Invasion of Poland (Allied Defeat)

The Invasion of Poland, also known as the May Offensive or Operation Reichsadler was an invasion of Poland by members of the Tripartite Pact: Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Nazi rebels in the Free City of Danzig. The joint invasion began on May 1, 1941 by the Wehrmacht led by Gerd von Rundstedt, The allies of Germany joined the invasion on May 20 after the Czech declaration of war on the Third Reich on May 18. The May Campaign ended on June 10 with the Russo-German partition of Poland.

Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement
In 1938 after the Second Coalition War Against the Soviet Union, the Germanic citizens in Sudetenland after the collapse of Austria-Hungary began a series of riots in Prague. Adolf Hitler was contacted and requested the annexation of Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. The Munich Agreement was signed between Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and France.

Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
After the Second Russian Civil War, the Czechoslovakian military was devastated due to heavy intervention. Germany began to seek more lands in Eastern Europe. In February 1941, Czechoslovakia dissolved herself because of the economic and military crisis near Sudetenland, the Slovak Republic was formed as a German client state and joined the Tripartite Pact in March. As a result of the Munich Agreement, the fate of Czechoslovakia was abandoned and cannot be intervened by the major western powers.

West Prussia Question and End of Polish alliances
After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Adolf Hitler continued to seek lost lands from the First World War, the former West Prussia was high on the Germans' list. The Fascist victory in the Russian Civil War ended the Anglo and Franco-Polish alliance as the powers failed their objectives and promises. Germany was prepared for total war in 1941 as the military grew stronger year after year. Without British and French involvements, Poland did not have strong allies to defend against the member of the Tripartite Pact.

West Prussia Ultimatum
In April 1941, the Tripartite Pact began to deploy troops on the Polish borders. East Prussia was filled with over 700,000 troops at the end of the month. On April 30, Adolf Hitler sent an ultimatum to annex former territories of West Prussia from the Polish Republic. Poland refused the ultimatum and went to war with Germany as the country believed Western powers would help and intervene.

Danzig Rebellion
After the Russian Wars period, Poland faced economic and diplomatic collapse. The Danzig Germans had been seeking unification with Germany and a rebellion was formed. In May 1941, the armed force had over 9,000 rebels, they were contacted by the Fuhrer to launch an offensive with the Wehrmacht in East Prussia.

Czech Declaration of War
On May 18, Czechia declared war on Germany and seized active military personnel in German Sudetenland. Two days later, the Russian, Ukrainian and Slovakian forces joined the invasion of Poland and declared war on Czechia, marking the beginning of the Invasion of Czechia.

Aftermath

 * German and Russian partition of Poland.
 * Beginning of the Holocaust in Poland.