# Why didn't the West confront the USSR when they invaded Poland?



## fuzzybuddy (Aug 10, 2020)

Since this is a military section, I'd like to ask a question that has bothered me since i was a kid. Hitler invaded Poland on Sept 1,1939. France and England declared war on Germany. We have WWII.  Yet the U.S.S.R. invaded Poland on Sept, 17, 1939, and nobody mentioned it. Why? I never understood why one invasion led to war, and two weeks later, nobody cared?


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## Pepper (Aug 10, 2020)

Because, I think, the Allies had to stick together and deal with Axis Powers and couldn't split that focus to deal with Poland, whom no one but Poles cared about anyway.  At the time, anyhow, Poland was culpable with the Nazis regarding their Jewish population.


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## RadishRose (Aug 10, 2020)

Good question.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland


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## 911 (Aug 12, 2020)

Pepper said:


> Because, I think, the Allies had to stick together and deal with Axis Powers and couldn't split that focus to deal with Poland, whom no one but Poles cared about anyway.  At the time, anyhow, Poland was culpable with the Nazis regarding their Jewish population.


I mostly agree. Had the U.S. committed another set of troops to deal with Germany in Poland, they would have had fewer troops available to fight the Germans to protect the allies. Thankfully the RAF aided taking care of the Germans.


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## Butterfly (Aug 13, 2020)

I imagine the Allies made the decision that it was more important to concentrate on the Germans rather than divide forces.


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## fmdog44 (Aug 13, 2020)

Was it when Stalin and Hitler were allies?


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## Butterfly (Aug 14, 2020)

I don't think they were ever actually "allies," but they did have a mutual non-aggression act for a while.   I think Russia joined the allies in 1941 when Germany invaded Russia.


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## fmdog44 (Aug 15, 2020)

Fascism and communism are natural enemies. Not sure why, both crush thought and freedoms.


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## DaveA (Aug 16, 2020)

I agree with you "fmdog44" but it's puzzling that in this country , presently, we have folks who want to "crush the commies" but embrace fascism with open arms.  And less often, the opposite is true.


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## fuzzybuddy (Aug 19, 2020)

To me, anyway, it seems strange to declare war on Germany for the invasion of Poland, But just a week later, the USSR does the same thing, and nobody mentions it?


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## Phoenix (Aug 22, 2020)

There are generally military conflicts all over the world at any given time.  It's the nature of brutality and human immaturity.   Right now it is also true.  How much can any one nation respond to?  Pretty soon the military forces are too scattered to be effective.


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## Pepper (Aug 22, 2020)

fuzzybuddy said:


> To me, anyway, it seems strange to declare war on Germany for the invasion of Poland, But just a week later, the USSR does the same thing, and nobody mentions it?


Gosh, don't you remember how Hitler had a bit more in mind?


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## Oris Borloff (Aug 22, 2020)

Interesting question, but it doesn't pertain to the US at all.  The US was officially neutral until Dec of '41.   Perhaps someone who went to school in the UK could answer whether it is mentioned in their history classes.


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## jerry old (Aug 22, 2020)

Stalin knew Russia was on Hilter's list of countries to invade.
(Remember Mein Kamph was Hitler's blueprint.  He has ever intention of conquering every nation that was EAST of Germany for Living Space for the greater Reich.
Russia was east of Germany!

Stalin tried to get an alliance with democratic countries (especially Britain) but they wanted no ties to a communist country.  Therefore, he had to 'sleep with the devil.'
The Russians and Germans signed a non-aggression pact, they also planned to
invade and divide Poland.

(Stalin was trying to buy time.  He had liquidated the cream of the Russian Military in one of his insane purges.  He was playing for time to strengthen Russian forces and
to get the Russian Armies leadership rolls back to normal.)
Russia felt Hitler would invade Russia in late 1942 or early 1943.

Russia was totally unprepared for Germany's invasion in June-1942.
Germany wanted Russia out of the picture  while they conquered Poland-an
agreement to divide  Poland did the trick.
It is the story of two insane leaders, Hitler trying to conquer Russia, Stalin trying
to hang on until the Asiatic troops were trained and transported.   .

The allies declaration of war was merely words.  The logistical problem of getting
troops to Poland was untenable.  They could not even stop Hitler from conquering
France.

Russia read Mein Kamph and believe it; the western nations read it felt it was the
raving of a mad man and would never happen.

Honest folks, it was in black and white, the guy was nuts but he wanted to
conquer all nations to the East of Germany.

What was to become the allies hoped Germany would invade Russia= Russia
would join the allies (not formed yet).
Russia bore the brunt of Germany's war machine.  They still remember Germany and
the atrocities.  
We could have won WW II without Russia-maybe, more than likely we
would have settled for some type of treaty. The cost in dead would have been too high, until we developed the A-bomb.


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## drifter (Sep 17, 2020)

At that time the American people didn't want anything to do with Europe's wars. We didn't want to get involved. We were trying to come out of a depression and war was the furtherest thing on our minds. That's the prime reason we didn't intervene.


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## fmdog44 (Sep 17, 2020)

Germany chose to stop the campaign against Great Britain to try to conquer Russia. Thinking it would go quickly the Germans were not supplied to withstand the coldest winter in many decades in Russia. Once the Germans capitulated the Russians starved the POWs to death and only a relative handful made it back to Germany.


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## jerry old (Sep 17, 2020)

Hitler flubbed any invasion of Great Britain because:

1. Germany had few beach landing craft,  those they had were inadequate

2.  The vast number of British ships in  the British navy made any landing attempt foolish, unless:
the Germans could establish  total air superiority to support any plans of invading England.
(This would counter the Royal Navy.)

3a. Had  Germany stayed with their plan to destroy the RAF  by wiping out the radar stations and airfields
the results may have been different.  This would have giving them air superiority  which was require for any invasion of Britain.

3b  When the Brits bombed a German City, Hitler's Rage of this  unbearable insult required him to  switch his target
from the RAF to London.
  You know the Brits won the Blitz. barely, but they rendered Hitler  with insufficient aircraft
to precede with any invasion of Britain.

Hitler may still have invaded Britian, but it would have been very chancy.

Hitler's compulsion had always been to  invade the east-Russia.  This was his original intention.  The invasion of Britian
while desirable was not on his 'lust list'.

Hitler was so involved with his desire to 'go east,' his failure to invade Britain is puzzling.

Some believe Hitler felt the Brits were 'the equal of German's racily' (Remembering Hitler's crazed racial theories)
Dunkirk, even though Hitler delayed, had could have destroyed the British Army, had he desired-very peculiar.

So Hitler turned east, you know that story.
.


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