Did Hitler think that taking over Poland

[raccoon]

Did Hitler think that taking over Poland would be as easy as Austria and Czechoslovakia had been?

[bearsfootball516]

1. Didn't he basically cruise though Poland?

[unblock]

4. It took about 6 weeks, though Stalin took the other half.

[Snackshack]

2. Doubtful.

However it did turn out to fairly easy and clearly accomplished his goal at the time.

[unblock]

3. No. Poland clearly objected

Austria effectively invited hitler in. Czechoslovakia was then extremely weak and Poland even was able to grab a piece.

Poland was no match for the Nazi war machine, but far stronger than Czechoslovakia.

[Sherman A1]

7. Precisely

Poland as mentioned up thread take 6 weeks and while no match for the German Army, didn't go down without a fight.

[Va Lefty]

5. He didn't think England and France would go to war over Poland

[sarisataka]

6. He did not believe

England and France would go to war for the Poles

It was a forgone conclusion German had the ability to defeat Poland, as long as no one interfered. The Pact with the Soviets secured the Eastern side

[thucythucy]

8. Hitler may have thought it was going to be easy

but I think most of the rest of the world was shocked by how quickly it happened.

This was the first ever instance of "blitzkrieg"--using formations of massed tanks, together with tactical air support--to punch through and overwhelm enemy defenses. I think most military experts in the West, while they didn't think Poland would hold out indefinitely, expected it to take longer.