September 6 Eastern Front, Poland The Polish government and high command leave Warsaw and order their forces to withdraw to the line of the Narew, Vistula, and San Rivers. Nazi troops make a dramatic advance that reaches beyond Lódz. They also seize Cracow in the south. September 7 Western Front, Germany France begins minor skirmishes across the border with Germany near Saarbrücken. Sea War, Atlantic Britain's first convoys sail across the Atlantic. The system is already operating on Britain's east coast to protect merchant ships from U-boat attacks. September 8 Eastern Front, Poland The German Tenth Army led by General Walter von Reichenau reaches the outskirts of Warsaw, the capital. General Wilhelm List's Fourteenth Army reaches the San River around Przemysl, while General Heinz Guderian's tank corps reaches the Bug River to the east of Warsaw. September 9 Eastern Front, Poland A Polish counterattack is launched by 10 divisions, which gather around Kutno under General Tadeuz Kutrzeba. The attack over the Bzura River against Germany's Eighth Army is the most effective Polish offensive of the campaign, but only achieves short-term success. September 10 Politics, Canada The government declares war on Germany. Western Front, France Major elements of the British Expeditionary Force, led by General Lord Gort, begin to land in France. Some 160,000 men and 24,000 vehicles arrive throughout the course of September.
prev | next |