bodies. Left in Poland as commander of the troops, Colonel-General Johannes Blaskowitz, in a memorandum, expressed a sharp protest against these actions. At the request of Hitler, he was removed from his post.

After Himmler's first inspection, the elderly and the mentally handicapped were plucked from hospitals, looking for children suitable for the race improvement program through orphanages; Concentration camps for members of the Resistance were set up in Auschwitz and Majdanek. Carrying out cold-blooded genocide as part of the so-called "AB-Aktion", the Germans captured about 15,000 Polish intellectuals, civil servants, politicians and priests, who were then shot or sent to concentration camps. From the end of 1939, the largest community of Jews in Europe was ordered to move into designated ghettos, which were then walled, tightly locked, and completely isolated from the rest of the world; a Jewish self-government was created, which, with the support of the Jewish police, managed these ghettos under the supervision of the Nazis.

To further fight against Germany and its allies, armed formations were created, made up of Polish citizens:

Polish Armed Forces in the West

Army of Anders (2nd Polish Corps)

Polish armed forces in the USSR (1943 - 1944)

· Resistance to the German occupation regime on the territory of the newly created General Government was carried out by the Polish Underground State.

· On the situation in Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, which became part of the USSR, see the article Polish campaign of the Red Army (1939).

Occupation of Norway

It has been estimated that about 10% of Norwegians supported the Nazi occupation, although this estimate is uncertain and takes into account different types of support during the occupation. It is clear that the vast majority of Norwegians opposed the occupation. The resistance was largely supported by the activities of the government-in-exile in London, which regularly distributed an underground press in Norwegian, and also coordinated sabotage raids against the Nazi occupiers.

Resistance took various forms. Some Norwegians took part in armed resistance, others supported them, many Norwegians committed acts of civil disobedience. Over time, armed resistance was organized, mostly under a single command. A distinction was made between rear operations (Norwegian Hjemmefronten) and external operations (Norwegian Utefronten). The Norwegian Navy and Norwegian troops operated as part of the British Royal Air Force. The unity of the command structure played an important role in the orderly transfer of power in May 1945.

Relatively few Norwegians were overt collaborators. About 15 thousand people were mobilized by the German administration, of which 6 thousand were sent to the Soviet-German front. Some Norwegian police forces assisted in the arrest of Jews for deportation to Nazi concentration camps in November 1942.

During the five years of occupation, several thousand Norwegian women gave birth to children from German soldiers as part of a special German program. These mothers were ostracized and humiliated after the war, and were given offensive nicknames, such as "whores of the Germans" (Nor. tyskertøser). The children of these unions were called "German offspring" (Nor. tyskerunger), or, even worse, "Nazi caviar" (Nor. naziyngel). The discussion about the rehabilitation of such children began with appearances on television in 1981, but only recently the descendants of these unions began to feel quite free.

Occupation of France

On May 10, 1940, German troops launched an offensive against France, which declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, in connection with its attack on Poland. As a result of the rapid offensive of the German troops, using the tactics of lightning war - blitzkrieg, the allied forces were utterly defeated, and on June 22, France was forced to sign a truce. By this time, most of its territory was occupied, and there was practically nothing left of the army.

After the occupation of France on September 27, 1940, the decision of the occupying authorities on the conduct of a census of the Jewish population was published. In total, 287,962 Jews were registered, of which 60% were in the occupied territory and 40% under the jurisdiction of the collaborationist regime of Marshal Petain.

On October 2, 1940, the Vichy regime adopted the first "Decree on the Jews" (French: Statut de juifs), restricting their movement, access to public places and professional activities. In June 1941, a second decree was adopted, which further worsened the situation of the Jews. The Vichy authorities actively persecuted foreign Jews, but opposed the deportation of French citizens.

In March 1941, the "Commissariat General for Jewish Questions" (French: Commissariat général aux questions juives) was created under the leadership of Xavier Valla (English), which dealt with the transfer of Jewish property in the occupied territory into the hands of the Nazis. On May 6, 1942, the commissariat was headed by Louis Darquier de Pellepois (English), who took up the same activities in the "free zone".

On May 1942, in the occupied zone, the Germans issued an order obliging all Jews over 6 years old to wear a yellow star.

In early 1942, Dovid Knut, Abraham Polonsky, with their wives Ariadna Scriabina and Ezhen Polonskaya, created an underground organization in Toulouse, which at first was called Bnei David (“Descendants of David”), but in June 1944 was renamed Organization Juive de Combat (“Jewish Army ”, abbreviated as OJC or EA). Ariandna Scriabina, who took the underground nickname Regina, came up with a special ceremony of taking the oath when joining the organization. During the four years of EA's existence, 1952 people took such an oath, among whom were many Jews from Russia.

EA's first promotions were fairly simple and harmless. For a whole year, members of the EA brought food to the interned Jewish refugees from Germany. The refugees were kept in very difficult conditions, in the Recebedu camp, near Toulouse, they had to bribe sentries. Subsequently, the organization carried out about 2,000 military operations, including 750 sabotage on the railway and 32 explosions at military factories. Ariadna Scriabina died on July 22, 1944, in an ambush.

Among the six founders of the Liberation-Sud (English) movement, three were Jews, the organization "Fran-tireur" (Free shooter) was commanded by Jean-Pierre Levy, Joseph Epstein (English) ("Colonel Gilles") and Z. Gotesman ( "Captain Philip"). One of the leaders of the Resistance in Lyon was the famous historian and captain of the French army Mark Blok. He was arrested by the Gestapo and executed after being tortured on June 16, 1944.

"... the same Poland, which only six months ago, with the greed of a hyena, took part in the robbery and destruction of the Czechoslovak state."
(W. Churchill, "The Second World War")

In the history of each state, there are heroic pages that this state is proud of. There are such heroic pages in the history of Poland. One of such glorious pages of Polish history is Operation Zaluzhye - the armed occupation by Polish troops of part of the territory of Czechoslovakia, which took place 11 months before the start of World War II. A brief chronology of the events of such a glorious page in the history of the Polish state:

Handshake of Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Smigly and German attache Colonel Bogislaw von Studnitz at the Independence Day parade in Warsaw on November 11, 1938. The photo is remarkable in that the Polish parade was especially attached to the capture of Cieszyn Selesia a month earlier.

February 23, 1938. Beck, in negotiations with Goering, declares Poland's readiness to reckon with German interests in Austria and emphasized Poland's interest "in the Czech problem"

March 17, 1938. Poland issues an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding the conclusion of a convention guaranteeing the rights of the Polish minority in Lithuania, as well as the abolition of a paragraph of the Lithuanian constitution proclaiming Vilna the capital of Lithuania. (Vilna was illegally captured by the Poles a few years ago and incorporated into Poland). Polish troops are concentrated on the Polish-Lithuanian border. Lithuania agreed to accept the Polish representative. If the ultimatum was rejected within 24 hours, the Poles threatened to make a march on Kaunas and occupy Lithuania. The Soviet government, through the Polish ambassador in Moscow, recommended that no encroachment be made on the freedom and independence of Lithuania. Otherwise, it will denounce the Polish-Soviet non-aggression pact without warning and, in the event of an armed attack on Lithuania, will reserve freedom of action. Thanks to this intervention, the danger of an armed conflict between Poland and Lithuania was averted. The Poles limited their demands to Lithuania to one point - the establishment of diplomatic relations - and abandoned the armed invasion of Lithuania.

May 1938. The Polish government is concentrating several formations in the Teszyn area (three divisions and one brigade of border troops).

August 11, 1938- in a conversation with Lipsky, the German side declared its understanding of Poland's interest in the territory of Soviet Ukraine

September 8-11, 1938. In response to the readiness expressed by the Soviet Union to come to the aid of Czechoslovakia, both against Germany and against Poland, the largest military maneuvers in the history of the revived Polish state were organized on the Polish-Soviet border, in which 5 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions, 1 motorized brigade, as well as aviation. The Reds advancing from the east were completely defeated by the Blues. The maneuvers ended with a grandiose 7-hour parade in Lutsk, which was personally received by the "supreme leader" Marshal Rydz-Smigly.

The Poles replace the Czech name of the city with the Polish one at the city railway station in Teszyn.

September 19, 1938- Lipsky brings to the attention of Hitler the opinion of the Polish government that Czechoslovakia is an artificial entity and supports the Hungarian claims regarding the territory of Carpathian Rus

Polish troops enter Teszyn

September 20, 1938- Hitler declares to Lipsky that in the event of a military conflict between Poland and Czechoslovakia over the Teszyn region, the Reich will side with Poland, that Poland has completely free hands behind the line of German interests, that he sees a solution to the Jewish problem by emigrating to a colony in agreement with Poland, Hungary and Romania.

Polish soldiers pose with the deposed Czechoslovak coat of arms at the telephone and telegraph building they captured during Operation Zaluzhye in the Czech village of Ligotka Kameralna (Polish, Komorní Lhotka-Czech), located near the city of Teszyn.

September 21, 1938- Poland sent a note to Czechoslovakia demanding a solution to the problem of the Polish national minority in Cieszyn Silesia.

Polish tank 7TP from the 3rd armored battalion (tank of the 1st platoon) overcomes the Czechoslovak border fortifications in the area of the Polish-Czechoslovak border. The 3rd armored battalion had a tactical badge "Bison silhouette in a circle", which was applied to the tank turret. But in August 1939, all tactical signs on the towers were painted over as unmasking ones.

September 22, 1938- The Polish government urgently announces the denunciation of the Polish-Czechoslovak treaty on national minorities, and a few hours later announces an ultimatum to Czechoslovakia on joining the lands with the Polish population to Poland. On behalf of the so-called "Union of Silesian Insurgents" in Warsaw, recruitment into the "Cieszyn Volunteer Corps" was launched quite openly. Formed detachments of "volunteers" are sent to the Czechoslovak border, where armed provocations and sabotage are carried out.

The armored unit of the Polish troops occupies the Czech village of Yorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis. In the foreground is a Polish tankette TK-3.

September 23, 1938. The Soviet government warned the Polish government that if Polish troops concentrated on the border with Czechoslovakia invaded its borders, the USSR would consider this an act of unprovoked aggression and denounce the non-aggression pact with Poland. In the evening of the same day, the answer of the Polish government followed. His tone was usually arrogant. It explained that it carried out some military activities only for defense purposes.

Polish troops occupy the Czech village of Yorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis.

September 24, 1938. Newspaper "Pravda" 1938. September 24. N264(7589). on p.5. publishes an article "Polish fascists are preparing a coup in Cieszyn Silesia". Later, on the night of September 25, in the town of Konskie near Trshinec, the Poles threw hand grenades and fired at the houses in which the Czechoslovak border guards were located, as a result of which two buildings burned down. After a two-hour battle, the attackers retreated to Polish territory. Similar clashes took place that night in a number of other places in the Teshin region.

Polish soldiers at the captured Czech checkpoint near the Czechoslovak-German border, near the pedestrian bridge built in honor of the anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph in the Czech city of Bohumin. The not yet demolished Czechoslovak border pillar is visible.

September 25, 1938. The Poles raided the Frishtat railway station, fired at it and threw grenades at it.

Polish troops occupy the Czech city of Karvin during Operation Zaluzhye. The Polish part of the population meets the troops with flowers. October 1938.

September 27, 1938. The Polish government puts forward a repeated demand for the "return" of the Teszyn region to it. Throughout the night, rifle and machine-gun fire, grenade explosions, etc. were heard in almost all areas of the Teshin region. The most bloody clashes, as reported by the Polish Telegraph Agency, were observed in the vicinity of Bohumin, Teshin and Jablunkov, in the towns of Bystrice, Konska and Skshechen. Armed groups of "rebels" repeatedly attacked the Czechoslovakian arms depots, and Polish planes violated the Czechoslovakian border on a daily basis. In the newspaper "Pravda" 1938. September 27. N267 (7592) on page 1, the article "The unbridled impudence of the Polish fascists" is published

Bunker of the Czechoslovak line of fortifications in the Sudetes ("Benesh Line").

September 28, 1938. Armed provocations continue. In the newspaper "Pravda" 1938. September 28. N268 (7593) On p.5. the article "Provocations of the Polish fascists" is published.

Sudeten Germans break down the Czechoslovak border post during the German occupation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in late September-early October 1938.

September 29, 1938. Polish diplomats in London and Paris insist on an equal approach to solving the Sudeten and Cieszyn problems, the Polish and German military agree on the line of demarcation of troops in the event of an invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Czech newspapers describe touching scenes of "fighting fraternity" between German fascists and Polish nationalists. A gang of 20 people armed with automatic weapons attacked a Czechoslovak border post near Grgava. The attack was repulsed, the attackers fled to Poland, and one of them, being wounded, was taken prisoner. During interrogation, the captured bandit said that there were many Germans living in Poland in their detachment. On the night of September 29-30, 1938, the infamous Munich Agreement was concluded.

German troops enter the Czech city of Ash (on the border with Germany in the Sudetenland, the westernmost city of the Czech Republic). The local Germans, who made up the majority of the population of this region at that time, joyfully welcome the unification with Germany.

September 30, 1938. Warsaw presented a new ultimatum to Prague, which was to be answered in 24 hours, demanding the immediate satisfaction of its claims, where it demanded the immediate transfer of the Teszyn border region to it. Newspaper "Pravda" 1938. September 30. N270 (7595) on p.5. publishes an article: "Provocations of the aggressors do not stop. "Incidents" on the borders."

Commander-in-Chief of the German Ground Forces, Colonel-General Walter von Brauchitsch welcomes German tank units (PzKw I tanks) at the parade in honor of the accession of the Czech Sudetenland to Germany. Appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces with the rank of Colonel General the day before, shortly before the operation to annex the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany, Walter von Brauchitsch was one of the organizers of this operation

October 1, 1938. Czechoslovakia cedes to Poland an area inhabited by 80,000 Poles and 120,000 Czechs. However, the main acquisition is the industrial potential of the occupied territory. At the end of 1938, the enterprises located there produced almost 41% of the pig iron smelted in Poland and almost 47% of the steel.

A column of Czechoslovak tanks LT vz. 35 before shipping to Germany. In the foreground, a tank with registration number 13.917 entered service with the Czechoslovak army in 1937. Was assigned to PUV-1 (PUV - Pluk Utocne Vozby - literally: regiment of assault wagons). In 1942, the Germans converted it into an artillery tractor (Mörserzugmittel 35(t).

October 2, 1938. Operation "Zaluzhe". Poland occupies Teszyn Silesia (Teshen - Frishtat - Bohumin region) and some settlements on the territory of modern Slovakia.

Parts of the Polish 10th Cavalry Rifle Regiment of the 10th Mechanized Brigade are preparing for a solemn parade in front of the regiment commander on the occasion of the end of Operation Zaluzhye (occupation of Czechoslovak territories).

October 1938. National triumph in Poland on the occasion of the capture of the Teszyn region. Jozef Beck was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, in addition, the grateful Polish intelligentsia awarded him the title of honorary doctor of Warsaw and Lviv universities. Polish propaganda is choking with delight. On October 9, 1938, Gazeta Polska wrote: "... the road that is open before us to a sovereign, leading role in our part of Europe requires in the near future enormous efforts and the resolution of incredibly difficult tasks."
How did the world react to these actions of the Poles?

From W. Churchill's book "The Second World War", Volume 1, "The Coming Storm"

"Chapter Eighteen"
"MUNICH WINTER"

“On September 30, Czechoslovakia bowed before the Munich decisions. “We want,” the Czechs said, “to declare to the whole world our protest against decisions in which we did not participate.” President Beneš resigned because “he could be an obstacle to the development of events to which our new state must adapt. "Beneš left Czechoslovakia and took refuge in England. The dismemberment of the Czechoslovak state proceeded in accordance with the agreement. However, the Germans were not the only predators torturing the corpse of Czechoslovakia. Immediately after the conclusion of the Munich Agreement on September 30 The Polish government sent an ultimatum to the Czech government, which was to be answered in 24 hours.The Polish government demanded the immediate transfer of the Tesin border region to it.There was no way to resist this rude demand.

Handshake of the Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Smigly and the German attaché Major General Bogislaw von Studnitz at the Independence Day parade in Warsaw on November 11, 1938. The photo is remarkable in that the Polish parade was especially attached to the capture of Cieszyn Selesia a month earlier. A column of Teszyn Poles specially passed at the parade, and in Germany on the eve of November 9-10, 1938, the so-called “Kristallnacht” took place, the first mass action of direct physical violence against Jews in the territory of the Third Reich.

The heroic character traits of the Polish people should not force us to close our eyes to their recklessness and ingratitude, which for a number of centuries caused them immeasurable suffering. In 1919, it was a country that the Allied victory, after many generations of partition and slavery, had turned into an independent republic and one of the major European powers. Now, in 1938, because of such an insignificant issue as Teszyn, the Poles broke with all their friends in France, in England and in the USA, who returned them to a single national life and whose help they should soon need so much. We saw how now, while the glimpse of German power fell on them, they hastened to seize their share in the plunder and ruin of Czechoslovakia.

Fighters of the Czechoslovak border detachment "State Defense Detachments" (Stráž obrany státu, SOS) from battalion No. 24 (New Castles, Nitra) on the Maria Valeria bridge across the Danube in Parkano (present-day Šturovo) in southern Slovakia are preparing to repel the Hungarian aggression.

At the time of the crisis, all doors were closed to the British and French ambassadors. They were not even allowed to see the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs. It must be regarded as a mystery and a tragedy of European history that a people capable of any heroism, individual members of which are talented, valiant, charming, constantly show such great shortcomings in almost all aspects of their public life. Glory in times of rebellion and grief; infamy and shame in periods of triumph. The bravest of the brave have too often been led by the most vile of the vile! And yet there have always been two Polands: one of them fought for the truth, and the other groveled in meanness.

The funeral of the Carpathian Sich and soldiers of the Czechoslovak troops who died in battle with the Hungarian troops who invaded Czechoslovakia.

We have yet to tell of the failure of their military preparations and plans; of the arrogance and errors of their policy; about the terrible slaughter and deprivation to which they doomed themselves with their madness.

Appetite, as you know, comes with eating. Before the Poles had time to celebrate the capture of the Teszyn region, they had new plans:

December 28, 1938 In a conversation between the adviser to the German Embassy in Poland, Rudolf von Shelia, and the newly appointed Polish envoy to Iran, J. Karsho-Sedlevsky, the latter states: “The political prospect for the European East is clear. or by force, in this war, Germany.It is better for Poland to absolutely definitely take the side of Germany before the conflict, since the territorial interests of Poland in the west and the political goals of Poland in the east, primarily in Ukraine, can only be ensured through a previously reached Polish-German agreement .

Italian-made Fiat-Ansaldo CV-35 tankettes of the Hungarian occupation forces enter the streets of the Czechoslovak city of Khust.

He, Karsho-Sedlevsky, will subordinate his activity as the Polish envoy in Tehran to the realization of this great Eastern concept, since it is necessary in the end to convince and induce also the Persians and Afghans to play an active role in the future war against the Soviets.
December 1938. From the report of the 2nd department (intelligence department) of the main headquarters of the Polish Army: "The dismemberment of Russia lies at the heart of Polish policy in the East ... Therefore, our possible position will be reduced to the following formula: who will take part in the division. Poland will not should remain passive at this remarkable historical moment. The task is to prepare well in advance physically and spiritually ... The main goal is the weakening and defeat of Russia. " (See Z dziejow stosunkow polsko-radzieckich. Studia i materialy. T. III. Warszawa, 1968, pp. 262, 287.)

Hungarian wedges of Italian production "Fiat-Ansaldo" CV-35 and soldiers on the street of the captured Czechoslovak city of Khust in Carpathian Ukraine. In the background is the building of the headquarters of the "Carpathian Sich" with traces of battles.

January 26, 1939. In a conversation with German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, Polish Foreign Minister Jozef Beck, held in Warsaw, declares: "Poland claims Soviet Ukraine and access to the Black Sea."

Fraternization of soldiers of the Hungarian and Polish occupation forces in the occupied Czechoslovakia.

March 4, 1939. The Polish command, after lengthy economic, political and operational research, completed the development of a war plan against the USSR. "Vostok" ("Vskhud"). (See Centralne Archiwum Ministerstwa Spraw Wewnetrznych, R-16/1).
However, here the Poles broke off with another opportunity to again act as a hyena and rob for free, hiding behind the back of a stronger neighbor, because Poland was lured by the opportunity to rob a neighbor richer than the USSR:

The ruler (regent) of the Kingdom of Hungary, Admiral Miklos Horthy (on a white horse) at the head of the parade of Hungarian troops in the occupied Czechoslovak city of Kosice (Kassa in Hungarian) after its occupation on November 2, 1938.

March 17, 1939. Chamberlain made a sharp speech in Birmingham against Germany, in which he declared that England would make contact with other like-minded powers. This speech marked the beginning of the policy of encircling Germany with alliances with other states. Financial negotiations between England and Poland have begun; military negotiations with Poland in London; General Ironside pays a visit to Warsaw.

German officers at the Czechoslovak-German border are watching the capture of the city of Bohumin by Polish troops. The Germans stand on a footbridge built in honor of the jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef.

March 20, 1939. Hitler put forward a proposal to Poland: to agree to the inclusion of the city of Danzig in Germany and to the creation of an extraterritorial corridor that would connect Germany with East Prussia.

March 21, 1939. Ribbentrop, in a conversation with the Polish ambassador, again made demands regarding Danzig (Gdansk), as well as the right to build an extraterritorial railway and motorway that would link Germany with East Prussia.

Polish 7TR tanks enter the Czech city of Teshin (Cieszyn). October 1938

March 22, 1939. In Poland, the beginning of the first partial and covert mobilization (five formations) was announced in order to provide cover for the mobilization and concentration of the main forces of the Polish army.

The customs building in the Czechoslovakian village of Gnanice (Hnanicích, Hnanice) in the Znojmo region of the South Moravian Region, burned down during the fighting with the German armed forces that attacked the city on the night of September 21-22, 1938. In this battle, an intelligence officer of the Czechoslovak 24th Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Otmar Chlup, died, whose funeral resulted in an anti-German rally. Clashes in the area continued until 26 September.

March 24, 1939. The Polish government transmitted to the British government the proposal for an Anglo-Polish pact.

The Poles carry a Czechoslovak border post torn out of the ground with the Czechoslovak coat of arms destroyed. Teshin.

March 26, 1939. The Polish government issues a memorandum in which, according to Ribbentrop, "the German proposals regarding the return of Danzig and extraterritorial transport routes through the corridor were rejected in an unceremonious manner." Ambassador Lipsky declared: "Any further pursuit of the aim of these German plans, and especially those concerning the return of Danzig to the Reich, means war with Poland."

German and Polish border guards on the railway bridge in the Czech city of Bohumin captured by the Poles.

Ribbentrop again orally repeated the German demands: the unequivocal return of Danzig, extraterritorial ties with East Prussia, a 25-year non-aggression pact with a guarantee of borders, and cooperation on the Slovak question in the form of the protection of this area assumed by neighboring states.

Polish 7TP tanks pass the main stands at the Independence Day parade in Warsaw on November 11, 1938. The photo is remarkable in that the Polish parade was especially attached to the capture of Cieszyn Selesia a month earlier. The tanks that passed through the parade took part in the capture of Czechoslovakia.

March 31, 1939. British Prime Minister H. Chamberlain announced Anglo-French military guarantees for Poland in connection with the threat of aggression from Germany. As Churchill wrote about this in his memoirs: “And now, when all these advantages and all this help have been lost and rejected, England, leading France, offers to guarantee the integrity of Poland - the very Poland that only six months ago with greed hyena took part in the robbery and destruction of the Czechoslovak state."

Handshakes of Polish and Hungarian officers at the train in occupied Czechoslovakia.

And how did the Poles react to the desire of England and France to protect them from German aggression and the guarantees received? They again began to transform into a greedy hyena! And now they were sharpening their teeth to snatch a piece from Germany. As the American researcher Henson Baldwin, who during the war years worked as a military editor of the New York Times, noted in his book:
“They were proud and too self-confident, living in the past. Many Polish soldiers, imbued with the military spirit of their people and their traditional hatred of the Germans, spoke and dreamed of a “march on Berlin.” Their hopes are well reflected in the words of one of the songs:
... dressed in steel and armor,
Led by Rydz-Smigly,
We'll march to the Rhine..."

The bridge over the Odra (Oder) River, along which German troops enter the Czech city of Ostrava on March 15, 1939. Now this is Gluchinska Street in Ostrava.

On September 1, 1939, "Dressed in steel and armor" and led by Rydz-Smigly began a march in the opposite direction to the border with Romania. And less than a month later, Poland disappeared from the map for seven years, along with its ambitions and habits of a hyena. In 1945 it reappeared, paying for its madness with six million Poles' lives. But nothing lasts forever, and the cries of Greater Poland “from might to might” begin to be heard again, and the already familiar grin of a hyena begins to appear in Polish politics.

Literature:
Internet materials
D.A. Taras "Operation "Weiss": The Defeat of Poland in September 1939", Mn. Harvest, 2003, 256 p. ISBN 985-13-1217-7

One of the main "stones" that the Fifth Column and the West throw at the Soviet Union, trying to denigrate our history, is the accusation of partitioning Poland. Allegedly, Stalin and Hitler signed some "secret protocols" to the Non-Aggression Pact between the USSR and Germany "(the originals of which no one ever provided!), And peaceful defenseless Poland was occupied in the autumn of 1939.

There is nothing less true than such statements.

Let's figure it out.

Poland was not at all an anti-Hitler country. On the contrary - on January 26, 1934, it was Poland that was the FIRST among European states to sign a non-aggression pact with Hitler. It is also called the Pilsudski-Hitler Pact.

Poland was preparing TOGETHER with Germany for aggression against the USSR. That is why ALL the fortifications of Poland were built ... on the border with the Soviet Union. Nothing was built on the border with Hitler, except for rear depots. Which helped the Germans a lot in defeating the Polish armies in the fall of 1939.

After the Munich Agreement, Poland, like the Third Reich, received a solid piece of the territory of Czechoslovakia. Hitler - Sudetenland, Poland - Teshinsky district.

Hitler officially terminated the non-aggression pact with Poland on April 28, due to the so-called "guarantees" that Great Britain gave Poland. (That is, in fact, these two countries entered into an agreement directed against Berlin, which was regarded as unacceptable).

Therefore, the destruction of Poland by Hitler for the USSR looked like this: one Russophobic regime destroyed another Russophobic regime. Stalin had no reason to help the Poles. Moreover, they OFFICIALLY forbade the USSR to provide any assistance, declaring a ban on entering Poland for the Red Army (this was during the visit of the Anglo-French delegation to Moscow in August 1939).

All accusations against the USSR and Stalin are based on one postulate: an agreement was signed, which means that the USSR helped Germany and even supposedly was its ally. So, following this logic of the Svanidze, the milky and Western media, Poland was 100% an ally of Hitler. Was there a non-aggression pact? Was. Moreover, during the Anschluss of Austria, the occupation of part of Czechoslovakia and Lithuania (Memel-Klaipeda), he acted. Poland itself occupied part of Czechoslovakia.

Therefore, liberal historians, either stop talking nonsense about “Stalin is an ally of Hitler”, or be consistent and attribute Poland to the allies of the Third Reich. And write that in September 1939, Hitler defeated his former ally, who six months before that had been a faithful ally of the possessed Fuhrer.

And now more facts.

First from modern history.

Here is a letter from my reader from Poland.

“Good afternoon, Nikolai Viktorovich! My name is Ruben, I am Armenian and currently live in Warsaw. I want to share my observations received in the museums of Warsaw dedicated to the events of the Second World War. I recently visited the Gestapo Museum in Warsaw and noticed how some historical facts are presented. For example, it was very strange to read that Germany annexed the Sudetenland in 1938, while Poland occupied Zaolzie (the eastern part of Cieszyn Silesia). Please note that the replacement of only one word already gives the actions of the Germans a clear aggressiveness, and the Poles, so

themselves, they just occupied the territory. As if this was an empty, useless territory, and they only occupied it. Do not waste good.

And the hatred for everything Russian, for the USSR and communism, is also very outrageous. In museums dedicated to the victims of the Germans, there is more hatred for Russians than for Germans. We stand on a par with the Nazis, and sometimes even worse. For example, in one room, Stalin’s words of regret and condolences are given to the victims of the premature (as Stalin believed) Warsaw Uprising, in another, Stalin is presented as a bloodthirsty executioner who strangles an SS man with one hand, and holding a sickle with the other, wants to cut off the head of a liberated Pole. And many such very offensive

cartoons on the subject.

It is surprising that they do not have the question that if the Russians committed the same atrocities, then why in Poland there are only German concentration camps Auschwitz, Majdanek, etc.? Where are the death camps built by the Russians? Where are the photos, films? After all, all this is about the Germans. But nothing about us. Only caricatures and selfless hysteria. It is a pity that people willingly believe this and hate the Russians more than the Germans.”

What can I say - sowing hatred for Russia and Russians, in general, is the center of the political line of the West EVERYWHERE. Doubt-look at Ukraine. In fact, after the terrible World War II, the USSR and Poland found mutual understanding and lived peacefully. Hatred is a thing of the past - it was reanimated. But Stalin tried for Poland no less than for his country. Today's Poland was created within today's borders by Stalin.

As for how Poland, taking advantage of the fact that England and France surrendered Czechoslovakia to Hitler, “pinched off” the Teszyn region from it, the material from one of the resources perfectly tells about this. Let's remember that the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938 was not only German, but also Polish.

The division and destruction of Czechoslovakia as an independent state with the participation of Germany, Hungary and Poland in 1938-1939 are not included in the official history of the Second World War. How the “victim” of the “Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact” behaved a year before the “official” start of World War II.

Polish 7TR tanks enter the Czech city of Teshin (Cieszyn). October 1938

The Poles replace the Czech name of the city with the Polish one at the city railway station in Teszyn.

Polish troops enter Teszyn

The Poles carry a Czechoslovak border post torn out of the ground with the Czechoslovak coat of arms destroyed. Teshin.

The armored unit of the Polish troops occupies the Czech village of Yorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis. In the foreground is a Polish wedge TK-3.

Polish troops occupy the Czech village of Yorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis.

The further fate of these territories is interesting. After the collapse of Poland, Orava and Spis were transferred to Slovakia. After the end of the Second World War, the lands were again occupied by the Poles, the government of Czechoslovakia was forced to agree to this. To celebrate, the Poles staged ethnic cleansing against ethnic Slovaks and Germans. In 1958 the territories were returned to Czechoslovakia. Now part of Slovakia.

Polish troops occupy the Czech city of Karvin during Operation Zaluzhye. The Polish part of the population meets the troops with flowers. October 1938.

The Czechoslovak city of Karvin was the center of heavy industry in Czechoslovakia, coke production, one of the most important centers of coal mining in the Ostrava-Karvin coal basin. Thanks to the Zaluzhye operation carried out by the Poles, the former Czechoslovak enterprises already at the end of 1938 gave Poland almost 41% of the pig iron smelted in Poland and almost 47% of the steel.

Bunker of the Czechoslovak line of fortifications in the Sudetes ("Benesh Line").

Sudeten Germans break down the Czechoslovak border post during the German occupation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in late September-early October 1938.

Fraternization of soldiers of the Hungarian and Polish occupation forces in the occupied Czechoslovakia.

According to the results of the Munich Agreement, the state of Poland in October 1938 supported Nazi Germany in territorial claims to Czechoslovakia and annexed part of the Czech and Slovak lands, including the areas of Cieszyn Silesia, Orava and Spis. A little less than a year remained before the conclusion of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Polish 7TR tanks enter the Czech city of Teshin (Cieszyn). October 1938

The armored unit of the Polish troops occupies the Czech village of Yorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis. In the foreground is a Polish tankette TK-3.

Polish troops occupy the Czech village of Yorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis.

Polish troops during the seizure of the Czechoslovak lands of Spis near the village of Yorgov.

All photos and comments are in italics.

Since the spring of 1938, after the Anschluss of Austria, Czechoslovakia, which occupies an advantageous strategic position in Central Europe, has become the object of Nazi Germany's claims. Possessing a significant military-industrial potential and a strong army, which was considered one of the best in Europe, this country was able to offer worthy resistance to the aggressor.

The question of preparing for a military attack on Czechoslovakia was decided by Hitler shortly after an unsuccessful attempt to occupy the Czechoslovak border regions of this country. On May 30, 1938, the Grun plan was approved, according to which the concentration of offensive forces was supposed to be completed by the end of September. The mass call-up of reservists began in mid-August. The size of the army increased, and the actual mobilization was disguised by periodic transfers to the reserve by the simultaneous recruitment of reservists. The troops conducted exercises to overcome obstacles and fortifications, similar to those in Czechoslovakia.

Hitler, considering that public opinion was still not entirely on his side, decided to start military operations not earlier than the end of September, because the Nazi Party Congress was to be held in that month. In addition, the army command, demanding a long time to prepare for war, warned Hitler about the risk of a general European conflict. The Chief of the General Staff of the Reich Ground Forces, General Beck, in a memorandum dated June 3, 1938, expressed doubts about the rapid conduct of the operation: “Common sense,” he pointed out, “says that the success of a surprise attack cannot be achieved ...” This statement went against the requirement Hitler as soon as possible to end hostilities. At a meeting in Nuremberg on September 9-10, 1938, Hitler emphasized: “... for political reasons, a quick success of the operation is necessary. The first 8 days of hostilities are politically decisive ... "Halder outlined the essence of the Grün plan:" Task: to prevent the withdrawal of the Czech army from the region of Moravia-Bohemia. Break her. Achieve a quick outcome of the operation.

Thus, the stake was placed on the use of almost all available forces and the element of surprise. The main goal was to destroy the Czech army.

By that time, there was also a plan for the defense of Czechoslovakia. It was introduced to the plenipotentiary representative of the USSR in this state, S. S. Aleksandrovsky, during his conversation with E. Benes on May 18, 1938. It was believed that from the north and from the south the indicated country was well protected by fortifications. Most of all they feared losing the army. It was planned to use three defensive lines: the main one - on the Vltava River, where it was supposed to fight for Prague with the main forces, as well as on the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and the Moravian-Slavak border. “We will still fight, making our way to the east, to join the Red Army ... If necessary, the Czechs will not count to save their army with any foreign borders and territories,” Benes said.

The German command planned to direct the attack of the 14th and 12th armies, advancing from Austria, to Brno, and the 2nd army to Olomouc, so that then, having united, they blocked the path to the retreat to the east of the main grouping of the Czechoslovak army located in the area Prague, in order to further force it to surrender or defeat.

The numerator indicates the total number of forces available in the armies, and the denominators indicate the number of the invasion army (for Germany), the number of the army to repel aggression (for Czechoslovakia). Figures determining the number of aircraft of the parties are rounded.

After the Czechoslovak side announced the mobilization, the German press was instructed to hush it up. Later, the army command demanded that no positive materials about the morale of the Czechoslovak army be published. The press had to trumpet about its decay, about chaos in it and Bolshevization. In the secret reports of the German military attache in Prague, R. Toussaint, the good morale of the mobilized Czechoslovak army was noted. The highly developed military industry of both states supplied their armed forces with modern weapons. At the same time, the superiority of Germany in the field of aviation should be noted.

The Czechoslovak aviation industry produced quite a lot of light single-engine aircraft: fighters and reconnaissance aircraft. Typical were B-534s from Avia and S -328 firm "Letov".

The B-534 was the standard fighter of the Czechoslovak Air Force, a good representative of its class. In the first line, there were 326 fighters of this type. In total, 445 of these machines were produced, and 272 belonged to the fourth, last modification, which had improved combat characteristics. Until November 1938, the Air Force managed to receive 35 VK-534 aircraft armed with a 20-mm cannon.

Fighter aircraft of Germany did not exceed the level of fighter aircraft of Czechoslovakia. Me-109, whose mass production began in 1939, has not yet received distribution in the Luftwaffe. Only a few small batches were produced, and the D, B, C series (the release of a small batch dates back to 1937) was significantly inferior in terms of the characteristics of the well-known modification E. In addition, the Germans transferred almost all new vehicles to Spain for testing in combat conditions. The same thing happened with the first 20 machines of the E series, which were sent there in the fall of 1938 (that is, directly in the period under review). The Germans had non-112 aircraft, faster and more aerodynamic than the Me-109. They were the main competitors of the Messerschmitt aircraft, but their number was insignificant: aircraft of this type, the Non-100, had a very low survivability. The cooling system, located on the wings, failed in the presence of at least one bullet hole. Of the machines of an earlier release, there were Non-51, which were supposed to be used as training in the process of receipt of the Me-109E and A r -68, which a year later were part of one of the thirteen Luftwaffe fighter air groups. In general (it should be emphasized once again), despite their numerical superiority, the German fighter aircraft did not have a significant advantage in the quality of their machines compared to the Czechoslovak ones. The Czechoslovak Air Force was a strong enemy. It took a lot of effort to defeat them. The performance characteristics of the fighters of the parties are presented in the table.

The balance of forces in the bomber aviation of the parties developed differently. If obsolete bombers (MV-200 type) accounted for 1/3 of all bombers in Czechoslovakia, then in thirty Luftwaffe bomber air groups, most of the 235 obsolete M-86 aircraft were withdrawn from the first line and replaced with modern Do-17 and He -111. The characteristics of the bombers of the air forces of Germany and Czechoslovakia are shown in the table:

Czechoslovakia had prototypes of bombers of its own design, but did not master their serial production. Since 1935, the factories of this country have been producing the Bloch-200 aircraft under a French license. When it became clear that it was outdated, the question arose of replacing it. The Soviet Union provided assistance in this. Representatives of the Czechoslovak Air Force, choosing a new bomber for themselves, settled on the newest SB-2 aircraft for that time. In March 1937, Czechoslovakia received a license for its production. In addition, the USSR handed over to the Czechoslovak Air Force 61 SB aircraft manufactured at Soviet aircraft factories. At three aircraft factories in Czechoslovakia (Letov, Avia, Aero), more than 160 copies of a licensed aircraft with the SB-71 brand were produced. By the autumn of 1938, the units already had about 100 aircraft of this type.

It is characteristic that the help of the USSR in strengthening Czechoslovak aviation, that is, in what Czechoslovakia especially needed, could be very effective. The Czechoslovak Air Force had 6 air regiments, numbering 55 combat squadrons (21 fighter, 13 bomber, 21 reconnaissance). In total, there were 1514 aircraft of all types, of which they were in full combat readiness: 326 fighters, 155 bombers, 320 reconnaissance aircraft. machines located in the Kiev and Belorussian districts (246 bombers and 302 fighters).

According to the Czechoslovak General Staff, the level of training of German pilots was generally low. “Although Germany vastly outnumbered us in aircraft numbers, most of the pilots only completed three to four months of training,” one of his papers noted. Despite the claims of Nazi propaganda that German aviation was capable of destroying all European capitals, the latter was ready only for interaction with ground forces, and not for strategic bombing of the rear. The Germans themselves believed that the surprise of the Air Force could be thwarted in the event of bad weather conditions.

The Czechoslovak Air Force also had weaknesses. There was a shortage of modern bombers for that time, as well as the fact that a large number of airfields were located quite close to the border (23 of them were located in territories that were later torn away). “The most vulnerable part of the Czechoslovak army was aviation, and only Soviet assistance could fill this gap. The French command was then literally shaking with fear of Nazi aviation, and Czechoslovakia could not count on the help of France, ”writes the famous Czechoslovak historian Vaclav Kral.

If in the field of aviation development Czechoslovakia was in many ways inferior to Germany, then in the field of equipping the army with armored vehicles, the situation was the opposite. In 1938, the Czechoslovak army had four mobile divisions, which included tank and cavalry brigades, motorized infantry and artillery. During the period of mobilization, these four mobile divisions formed the reserve of the commander-in-chief and were concentrated in Central Moravia. 14 divisions were fully motorized, 13 infantry - partially. The formation of tank divisions began. G. Guderian wrote in his memoirs that Czech tanks turned out to be good and justified themselves during the Polish and French campaigns. The troops had 348 light tanks (7.5 - 10.5 tons), 70 tankettes (2.5 tons) and 75 armored vehicles. The main tank of the Czechoslovak army was the T-35 light tank, produced at the Skoda factories. In parts, there were up to 300 of these tanks. The best Czechoslovak light tank and one of the best pre-war light tanks in the world was TN n pS (ChKD), the latest model of this machine was fully developed before the occupation of the country. The Czechoslovak tanks captured as a result of the occupation of the country at the time of the attack on the USSR amounted to ¼ of the Wehrmacht tank fleet.

In 1938, the Nazi tank divisions were equipped with tanks with machine guns (three modifications of the T- I ) and in a very small number of tanks T- II . For the first time, German tank technology was used in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. Tanks T- I , which had only machine-gun armament, were completely helpless in front of the machines of the Republicans, armed with cannons. Stiff suspension and poor visibility reduced their fighting qualities. At the end of 1936, the T-tank was put into service. II . It was the main German tank even in 1940, during the campaign in France, despite the extremely weak armament - one 20-mm gun. Medium tanks T- III and T-IV in 1938, they were just starting mass production.

In terms of basic parameters, Czechoslovak tanks in 1938 were superior to German ones. Therefore, even more than a twofold superiority in the number of vehicles (720 versus 348) did not allow the German tank formations to successfully fight the Czechoslovak ones in the event of hostilities

The Czechoslovak army had a significant amount of first-class artillery of domestic production (after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the Germans captured 2675 guns of all types). In the pre-war decade, many different cars were produced in the country, including army ones. Trucks were built by Skoda, Tatra, Prague, Walter. All these machines could be used during military transportation in 1938. Leading Czechoslovak car factories have begun production of cross-country vehicles. One of the best among them was R.V. , which was used by the Polish, Romanian and Yugoslav armies. First series car type R.V. car factory "Prague" produced already in 1935. The design of the car was considered the most modern at that time.

The Czechoslovak military industry could provide the army of its country with everything necessary. However, representatives of its industrial circles were more interested in the export of weapons. They were little interested in the fact that their own army experienced difficulties in certain types of weapons. The domestic military industry, whose share in the world arms market was then 40%, provided only 20% of annual production for its army.

Soviet-Czechoslovak cooperation could also play an important role in repelling aggression. Since the signing of the mutual assistance agreement on May 16, 1935, experience has been gained in the exchange of information, a number of agreements on the supply of weapons have been concluded, and representatives of the Ministry of National Defense of Czechoslovakia have visited the USSR. In 1938 alone, several important meetings took place. At the beginning of the year, the General Director of the Federation of Skoda Plants, engineer Gromadko, signed an agreement on mutual supplies of weapons. In the middle of the year, a Soviet delegation arrived in Prague, which repeatedly met with representatives of the MNO and inspected the border fortifications. Soviet experts gave recommendations on their use. By the end of July, the Czechoslovak aviation attache Pekarzh arrived in Moscow, and an exchange of information took place on the state of Soviet and Czechoslovak aviation. In August 1938, Gromadko again arrived in Moscow. He held a series of negotiations on further cooperation. In August, the commander of the Czechoslovak Air Force, General J. Fayfr, arrived in the USSR at the invitation. During the negotiations, a plan was discussed for the defense of Czechoslovakia with the help of the Red Army. However, Benes and General Syrovy spoke out against the presence of the Red Army on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The latter cynically stated: “We will fight the Germans either on our own or together with you (that is, the British) and the French. We don't want the Russians here." Anti-Sovietism clearly took precedence over common sense.

The leadership of bourgeois Czechoslovakia handed the country over to be torn to pieces by the Nazi occupiers. With proper organization of defense, the Czechoslovak army could, acting independently, if not delay, then inflict heavy damage on the invaders, and possibly frustrate their plans to occupy the country. In the case of turning to the Soviet Union for help, the possibility of defeating the aggressor appeared. But the leadership of Czechoslovakia shamefully capitulated, betrayed the people's interests and plunged the country into more than six years of occupation, which brought innumerable disasters and suffering to the Czech and Slovak peoples.

Portal for the student. Self-training

RELATED ARTICLES