military@cbnews.att.com (09/02/89)
German advances continue all along the combat zone. Panzers have crossed the River Warta in southwest Poland, and Czestochowa has fallen. In the northwest, the German XIX Corps has severed the Polish corridor, isolating and destroying 2-3 Polish infantry divisions and the Pomorska cavalry brigade, which was decimated in a desperate charge pitting lances and sabres against the German tanks. (Some reports claim that the lancers thought the tanks were tin mockups) Polish aircraft have bombed the 1st and 4th Panzer divisions near Piotrkow, the last gasp of the Polish air force, which today ceases to be a fighting force. The deadline set by the Allies for the German withdrawal from Poland has passed, and at 11:00 AM, Britain declares war, followed six hours later by France. Australia, New Zealand, and India follow suit. Belgium re-affirms her neutrality. Stukas sink the Polish destroyer Wicher at Hela; meanwhile, the German fleet, anchored at Wilhelmshaven, is photographed by an RAF Blenheim. RAF bombers also drop leaflets over Germany. A false air raid alarm is sounded in London. Winston Churchill is appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, and a naval blockade of Germany is declared. German U-boats begin a campaign against commercial shipping, and the U-30 torpedoes the SS Athenia; 112 are killed, including 28 Americans. References: C.Argyle, _Chronology of World War II_ J. Piekalkiewicz, _Tank War 1939-1940_ R.Dupuy and T.Dupuy, _The Encyclopedia of Military History_ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "You can all imagine what a bitter blow it is to me that all my long struggle to win peace has failed." Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain