Devil Doc
When Death smiles, Corpsmen smile back
It was on this day in 1939 that Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. There has recently been some debate among historians about what happened next. The traditional view is that Hitler's forces completely overwhelmed the Polish defenses with dive-bombing planes and high-speed tanks. There is a famous story about a group of Polish cavalrymen who rode out on horseback with lances and swords to fight the German tanks, and they were slaughtered in minutes.
But even though that's the story in many textbooks, some historians now argue the Germans actually did not have an easy time conquering Poland. The Germans sustained fairly heavy losses, including about 40 percent of all their planes. And though the Polish army did have horse-mounted cavalry divisions, they never charged tanks. That was a story invented by the Nazis for propaganda. In fact, the invasion consisted of a month of hard fighting, mostly by infantry, and the Polish forces were spread too thinly to protect the borders. Hitler arrived in Warsaw for his victory parade on October 5, 1939. Some 50,000 Polish troops had been killed or wounded and 750,000 had become prisoners of war.
Back in Germany, people were not celebrating. Most Germans remembered the horrors of the First World War, and they didn't want to go through that again. Two days after the invasion began, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. American journalist William Shirer was in Berlin as a correspondent for CBS Radio, and he wrote in his diary that day, "It has been a lovely September day, the sun shining, the air balmy, the sort of day the Berliner loves to spend in the woods or on the lakes nearby. I walked the streets. On the faces of the people astonishment, depression. Stunned."
Doc
But even though that's the story in many textbooks, some historians now argue the Germans actually did not have an easy time conquering Poland. The Germans sustained fairly heavy losses, including about 40 percent of all their planes. And though the Polish army did have horse-mounted cavalry divisions, they never charged tanks. That was a story invented by the Nazis for propaganda. In fact, the invasion consisted of a month of hard fighting, mostly by infantry, and the Polish forces were spread too thinly to protect the borders. Hitler arrived in Warsaw for his victory parade on October 5, 1939. Some 50,000 Polish troops had been killed or wounded and 750,000 had become prisoners of war.
Back in Germany, people were not celebrating. Most Germans remembered the horrors of the First World War, and they didn't want to go through that again. Two days after the invasion began, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. American journalist William Shirer was in Berlin as a correspondent for CBS Radio, and he wrote in his diary that day, "It has been a lovely September day, the sun shining, the air balmy, the sort of day the Berliner loves to spend in the woods or on the lakes nearby. I walked the streets. On the faces of the people astonishment, depression. Stunned."
Doc
