Hitler’s Attacks That Ignited WW2

On 26 August 1939, Hitler planned his Blitzkrieg against Poland, advancing through the Jablonków Pass to capture Warsaw. A key part of the strategy involved seizing the tunnel and station at Mosty on the Košice-Bohumín railway to prevent Polish resistance. Late on 25 August, a German Abwehr unit, disguised in civilian clothing, crossed the border and reached Mosty by 04:00 on 26 August. Their mission was to secure the tunnel for the 7th Infantry Division nearby. However, Hitler postponed the invasion after Britain signed a defence pact with Poland. Anticipating the tunnel's strategic importance, the Poles rigged it with explosives and maintained strong communications. A skirmish ensued, forcing the Germans to retreat, alerting Poland to the impending invasion. Determined, Hitler rescheduled the attack for 1 September. To justify the invasion, German operatives staged a "false flag" attack on the Gleiwitz radio station on 31 August, broadcasting an anti-German message in Polish and leaving dead bodies—prisoners from Dachau—in Polish uniforms as evidence. This was part of Operation Himmler, a series of staged provocations. At dawn on 1 September, German tanks entered Poland. By 3 September, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the start of the Second World War. Hitler’s Attacks That Ignited WW2 explores these events through eyewitness accounts, documents, and photographs.