The Soviet Invasion of Poland (1939) – Stalin's Overlooked Campaign at the Start of World War II

The Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland on September 17, 1939 (Agresja ZSRR na Polskę / Польский поход Красной армии) occurred while Poland was already reeling from the German invasion (started on September 1, 1939). The Soviet invasion was justified under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a secret non-aggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union that also included a clause dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.
Approximately 450,000 Soviet troops from the Belarusian and Ukrainian Fronts participated in the operation, supported by about 5,000 tanks and other mechanized units. The invasion was well-coordinated and overwhelming for the already weakened Polish defenders. The Polish Army, already exhausted from weeks of fighting the Germans, had only a few units stationed in the east to defend against a Soviet threat. Some units tried to withdraw toward Romania and Hungary, but were caught between the advancing Germans and Soviets.
Notable battles and clashes were the Battle of Grodno, the Defense of Wilno and the Siege of Lwów. Many Polish units, trapped between the Germans and the Soviets, opted to retreat to neutral Romania or Hungary. The Soviet forces quickly took control of key cities and infrastructure, facing relatively limited organized resistance. By early October 1939, the entirety of eastern Poland had fallen under Soviet control.
History Hustle presents: The Soviet Invasion of Poland (1939) – Stalin's Overlooked Campaign at the Start of World War II.

SOURCES
– The Red Army and the Second World War (Alexander Hill).
– Ivan's War. The Red Army, 1939 – 45 (Catherine Merridale).
– First to Fight, The Polish War, 1939 (Roger Moorhouse).
– Russia's War (Richard Overy).
– Katyn and the Soviet M***acre of 1940: Truth, Justice and Memory (George Sanford).
– Bloodlands (Timothy Snyder).

IMAGES

VIDEO
Video material from:
INVASION OF POLAND IN 1939 BY GERMAN ARMY
Western Ukraine Liberated by Red Army 1939 (1/8)
Western Ukraine Liberated by Red Army 1939 (2/8)
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MUSIC
"Constancy Part One"
"Division"
"The Descent"
"Crossing the Chasm"
"New Order"
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SOUNDS

E-MAIL

[gumdeo]

Stalin was still bitter about his loss to the Poles in the Polish–Soviet War and vowed revenge...

[IvoVandenReek]

Cool, waited for this video a long time.

[royale]

Missed opportunity to talk about the joint German-Soviet parade at Bret Livotsk

[jokodihaynes]

Poland was betrayed three times to this day they still hold a grudge about what happened during the Warsaw uprising and after the war

[jokodihaynes]

"But the thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies"-Lawkeeper Equity Mlp Ace Attorney EOJ

[kajusbajus]

Remember it is the winner who writes history.

[Ludwig_Cox]

Fantastic video, one of my favorite history channels on youtube. Love all the source material in the description. Now a video on the Polish-Soviet war!

[joethegeographer]

It's hard to believe that the Soviet invasion of 17 September 1939, which led directly to the massacre of at least 20, 000 Polish officers in 1940, did not result in war between the USSR and Great Britain. It really demonstrates the accuracy of the old saying, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

[StudSupreme]

Notice how the soviet attack was 1/10 scale of their full standard array of forces? This is because the invasion of Poland was a 'dry run.' Their longer term goal was the conquest of europe, starting either in July 1941 or early 1942, which would involve the entire complement of the Soviet armed forces, supplemented by a full callup of reserves, which would have given the Red Army an effective strength of about 9M troops, 50k-60k tanks, and a quite ridiculous number of aircraft.

[Hillbilly]

Another excellent video Stefan. Cheers from Tennessee

[henrikg]

France and Britain guaranteed Polish independence. So when Germany attacked western Poland on the 1st of September, they declared war on Germany. When USSR attacked Eastern Poland on the 17th of September there was no war declaration on the USSR. Please explain that to me. It just doesn't add up.

And just to be clear. At that point in time, the Soviet Union had executed a full genocide of millions. The Nazis hadn't even gotten started. So if this was for humanitarian reasons, it makes no sense.

[jokodihaynes]

"Trust is a very fragile thing it takes years to build seconds to break an eternity to repair that betrayal can last a lifetime"-Lawkeeper Equity Mlp Ace Attorney EOJ

[VIS]

You forgot that on September 1, together with the Germans, the Slovak army also attacked Poland. To sum up, in September 1939 Poland had to fight three invaders at once!

[jasse]

Thank You so much for another great (historical) episode.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[stoeremannenpraat]

Top! Check je snel weer in de podcast! ❤

[browngreen]

The war began because Poland was invaded. Yet one of the invaders - namely the Russians - stood against Germany at the Nuremberg Trials. Makes no sense. Russia should have been on trial too.

[Canpatriot]

Excellent content. I enjoy your detailed, well researched information on lesser known military campaigns of the Second World War.

[Nacjo_Farmer]

Thank you for this film! I have always wondered what would have happened if Poland in 1939 had to oppose only the USSR. All of our army modernization was prepared for the Eastern Front. For example, the very existence of the fleet was to block the Gulf of Finland and not, as people thought after the war - to fight the Kriegsmarine. We probably would have lost anyway, but with over a million men under arms and quite a decent number (compared to Finland at the time, for example) of air force, cavalry and anti-tank defense, we could have inflicted heavy losses on the USSR.

[bigsarge]

Fascinating deep dive! This topic isn't usually covered in depth in American history courses.

[tonnywildweasel]

Een Hustle op de valreep !! Fijne jaarwisseling Stefan, en een super 2025 toegewenst !!
👋 oet Grun', TW.