JOHN GREHAN has written, edited or contributed to more than 300 books and magazine articles covering a wide span of military history from the Iron Age to the recent conflict in Afghanistan.
Meer over John GrehanOn 26 August 1939, Hitler planned his Blitzkrieg against Poland, advancing through the Jabłonków 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.