At precisely 04:45 on the 1st of September 1939, without a declaration of war, German troops crossed the polish frontier. For months before, the Nazis had been waging a successful and brilliantly orchestrated propaganda war, preparing the German population on both sides of the border for the upcoming conflict. By September 3rd, the German IV Army reached the outskirts of Bydgoszcz in the contested Polish Corridor. While the Polish 15th Division of the Pomorze Army put up a stiff resistance outside the city, the German civil population in the city staged a coup with the intention of handing the city over to the Wehrmacht. With the Polish Army occupied outside the city, the Germans expected an easy coup.
Attacker: German (Bromberg Volksdueutsche Freikorps (Armed German Civilians))
Defender: Polish (15th Infantry Division Transport and Supply Unit, PomorzeArmy; Bydgoszcz Civil Defense Committe and Obrona Narodowa (Armed Polish Civilians))
