

The experience of World War One however, had left it with a defensive mentality that paralysed its potential effectiveness and engendered a reliance on the Maginot Line. The French Army was one of the largest in the world It also resulted in Soviet expulsion from the League of Nations. Eventually however the Finns were beaten into signing the Moscow Peace Treaty on 12 March 1940. The attempted Soviet invasion of Finland in November-December 1939 initially ended in comprehensive defeat It saw the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee scuttled in the River Plate estuary. This was the only action of the war to reach South America. Britain gained a morale-boosting victory in a naval engagement in Argentina on 17 December 1939 The RAF dropped propaganda literature over Germany, which was humorously referred to as ‘Mein Pamph’. British non-aggression at the start of the war was derided at home and abroad 45,000 ordinary Polish citizens were shot in cold blood during the initial German invasion. In the other direction, 50,000 Poles died fighting the Soviets, of whom only 996 perished, following their invasion on 16 September. Polish losses included 70,000 men killed, 133,000 wounded and 700,000 taken prisoner in the defence of the nation against Germany. Poland’s losses were overwhelming during the German invasion of September and October 1939

Two days after their invasion of Poland, his speech was followed by what would become the familiar sound of air raid sirens. Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany at 11:15 on 3 September 1939 Watch Nowīritain had guaranteed Polish sovereignty after Hitler flouted the Munich Agreement by annexing Czechoslovakia. They declared war on Germany on 3 September. With an unrivalled arrange of monuments - ranging from grand royal tombs to the grave of The Unknown Warrior - and spectacular architecture spanning nearly 1,000 years, join Dan Snow and Sir David Cannadine as they explore Britain's greatest church.
