Soviet liberation of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine
Berlin September 1, 1939 attacked Poland, throwing against it almost all the main forces and all tank parts, the western border was bare. The armed forces of the Reich had a complete advantage over the Polish army; they tripled them in the number of tanks and combat aircraft.
Polish troops gave way in firepower, almost immediately ceded the sky, another factor undermining their strength was national. Ukrainians and Belarusians, who were treated as serfs in Poland, did not seek to defend the independence of Poland.
And the Polish military-political elite, led by the leader of the Poles, Edward Rydz-Smigly, behaved very revealingly — she rushed to save herself. Already on September 6, the government abandoned Warsaw and moved to Lublin, 9-th to Kremenets, 13-th moved (ran) to the Romanian border and already 17-th, leaving the still resisting Poland and the army, fled to Romania.
Many officers also showed cowardice, confirming the Soviet propaganda stereotype: "cowardice is a noticeable property of the Polish officers."
Berlin in the first two weeks constantly offered the USSR to strike from the east, but Moscow waited, giving a chance to the Polish army. But the situation changed dramatically when the Polish political "elite" fled the country. By this act, the Polish government practically made Poland not a state, but a territory.
Liberation campaign
In 5: 40 in the morning of September 17, the Red Army entered the territory of Poland, or rather on the territory of Western Belarus and Ukraine (captured by Poland after the collapse of the Russian Empire). The reasons for this step in Moscow were set out in 3: 15 of the same morning to the Polish ambassador to the USSR: it was said about the internal failure of Poland, about the cessation of the activities of the Polish government, about the loss of all important industrial and cultural centers. And it was concluded that the Polish state simply ceased to exist. Therefore, all Soviet-Polish treaties have become invalid, the USSR can not look indifferently at the fate of Ukrainians and Belarusians. The Red Army was ordered to cross the border and protect the lives and property of the population of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine.
By September 17, the Polish army was practically crushed, its most combat-ready units surrounded by the Wehrmacht. As a result: in the fighting against the Third Reich, the Polish army lost 66,3 thousand killed, 133,7 wounded, against the Red Army - 3,5 thousand killed, 20 thousand wounded.
Frequently, liberal publicists like to quote the “fact” of the joint parade of the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in Brest. On September 14, the city and the 17 fortress were occupied by parts of the 19 Guderian motorized corps. But, according to the agreements between Berlin and Moscow, the city departed the USSR. There should have been a solemn ceremony of the transfer of the city, the Germans wanted to hold a joint parade. But in the end they agreed to the plan proposed by the commander of the 29-th tank brigade S. M. Krivoshein. According to 16 watches, the Germans left the city in a marching order, while the Red Army units entered the city, the orchestras performed military marches. That is, it was not a joint parade, but a solemn withdrawal of German troops and our entrance.
Was there an alternative?
Hitler attacked Poland, Britain and France declare war on Germany, but what does the leadership of the USSR see? There are no fighting on the Western Front, French soldiers from boredom are drinking and playing cards, 21 in November created an “entertainment” service for soldiers, increased alcohol surpluses, and soon sober units opened for soldiers. For the army buying footballs, the first English soldier was killed only on 9 December 1939 of the year!
What could the USSR do in this situation? Break the non-aggression pact with Germany and declare war on it? But Poland did not ask for help, even categorically rejected it when, in August, the Anglo-Franco-Soviet negotiations on a military alliance were taking place on 1939. In addition, entering the war with Germany, Moscow began to play according to the plans of London, and they achieved this. The French and English soldiers would still be sitting in the trenches, drinking wine and playing cards while the Russians and the Germans exhausted their forces in mutual extermination. But the "bears skins" would have got them.
Could not move the troops, remaining in the previous borders. This would lead to the fact that Germany would occupy all of Poland, and then the Baltic States. Even in the directive from 11 on April 1939, it was said that after the victory over Poland, control over Lithuania and Latvia should be established. By this, the military strategic position of the USSR deteriorated sharply.
From the point of view of the interests of the USSR and its peoples, Moscow acted absolutely correctly. We took our lost in the years of the Troubles and at the same time improved our readiness for the Great War.
Even the enemies recognized this, in particular, Winston Churchill: "... in order to protect Russia from the Nazi threat, it was clearly necessary that the Russian armies stand on this line."
An interesting detail: the attitude of the local Ukrainian and Belarusian population to the Polish military. They seized the moment and began killing Polish officers, Polish nobles, and the rich. The arrival of the Red Army stopped these processes and saved the local Poles from the massacre.
Ukrainians and Belarusians greeted the Red Army with great joy and relief, Polish slavery was over.
Sources of:
Baldwin H. Battles won and lost.
Pykhalov I. The Great Obolgannaya war.
Tyrrelskirch K. History World War II.
Churchill U. World War II.
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