Poland

Flags 1939–1945

1. …1939
   Republic of Poland
2. 1939-10-06
   Republic of Polandgovernment in exile
3. 1945-01-17
   Republic of PolandProvisional Government (Warsaw) / government in exile (London)
4. simplified version (without arms)

Course of events

1. 23 August 1939

   Allies

   Allied with Britain and France; attacked by Germany on 1 Sept 1939.

2. 6 October 1939

   Occupied by the Axis

   Divided between German and Soviet occupation (Soviet zone annexed; taken by Germany in 1941). Government in exile in France, then London; Polish forces fought on in the West.

3. 17 January 1945

   Liberated

   Red Army took Warsaw on 17 Jan 1945; fighting in Pomerania and Silesia until spring. Soviet-backed government; eastern territories annexed by the USSR.

Events involving this country

• 1 Sept 1939Invasion of Poland (September Campaign)
• 1 Sept 1939Battle of Westerplatte
• 3 Sept 1939Britain and France declare war on Germany
• 3 Sept 1939Battle of the Atlantic
• 9 Sept 1939Battle of the Bzura
• 17 Sept 1939Soviet invasion of Poland
• 3 Apr 1940Katyn massacre
• 9 Apr 1940German invasion of Denmark and Norway (Operation Weserübung)
• 9 Apr 1940Battles of Narvik
• 10 May 1940Battle of France
• 10 Jul 1940Battle of Britain
• 10 Apr 1941Siege of Tobruk
• 18 Nov 1941Operation Crusader
• 17 Mar 1942Operation Reinhard — extermination camps begin operating
• 9 Feb 1943Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
• 19 Apr 1943Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
• 2 Aug 1943Treblinka prisoner revolt
• 28 Nov 1943Tehran Conference
• 17 Jan 1944Battle of Monte Cassino
• 6 Jun 1944Normandy landings and Operation Overlord
• 22 Jun 1944Operation Bagration
• 13 Jul 1944Lvov–Sandomierz offensive
• 1 Aug 1944Warsaw Uprising
• 12 Aug 1944Falaise pocket
• 17 Sept 1944Operation Market Garden
• 2 Oct 1944Battle of the Scheldt
• 12 Jan 1945Vistula–Oder offensive
• 27 Jan 1945Liberation of Auschwitz
• 4 Feb 1945Yalta Conference
• 16 Apr 1945Battle of Berlin
• 17 Jul 1945Potsdam Conference