Case White

The German invasion of Poland on 1 September, 1939, designated as Fall Weiss (Case White), was the event that sparked the outbreak of World War II in Europe. The campaign has widely been described as a textbook example of Blitzkrieg, but it was actually a fairly conventional campaign as the Wehrmacht was still learning how to use its new Panzers and dive-bombers.

The Polish military is often misrepresented as hopelessly obsolete and outclassed by the Wehrmacht, when in fact it was well-equipped with modern weapons and armour. Indeed, the Polish possessed more tanks than the British and had cracked the German Enigma machine cipher. Though the combined assault from Germany and the Soviet Union defeated Poland, it could not crush the Polish fighting spirit and thousands of soldiers and airmen escaped to fight on other fronts. The result of Case White was a brutal occupation, as Polish Slavs found themselves marginalized and later eliminated, paving the way for Hitler's vision of Lebensraum (living space) and his later betrayal and invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

Using a wide array of sources, Robert Forczyk challenges the myths of Case White to tell the full story of the invasion that sparked history's greatest conflict.

“"Germany was not the invincible juggernaut, the Soviets were merely allies of continence because Hitler turned on them, and the shameful actions of appeasing governments in Britain and France all but guaranteed war." - New York Journal of Books "The author is a well-established writer on World War II ... This new volume is like his previous work: detailed, well-researched and clearly written. He exposes many myths of the Polish campaign, revealing the realities of the war's first European campaign." - World War II Magazine”

"Germany was not the invincible juggernaut, the Soviets were merely allies of continence because Hitler turned on them, and the shameful actions of appeasing governments in Britain and France all but guaranteed war." - New York Journal of Books

"The author is a well-established writer on World War II ... This new volume is like his previous work: detailed, well-researched and clearly written. He exposes many myths of the Polish campaign, revealing the realities of the war's first European campaign." - World War II Magazine

Robert Forczyk has a PhD in International Relations and National Security from the University of Maryland and a strong background in European and Asian military history. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the US Army Reserves having served 18 years as an armour officer in the US 2nd and 4th infantry divisions and as an intelligence officer in the 29th Infantry Division (Light). Dr Forczyk is currently a consultant in Washington,DC.

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