1939 War Myths Polish Air Force Gone First Day Bekker

The Luftwaffe War Diaries: The German Air Force in World War II, by Cajus Bekker, Frank H. Ziegler (Translator), Paul Deichmann (Designed by). 1994

German Scholar Debunks the Canard of the Polish Air Force Destroyed, Largely on the Ground, in the First Two Days of the 1939 War

Other reviewers have covered the various Luftwaffe campaigns discussed in this book, and I will instead limit my review to the German blitzkrieg against Poland in 1939. This review is based on the original (1968) edition.

THE “POLISH AIR FORCE CEASED TO EXIST WITHIN 48 HOURS” CANARD

What has found its way into innumerable books and encyclopedias is a German fairy tale. Bekker comments: “Despite all assertions to the contrary, the Polish Air Force was not destroyed on the ground in the first two days of fighting. The bomber brigade in particular continued to make determined attacks on the German forces up to September 16th. However, the Polish aircraft, inferior both in numbers and in design, could hardly contest the supremacy of the Luftwaffe in the air.” (p. 59).

The Polish aircraft had previously been scattered to secret airfields and camouflaged (there are photos–not in this book–of the planes covered with sod or branches). So what did the Luftwaffe’s first-day hoped-for knockout blow against the Polish Air Force actually accomplish? Not much, according to a secret report cited by Bekker: “All the aircraft destroyed on the ground were old training machines…As for the attacks on the aircraft industry, they had done more harm than good, for now the Germans could not use it themselves. The report, of course, remained top secret. The public was kept in complete ignorance. They were told only of the non-stop bombing raids, the peerless power of the Luftwaffe, and above all the morale-shattering effect of the dive bomber.” (p. 38)

EFFECTIVE—THOUGH INEVITABLY BRIEF—POLISH MILITARY RESISTANCE IN 1939

Despite the extreme asymmetry favoring the Germans (using modern terms), the conquest of Poland was no cakewalk. Bekker continues: “The `lightning campaign’ against Poland was no easy undertaking. The Poles put up stubborn resistance, and although the campaign lasted only four weeks in all [actually five–and then not counting the subsequent large-scale guerilla warfare], the Luftwaffe lost during this time no less than 743 men and 285 aircraft, including 109 bombers and Stukas…(p. 59). An additional 279 German aircraft were damaged enough to be reckoned lost (p. 364).

It is sobering to realize that the German enemy had a greater respect for the Polish fighting forces than did the English and American so-called allies! For shame.

Although communications had inevitably been paralyzed by relentless German bombing (part of the “shock” in the modern phrase “shock and awe”), the Polish Air Force nevertheless managed to deliver some militarily-significant blows against the invading German land forces. Bekker writes: “But now, having overcome its first bewilderment, the Polish bomber brigade also made itself felt. Taking the defenses unawares, the squadrons launched a number of attacks on the spearhead of the German armored forces…The following day the 1st and 4th Panzer Divisions, pushing ahead of the 10th Army suffered heavy losses from the air on reaching Radomsko, and likewise called for help from the Luftwaffe.” (p. 37).

POLAND’S FRENCH AND BRITISH ALLIES WELCHED ON POLAND…BUT WHAT IF THEY HADN’T?

What if France and England had actually fulfilled their treaty obligations to Poland and attacked western Germany in September 1939? It would have made for a more interesting war, to say the least, because the Luftwaffe was unprepared for such a development. Bekker admits: “…at this early stage of its build-up, when Hitler chose to go to war, it was fit for a short blitzkrieg on ONE front.” (p. 24; emphasis is Bekker’s).

A COLD-BLOODED DENIAL OF GERMAN CRIMES AGAINST POLISH CIVILIANS

Unfortunately, Bekker would have us believe that the Luftwaffe attacked only military targets in Poland, and that civilian casualties were solely the result of collateral damage (p. 57). The truth is entirely different. The Luftwaffe in fact systematically bombed civilian targets (including national shrines) that had no military significance of any kind (see the Szymon Datner study summarized in the Peczkis review of HANS FRANK, by Martyn Housden).