Invasion of Poland
Headline: Germany has begun its invasion of Poland. Warsaw and other major cities have been bombed.
At dawn Germany began its invasion of Poland. The attack was launched without warning, and without declaration of war being given. During the day, German troops have crossed each of Poland's borders with the Reich, and many of her cities have been bombed from the air, including the capital, Warsaw.
'... at 5.30am...German planes attacked the city of Katowice with high explosive bombs.'
The invasion began at 5.30am when German planes attacked the city of Katowice with high explosive bombs. Krakow and several other cities were attacked at the same time with incendiary bombs. At 6.15am the air-raid sirens went off for the first time in Warsaw.
However, nothing happened until about 9.00am when the capital was attacked with both incendiary and high explosive bombs. Fighters from the Polish Air Force intercepted the German raiders and there were several dog-fights over the city.
This was the start of about six raids during the day, most of which were repelled by anti-aircraft fire and the Polish Air Force. However, during one raid this afternoon, German bombers attacked the centre of the city and then flew down the Vistula, bombing the bridges, several of which were badly damaged.
Apart from this, most of the damage seems to have happened in the suburbs, just outside the city. The citizens of Warsaw have reacted quite calmly to the outbreak of war, and when the sirens sounded many of them ran out into the streets to see what was happening, before SARP squads sent them back indoors.
The reports from Katowice have been more grim. Apparently German planes have been coming over in squadrons of 50, every half-hour, as a result there have been many casualties. Unfortunately, the phone lines to Katowice have been cut since midday, so the exact situation is unclear.
Poland has always been very aware of the size of her borders with German territory - they cover 3,000 miles in all - and this morning at about 6.00am each border was invaded by German troops to coincide with the attacks of the German Air Force.
The invasion came simultaneously from East Prussia, from the main body of the Reich and from Slovakia, but at the moment it's impossible to say how far each attack has penetrated.
The news of the invasion came as a complete surprise to the Polish Government, who have never officially received Hitler's 16-point Plan for a settlement. They heard about the plan, like the rest of the world, via the German News Agency, and also from a British warning which followed Sir Neville Henderson's meeting with Herr Von Ribbentrop a few days ago.
As for the German excuse for invasion, which is 'the invasion by Polish diversionist bands near Gleiwitz', this is described here in Warsaw as a tissue of lies.
[For audio clips concerning the invasion of Poland, see the last page of this article.]
[*Reports taken from BBC news bulletins, and a range of daily newspapers]
Published: 2001-09-01
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