Saturday 16 September 1939

Steel-helmeted, uniformed Polish women march through the streets of Warsaw to aid in defense of their capital on September 16, 1939. They are not, however, armed. (AP Photo).

Battle of Poland: Polish forces break through German lines on 16 September 1939 in the forests north and west of the town of Janów. Six battalions get through to Janów despite determined defense by the German "Pemsel" combat group formed from the 1st Mountain Division. The Poles repel a counter-attack at Dobrostany. This concludes the Battle of Jaworów, which has been a tactical Polish victory.

The Luftwaffe bombs the Jewish quarter of Warsaw. The Poles in Warsaw are successfully repelling determined German ground attacks but are largely defenseless to air attack. General List's army is both investing Warsaw and heading north to link up with the rapidly approaching XIX of General Guderian.

European Air Operations: The Polish Air Force launches its final bombing raid.

Soviet Government: Moscow broadcasts that it will invade Poland the next day "to protect the Ukrainian and Belorussian minorities."

Western Front: French forces make some tentative movements in the Saar and are 12 miles east of Saarbrücken.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-27 (Kapitänleutnant Johannes Franz) torpedoes and sinks the trawler Rudyard Kipling. He stops to pick up the crew and keeps them for eight hours, giving them food and clothing, before releasing them in their lifeboats for the long row (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) to Ireland. U-27 so far has eluded destroyers HMS Fortune and HMS Faulknor, which know there is a U-boat in the vicinity and have been hunting it.

U-31 (Kptlt. Johannes Habekost) sinks an independent, the Aviemore, which is near convoy OB-4. Of the crew, 23 are lost and 11 are picked up by HMS Warwick. This marks the first successful attack on a ship within the convoy's sphere of protection, though technically the Aviemore is not a member of the convoy.

Belgian steamer Alex van Opstal is sunk by Luftwaffe mine or torpedo off Weymouth.

Other Allied losses for the day are Fanad Head, Davara, and Cheyenne. Some vessels are accounted for on other days for various reasons.

A large escorted convoy leaves Halifax, the first of three over the next week.

British Government: The Duke of Windsor, newly returned from France, is appointed a liaison to the French government.

Japanese/Soviet Relations: Pursuant to the agreement of the previous day, the battle of Khalkhin Gol formally ends.

War Crimes: Mass executions commence in Przemysl on the eve of the Jewish New Year. The liquidations occur at several places in the city outskirts: Lipowica, Pralkowce, Pikulice, at Przekopana, near the Wiar river and near the Jewish cemetery at Slowackiego Street. According to some estimates as many as 600 Jews in total are killed over the next few days.

American Homefront: The NY Yankees clinch their fourth straight American League Pennant, beating the Detroit Tigers 8-5. Their opponent in the World Series is yet to be determined.

On September 16, 1939, residents of London carrying gas mask containers (white boxes) walk along curbs widened and marked with stripes for civil defense purposes (AP Photo).

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2019

Thursday 7 September 1939

These prisoners were taken at Westerplatte, 7 September 1939.

Polish Military: With Warsaw already threatened from the west, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły relocates his Polish Army headquarters further east from Warsaw to Brest-Litovsk (Brest, Belarus). He and the rest of the government now realize that the line of the Narew cannot be held.

Battle of Poland: Westerplatte, which the Germans had attacked first thing during the invasion, finally falls to the Germans. It had held out for a full week and inspired resistance elsewhere despite intense German shelling. Its fall is a shock to the nation. However, it remains a national symbol of resistance somewhat akin to the Alamo in the United States. The battleship Schleswig-Holstein, which had begun the war by firing on Westerplatte, now switches its fire to the Polish naval base at Hela.

The Polish town of Wizna is part of the Polish line of defenses of Łomża. The 10th Panzer Division of the XXI Army Corps (General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst) captures it, but the retreating Poles blow up the bridge across the Narew. German patrols cross the river late in the day and attack Giełczyn, but are stopped. This becomes part of the larger battle of Łomża,  which straddles the Narew River. Around mid-day, the 21st Infantry Division advances directly into Polish defenses at Łomża without preparation (aside from scattered Luftwaffe attacks in previous days) but is repelled. The Germans lose 6 tanks and relatively heavy infantry casualties. The Poles hold out, causing the 21st ID to withdraw north and taking 57 German prisoners.

German radio announces that its forces have reached Pultusk, 30 miles north of Warsaw.

Western Front: The French Army mounts an expedition in the Saarland against German screening forces. The area is in peacetime conditions, with German power plants still supplying the French towns with electricity.

Operation Saar, one of the more controversial episodes of the war because of its missed opportunities, is launched by French General Maurice Gamelin's Third, Fourth and Fifth Armies (11 divisions total). They advance timidly into the Cadenbronn and Warndt Forest salients. The advance is extremely measured, and the German outposts retreat without any fuss. The Germans leave behind placards in French stating that Germany has no quarrel with France. They also position loudspeakers blasting propaganda message in French with a similar theme. The defending German forces are light in infantry and have no panzers. They also are very weak in anti-tank weapons. The French military, of course, knows none of this.

Along with the propaganda efforts, the Germans have mined the roads and fields and booby-trap the towns. General Gamelin orders the hesitant French infantry to drive a herd of pigs through the mines, with many of the animals blown up.

Hitler appoints General Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein to be the commander of Army Detachment A, an ad hoc force for the defense of the Siegfried Line. Hammerstein is overdue for retirement, and his appointment is an expression of Hitler's desire that nothing dramatic occurs along the Western Front. Factories in Saarbrücken continue to operate as normal with French forces just miles away and virtually no defenses in between.

Battle of the Atlantic: Winston Churchill organizes and sends out the first British convoy to America. However, many ships still sail without convoys due to being particularly fast or slow. These are called "independents" and provide the easiest targets for U-boats.

The Dutch steamship Batavia is attacked but the torpedoes miss. British freighter Olivgrove is sunk in the Bay of Biscay 200 miles northwest of Spain.

Hitler meets with Admiral Raeder, CIC of the Kriegsmarine. He issues the Athenia Order, which is that "in order not to provoke neutral countries, the United States, in particular, it is forbidden to torpedo passenger steamers, even when sailing in convoy. Warfare against French merchant ships, attacks on French warships and mine laying off French ports is prohibited."

British Government: Ambassador to Germany Sir Neville Henderson is repatriated to England. General Viscount Lord Gort is appointed to command the British Expeditionary Force.

German Government: The death penalty is prescribed for anyone "hindering the defensive power of the German people."

United States Military: The military takes over control of the Panama Canal.

Irish Government: The Eire government calls up volunteers to supplement Army reserve.

Yugoslav Military: Yugoslavia mobilizes its military.

International Relations: Iraq, independent since 1932, breaks diplomatic relations with Germany. The British maintain two RAF bases there,  RAF Shaibah, near Basra, and RAF Habbaniya, between Ramadi and Fallujah.

United States Homefront: In the Webster Times of Webster, Massachusetts, the big news is of the finale of sailboat racing at the lake.

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2019