On the night of August 31, 1939, several operatives in Polish
uniforms infiltrated the radio station at Gleiwitz in Upper Silesia, Germany.
After seizing the facilities, the saboteurs broadcast a concise anti-German message in Polish.
The crime scene was undeniable, with several infiltrators sacrificing their
lives for the cause against the Nazi Regime. The police and press found the
evidence irrefutable and soon sealed the case against the irascible Polish people.
Immediately after, the Fuhrer issued a declaration of war, alleging the violent
provocations of Polish assaults in Gleiwitz and several other places simultaneously.
The following day, the German forces struck their Northern neighbors in an
attack that many historians consider the first official action of World War 2.
And while the Gleiwitz incident was a made-up excuse to declare war on the Polish,
the Germans could not have expected that the same day they invaded Poland,
the defenders would do the same in German territory…
Casus Belli
Operation Himmler comprised a series of special efforts orchestrated by the SS and
the Abwehr to serve German purposes along the Polish border at the outbreak of World War 2.
These actions were intended to create the appearance of aggression against Germany
and justify the invasion of Poland, which was scheduled to happen the following day.
Much of what is known about the incident at Gleiwitz comes from
the declaration of Alfred Naujocks at the Nuremberg trials many years later,
as he confessed to having organized the set-up under Gestapo orders.
To justify their actions and make sure their cause seemed fair to their people, the Nazi High Command
covered their interests merely a day prior to the deployment of German forces in Poland.
The Germans procured Polish Army uniforms, equipment,
and identification cards for the deception, and many prisoners from concentration camps
were disguised as Polish saboteurs and ordered to attack radio stations.
Several prisoners from the Dachau concentration camp were even drugged
and shot to manufacture evidence, a staged casus belli or a justification for war.
Some sources incorrectly refer to the incident as Operation Canned Goods,
as the German operatives designated them under the code name Konserve.
The set-up was ready, and like the Fuhrer told his Generals a week before the events: (QUOTE)
"Its credibility doesn't matter. The victor will not be asked whether he told the truth."
A Matter of Convenience
Upon coming to power, Adolf Hitler signed a major foreign policy initiative:
a non-aggression pact with Poland that proved to be an unpopular move among his supporters.
Many Germans resented that Poland had received former German territories,
including the provinces of West Prussia, Poznan, and Upper Silesia,
after their humiliating defeat in World War 1 and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles.
However, Hitler had a plan, and he actively sought the non-aggression
pact to neutralize another nation, as there was a possibility that the Polish
would become allies with the French and form a military blockade against
Germany before the weakened country had a chance to rebuild and rearm.
In the meantime, France, but especially Great Britain, maintained a foreign policy
of appeasement throughout the decade. The primary purpose of such a scheme was to
keep the apparent peace in the continent by making limited concessions to German demands.
And while the British population had a generalized opinion that tended to favor
the revision of the territorial and military provisions of the treaty, neither Britain nor
France were militarily prepared for an open encounter against the expanding Third Reich.
Germany then revoked the limitations in 1935 and remilitarized the Rhineland the following year.
Then, in March of 1938, the country annexed Austria,
and Britain and France eventually complied.
The Germans soon threatened to wage war against Czechoslovakia,
to which British and French leaders responded with the Munich Agreement,
ceding the Sudetenland Czech region in exchange for an apparent peace.
But despite Hitler's promises to resolve future conflicts peacefully,
Germany tore apart Czechoslovakia in early 1939.
Britain and France then promised to safeguard the integrity of the Polish state,
but Hitler would not be dissuaded neither by threats nor concessions.
Allegations
In the spring of 1939, the Fuhrer announced Germany's withdrawal from the non-aggression
pact with Poland but negotiated one with the Soviet Union instead,
thus guaranteeing that they would not intervene. However, the leaders of both nations secretly
agreed to partition Poland between the two, quenching their imperialist appetites.
For months, German newspapers, politicians, and Hitler himself
made countless accusations against the Polish authorities, claiming that they had organized
or tolerated the brutal ethnic cleansing of Germans in Poland. Furthermore, they alleged
that Poland was teaming up with Britain and France to encircle and dismember Germany.
On September 1, the day after the Gleiwitz incident,
Germany finally launched their strategic plan for the invasion of their neighbors:
Fall Weiss, or Case White, precipitating Europe into the largest conflict in history.
That same day, Hitler addressed the lower house of the legislature,
or Reichstag, citing the so-called severe border incidents as justification for the invasion.
Several American correspondents were summoned to investigate the scene,
but no neutral parties were allowed to dig deep into the incident,
provoking disbelief in the German version among the international public.
Regardless, the surprise attack began at dawn, when Germany deployed an advance force of over
2,000 tanks supported by nearly 900 bombers and over 400 fighter aircraft.
A total of 60 divisions and roughly one and a half million men participated.
From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south,
the Nazi troops pierced the Polish defenses along their shared border as they marched
relentlessly towards Warsaw in a massive encirclement maneuver.
But in an ironic twist of fate, the Poles would retaliate in a way the
German propagandists could have never expected…
Equals
While the Poles did not provoke the Nazi invasion like it was proclaimed,
they answered the attack in a way the Germans never expected.
Even more telling was the fact that as of the first day of the invasion, crossing the German
border was forbidden for Polish nationals, as they would be accused of provoking a conflict.
Still, when the Germans flooded their homeland, the proud Polish people rose to arms.
The situation was most advantageous in the Wielkopolska province, or Greater Poland,
located between the main invasion routes. Thus, the attack was relatively tame.
However, one of the most significant Polish counterattacks was the Raid on Fraustadt - the
direct answer to the occupation of Rawicz and the bombing of Leszno.
Only a day later, on September 2, the Polish forces were able to retake Rawicz.
Meanwhile, another unit crossed the border and attacked the German side in Königsdorf,
effectively disrupting a vehicle column of several dozen vehicles.
Encouraged by their fellow defenders' success, Brigadier General Roman Abraham of the
Wielkopolska Infantry Brigade set out to execute a more ambitious raid in the town of Fraustadt.
That morning, his forces conducted aerial reconnaissance around the
village while the 55th Infantry Regiment gathered its strength.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Over 300 soldiers comprised the bulk of the main attack force, which was commanded by
Captain Edmund Lesisz. The raiding party consisted of two companies from the 55th,
an artillery platoon for support, and panzer and heavy machine gun platoons.
The 17th Uhlan Regiment attacked from the north, while the south was covered
by a military bicycle platoon and a tankette squadron led by Abrahams.
Communication between units was provided by the cavalry and the cyclists.
Notably, the cyclists were an astonishing advantage to the Polish people that day.
As Polish journalist Maciej Nowak-Kreyer wrote: (QUOTE) "The presence of the cyclists in the
Army can be surprising, they were however an indispensable element of contemporary army forces
in most of Europe. They were faster than infantry, they did not need fuel as the motorcyclists did,
and – contrary to the infantry – they did not have to take care of any live creatures. These
were fast and agile forces, which would get on very well in a difficult terrain."
The operation began at around 5:00pm. Buses transported infantry units to the
starting point, which was the village of Długie Stare right at the border.
The soldiers then lined up as Polish artillery shelled the Grenzschutz watchtower in Geyersdorf,
a town ceded to Poland in the Versailles Treaty. But the machine guns could not get
closer to the anti-tank ditches and had to stay behind the border and offer cover from there.
The Germans were utterly taken aback. While their motorcycle unit struggled
to get a hold of the situation, they were nonetheless pushed and forced to retreat.
And as the battle in the watchtower raged on, the tankettes suddenly entered the arena.
Small and turretless, the vehicles were armed only with a machine gun.
Still, they were quick and nimble, allowing the Polish units to swiftly occupy Geyersdorf.
Moreover, the armored vehicles managed to dislodge the last groups of German defenders
with the support of the infantry, and the shelling on Fraustadt began.
An Unforgettable Day
The Polish artillery platoon shelled the German military
barracks located in Fraustadt from their secured positions in Geyersdorf.
Meanwhile, the village was bewildered, and the army units soon retreated as masses of
civilians blocked the road to the nearby town of Głogów. All the calls for help were futile.
The operation achieved its mission of damaging the military barracks. The shelling also battered
the town's church tower, and the infantry was able to reach the toll house. One platoon even
made it as far as eight kilometers into German territory and captured several prisoners of war.
Having fired 36 shells on Fraustadt, the Polish artillery finally started to withdraw;
the infantry then followed after dark and regrouped in Leszno.
Nowak-Kreyer wrote that, in a tragicomic incident during the retreat through Święciechowa: (QUOTE)
"The local 5th column took the retreating Polish soldiers for the invading Germans
and greeted them with Nazi flags. Obviously, it was exposed and neutralized in a flash."
The successful raid bolstered the Polish soldiers’ morale, showing that the Nazis
were not an undefeatable enemy. However, the win had practically no strategic significance.
There was no point in attacking the Germans with greater strength
because Leszno was still threatened and would be unnecessarily weakened.
Indeed, Fraustadt was most likely the only border German town shelled by the Polish that September -
a humiliation never forgotten by the Nazis. Years later, the Gestapo hunted down Captain Lesisz.
Still, the bravery of the Polish soldiers raised their Army's spirit and pushed them to
continue the fight. Moreover, the effective operation might have contributed to the
outstanding performance of the "Poznań" Army in the later Battle of the Bzura.
On the downside, a policeman, a customs officer, and many civilians were wounded or worse.
The victims had a funeral service, and a memorial was erected in the name of
"victims of the Polish invasion." To this day, the monument at the outskirts of Wschowa,
along the road to Leszno, commemorates the unlikely victory of the Raid on Fraustadt.
As Nowak-Kreyer put it: (QUOTE) "A panicky runaway of weak Polish troops crushed by
the roller of German forces is a false and unfair image of the September 1939,
held in the awareness of most Poles. The truth is we were capable of fighting our
aggressor almost as equals, or even surprise our invader with our bold counterattacks,
during which we would enter the territory of the Third Reich, and occupy German villages."
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