ROMANIAN BRIDGEHEAD DILEMMA:
Poland is finished, the oppressive state that was thrown together to punish and insult the Reich will never rise again. The Poles have realized this by now as well, and they are currently looking for ways to save their pathetic army (and government) from total destruction, this cannot be aloud to happen, should we enter a war of attrition with the Allies 400,000 Polish troops could tip the scales. We have nearly managed to secure the Polish containment, the USSR refuses to allow the movement of enemy troops through their borders per the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, Hungary is an Axis member and has also refused, and the Baltic states have also declined Poland, due to intense German and Soviet diplomatic pressure to do so. However, one nation remains to be the possible savior of the Polish cause: Romania.
Romania and Poland have been allies sense the early 1920's, and now during their time of crisis, Poland seeks safety within Romanian borders. The Polish intent is obvious, escape Poland through Romania, then transport their remaining army to Syria in order to join the French and establish a Government in exile. We will do everything we can to insure Poland does not fight from abroad. Although the Poles are retreating on all fronts, they do not seem to be making any apparent movement towards Romania, even with their capital on the brink of capture.
On September 21, 1939, Romanian pro-British Premier Armand Călinescu was killed in Bucharest by a squad of local fascist activists of the Iron Guard, a Romanian fascist group, acting with German support. Immediately afterwards, German authorities issued propaganda blaming the action on Polish and British initiative; notably, the Nazi journalist Hans Fritzsche attributed the assassination to Polish and British resentments over Romania's failure to intervene in the war. This piece of propaganda is one of many attempts to exert pressure on Romania to not allow Polish forces through their borders.
German-Romanian relations during the past 2 weeks have covered nothing except for our war with Poland, and negotiations reached a boiling point during 23 September, between the German diplomat to Romania and their ambassador. The diplomat informed the Romanian ambassador that if they were to allow Polish forces save transit through their country, it would mean war, a war that Romania certainly couldn't win. The next day, the Romanian government informed the Reich that they would not be allowing Polish troops through their borders. The Betrayal of Poland was complete, France and Britain have coward within their borders and Romania has abandoned their alliance, now nothing could save their army, or their leadership.
24 SEPTEMBER:
The Torun pocket was reaching its final collapse by 0:00, the remaining forces in the pocket have been forced across the Vistula River and now only occupy a single province. In spite of this, the Poles have mounted a formidable defense on the western banks of the Vistula, destroying as many bridges as they could before fleeing, therefor the final squeeze on the pocket would be conducted by forces east of the river. When the sun rose, the 1st Waffen-SS Division "Standarte" (mot) was ordered to begin their assault on the pocket, they would be supported by the 1st Panzer Division from the north.
By noon, the last supply route to the Polish capital of Warsaw was cut off, the encirclement of the city was now complete. Fighting within the city had begun some days earlier, but now that Panzer's held a tight grip on the city's surroundings and breakout attempts had ceased, we could pour more troops in. Encircling Warsaw meant the Poles could no longer reinforce the city, they were already mustering every possible fighting man in the city, from the Police to local militias and in some cases, even boys. Nevertheless, the southwestern suburban portion of the city was under our control by the end of the day.
The collapse of the Torun pocket
25 SEPTEMBER:
In the south, the new offensive was going well, although with some troubles. The 6. Armee, under Field Marshal von Rundstedt, had been given the order to advance to the farthest banks of the Vistula river, and, if need be, capture
Lwow, in the event that Poland does not capitulate with the loss of their capital and remaining forces. The northern and southern areas of the offensive had made good headway with little resistance, however, the center of the operation had fallen behind.
At exactly 5pm, the 33rd and 34th Infantry divisions attempted to cross the Vistula and capture the province of
Tarnow as part of the operation. The assault was repulsed and the German forces suffered heavy casualties with many Panzer I and Panzer II tanks lost. The following day, the 34th Infantry Division was reinforced with artillery and motorised infantry, and began another assault towards Tarnow. The well-placed Polish 75 mm anti-tank guns firing at point-blank range, and the barricades erected on main streets, successfully managed to repel all initiated assaults and unexpected attacks.
Back in Warsaw, Polish Generals had gathered an equivalent of 2 infantry divisions under his command. His forces were supported by 64 pieces of artillery and 33 tanks. On September 24 the Polish Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły ordered the creation of an improvised Warsaw Army (Armia Warszawa) under General Juliusz Rómmel. The newly created force was composed of the forces defending Warsaw and Modlin Fortress, as well as all Polish units defending the Narew and the Vistula between Warsaw and Pilica river lines. General Czuma continued to be the commander of the Warsaw Defence Force, which he split into two sectors: East (Praga district) under Lt.Col. Julian Janowski and West under Colonel Marian Porwit.
The Army Poznań commanded by General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, and Army Pomorze under General Władysław Bortnowski started an offensive on the left flank of the German forces advancing towards Warsaw. As a result of this offensive that later became known as the Battle of Bzura, German commanders withdrew the 4th Panzer Division and sent it to counter the Polish threat near Kutno. Its positions were replaced by forces of a weakened German 31st Infantry Division. In this sense the desperate attempt to buy time for organising a defence of Warsaw was a success. The defenders of the city were joined by various units of the routed Prusy Army. In addition, several new units were created in Warsaw out of reserve centres of Warsaw-based 8th Polish Infantry Division and 36th "Academic Legion" Infantry Regiment.
Troop movement around Warsaw.
TROOP REDEPLOYMENT:
For the last week, it has been known that Poland would fall soon, and that the Wehrmacht could not stop here. No offensive operation against France had been approved as of yet, but the general consensus is that the great western offensive would take place during the summer of 1940, yet we would not remain dormant over the winter, not even close. To wage a proper war against the Allies, Germany must secure large swaths of important territory to sustain itself in a long conflict, so we do not have a repeat of the Great War.
