This article details the order of battle of German military units during the invasion of Poland in 1939. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The German army's forces for the invasion of Poland (codename Fall Weiss, English - "Case White") were divided into Army Group North (consisting of the German 3rd and 4th armies) and Army Group South (consisting of the German 8th, 10th, and 14th armies, and the Slovak Army Group Bernolak).
Army Group C was on the western border of Germany defending against a potential French attack. This order of battle is for 04:47 on September 1, after which things started to get shuffled. [lower-alpha 1]
Oberkommando des Heeres was the High Command of the Heer. It controlled everything related to the Heer: Personnel, Training, Recruitment, Armaments, Transportation, Supplies, Medical Services, etc. An ongoing problem was that each service branch was its own "kingdom" resulting in massive inefficiency.
Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres Generaloberst Walter von Brauchitsch
Generaloberst Fedor von Bock [lower-alpha 2]
Heeresgruppe Nord's initial objectives were to capture the "Polish corridor" (4. Armee) and drive southwards towards Warsaw from East Prussia (3. Armee) [lower-alpha 3]
Directly subordinated to Heeresgruppe Nord
3. Armee was based in East Prussia
General der Artillerie Georg von Küchler
4. Armee was based in Western Pomerania
General der Artillerie Günther von Kluge
Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt [lower-alpha 27]
Heeresgruppe Süd's initial objective was to drive from Silesia towards Warsaw (by 8. Armee and 10. Armee), and to destroy the Polish forces around Kraków (by 14. Armee) [lower-alpha 3]
Directly subordinated to Heeresgruppe Süd
8. Armee was based in northern Silesia
General der Infanterie Johannes Blaskowitz
10. Armee was based in southern Silesia
General der Artillerie Walter von Reichenau
14. Armee was based in Moravia and Slovakia
Generaloberst Wilhelm List
Char. Generaloberst z.V. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb [lower-alpha 32]
Heeresgruppe C's only duty was to protect the western border of Germany from any French attacks until stronger units could be sent back from the east. It was accomplished by deception. The units were generally under strength, most of the infantry unit were missing their heavy weapons platoons, and some entire battalions. There was almost no mobility, except for horses and bicycles. Some of the units were headquarters only to give the impression of a larger presence.
Directly subordinated to Heeresgruppe C
German High Command Reserve
5. Armee was based along the Luxembourg and Belgium border
General der Infanterie z.V. Curt Liebmann
1. Armee was based along the French border
General der Infanterie Erwin von Witzleben
7. Armee was based along the French border
General der Artillerie Friedrich Dollmann
Luftwaffe [6] [5] - Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring
On August 30 the Polish Navy, realizing what was about to happen, sent three destroyers (Błyskawica, Grom, and Burza) to the UK. The group was spotted the 30th in the southern Baltic Sea by U 31 [lower-alpha 45] and again, in the Skagerrak, by U 19 on 31 August. Since the war had not started they were unmolested. With the destroyers gone some of the ships deployed to the Baltic were recalled and some sent to the North Sea. The fleet was in the process of shifting its deployment when the war broke out. Later, the submarines Orzeł and Wilk also made it to the UK, while the Sęp, Ryś and Żbik, sought internment in Sweden.
Kriegsmarine [7] [8] [5] - Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine Generaladmiral Erich Raeder
Under Direct Control of Seekriegsleitung (Skl)
Oberbefehlshaber Marinegruppenkommando [lower-alpha 57] West - Admiral Alfred Saalwächter
Oberbefehlshaber Marinegruppenkommando Ost - Generaladmiral Conrad Albrecht
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