First to Fight - Poland 1939

Arriving back in the UK on 17th March I was met by a Tsunami of problems and then there was the weird world of Coronavirus! A combination of which has kept me from wargaming and a delay in resuming this blog. I have yet to sit at the workbench and may be a couple of days yet before I am able to do so.

I would though highlight a great read while I was away:

The September war in Poland tends to be a footnote in most WW2 books referring to an unstoppable German Blitzkrieg rolling all before it followed by an even briefer reference to the Russians stabbing the Poles in the back. And then there's the myth of the Polish cavalry charge against German armour that had been dreamt up by the Goebbels propaganda machine.

This book is a fascinating read even if this is not your period/theatre of interest. The Germans were yet to perfect Blitzkrieg and found themselves in difficulty on a number of occasions suffering heavy casualties by bold Polish actions. The Soviets suffered even worse but the Poles simply did not have the resources to capitalise on their successes succumbing to overwhelming odds compounded by total axis air superiority after the first few days. 

The Polish civilians as well as their armed forces suffered from extreme cruelty by both their adversaries and from all arms of service, not just the SS. For the Germans it was about race, for the Russians it was class. 

There are numerous potential wargame scenarios from skirmishes up to large Divisional actions, even a cavalry v cavalry melee. Many of these saw the Germans and Russians defeated so any games will not have inevitable results.

I have toyed with gaming the early war in Europe over the years and this has provided me with the incentive to add it to the projects list in the not too distant future. A thoroughly recommended read.