Introduction

Imagine a world where Britain, France, or any country decided to declare war on Nazi Germany upon their invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. How might that have altered the course of the Second World War? Would it have made a significant difference? This article explores the potential impacts of such a scenario and sheds light on the missed opportunities.

The Immediate Context

On September 29, 1939, General Edmund Ironside, the inspector-general of all overseas British forces, noted in his diary: “Militarily we should have gone all out against the Germans the minute he invaded Poland… We did not because we thought completely defensively of ourselves. We had to subordinate our strategy to that of the French… We missed a great opportunity.”

This comment was made while the Polish resistance was coming to an end, and the Allies waited for the Germans to initiate hostilities, which would give them an advantage. The inaction of the Allies, known as the "Phoney War," lasted from September 1939 to May 1940, during which the Germans were allowed to regroup and prepare for the invasion of Western Europe.

The French's Role in the War

The French crossed the Saar River on September 7, 1939, but the Germans remained passive. They did not return French artillery fire, instead placing signs over their dug-in positions stating that they did not wish to fight. Ultimately, the French units withdrew. On October 18, 1939, Goebbels commented in his diary: “The French withdrawal is more than astonishing; it is completely incomprehensible.”

Air Marshal Dowding, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Air Force's Fighter Command, also wrote to a friend, “Why do we behave like helpless mice in the face of an invasion of rats and how much better might we behave if we simply devastated large German military establishments at their very front door.”

The Strategic Impact

During the Polish campaign, Field-Marshal Jodl declared at the Nuremberg Tribunal in November 1945: “If we did not collapse already in 1939, that was due only to the fact that during the Polish campaign, approximately 110 French and British divisions in the West were completely inactive against the 23 German divisions.”

Field-Marshal Wilhelm Keitel also commented: “We soldiers had always expected an attack by the French during the Polish campaign, were very surprised when nothing happened… A French attack would have encountered only a German military screen not a real defense.”

Theoretical Possibilities of a Deeper Engagement

The German worst-case scenario for a French attack might have been the following: there were no German panzer divisions in the West, with 2300 tanks. The French, with their superior forces, might have crossed the Rhine, entered Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr, and posed a significant political and military threat to the Germans.

While the exact possibilities remain hypothetical, it is clear that a deeper engagement by France could have strengthened the Allied cause at an early stage in a war that would last for more than five destructive years.

Conclusion

The missed opportunity of a more active Allied response in 1939 remains a poignant reminder of the strategic importance of timely and decisive action. It underscores the critical moment that could have altered the course of the Second World War.

Further Reading

For those interested in learning more about this period, the following books are highly recommended: