In 1939, many people throughout Europe believed that Poland was the sixth great power of Europe, after Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union. In terms of size and population, this arguably was true-for example, in the late 1930s Poland had nearly as many inhabitants (circa 35 million) as did France (circa 40 million). Numerous Poles were well educated and accomplished in the arts and sciences. Polish aviation designers were equal to the best in the world-the P.24 fighter and P.37 bomber were among the best aircraft of their type anywhere when they first appeared. The Polish Army had decisively defeated a Soviet invasion of central Europe in 1920, and even as late as 1937 it equalled or surpassed the German Army in size and ability.

Behind these facts, the reality was somewhat different. Poland became an independent nation at the end of World War I, formed out of territories from Imperial Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Russian Empire. By 1939, it still had a small, mostly agricultural economy. Polish industry existed, but it couldn't fully meet the needs of a modern state. For example, the Polish Air Force refused to use the P.24 fighter, despite its excellent qualities, as its engine was made in France, not Poland. Furthermore, the P.24 was needed for export, in order to earn hard currency to pay for vital imports.

Geography also conspired against the Poles. Poland was wedged between Germany and the Soviet Union, each of which greatly outnumbered Poland in population, industry, and resources. Both countries had a long history of hostility to the Poles and of getting together to partition Poland. In 1939, history would repeat itself, and Poland once again would be split between Germany and the Soviet Union.

In 1939, Poland had a population of 36 million. Its ethnic breakdown (by language), according to the 1931 census, was:

Group Percent of Population
Polish 69
Ukrainian 15
Jewish (Yiddish speakers) 8.5
Byelorussian 4.7
German 2.2
Russian .25
Lithuanian .25
Czech .09

Internally, Poland had problems with its minorities, particularly the Ukrainians. In the entire eastern third of the country, in fact, the Poles were the minority. North of the Pripet Marshes, the majority of the inhabitants were Byelorussians. The Byelorussians were linguistically akin to the Great Russians of the Soviet Union, but their sense of self nationalism hardly existed. This was not so for the Ukrainian majority south of the Pripet Marshes. Underground organizations there called for the creation of an independent Ukrainian state.

Poland's policy of suppressing Ukrainian culture and language in favor of Polish only exacerbated the problem. Poland also had a sizeable Jewish minority-and pervasive anti-Semitism. While Poland's ethnic problems were not as large as those of Yugoslavia, they were sufficient to prevent Poland from realizing the full potential of its population.

Strategic Situation

Although Poland as an independent nation was barely 20 years old in 1939, it already had an admirable military record. Its army was first formed from Poles who had fought in World War I for Germany, Russia, Austria, and France. In the climactic years of 1919-20, this army seized the cities of Minsk and Kiev in the former Russian empire, routed a Bolshevik invasion that reached the gates of Warsaw, and captured extensive areas of Byelorussia and the Ukraine.

From its high point in 1920, however, the Polish army had no place to go but down. With the total victory of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, the vast military resources of the new Soviet Union meant that Poland would never again win an offensive war in the east. Throughout the 1920s, Poland's military strategy concentrated on how to defend against an attack from the Soviet Union. In the west, Germany was no threat, being hobbled militarily by the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty-until the Nazis took control of Germany.

In 1933, Hitler and the Nazi Party assumed power in Germany. At that time, Germany was very weak militarily- Poland's army alone would have been sufficient to crush Germany's ten infantry and three cavalry divisions. Hitler, however, gave the Poles no provocation at first, going so far as to sign a nonaggression pact with Poland.

Behind the scenes, the German Wehrmacht, driven by Hitler's designs for power and fuelled by the large population and industrial resources of Germany, steadily expanded. Even as late as 1937, however, Poland's army still rivalled Germany's-but the picture changed dramatically over the next two years. By the summer of 1939, Hitler was ready to deal with Poland, and his 100 divisions provided him overwhelming force.

Throughout this period, the Polish Army averaged about three dozen divisions and a dozen cavalry brigades. While in theory Poland had the population to perhaps double the size of its army, in reality Poland's economy rendered this option impossible.

The Polish government realized their country lacked the military resources to match Germany by itself. This meant Poland needed allies-and two important allies had stepped forward. Following Germany's dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, thoroughly-alarmed Britain and France guaranteed Poland's independence, in the hopes of deterring Hitler from further aggression. The resources of the three countries combined exceeded those of Germany. France, in particular, shared a border with Germany and had one of the largest armies in the world.

The alliance, however, had several problems. In event of war, geography would isolate Poland from its allies, giving Germany the chance to overwhelm Poland in the east before the French could act in the west. Equally worrisome was the resolve of Britain and France. Up to now, they had allowed Hitler a free hand in central Europe. Even though the destruction of Czechoslovakia had at last roused Britain and France, their 1938 Munich Agreement with Germany had betrayed Czechoslovakia in the first place. What was worse, the Czechs had had an alliance with the French for almost 20 years, which counted for little in the actual event. The Polish government thus had to move with caution, lest it give its allies an excuse for them to abandon Poland.

The two western allies briefed the Poles on what support to expect in case Germany invaded Poland. The French promised to mobilize and to launch a major offensive against Germany two weeks after their declaration of war. Some French bomber forces would fly to Poland for operations there (the lone Am.143M counter represents these aircraft). The British committed the RAF to bomb Germany from Britain.

Poland thus would have to withstand the German invasion until the French and British attacks took effect. If France could break through the Westwall and the outnumbered Wehrmacht, the Germans would have to transfer sizeable contingents from Poland to the west, and might be forced to surrender outright. Poland considered two defense plans to survive the expected onslaught.

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part III: Poland [Europa 25]

Introduction and Strategic Situation
Defense in Depth Plan vs. Actual Polish Plan
Orders of Battle: Army
Orders of Battle: Air Force
Orders of Battle: Navy
Table 1: 1939 Polish Tanks and Armored Cars
Table 2: Polish Aircraft

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part II, Section B Germany [Europa 24]

German Army Divisions and Panzer Troops
Mountain Troops and Infantry
Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineer/Construction Troops
Security Troops
The Replacement Army
Luftwaffe
Kriegsmarine
Brandenburgers
SS and SA
Table 1: 1939 German Tanks
Table 2: 1939 German Divisions: Authorized Organizations
Table 3: German Divisions: Authorized Strengths
Table 4: German Aircraft

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part II, Section A Germany [Europa 23]

Introduction
Army Re-armament and Manpower
Strategic Situation
Germany-Allies Strength Comparison
German High Command and the Government
Volksdeutsch Resettlement 1939-1942
The Wehrkreis System
Frontier Defenses and Border Regt Commands