Chapter 244 The Longest Day XII

September 1, 1939, 7:45 p.m.

World War II had already begun for 15 hours, but for many German officers who had participated in the last World War, it seemed as if 15 days had passed. Because the achievements of the German Wehrmacht in these short 15 hours were greater than those in the first 15 days of the last World War.

Two of the four Polish armies on the Western Front were completely destroyed!

The Coastal Army was broken through by the 19th Armored Corps from the center of the defense line, and the 1st Division and the 2nd Brigade of the 5 divisions and 3 brigades were almost annihilated. The 27th Division on the northernmost line was almost surrounded, and its flank was attacked by the 10th Armored Division (also assigned to the 19th Armored Corps). The 9th Division on the southern line began to abandon its position and move south to avoid the fate of annihilation. The backs of the two divisions of the Eastern Tactical Group of the Coastal Army were also completely exposed, and they were in a desperate situation of being attacked from both sides.

From a military perspective, the Polish Coastal Army, which has 100,000 troops, has now completely collapsed. It only took three or four days for all the troops except the 9th Division to be completely annihilated.

The fate of the Polish Krakow Army deployed on the southern front was even more miserable. The army, which had as many as 6 divisions and 3 brigades, was attacked by the German 10th Army and 14th Army. The 16th Armored Army broke through from its northern edge (the junction of the Polish Krakow Army and the Lodz Army), the 15th Armored Army broke through the frontal defense of the Krakow Army, and the 22nd Armored Army broke through from the southern edge of the Krakow Army (the junction with the Carpathian Army). The 8th Army, which had the 5th Armored Division and the 8th and 28th Infantry Divisions, attacked the border defense line of the Krakow Army in eastern Upper Silesia. As of 7:45 p.m. on September 1, the German mechanized forces participating in the battle to beat the Krakow Army included the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Armored Divisions and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Light Armored Divisions.

Therefore, the fate of the Krakow Army Group can be imagined. The entire army group has been cut into three sections, and the German armored forces and air force that broke through have turned the rear assembly area of ​​the army group into a mess. The entire command system is also completely chaotic, and most of the regiments and battalions are in a state of fighting on their own.

The situation of the Lodz Army Group is slightly better. Although the 16th Armored Army that broke through from its southern wing is very powerful, after achieving the breakthrough, the armored army did not entangle with the Lodz Army Group, but advanced in depth, trying to join forces with the Fourth Army Group (the army group where the 19th Armored Army is located) that attacked Poland from the Pomeranian direction, and complete the encirclement of the Polish Poznan Army Group and the Lodz Army Group, and at the same time, cooperate with the 15th Armored Army to complete the encirclement of the Krakow Army Group and the Prussian Army Group (the Polish Army's general reserve).

Therefore, the only troops directly responsible for attacking the Lodz Army Group were the four divisions and one battalion of the German 8th Army (the 10th, 17th, 24th, and 30th Infantry Divisions and the motorized SS "Adolf Hitler Guard Battalion" commanded by Joseph Dietrich), which were relatively weak. As of 7:45 p.m., most of the Lodz Army Group's defense lines were still intact. However, a powerful German armored force broke in from its southern wing and was attacking in depth, which put the Lodz Army Group in crisis.

As for the Poznan Army Group, it did not suffer any strong ground attacks. The four infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades under the army group were all intact.

Compared with the near-total collapse of the Western Front, the situation on the Polish Northern Front was relatively good. The offensive of the German 3rd Army was still relatively "traditional", so no fatal breakthrough was formed. The defense lines of the Polish Modlin Army Group (2nd Division and 3rd Brigade) and the Narew Tactical Group (2nd Division and 2nd Brigade) were still intact.

Moreover, behind the Modlin Army and the Narew Tactical Group, there is a newly formed Veshkov Tactical Group (3 infantry divisions) as the general reserve of the northern line. Therefore, the defense of the northern line now seems to be relatively stable.

The situation on the southern line of the Polish Army is also good. In addition to the 22nd Armored Corps of the German 14th Army breaking through the right wing of the Carpathian Army (the junction with the Krakow Army), the main defense line is also intact.

In addition, there is also a "Lithuanian battlefield" in the Polish campaign in this time and space. The German Baltic Army Group is responsible for the attack, and the Polish Lithuanian Army Group (mainly Lithuanian Civil Defense Forces) is responsible for the defense. Although the German Baltic Army Group has no armored divisions and light divisions, their progress is still very fast, because the defending Lithuanians have no intention of fighting. 15 hours after the start of the war, the troops belonging to the Baltic Army Group have pushed the front line into Lithuania by 10 to 15 kilometers.

At 7:45 p.m. on September 1, the third air raid on Warsaw by the German Air Force had just ended, and the Polish commander Rydz-Śmigły arrived at the Warsaw Castle, the official residence of the Polish president, by car.

And his mood at this time can actually be described as "not bad". Because in his opinion, the German army's fierce attack can't last long. When their attack kinetic energy is exhausted, the Polish army can play its trump card - the Lublin tactical group with 3 infantry divisions, a semi-mechanized cavalry brigade and an armored group (division level)!

"Everything is under the control of our army. Although the Germans have achieved breakthroughs in the northwest and southwest directions, they have paid a heavy price for this (hundreds of casualties!). They use the speed of breakthrough at the expense of casualties, so it is unsustainable."

This is how the Polish army's supreme commander reported the latest battle situation to Polish President Ignacy Mościicki. He did not lie intentionally, but the news reported by his subordinates was very confusing. Perhaps in order to reduce the responsibility for the defeat, the commanders of the Coastal Army Group and the Krakow Army Group reported exaggerated results - this is very common in war, but Smigły also took it for granted that the German breakthrough was based on huge losses, so he did not discount the results reported by his subordinates and believed them completely.

"Their losses are heavy?" asked the Polish president. "How many?"

"The Primorsky Army reported that 20,000 Germans were killed, and the Krakow Army reported that 22,000 were killed. The Lodz Army reported that 7,000 were killed, and the Modlin Army and the Carpathian Army reported about 3,000. The Lithuanian Army reported that 2,000 Germans were killed."

"57,000 killed?" Ignacy Moscicki asked, "Is that really that many?"

"Maybe you have to give a discount," said Rez-Smith, "This is normal, and the reports below will always exaggerate some results. But considering that the Germans launched two major battles and three smaller-scale attacks at the same time, their losses on the first day of the attack should not be less than 40,000."

This is completely the thinking of World War I. The breakthrough of the attacking side was exchanged for mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

"President, I think we can announce to the outside world that 60,000 enemies were killed, and report to Britain and France that 45,000 enemies were killed." Rez-Smith reported two figures that were still "conscientious". "In addition, we can also report the counterattack plan to Britain and France."

"Are you ready to counterattack?"

"Yes," Rydz-Smigwi seemed confident, "We estimate that the German army will rush to Warsaw after breaking through the defense line of the Coastal Army Group to force us to make peace... and we have not deployed a strong reserve behind the Coastal Army Group and the Poznan Army Group, which may make it easier for the Germans to break through."

In the view of Marshal Rydz-Smigwi, the German army that broke through the southern line (breaking through the defense line of the Krakow Army Group) will soon be blocked by the Prussian Army Group, the Polish Army's general reserve, thus forming a situation where the German army broke through alone on the northwest line.

"We estimate that in the next week or two, the situation of the war is likely to evolve into the situation of the 'Battle of the Marne'." Rydz-Smigwi said very confidently. The "Battle of the Marne" was a classic in the 1920s and 1930s, and all Polish and French military strategists dreamed of fighting a similar battle.

Rydz-Śmigły said carefully: "The Germans will break through from the northwest and force their way into Warsaw. And we will organize a 'Marne River' battle west of the Vistula River. We plan to deploy the main force of the Poznan Army Group, part of the Lodz Army Group, part of the Primorsky Army Group and the powerful Lublin Tactical Group. The total force will reach 10 divisions, 5 brigades and a mechanized group!"

"Okay, then I'm relieved." Ignacy Mościcki thought for a while and said, "Can we tell Britain and France about the 'Vistula River Battle' plan?"

The Polish president meant to let the British and French military strategists come together for consultation.

"Yes," said Rydz-Śmigły, "In order to implement the 'Vistula River Battle', we need the help of Britain and France. If they can send ten fighter squadrons to fly over German airspace to Warsaw, then this battle will be a sure win!"

The Polish Air Force almost suffered a catastrophe on the first day of the war, and now has completely lost the ability to cover ground forces in combat. Therefore, it can only hope that Britain and France will send planes to fly over Germany at night for reinforcement.

"Okay, I will instruct Foreign Minister Baker to have talks with Britain and France..."

Just as the Polish president finished speaking, an antique telephone on the desk suddenly rang. Ignacy Moscicki reached out and picked up the receiver, put it to his ear, and immediately heard the trembling voice of Foreign Minister Joseph Baker.

"President, the Soviet ambassador just visited, and the Soviet Union...demanded that we dissolve the federation and let Ukraine become independent!"