Scientific Journal of the Military University of Land Forces (Sep 2020)
Evaluation of the correctness of the German military intelligence’s findings concerning armament and equipment of the Polish Army in 1939. Part II. Aviation, Navy, radio communication, means of transport and logistics of the Polish Army
Abstract
The presented article constitutes the second part of the publication and is devoted to the current knowledge of the German military intelligence concerning the armament and equipment of land forces, Navy, radio communication, means of transport and logistics of the Polish Army in 1939. The article also attempts to assess the correctness of these findings. The presented article is one of several articles written by the author to present the knowledge of German military intelligence about the Polish Army in 1939, together with the assessment of the correctness of these findings. The article is based on archival materials of the 12th Foreign Armies East Intelligence Section of the General Staff of the High Command of the Land Forces of 1939, which developed synthetic elaborations for the top military commanders of the German army, based on the analysis and collective materials from the individual Abwehstelle. For years, the documents analysed were classified and delivered exclusively to the top commanders of the German army and Hitler’s Chancellery. At present, they are entirely non-confidential and available to researchers at the Bundesarchiv-Militaerarchiv in Freiburg. Copies of parts of these documents, in the form of microfilms, can be found, among others, in the Archive of New Files in Warsaw. According to the author, working out both – the Polish aviation and fleet – was carried out at a high and correct level. Nevertheless, it does not mean that no mistakes were made, even very serious – for example as regards the assessment of the number of submarines. The greatest negligence of the German Military Intelligence’s findings on armament and equipment of the Polish Army concerns the equipment of signal corps. As the German Intelligence overlooked modernisation of communication equipment which took place in the years 1937-1939, there was no knowledge of, among the other things, the “N” type radio stations, which were used in almost every regiment. Scarcity of the Polish Army equipment as regards mechanical means of transport was well known. The shortages in the above scope were enormous. What is interesting, is the fact that logistics of the Polish Army was completely overlooked by the German Intelligence. It should be assumed that the German Military Intelligence’s figuring out of armament and equipment of the Polish Army was carried out on a high and correct level. Nevertheless, it does not mean that all the findings were appropriate and true. The accuracy of the correctness of the German Military Intelligence’s findings concerning figuring out of organisation and composition of the Polish Army, and dislocation of the Polish units in time of peace, should also be highly assessed. Nevertheless, the Intelligence’s findings, as regards signal mobilization process, figuring out the mobilization and operational plans of the Polish Army and organisation and the composition of the Polish Army during war should be evaluated differently. It results from the fact that the German Intelligence was not aware of, among the other things: number of divisions Poland would engage at war, names and composition of the Polish military units, very strong reserve of the High Commander, as well as it was not able to localize the Polish divisions developed over the borders just before the outbreak of war. Knowledge of the Polish economy was also on a very basic level. Therefore, the aforementioned negligence in the German Military Intelligence’s findings on the Polish Army and Poland itself during the period directly preceding the war, should be regarded as major. Taking the above into consideration, the conclusion is that the German agency did not exist among the people holding high positions in the Polish Army; in the Central Staff, General Inspector of Training, Corps District Commands. Nevertheless, the overall view of the Polish Army recorded by the German Military Intelligence was correct. It was noticed that the army is weak, poorly equipped and badly managed and it would not be able to fight the enemy. It was a correct assessment.
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