The Prelude to Invasion: Europe on the Brink

In the tense summer of 1939, Europe stood at the precipice of war. The Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, signed on August 23, had stunned the international community and particularly alarmed Poland, which now faced the grim prospect of being caught between two totalitarian powers. This secret protocol effectively divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence, giving Hitler the green light to invade Poland without fear of Soviet intervention.

The German war machine had been preparing for this moment since the spring. Over 1.5 million troops, hundreds of tanks, and the formidable Luftwaffe had been quietly massing along Poland’s borders. Hitler’s generals gathered at his mountain retreat in Obersalzberg on August 22, where the Führer made his intentions brutally clear: Poland would be crushed as a sovereign nation, with the invasion set to begin at 4:30 AM on September 1.

Operation Himmler: Manufacturing a Justification

The Nazi regime, despite its aggressive intentions, understood the importance of creating a plausible casus belli. Enter Operation Himmler – a meticulously planned false flag operation designed to portray Germany as the victim of Polish aggression.

Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Security Main Office, masterminded the operation. The plan’s execution fell to Alfred Naujocks, a young SS officer who had been hiding near the Polish border for six days awaiting orders. On August 31, the signal finally came.

At the Gleiwitz radio station, just miles from the Polish border, Naujocks and his SS team staged their macabre performance. They brought along twelve concentration camp prisoners (codenamed “canned goods”) dressed in Polish uniforms, drugged them, then shot them on site to serve as “evidence” of Polish aggression. The SS men, also wearing Polish uniforms, stormed the station, fired shots into the air, and broadcast an inflammatory message in Polish before fleeing.

Dawn of Blitzkrieg: September 1, 1939

As the Gleiwitz charade unfolded, German forces were already moving into position. At precisely 4:40 AM on September 1, the Luftwaffe began bombing Polish airfields. Five minutes later, ground troops crossed the border along multiple fronts. The aging German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, ostensibly on a goodwill visit to Danzig, opened fire on the Polish garrison at Westerplatte.

The Polish military, though valiant, was hopelessly outmatched. Their air force, equipped with obsolete aircraft, stood little chance against Germany’s modern Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Within three days, Polish air resistance had effectively collapsed, allowing German bombers free reign to attack transportation networks, military installations, and civilian targets.

On the ground, Heinz Guderian’s XIX Panzer Corps spearheaded the northern assault, crossing the Brda River with surprising ease despite logistical hiccups. The myth of Polish cavalry charging German tanks originated from desperate actions by the Pomorze Army’s 18th Lancers, who found themselves surrounded by armor. While the image of horsemen attacking tanks became powerful propaganda, it obscured the reality of Polish forces fighting bravely against overwhelming odds.

The Western Betrayal: Empty Promises

Poland’s hopes rested on assurances from Britain and France. In May 1939, French commander Maurice Gamelin had promised to launch an offensive within fifteen days of German aggression. When the invasion came, however, the Western response proved tragically inadequate.

After agonizing delays, Britain issued an ultimatum on September 3 demanding German withdrawal. When Hitler ignored it, Britain and France declared war – but took no meaningful military action. The French made a token advance into the Saar region on September 7, progressing just five miles before halting. This “Saar Offensive” amounted to little more than theatrical posturing while Poland burned.

The Fall of Warsaw and Poland’s Demise

By September 17, Warsaw was encircled as the Polish government fled to Romania. The Soviet Union, seizing its opportunity under the secret pact, invaded from the east on that same day. Polish forces, caught between two advancing armies, fought desperate rearguard actions. The last major Polish resistance at the Battle of Kock ended on October 6.

The campaign demonstrated the terrifying effectiveness of blitzkrieg – the coordinated use of armor, airpower, and mobile infantry that would characterize early German victories in WWII. Poland’s defeat was swift but not painless: approximately 66,000 Polish soldiers died defending their homeland against impossible odds.

Legacy of the Gleiwitz Deception

The Gleiwitz incident established a dangerous precedent for justifying aggression through manufactured crises. This tactic would reappear throughout the war, from the staged incidents used to invade Norway to Japan’s Marco Polo Bridge incident. More broadly, the invasion of Poland marked the collapse of the international order established after World War I and ushered in six years of global conflict.

Today, the Gleiwitz radio station stands as a museum, preserving the memory of Nazi deception and Polish suffering. The events of September 1939 continue to remind us how easily truth can become the first casualty of war, and how vital it remains to question official narratives – especially those used to justify military action.

The speed and brutality of Poland’s defeat shocked the world, but the courage of its defenders inspired resistance movements across occupied Europe. While the Gleiwitz lie succeeded in providing Hitler’s short-term justification, it ultimately failed to conceal the Nazi regime’s true nature – a lesson history would reinforce repeatedly in the years to come.