Chapter XVI: Fall Weiss/Fall Grün
With the recent incursion carried out by Czechoslovak commands in Germany, it was clear that the Allies sought to force Germany into a new European war, and apparently they considered the Reich unprepared to cope with a conflict on three different fronts at once. However, this impression was due to the effective work of the Abwehr counterintelligence services, who managed to conceal the true potential of the Wehrmacht. In fact, OKH had actually been planning such conflict for months, and all was ready for a victorious campaign in the East.
The Wehrmacht was ready to invade Poland
The war would begin with operation Fall Weiss, the invasion of Polish territory which aimed to break any allied resistance in the East and to regain the Polish territories claimed by Germany. According to High Command, German troops would be able to enter Warsaw in just two weeks, a prevision that some Old Guard Generals regarded as fanciful and impossible. Once assured the control of all Polish territory, the Army would launch Fall Grün, a massive attack against Prague with full air support by the Luftwaffe. Meanwhile, the Western Front should contain any attacks coming from the French frontlines, but OKH even considered that there was the possibility that the French succeed in capturing some German province due to their numerical superiority; however, such situation would be addressed once the Eastern troops could be replaced in the bordering provinces.
Eastern and Western fronts prior to the start of war
Once the war was officially declared, advance orders arrived to the different Army Corps, and without delay the invasion of Poland started on schedule. Guderian's tactics proved to be completely effective, and while the infantry eliminated any focus of resistance all around the Polish border, the fast motorized divisions and the invincible Panzers advanced behind their lines, cutting the enemy from supplies and capturing city after city . In just four days, German troops were at the gates of Warsaw, while the Polish generals watched in despair as his retreating troops were bombed by the Luftwaffe or captured upon reaching his destination, already occupied by the Wehrmacht.
In just four days, Warsaw was surrounded
For its part, the French were behaving as expected, and General von Rundstedt was called urgently to direct all defensive operations in Saarbrucken, where the Abwehr anticipated that the Allies would focus their war effort. German Intelligence was right once more, as the French carried out a massive assault against German territory that was answered with a strong defense and a series of diversionary attacks against Strasbourg. The fight lasted almost a week in which von Rundstedt's troops demonstrate their value and would not give up a single inch of terrain to the enemy. The French folly would cost the lives of more than 110,000 soldiers, although 60,000 German heroes would not return to their homes.
The French were defated after severe losses from both contendants
In Poland, the bewildered Polish troops were unable to stop the German advance, and the Wehrmacht captured Krakow on September 10th as the final assault on Warsaw started. With the invaluable support of the Luftwaffe, the German infantry began the decisive attack on Warsaw, where the weak enemy resistance was broken after four days of intense combat. Once the Polish capital was captured, Marshall Józef Piłsudski unconditionally surrendered to Marshal von Blomberg, who watched with joy how a big part of the Czechoslovak Army was taken prisoner while being transported by train to defend their Polish ally.
In just 14 days, the Wehrmacht destroyed the Polish Army
Wasting no time, the victorious troops were transported to the Sudetenland, and while the undefended Bratislava was easily captured by Student´s paratroopers and the Romanians seized several towns in the east of Czechoslovakia, the Wehrmacht started to plan the capture of the Czech capital. The Czechs had displaced more than 200,000 men for the defense of their capital, but days of heavy bombardment weakened them and allowed the capture of Plzen and other nearby towns. This fight would be a lot harder than the one carried out in Poland, but eventually the German tanks entered Prague and forced the Czech government to capitulate and order all troops to surrender.
The Czech treason would not remain unpunished
In less than a month, the German war machine had eliminated all resistance in the east, and the western world's newspapers questioned whether Germany could be defeated. For his part, Stalin sent a telegram congratulating President Crispien, and after some brief negotiations Germany and the Soviet Union put an end to the Versailles Poland and regained the territories seized by the Allies after the Great War. For their part, members of the National Slovak Assembly and some Czech representatives contacted the chancellor, and while he promised that "Germany would carefully consider the need for a Slovak state to protect the Slovak nationals in the zone", at the same time he stated that "the Reich would not forget betrayals and would never allow the existence of another false and misleading Czech state."
German troops parading in Prague
Under pressure from politicians and the press, the French generals launched an assault against Freiburg, the weakest spot in the German frontline. After several days of intense fighting, High Command ordered the troops to retreat to the nearby cities, allowing the French to occupy Freiburg. Part of High Command disagreed with this decision, but both Guderian and von Bock were convinced that the French, who still operated with the tactics and concepts of the previous war, would end up overextending their lines and walking towards their own destruction. Worse news came from the air, where U.S. planes knocked down several German aircraft and forced the Luftwaffe to abandon their positions and seek shelter in nearby bases.
Members of the Légion étrangère after the capture of Freiburg
[h=3][/h]Using the new logistics system, the Wehrmacht had now the complex task of repositioning the troops that had participated in the eastern campaign, but contrary to what the British intelligence thought, these troops and aircraft would not be redeployed to the Maginot Line. Operation Fall Gelb was being planned.
Manstein´s plan for Fall Gelb