17th September 1939

[RF]

Yesterday another ''start of second world war'' anniversary passed - this time without the blaze of media coverage that we had over the first of September, when the KM ex-dreadnought Schleswig-Holstein opened fire with the first shots of WW2, or two days later when we had the British and French declarations of war on Hitler.

In fact there has been no mention of this event whatsoever, not even in Poland, as far as I can see.

I'm sure that Karl and most of the astute forum members will know exactly what it is I am referring to, even if our media likes to pretend it never happened.

[Karl Heidenreich]

And, of course, we have also an anniversary not all want to remember: 17 September 1944: Market Garden!

[Karl Heidenreich]

Sorry for missing the main point from RF. What happened on September 17th, 1939 was done, again later, by the "hyper moralistic" western allies and the soviets: Stalin joins Hitler to finish Poland. Later the allies join Stalin against Hitler. Then the allies use Germany as a NATO buffer against Stalin. Beautiful.

[Karl Heidenreich]

Also, for us, naval buffs, September 17th, 1939 the U-29 sinks the CV Coraugeous.

[RF]

Made even more beautiful Karl by the French, who did nothing to help the Poles in September 1939, when a full attack by French tanks and cavalry could have swept easily through the Siegfried Line, at that time half built, thinly defended and no panzers to support it. The French didn't even bother to open live fire from the Schneider guns in the Maginot forts.
And not just the French - the British deployed nothing in France during the Polish campaign.

[Karl Heidenreich]

Well, the British had Neville Chamberlain which is enough reason for them to haven´t did nothing. I do imagine that, anyway, a deployement, would have to take place in France because they would not have enough time to go all the way to Poland.

About the French, what do you expect?

[RF]

The British Expeditionary Force arrived in France in October. But the French could have saved themselves, and the whole world, a great deal of trouble if they had acted in September 1939. But they missed the bus.