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Poland WW2 Events Timeline
One of the first direct victims of the Nazi scourge in Europe.
Total Events: 29
1939
Thursday
August 31st |
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Adolph Hitler provides the final orders for the invasion of Poland. |
1939
Friday
September 1st |
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German airborne elements begin bombardment of Polish defensive targets. At 6:00 AM, 50 German divisions making up Army Group North and Army Group South flood into Poland. Army Group South's mission is the capture of the Polish capital of Warsaw. |
1939
Friday
September 8th |
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German ground forces arrive at the outskirts of the Polish capital of Warsaw, covering an astounding 200 miles in a single week. |
1939
Saturday
September 9th |
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Polish Poznan army units launch a counter-offensive against the German army at Kutno on the Bzura. |
1939
Sunday
September 10th |
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Polish forces at the Modline fortress some 20 miles north of Warsaw fall under siege to the German Army. |
1939
Sunday
September 17th |
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Polish resistance at the Bzura River north of Lodz finally surrender to the Germans. Some 170,000 Polish prisoners are taken captive. |
1939
Sunday
September 17th |
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Soviet army elements begin their invasion of Poland from the east. Attacks occur near Vilnius and Bialystok. |
1939
Monday
September 18th |
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The Polish government flees into Romania. |
1939
Monday
September 18th |
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The Polish city of Vilnius falls to the Soviet army. |
1939
Tuesday
September 19th |
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German and Soviet army elements finally meet one another in Poland at Brest-Litovsk. |
1939
Friday
September 22nd |
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The Polish City of Lwow falls to the Soviet Army. |
1939
Friday
September 22nd |
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The Polish city of Bialystok falls to the Soviet Army. |
1939
Wednesday
September 27th |
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The Polish capital of Warsaw officially falls. |
1939
Thursday
September 28th |
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Polish forces fighting it out at the Modline fortress officially surrender. |
1939
Friday
September 29th |
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The German-Soviet Boundary Friendship Treay is signed between German representative von Ribbentrop and Soviet representative Molotov. Poland is divided into a western zone under German control and an eastern zone under Soviet control. |
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The last valiant gap of Polish resistance - numbering some 4,500 soldiers under the command of Admiral Unruh - north of Danzig on the Pubwysep Hela peninsula falls to the Germans. |
1944
Tuesday
January 11th |
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The first major Allied offensive to take Cassino is launched. |
1944
Friday
February 11th |
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A blanket retreat is enacted by the Allies in an attempt to regroup and plan a new strategy to take Cassino. |
1944
Tuesday
February 15th |
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Following the Allied aerial bombardment, the second major Allied offensive to take Cassino is launched. |
1944
Saturday
February 19th - March 13th |
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The Italian winter makes its arrival and postpones any further Allied offensives for the next month. |
1944
Wednesday
March 15th - March 21st |
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Positions on Monte Cassino are officially in Allied hands. |
1944
Wednesday
March 15th |
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Artillery guns open up on Cassino while 600-plus Allied bombers attempt to shake the German defenders. |
1944
Wednesday
March 15th |
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A third major Allied offensive is put into action. |
1944
Wednesday
March 22nd |
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With mounting losses in both manpower and tanks, further Allied thrusts are called off. |
1944
Thursday
March 23rd - May 10th |
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A lengthy six-week period allows the Allies to rebuild their forces - though this period allows the Germans to increase their defensive foothold. |
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A combined British, Polish and American assault converge on Cassino involving the British 13th Corps, the Polish II Corps and the US 5th Army. |
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The fourth offensive to take Cassino is put into action. |
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The Poles take Monte Calvario. |
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Monte Cassino falls to the Allies, costing some 50,000 casualties along both sides of the battlefield. |
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| All Events By Day of the Week |
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