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Great Britain France: World War II

Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland on August 31, 1939 despite diplomatic efforts from Western powers to restrain him. The invasion began early on September 1. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, at 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM respectively, marking the beginning of World War II. While the Allies had more total aircraft and resources, the German army was a highly effective fighting force. By September 1939, Germany had 100 infantry and 6 armored divisions ready to fight, compared to France's 90 infantry divisions in mainland Europe, Britain's 10 infantry divisions, and Poland's 30 infantry divisions, 12 cavalry brigades, and 1 armored brigade.

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193 views

Great Britain France: World War II

Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland on August 31, 1939 despite diplomatic efforts from Western powers to restrain him. The invasion began early on September 1. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, at 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM respectively, marking the beginning of World War II. While the Allies had more total aircraft and resources, the German army was a highly effective fighting force. By September 1939, Germany had 100 infantry and 6 armored divisions ready to fight, compared to France's 90 infantry divisions in mainland Europe, Britain's 10 infantry divisions, and Poland's 30 infantry divisions, 12 cavalry brigades, and 1 armored brigade.

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James Michael
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actually had more planes in 1939 than Germany did, but their strength

was made up of many different types, some of them obsolescent. The


corresponding table shows the number of first-line military aircraft
available to the Allies at the outbreak of war.Having achieved
this cynical agreement, the other provisions of which stupefied Europe
even without divulgence of the secret protocol, Hitler thought that
Germany could attack Poland with no danger of Soviet or British
intervention and gave orders for the invasion to start on August 26.
News of the signing, on August 25, of a formal treaty of mutual
assistance between Great Britain and Poland (to supersede a previous
though temporary agreement) caused him to postpone the start of
hostilities for a few days. He was still determined, however, to ignore
the diplomatic efforts of the western powers to restrain him. Finally, at
12:40 PM on August 31, 1939, Hitler ordered hostilities against Poland
to start at 4:45 the next morning. The invasion began as ordered. In
response, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on
September 3, at 11:00 AM and at 5:00 PM, respectively. World War II
had begun.

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World War II
QUICK FACTS

DATE
 September 3, 1939 - September 2, 1945
PARTICIPANTS
 Australia
 Axis powers
 Canada
 Cuba
 Czechoslovakia
 Ethiopia
 Free French
 Luxembourg
 United States
 Allied powers
KEY PEOPLE
 Winston Churchill
 Dwight D. Eisenhower
 Charles de Gaulle
 Adolf Hitler
 Benito Mussolini
 Alessandro Pertini
 Franklin D. Roosevelt
 Joseph Stalin
 Harry S. Truman
 Chesty Puller
RELATED TOPICS
 Blitzkrieg
 Sherman tank
 Colossus
 Lancaster
 Panzer
DID YOU KNOW?
 About 70 million total soldiers fought on behalf of the Allied or Axis countries.
 Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Sweden all declared themselves neutral during
WWII.
 Some scholars argue that the "start" of WWII was in 1937 when Japan invaded
China instead of when Germany invaded Poland.

Forces and resources of the European


combatants, 1939
In September 1939 the Allies, namely Great Britain, France,
and Poland, were together superior in industrial resources,
population, and military manpower, but the German Army,
or Wehrmacht, because of its armament,
training, doctrine, discipline, and fighting spirit, was the most
efficient and effective fighting force for its size in the world. The
index of military strength in September 1939 was the number of
divisions that each nation could mobilize. Against Germany’s 100
infantry divisions and six armoured divisions, France had
90 infantry divisions in metropolitan France, Great Britain had 10
infantry divisions, and Poland had 30 infantry divisions,
12 cavalry brigades, and one armoured brigade (Poland had also 30
reserve infantry divisions, but these could not be mobilized
quickly). A division contained from 12,000 to 25,000 men.
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler reviewing troops on the Eastern Front,
1939.Heinrich Hoffmann, Munich

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