Chapter 123 Chapter 21 Victory on the Western Front (1)

1939.9.3-1940.6.25 The invasion of Poland progressed rapidly.Polish cavalry armed with spears was no match for German tanks at all.After only one concentrated attack by land and air, the defenders were defeated.The Polish ground forces, terrified by the fighters, bombers, and screaming dive bombers in the sky, were soon scattered by the 1.5 million German army supported by heavy automatic propulsion guns and tanks.It was these powerful and invincible armored units that did the havoc.They broke through all defenses and swept across the rear.The Blitz terrified not only its victims but also foreign observers because it heralded a turning point in the art of war.By the morning of September 5, the Polish Air Force had been wiped out, and the battle for the "Corridor" was declared over.Two days later, most of Poland's 35 divisions were either wiped out or surrounded.

Hitler called the special train "Führer's Headquarters" (General Jodl's command staff remained in Berlin) closely watched the development of the fighting.As soon as he puts on the military uniform, his way of life changes drastically.He seemed to be a veteran of the front line in the Great War, and he made the "Führer Headquarters" so simple that it was a bit harsh.His new motto was "Commanders share thick and thin with soldiers".Every morning, after dictating the day's orders to Miss Schroeder, he set out for the field with pistol and whip.As long as the weather allowed, he rode in a convertible so that servants and adjutants could throw cigarettes at the soldiers, and so the soldiers knew who he was.To the amazement of his entourage, he tirelessly studied the tiniest details of each battle.For example, he would spend hours inspecting kitchens and dining rooms, forcing officers to eat soldiers' meals.This regimen was soon over, but he remained interested in all things battlefield--except one.When General Schmondt asked him to speak to the wounded on the first train, he refused.He admitted that they were suffering more than he could bear.

Just as the one-sided war was coming to an end, an unexpected visitor came to the "Führer Headquarters"--Fritz Hesse.He reported that the official German delegation in London had been given a friendly send-off not only by senior British officials but also by the general public.A group of people outside the embassy once shouted "Goodbye Christmas!" Hesse came to Poland also out of personal concern.He understands that he has fallen out of favor because of his peace.Yet Hewell, now in Hitler's confidence, assured him that the Führer had sincerely wanted to negotiate with the British and that it was reports of atrocities victimized by the German émigré that had prompted him to invade Poland.Hersey did not believe the invasion order had been issued in a fit of rage. "Yes, there's no question that's the root cause," Herwell insisted. "He regretted it very quickly. He didn't deserve his temper." It was also why he allowed Hess to negotiate with Lord Horace Wilson after the invasion began. "Yes, Hitler would have said, 'Back everyone! Go! Go! Go!'"

"My God," exclaimed Hersey in agony, "is there no one who can explain to him that the dictator can order 'Back everyone! Go! Go! Go!' Is it absolutely impossible to make a war decision after consideration? How could he come up with this? I have repeatedly warned that there is a group of people in Britain who are leading the war. Has no one read it?" After a moment of silence, a flustered Hevel admitted that the Führer had a rather strange notion of the working procedures of a democratic state. "When I explained to the Führer Chamberlain's statement in the House of Commons, he sniffed at me. He just didn't believe it. Don't be afraid, though. In the meantime, he has realized that your report is correct. But for God's sake For your sake, don't take advantage of this. What makes the Führer most angry is when someone else is right and he is wrong."

Although Britain is of concern to the head of state, what he is more concerned about is that the Soviet Union is unwilling to participate in the attack on Poland-because there is no war on the western front.Obviously, Stalin wanted to sit back and wait for the last moment in order to minimize the losses of the Red Army.Until 2 o'clock in the morning on September 17, Stalin personally notified the German ambassador in Moscow that the Soviet Red Army would cross the Polish border within a few hours.At 4:00 a.m. local time, the Red Army crossed the long border in eastern Poland.In one place, the soldiers of the Polish Frontier Corps found, in the early morning fog, a group of wagons pulling soldiers. "Don't shoot," shouted the Red Army soldiers, "we are here to help you fight the Germans." The border guards were confused, and actually planted a white flag on the leading Russian car-in this way, the Soviets swaggered through many place - not a single shot returned.Thus eastern Poland fell.

Ribbentrop did not wake up until eight o'clock in the morning.When he learned that Schmidt had put him in a deep sleep for three hours, he shouted angrily: "The Germans and Russians are rushing towards each other, there may be a conflict! You are too lazy to wake me up!" Schmidt tried to quiet him, reminding him that a line had been erected.But the foam-faced Foreign Minister, brandishing a razor, continued to rage: "You've disrupted the course of world history! You're inexperienced in doing those things!" What really irritated Ribbentrop was that, due to lack of manpower, The delay in time caused Goebbels, rather than his office, to break the news to foreign journalists in Berlin.

Now, the only contest is between the victors.Before the first day of the Russian invasion was over, the two Allies were arguing over the wording of a communiqué that did everything possible to legitimize the conquest of Poland.Stalin objected to the German draft (“it was too frank with the facts”) and then drafted the Russian text himself.No sooner had Hitler succumbed to this text than Stalin produced a far more important text: a text that divided the spoils of war and stripped away all symbolic independence from the Poles.On the surface, Russia's proposal was beneficial to Germany, but Hitler was full of suspicion and dragged on for 4 days before Ribbentrop was authorized to sign this document.

Negotiations for a new treaty began, and the German foreign minister arrived in the Soviet capital at 5:50 p.m. on September 27.The time seemed auspicious, as Warsaw had just surrendered to the German armed forces.Later, Ribbentrop received a warning from Berlin that the Soviet Union would soon attack Estonia and Latvia.Therefore, Ribbentrop went to the Kremlin that night with fear.By then, he was sure that Stalin would make him an enticing offer, but feared paying too high a price.At 10 o'clock in the evening, the meeting began.Unsurprisingly, Stalin proposed ceding to Germany all of Poland east of the Vistula River—it included most of Poland's inhabited land.In return, all he needed was a third Baltic state - Lithuania.

After the three-hour meeting ended, Ribbentrop made a report to the head of state by telephone.One very attractive feature of Stalin's proposal, he said, was that, after controlling the majority of the population, "the national question of Poland would be treated as Germany saw fit." Stalin knew his Hitler.In addition to the need to maintain friendly relations with the Soviet Union, the Fuehrer would not want to deny the opportunity to control this Jewish breeding ground.He authorized Ribbentrop to sign the treaty and surrendered the last of the Baltic states to the Soviet Union.He paid a high price for making the East safe against the West.On the surface, it looks like another example of opportunism: sacrificing the future for the present.But Hitler was so convinced of the Red Army's weaknesses that he presumably felt he could take back by force what he had given up on paper.In the final negotiations the next day, the Soviets insisted that Ribbentrop call Hitler and ask him to affirmatively ratify the entire content of the treaty.Hitler approved the agreement.However, Ribbentrop noticed that he approved it with some apprehension. "I want to build solid and close relationships," he said.When Ribbentrop told Stalin these words, Stalin replied succinctly: "Hitler is very shrewd and capable."

At 5 o'clock in the morning on September 29, Molotov and Ribbentrop signed the treaty.Stalin was overjoyed.Ribbentrop said that the Soviet Union and Germany would never go to war again.There was an awkward silence at the words.Finally, Stalin replied: "It should be so." Because of Stalin's calm tone and peculiar wording, Ribbentrop hurriedly asked the translator for confirmation.Stalin's second sentence is equally ambiguous: when Ribbentrop asked whether the Soviets were willing to go beyond a friendly agreement and enter into a treaty of alliance with Germany in the future battle with the West, he received this reply: "I will never allow Germany to become weak." Since this sentence was said so naturally, Ribbentrop believed that this sentence expressed Stalin's belief.

After returning to Berlin, Ribbentrop was still thinking about these two sentences of Stalin.Hitler was particularly concerned about this, and interpreted Stalin's words as saying that the philosophical gap between them was too great to be bridged, and disputes were bound to arise between the two countries.Only then did the Fuehrer explain that he was making concessions on the Lithuanian question because he wanted to prove to Stalin that "his intention was to solve his problems with his eastern and western neighbors at one blow and to establish a real Confidence." Ribbentrop took the Führer's words literally as well as Stalin's.He still believed that Hitler was sincerely trying to reach an understanding with the Soviets. As the Soviet Union prepared to take over the Baltic states and eastern Poland, Hitler turned the rest of Poland into a giant slaughterhouse.He had ordered the concentration of Jews from the empire in easily accessible Polish cities.Goal: "Final solution, it will take some time" - September 21, Heydrich explained to the SS commanders.What he meant was the extermination of the Jews—already an open secret among many senior party officials. While these horrific preparations were under way, five killing parties, known as "special teams," carried out a "cleaning" of Polish intellectuals, priests, and nobles, thereby hastening them.The roots of Hitler's hatred of the Poles were relatively recent.He was convinced that, over the past few years, Poland had committed numerous crimes against the Germanic minority. "Tens of thousands of Germans were taken away, tortured, and brutally murdered," he told a group of partisans in Danzig on September 19. “The perverted beasts let out their perverted nature—while this democratic, religious nation stood by without a single bark.” But, he went on, “God Almighty has blessed our arms." Now, he can get his revenge.By the Mid-Autumn Festival, about 3,500 intellectuals (Hitler regarded them as "spreaders of Polish nationalism") had been eliminated. "Only in this way," he explained, "we can gain our vital territory. After all, who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians!" At the same time, about 1.2 million ordinary Poles were expelled from the past homes.The Germans from the Baltic coast and the Polish coast then occupied the magpie's nest.In the painful years that followed, more Poles died of hunger and cold in their new settlements than were executed.