Chapter 6 Chapter II Strategic Situation

The following three factors were decisive for the strategic situation in the Polish campaign. (1) The only condition for the superiority of German forces is that the German authorities are prepared to accept considerable risks in the west in order to be able to concentrate the main force against Poland. (2) Geographical conditions enabled the German army to encircle and annihilate the Polish army with pincer movements from East Prussia, Silesia, and Slovakia respectively. (3) From the very beginning, Russia in the Polish rear had always posed a potential threat.