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    Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939
    Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939
    Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939
    Audiobook15 hours

    Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939

    Written by Robert Forczyk

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The German invasion of Poland on 1 September, 1939, designated as Fall Weiss (Case White), was the event that sparked the outbreak of World War II in Europe. The campaign has widely been described as a textbook example of Blitzkrieg, but it was actually a fairly conventional campaign as the Wehrmacht was still learning how to use its new Panzers and dive-bombers.

    The Polish military is often misrepresented as hopelessly obsolete and outclassed by the Wehrmacht, yet in fact it was well-equipped with modern weapons and armor. Indeed, the Polish possessed more tanks than the British and had cracked the German Enigma machine cipher. Though the combined assault from Germany and the Soviet Union defeated Poland, it could not crush the Polish fighting spirit and thousands of soldiers and airmen escaped to fight on other fronts. The result of Case White was a brutal occupation, as Polish Slavs found themselves marginalized and later eliminated, paving the way for Hitler's vision of Lebensraum (living space) and his later betrayal and invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

    Using a wide array of sources, Robert Forczyk challenges the myths of Case White to tell the full story of the invasion that sparked history's greatest conflict.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateOct 31, 2019
    ISBN9781977319333
    Author

    Robert Forczyk

    Robert Forczyk has a PhD in International Relations and National Security from the University of Maryland and a strong background in European and Asian military history. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the US Army Reserves having served 18 years as an armour officer in the US 2nd and 4th infantry divisions and as an intelligence officer in the 29th Infantry Division (Light). Dr Forczyk is currently a consultant in the Washington, DC area.

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    Reviews for Case White

    4.5/5

    29 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Very good military history. It is slightly dry but factual and authoritative. The only small criticism is the narrator - surely there are narrators who also speak or read Polish? It was painful to hear the narrator struggling with those pesky Slavic surnames.
    • 5/5
      Truthful account of Poland in 1939, torn between her archenemies and aggressors Germany and Russia,led by incapable gov and betrayed by her allies Britain and France.
      We fought for our and your freedom, without a stain on our honour, we defended Britain and British presented us with the bill for our stay and use of their war machines and planes. We fiercely fought on all fronts with no knowledge that Churchill had sold us to Stalin inn Tehran in December 1943. After the war our soldiers,officers and generals had no homeland to return to, in order not to starve they worked as porters and dishwashers in British hotels.
      Shame on Europe, Long Live Poland!
      Much needed, objective and detailed book, very well read.
      I recommend it for all interested in European and military history!
    • 4/5
      If I were to simply regard this book from the perspective of straight military history I would rank it somewhat higher, as this is the best operational account of Germany's invasion of 1939 I've ever seen. Forczyk's perspective regarding most of the participants is unsparing, and he is often as critical of Polish actors as he is of the Germans or Soviets. However, particular disdain is reserved for Chamberlain's government in Britain; let's just say that when Forczyk uses the word "appeasement" you can hear the sibilant hiss of contempt. As for what would have really made a difference Forczyk tends to focus on Anglo-American willingness to provide resources to the Soviet state in the name of business and the Anglo-French unwillingness to truly punish the Nazi Regime for it's flagrant disregard of Versailles, which allowed Berlin and Moscow to accelerate their military preparations; though this seems to be a rather unrealistic perspective considering the political chaos of the post-1929 era. Still, Forczyk essentially does admit that the Polish Second Republic was often its own worst enemy, what with grandiose dreams of territorial expansion and a military high command warped by internal political conflict. Poland deserved better, but that's usually besides the point in international conflict.
    • 5/5
      Forczyk is establishing himself as one of the best military analysts accessible to the lay reader today. I loved Case Red: The Fall of France, and this is possibly even better. He writes with passion as he demolishes the myths surround Germany's blitzkrieg of the hapless Poles. First and foremost, that it was a walkover for the Nazis, it was not, the Poles fought ferociously, quite possibly harder that France did. They also fought honorably despite the circumstances, scrupulously honouring the Geneva Convention with regard to POWs, while the Germans freely and contempuously executed Polish prisoners and civilians at whim. Secondly, that Poland's air force was destroyed on the ground on the first day, in fact they remained a constant threat to the Germans until the last days of the campaign, despite flying obsolete aircraft, the Polish pilots were skillful and brave and downed more than 100 Nazi aircraft. Not all the Poles equipment was outdated, their 7TP tanks were superior to the Panzer I & II but there were too few and they were wasted fighting in small packets. In short, although Poland had the 4th largest army in Europe, they were brought down by poor planning, political shenanigans, Poland's straitened financial circumstances that prevented buying modern equipment, and an inability to decide where to put their armies to best defend the nation. Despite the bravery of the Polish military, they were caught short on September 1 and were never given the chance to reorganize their forces in a way that could stop the Germans. The Germans themselves had problems, Hitler's much vaunted war machine was still in its teething stages, despite the myth of mechanization, much of their force was horse-drawn, and supply was a constant issue. However Forcyzk makes the point that the Germans were quick to learn and that their experience in Poland was instrumental in developing the improved Blitzkrieg that tore through France and the Low Countries in May 1940. He reserves his most scornful criticism for Poland's supposed Allies, Britain and France, who cynically promised to support Poland and in the end calculatedly did nothing, the machinations of the Chamberlain government in particular certainly does not make pretty reading. Also lashed with contempt is Stalin's Soviet Union, which made a deal with the devil then sat back until Poland was prostrate before slicing their own section of the corpse away. A grim note is provided by Forcyzk's footnote on every page when he mentions a senior Polish officer who was subsequently executed by the Soviets in Katyn Wood, a foul crime for which no-one was ever brought to justice that the Soviet regime denied until glasnost but that Putin government has done back to denying. This is both a tragic and inspiring and book, for as horrific the suffering of the Poles was, they remained resistant and defiant (Forcyzk notes that unlike France and other occupied countries, there was virtually no collaboration by the Poles). Poles fought bravely in the RAF and as soldiers on the ground in North Africa, Italy and many other campaigns. Tragically, the machinations of the West left them after the war still enslaved by the Soviet Union and fighting until finally winning their freedom in the 1990s, possibly the longest resistance campaign in history. A wonderful book, which provides a minute but fascinating story of a heartbreaking episode in European history, while at the same time celebrates a brave people who refused to give up ever. Superb reading.