42

De Invasion (1)

Scholars have different opinions regarding the actual start of World War II.

In the case of China and Taiwan, July 7, 1937, the date of the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, is considered the start of World War II, while some scholars in Spain consider the Spanish Civil War in 1936 to be the start of World War II.

However, no one denies the fact that the official start of World War II was Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland.

Unfortunately for the Poles, there was virtually no way for Poland to avoid war.

Even if the Danzig Corridor, which was the cause of the war, was handed over to Germany as Hitler demanded, the Soviet Union had no intention of leaving Poland alone.

Even if Germany returned western Ukraine and part of Belarus to the Soviet Union, it would have attacked Poland to regain Danzig.

If the territory had been returned to both Germany and the Soviet Union, riots would have immediately broken out across the country.

In the end, the seeds of World War II were already sown when Poland became independent.

***

August 31, 1939

Gleibitz, German-Polish border

There was a heavy sense of silence among the SD agents ahead of the operation.

The reason why German soldiers wore brown Polish military uniforms instead of black SS uniforms was because of the 'operation' that would soon be implemented.

SS Major Alfred Naujokes, the man in charge of the operation, silently lit a cigarette, remembering what Heydrich had said to him.

'You, keep this in mind. If you make even the slightest mistake, you and I will both be dead.'

Nowocks knew that not only his life but the fate of Germany was at stake in this operation.

My heart pounded as I thought that the fate of not only Germany but all of Europe could be decided with just one gesture or word.

The agents, who had been silent and not talking to each other, pricked up their ears when static came from the radio.

After a long hissing noise, the signal for the start of the operation they had been waiting for came.

-My grandmother passed away. Repeat. Her grandmother passed away.

'It has begun.'

Now Yorks threw the grass, which had only been lit four times, on the ground and crushed it with a military bullet.

"From now on, don't use German. Communicate only in Polish. Do you understand?"

"yes!"

"Team 1 follow me to the broadcasting station, group 2 to the perimeter, and group 3 to bring the 'canned food'."

"All right!"

"Let's begin."

The SD agents dressed in Polish military uniforms came to Gleiwitz, a small town overlooking the Polish border, for one reason: to create a pretext for war.

The so-called 'Operation Himmler' was to pretend that the Polish army had attacked a broadcasting station in Gleiwitz and pass the excuse of war to Poland.

All the materials needed for this were prepared.

"Come on, let's go!"

Six SD agents led by Nowokes immediately stormed into the broadcasting station.

Since Gleiwitz itself is a very small city, the broadcasting station did not have many employees.

Moreover, since it was already past work time at 8pm, there was only one telegraph operator, two employees, and one security guard at the broadcasting station. There were a total of 4 people.

"W-what is it?"

"Polish army? No, why?!"

Employees who were leisurely stretching were embarrassed when they saw SD agents dressed in Polish military uniforms.

And when they saw the pistols and submachine guns in their hands, they immediately raised both hands.

Easy, easy. Nowoks gave orders in Polish to round up the employees and detain them.

The employees, who were wondering what to have for dinner today, suddenly had their mouths gagged, tied tightly with rope, and thrown into the warehouse.

One SD agent read a previously prepared declaration of war.

Heydrich personally wrote the declaration of war, which stated that Poland would not give in to Germany's threats and that all responsibility for the war lay with Germany.

After reading the declaration in Polish, Nowoks and his men left the station.

At the entrance, canned goods brought in by other SD agents were prepared.

The identity of the canned food was that they were all prisoners wearing Polish military uniforms who had committed serious crimes such as rape and murder and were imprisoned in prison.

Heydrich personally selected them, and all of them were unconscious after being administered a strong anesthetic.

For thorough camouflage, Nowokes prepared two pistols.

One is a German-made Walther P38, and the other is a Belgian-made Browning Hi-Power used by the Polish military.

Now Yorks put away the Browning Hi-Power he had heard in front of the broadcasting station staff and took out a Walther P38. And he shot the prisoners in the back.

The prisoners' breaths were turned off one after another, like turning off a machine. One at a time, for sure.

The executed prisoners were scheduled to be introduced to the media as 'Polish soldiers who broke into the broadcasting station and died after being shot by German soldiers.'

After putting a bullet into the chest of the last prisoner, Nowokes fled the scene without even looking back.

***

"Mr. Führer, this is a report from SS Major Nowoks that Operation Himmler has been successfully completed."

"I understand."

Although Heydrich did not show it, he could tell what the Fuhrer was thinking through his eyes.

The look in your eyes that says it's starting now.

The Great Poland War, the dream of all Germans, had begun.

"What is the readiness of the entire army?"

"We are just waiting for orders from His Excellency the Fuhrer."

Keitel answered.

"Begin."

"I understand, Mr. President."

Kaitel, looking nervous, left the office to deliver my order.

"really. 'Officially' Poland declared war on Germany first, so there is no need for us to declare war. "Isn't that right?"

"That is a reasonable statement. "It was Poland that started the war first, not Germany."

Heydrich smiled slyly.

I went to the broadcasting station for my upcoming speech to the public. Goebbels prepared all the necessary speeches.

In the car on the way to the broadcasting station, I quietly looked at the dark streets of Berlin.

Passers-by could be seen walking up and down the street through the pale yellow lights.

Do these people know that World War II will break out in just a few hours? Maybe I don't know.

As Remarque said, for some, this war will remain a great tragedy that cannot be washed away.

There will be people who will return home safely without even a single scratch, but there will also be people who will sob while holding on to the notices of their fallen family members.

Even if the war ends with Germany's victory, the dead will not return alive.

However, the die has already been cast.

Now that we've come this far, there are no other options.

All I can do from now on is to end this war with Germany's victory as quickly as possible and prevent more tragedies from occurring.

There's no comedy in the fact that you're the one who started the war and you're determined to prevent an even bigger tragedy.

If there is a God, he must be angry at me when he sees me like this. Are there all those idiots in the world?

······No, maybe he's smiling. Otherwise, there would be no reason to send me here.

***

4:45 a.m. on September 1, 1939.

A heavy gunshot broke the silence of the early morning.

"Shoot!"

The German-class battleship Schleswig-Holstein of the Kriegsmarine, which was at port in Danzig due to friendly relations with Poland, opened fire on the Polish fortress.

Although it was an old battleship that was active during World War I, the power of its four 280mm main guns could never be underestimated.

The sailors of Schleswig-Holstein did not care that the shells they fired were the first artillery shells of World War II.

All they had to do was follow the instructions of their officers, carry the shells, load them, and then shoot them.

Except for the fact that this was a real battle, it wasn't much different from usual training.

The Polish army's fortress, which was hit directly by a 280mm shell, was instantly engulfed in flames and smoke. While the battleship bombarded the German soldiers, the transport ships moved toward the coast.

Soon, German troops in landing craft landed on Westerplatte and engaged in combat with the Polish garrison.

As the German invasion began, the German rebel Self-Defense Group (Selbstschutz), which had been lurking in the Danzig area, also took action.

The Self-Defense Forces, composed of German residents living in Danzig, rose up and raided the rear of the Polish army when Germany's invasion of Poland began.

The Self-Defense Forces' level of armament consisted of old-fashioned rifles and grenades, but even this was a significant headache for the Polish army, which was thrown into confusion by the sudden outbreak of war.

In particular, they were all local residents who were well versed in the geography of this place, so they knew full well where the main facilities of the Polish military were located.

"stop! "Who are you?"

"Shoot, don't shoot! We are Polish! "Compatriots!"

Where the flashlight was pointed, there were seven civilians with their hands raised in fear.

They were all wearing civilian clothes, not military uniforms, and they were all speaking Polish.

The Polish soldier, who judged them to be his compatriots, lowered his gun.

"What are you doing here? "This is a military area."

"I suddenly heard heavy drinking, so I came out wondering what was going on."

"Soldier, what on earth is going on? "Is there a war?"

"I don't know the details, but I think that's probably it. By the way, please go home quickly. "An evacuation announcement will be made by the government soon."

"We want to go home too. But how can it be so simple when the road is cut off by a cannonball?"

"If it's a road, just turn back and go straight-"

A sentry who was giving directions to anxious civilians was knocked down by a bullet that pierced his heart.

"Uh, what-"

The moment the soldier, embarrassed by his colleague's death, belatedly realized the situation and raised his gun, he too fell to the ground with a bullet lodged in the back of his head.

These people, who had just been civilians, collected rifles and grenades from fallen Polish soldiers and armed themselves.

Then, he took out the Nazi armband that he had neatly folded and put in his pocket and put it on his left arm.

Their true identity was that they were members of the German special forces 'Brandenburg Unit' and were carrying out an operation to stalk the rear of the Polish army by disguising themselves as Polish civilians.

"The information given by the Self-Defense Force friends was indeed true. "I didn't know it would fit without a single mistake."

"That's right. Sergeant, take that grenade too. "Take everything you need."

"Understood, Lieutenant."

Two days before the start of the war.

Members of the Brandenburg unit, who infiltrated Poland and contacted Self-Defense Force executives, planned an operation based on information provided by the Self-Defense Forces.

The members of the unit were skeptical about the information provided by the Self-Defense Forces, which were only a militia group and not formal soldiers, but since there were no suitable collaborators other than the Self-Defense Forces, they had no choice but to rely on them.

Contrary to the concerns of the unit members, the information provided by the Self-Defense Forces was very accurate.

The Self-Defense Forces generously provided detailed information, including how many meters apart there are guard posts, how many guards there are at each guard post, and how well armed they are.

"After this mission is over, I think I'll have to take those guys out for a drink."

"If you have everything, go quickly. "We have to blow up two ammunition dumps before the sun rises."

"yep."

***

The number of Polish soldiers guarding the ammunition depot was less than 10. They were busy loading ammunition boxes onto trucks, let alone guarding the surrounding area.

"There is no such thing as a mess. One of the most basic virtues of a soldier is vigilance. "Tsk, tsk."

The members of the Brandenburg unit, seeing the pitiful appearance of the Polish army, let out a bitter laugh.

There is nothing easier to deal with than incompetent and stupid enemies.

The crew immediately took action.

"Shoot!"

When the lieutenant's signal was given, sparks flew out from the muzzles of the crew members' guns.

Polish soldiers, sweating profusely and diligently carrying boxes of ammunition, fell to their knees after being hit by bullets flying in the dark.

The soldier who was lucky enough to avoid the bullet fell down and took a shooting stance.

However, out of panic, he made the mistake of firing a bullet anywhere.

It was funny to see him shouting something in Polish and firing his gun at random, like watching a day-old puppy barking at a person several times bigger than him.

The lieutenant clicked his tongue lightly and aimed at the enemy's head. When he pulled the trigger, a hole punctured the Polish soldier's helmet and his blood splattered.

As a result, all Polish troops guarding the ammunition depot were annihilated.

After confirming that there were no enemies left, the members came out of the forest and ran to the ammunition depot.

While two ex-engineers were installing explosives in the ammunition depot, the remaining members stood guard.

The explosive installation work was completed quickly. It was faster than during training.

"Lieutenant, we are ready!"

"Okay, everyone moves on to the next location."

Three minutes after all the crew members left, a large mushroom cloud appeared where the ammunition depot was.

The soldiers who had arrived at the defensive position and were waiting for the ammunition to arrive were startled by a loud roar and a bright flash and turned around.

Even though it was only 5:20 in the morning, the surroundings were as bright as day.

"There is an ammunition depot in that direction..."

"oh my god."

The Polish soldiers, who remembered that there was an ammunition depot in the direction where the explosion occurred, soon realized what had happened and were devastated.

The war had just begun, but their morale was already plummeting.