Pen and Sword Books: Blitzkrieg Unleashed by Richard Hargreaves

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At dawn on Friday 1 September 1939 the Germans launched their land, sea and air assault on Poland. The World became aware of the awesome power of Hitler's Third Reich and the limitless and ruthless nature of his ambition.

The Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) attack, spearheaded by Panzers, took the German forces to the gates of Warsaw in a week. The vital port of Danzig fell, crushed by naval and air bombardment and land assaults. The Polish Air Force, out-numbered and out-gunned, were driven from the skies. In a month Warsaw fell amid great bloodshed and in six weeks the Poles were defeated.

The speed of the German conquest was matched by its brutality. Lives and property meant little to the invaders and civilians and POWs were summarily executed. Jews received particular attention and these atrocities were not just perpetrated by the SS but soldiers of the Wehrmacht.

Blitzkrieg Unleashed is told in the words of those who conquered Poland, thanks to the author's research into letters, diaries, unpublished accounts, official documents and histories and newspapers.

Whilst it takes three chapters before it gets to the start line of operation
Fall Weiss, I think it is necessary for the author to go through some of the
history and circumstances that lead the participants into the conflict.

The author draws widely on actual eyewitness diaries, both personal and unit
and letters from the front line whilst quotes are used to drive along the
narratives.

The majority of the recollections included are from the German forces, but
there are a few quotes from the higher officers of the Polish forces and
non-combatants.

The things that will stay with me is the unison of the diaries in their
descriptions of utter destruction of all buildings and the red glow of the night
sky for the entire length of the German attack, and the Polish command accepting
total defeat and wanton destruction by holding out for long periods in enclaves
after the majority of their army and government had accepted defeat.

It does give a flavour of the circumstances of the German forces who fought
during this conflict and shows that some raised concerns about the conduct of
some of their soldiers during the fighting and the police forces that took over
Poland after the end of the "eighteen day operation".

Whilst it does add to the personal stories, and attempts to pull together a
coherent narrative I personally don't believe that it adds any great
information to the actual conflict for the wargamer although it does have a
series of Maps in the Appendix for the major battles and the various unit
dispositions.

by Michael Thompson, 4th January 2009

by by Ian Baxter

Our Price: £14.99

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Richard Hargreaves is a journalist. His previously published books include The Germans in Normandy and Blitzkrieg Unleashed. He lives at Gosport near Portsmouth.