August 31th. 1939: 3AM
The Eastern Skys were illuminated by the flashes of over 4000 guns worth of artillery fire before dawn on August 30th.
8 German Armys deployed over 1,200,000 men and 4,000 Tanks for the invasion of poland. The German Armys were divided into 2 Army Groups. Field Marshall von Rundstead, commanded army group north, which consisted of 2 Field, and 1 Panzer Army's. It was a much smaller force then Field Marshall von Bock's army group south, which had 3 field, and 2 Panzer Armys under its command, as well as the 26 Slavic Divisions in Slavakia.
The Army deployed its 4,000 Tanks into 3 Tank Armys. Col. General Guderian commanded the 1st Panzer Army which consited of the XIX and XVIII Panzer Korps, as well as the XXXIII. Moterized Infantry Korps. Its 6 Panzer, and 3 Mot. Infantry Divisions were to capture Krakow and Lwow in quick order, hopefully reaching the Russian border by the 10th. The 6th Panzer Army, under the command of Col. General von Kliest would align just north of Guderians 1st Panzer; its task, to breakthrough polish defenses and push into Warsaw. Its XXXV. Moterized Infantry Korps was assigned to capture the city itself, as its versitile divisions were thought to be the most effective unit to capture a major city. Behind Guderian and von Kliest, the Germans placed 2 infantry armys subordinate to the Panzer Armys.
Blasowtiwitz's 4th Army was subordinate to Kliests Panzers, while Kuchler's 11th Army would be as such to Guderians Panzers. OKH made the decision to subordinate infantry armys to the panzers because it was believed that inorder to facilitate the most rapid advance of Army Group Souths Panzers, Infantry must be able to hold the flanks, and be positioned in locations which best facilitate the advance of the panzers.
At 4:30AM, advanced german forces destroyed the barbed wire at the border, and demolished polish outposts near the border. Soon after, the Wehrmacht bursted into Poland. The Polish Frontier guards, awaken by the Blasts of Artillery, and the sound of clattering tank treads, were in a panic. Unknowning what to do, they were shot to pieces outside their barracks to no avail. As dawn broke, Luftwaffe Ju-87 Dive Bombers assulted Polish Airfileds, while Me-109E Fighters intercepted and destroyed the Polish Airforce. Rudels III. Luftwaffe Korps assulted Polish Divisions in the line of advance, clearing the way for the Panzer spearheads. By this time, foward units had advanced, in some cases, 6 miles into poland.
The Polish Defense was quite uncordinated. Across from Guderian and Kleists Panzers, the Polish Aligned no more then 13 inferior divisions, suicidal against the power of over 42 elite German Divisions, with overwhelming firepower and airsupport. In the north, the Polish Defense was consentrated in a series of Fortress Divisions, which garrisioned towns, and the approaches to them. They also placed approximatly 10 Divisions in the polish corridor, working in close communication with the "Fortress Divisions" which held the towns.
By 10AM, German Panzers were getting their first combat experience. At 9AM, the Polish town of Czestochowa fell to the XVIII. PzK of Romell... but just hours later, 4 Polish Divisions counterattacked on the North Flank of the XIX. PzK. 1. PzA commander Guderian quickly reacted. He ordered Romells XVIII. PzK to turn the Flank of the Attackers. In a brilliant and swift movement, Romells Panzer Divisions made a 90 degree turn towards the South, and turned the Flank of the Attacking Poles. By 3PM, 3 of the Polish Divisions had been completly anhiliated in a classic Kesselschlacht, and the 4th one, crippled, was on the retreat north. Now, Rommels Korps pushed back towards the W, and Guderians continued its WSW movement. As Dusk set in, Guderian and Rommel had cleared 35 miles, despite being caught in the largest battle of the infant war.
The 6th Panzer Army was in a far different situation then Guderians Panzers in the South. Kliests aligned his Army in a way to facilitate a narrow breakthrough at one point, through which all 9 of his divisions would pass through at once. Intellegence indicated that there was a gap in Polish defenses 25 milse northwest of Czestochowa. This is where Kliest planned his breakthrough.
At approximatly 1PM, Kliests Forces began to push through the gap. However, 9 Divisions from left to right is a tremendous amount of force in a small amount of space. Kliest was trying to fit over 130,000 men, and 1200 Tanks through a 17 miles opening! However difficult on paper, it prooved impossible in reality. As the Collums became tighter and tighter as they approached the gap, the collums began to intermix, cloggs fromed along roads, and the advance slowed by nearly 2/3.
These problems were only made worse when Polish reconisisance [which however bad, can easily detect 130,000 men moving through a 17 miles gap] detected Kliests advance. This information was processed dreadfully slowly by the Polish high command, and at 3PM, the Polish launched a counter attack on either side on Kliests Thrust. Usually a counter assult of 3 divisions v. 9 far better divisions wouldnt be a problem, however, divisions were now mixed together, and all organization had been lost because of kliests miscalculation.
Only the Moterized Korps was able to push through with realative ease, and its center division was the only one which was able to make a clean break. Sadly for Kleists flank, these troops were not in position to counter against the poles, instead all they could do was push northwest, and exploit their breakthrough. The XVI. PzK held the left flank of Kleists push, and it bore the brunt of the Polish counterblow. The disorganization caused by the intermingeling of divisions allowed for the counteroffensive to drag on for several hours. Slowly however, through acts of great bravery by the German XVI. PzK, the Polish Forces began to be thrown back, despite the fact that there was no command structure, except independant german forces pushing on their own determination under their own command.
By 5 PM, the counter offensive had been destroyed, and the XVI. PzK began to regroup. On the Right flank, the XXXVIII. PzK was much less effected by intermingeling of forces. It quickly defeated the Poles and pushed through the breach. At approximatly 8PM, foward units in the XXXV. Moterized Korps had pressed 40 miles into german territory, while the majority of Kleists forces were approximatly 30 miles in.
However, it was in the North where German forces incountered the most resistance. At Choinice, a town at the southern end of the Polish Corridor, German tanks were halted. The Polish Army in this sector had deployed over 60,000 troops in a 10 mile zone, and the German Panzers were unable to break through with ease. The I. SS. Panzer Korps under General Haussar felt the brunt of this resistance. His Das Reich and Leibenstrant SS Panzer Divisions were over 20 miles apart, with the hope of enveloping polish strong points, which were expected approximatly 15 miles northeast of Choinice. However, his path took him straight through Choinice, and at 11:AM, Das Reichs left flank was being pushed back by the Polish 14. Infantry Division, while unable to push into the city, and Das Reichs Panzers became ingaged in constant battle.
By 12PM, these Divisions had pushed just 7 miles into poland, and advance for now was measured in meters, not miles.
Further South, SS Liebenstrant was having an easier time. While resistance was still fierce in this sector, german panzers slowly were pushing into poland, at this point, 20 miles SSE of Das Reichs position.
However, despite the tough resistance the I. SS. PzK encountered, the 2 southern korps of Hoths 5th Panzer Army had great sucsess. The XIV PzK and XXXIV MtK broke through on either side of Naktu, which is 40 miles south of Choinice.By 5PM, the two korps had met 10 miles east of the town, enveloping the garrision of 5,000 men. As night fell over poland, leading elements of the 5th Panzer Army were 45 miles inside of Polish Terriroty.
In East Prussia, Kluges 18th Army was entirly infantry. But, he did retain control of the XXXVI Moterized Korps, which he assigned to charge south towards Lodz. The Area south of East Prussia had only very light defense, and the area that the XXXVI MtK was going to push through was its weakest defended point, right between the edge of Army "Pomerize" and the Frontire Guards guarding the approaches to Modlin. Essentially, the entire 45,000 men Korps was able to break through at 2 breaches, each about 25 miles wide. While the XIV. Pzk of the 5th PzA was approaching Bydoczsz from the west, the XXXVI. MtK was approximatly the same distance from the east, and had advanced 60 miles in 12 hours. A rate of advance never before achieved.
The Other advancing element was the II. Korps, which was pushing into the Polish Corridor from the west. This spread out Korps had only 1 Division attacking. This Division was on a 17 mile front, and this made its advance inevitibly slow.
Slowly, the sound of gunfire was fading in the rear, as the German Army pushed deeper and deeper into poland
