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Propaganda aside I think the answer is obvious.
Britain and France cared nothing for Poland or anyone else in Eastern Europe. The German invasion to settle a local border dispute was simply a convenient casus belli for Britain and France to attack Germany. After achieving their declaration of war Britain and France wrote the entire region off. An attitude mirrored by the American Government.
Propaganda aside I think the answer is obvious.
Britain and France cared nothing for Poland or anyone else in Eastern Europe. The German invasion to settle a local border dispute was simply a convenient casus belli for Britain and France to attack Germany. After achieving their declaration of war Britain and France wrote the entire region off. An attitude mirrored by the American Government.
Propaganda aside I think the answer is obvious.
Britain and France cared nothing for Poland or anyone else in Eastern Europe. The German invasion to settle a local border dispute was simply a convenient casus belli for Britain and France to attack Germany. After achieving their declaration of war Britain and France wrote the entire region off. An attitude mirrored by the American Government.
wow...really?Propaganda aside I think the answer is obvious.
Britain and France cared nothing for Poland or anyone else in Eastern Europe. The German invasion to settle a local border dispute was simply a convenient casus belli for Britain and France to attack Germany. After achieving their declaration of war Britain and France wrote the entire region off. An attitude mirrored by the American Government.
Harsh, but there is some truth to it.Propaganda aside I think the answer is obvious.
Britain and France cared nothing for Poland or anyone else in Eastern Europe.
Firstly, Hitler didn't just want Danzig, he wanted the total destruction of the Polish state. Secondly the British and French were hopeful at the time they issued their guarantees that this would be enough to stop German territorial aggression without the need for bloodshed. The invasion of Poland even after they had warned Germany in the days leading up to it that they would declare war if he attacked Poland forced their hand.The German invasion to settle a local border dispute was simply a convenient casus belli for Britain and France to attack Germany.
Both Britain and France believed that their forces would not be powerful enough in the short term to defeat Hitler and that Germany would probably defeat Poland. However the British and French intended to restore the Polish nation after the final defeat of GermanyAfter achieving their declaration of war Britain and France wrote the entire region off. An attitude mirrored by the American Government.
They were already in a major war they were fearful of the outcome of, so taking on another major power at the same time would have been an act of insanity.Something I've wondered about for a long time is:
Although the UK and France declared war on Germany for invading Poland, they did not do so when the USSR attacked a couple weeks later.
Why not? This seems almost a double standard.
This explains a lot of it...
Soviet invasion of Poland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Soviet government announced it was acting to protect the Ukrainians and Belarusians who lived in the eastern part of Poland, because the Polish state had collapsed in the face of the Nazi German attack and could no longer guarantee the security of its own citizens."
"Allied reaction[edit]The reaction of France and Britain to the Soviet invasion and annexation of Eastern Poland was muted, since neither country wanted a confrontation with the Soviet Union at that time.[82][83] Under the terms of the Polish-British Common Defence Pact of 25 August 1939, the British had promised assistance if a European power attacked Poland.[Note 8] A secret protocol of the pact, however, specified that the European power referred to Germany.[85] When Polish Ambassador Edward Raczyński reminded Foreign Secretary Edward Frederick Lindley Wood of the pact, he was bluntly told that it was Britain's business whether to declare war on the Soviet Union.[82] British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain considered making a public commitment to restore the Polish state but in the end issued only general condemnations.[82] This stance represented Britain's attempt at balance: its security interests included trade with the Soviets that would support its war effort and the possibility of a future Anglo-Soviet alliance against Germany.[85] Public opinion in Britain was divided between expressions of outrage at the invasion and a perception that Soviet claims to the region were reasonable.[85]
While the French had made promises to Poland, including the provision of air support, these were not honoured. A Franco-Polish Military Alliance was signed in 1921 and amended thereafter. The agreements were not strongly supported by the French military leadership, though; the relationship deteriorated during the 1920s and 1930s.[86] In the French view, the German-Soviet alliance was fragile and overt denunciation of, or action against, the Soviets would not serve either France's or Poland's best interests.[83] Once the Soviets moved into Poland, the French and the British decided there was nothing they could do for Poland in the short term and began planning for a long-term victory instead. The French had advanced tentatively into the Saar region in early September, but after the Polish defeat they retreated behind the Maginot Line on 4 October.[87] On 1 October 1939, Winston Churchill—via the radio—stated:
... That the Russian armies should stand on this line was clearly necessary for the safety of Russia against the Nazi menace. At any rate, the line is there, and an Eastern front has been created which Nazi Germany does not dare assail. When Herr von Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week it was to learn the fact, and to accept the fact, that the Nazi designs upon the Baltic States and upon the Ukraine must come to a dead stop.[88]"
So in a nutshell its the choice of the perceived lesser of two evils.
I suspect they would have a collective nervous breakdown.So then let's throw the whole thing in reverse. The USSR attacks first - for whatever reason - and in mid-Sept. Nazi Germany moves in, maybe to enlarge the buffer zone between the USSR and Germany.
How do France and the UK respond?
Do you actually believe that Germany attacked Poland over a border dispute? You believe that propoganda?
I suspect they would have a collective nervous breakdown.
Based on the Winter War fiasco, I kinda wonder how the Poles would perform against the Soviets. The Germans might need a couple weeks to stop laughing before they move in themselves.
I recall the Germans generally claiming that they'd rather face anyone else than the Poles, but I'm not sure if that applies only to Free Pole forces as opposed to the Polish Army itself. Anyone know?
I would guess that it would be more the Free Poles as I don't think the Germans had a very high opinion of the Polish before the invasion, I think the Polish progressively built a strong reputation that started with a number of battles in 1939 where they held ground almost to the last man and conducted a number of bold and audacious attacks. Then as time moved on you have to think of things like the Battle of Britain, Monte Cassino and the Polish armoured division in Normandy.