THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 7, 1939
GERMAN BOMBS OVER POLAND
Impressions Of An Airman Witness-
By Lt. Colonel Sigismond Wojcle- chowski, of the General Polish Air
Staff.
THE first onslaught of the Ger- man aviation against Poland be- gan on September 1st. On that day, at dawn, without a declaration of war or any kind of notification of hostilities, Marshal Goering, Chief of the Gerinan Aviation, launched on the Polish front some 400 bom- bers and pursuers of various types, such as Heinkel II, DO 17, Junkers 86, Messerschmidt 109 and 110 and Heinkel 45.
The German planes arrived from all sides from the various bases near the frontier. The weather was favourable for aggression-a clear sky-some clouds at a height of from 1000 to 1500 meters.
Having launched this considerable air force in a single day, the Ger- mans were in a position to bombard simultaneously certain objectives selected in advance. The first bombs had hardly touched Warsaw when news of the enemy attacks arrived from various districts of the coun- try.
The German planes emerged in small groups, generally 3, 6 or 9, but they also appeared in a large number, 35, 28 or 30. The largest group noted on the first day of the war over Warsaw counted 30 bom- bers and 15 ̊ pursuers,
the
aviator, vainly trying to gain railway, cast a bomb upon a small cottage and killed seven persons in a shop.
At Warsaw, the air war of nerves was conducted at a more rapid pace. The German planes appear at intervals of one hour and a half, generally at a high altitude.
The inhabitants of the Polish capi- tal were in a position to see a ter- rible fight in the air, since the Polish air forces endeavoured to repulse the aggressors.
Lt. Colonel Pamula, the wellknown air acrobat, alone on his plane, at- tacked an enemy Messerschmidt. Unfortunately, he soon exhausted his bombs, and his enemy crashed a section of his wings,
This brilliant officer, knowing that the Germans have the unchevaleres- que habit of finishing those who descend by parachute, made a turn- ing descent in his burning plane and jumped off at the last moment. He was transported to a hospital seriously affected by his burns.
On that day, Poland's losses amounted to 8 planes, while the Germans lost 32 bombers and pur- suers, At one single point, the Oke- cie airport near Warsaw, the Polish air defence shot down 2 Heinkel planes.
During the second day of the The Germans allege that the ob- German-Polish war, Marshal Goer- ject of their planes was to destroying's fliers reaped their laurels by military objectives, mainly airports bombing the evacuation trains and and the planes therein sheltered. the civilian population. Near Brom- But the fact is that the Germansberg, these heroes bombarded an have a very special conception of what is generally known as a milit-. ary objective.
From the very first day of the war, they bombarded a children's hospital near Otwock in the vicinity of Warsaw where there was no military objective of
kind. any Twelve children were the victims of this attack.
The German bombs were of var- ious types and calibres. They were of 50, 100 and even 200 kgs. They also employed incendiary bombs and low-firing machine-guns. They en- deavoured to destroy the lines of communication with the frontal zones, but also bombarded the towns in the interior of the country,
The constant chasse-croise of the German planes over Poland convey- ed the impression of an infernal dance; the enemy planes, after cast- ing their charge of bombs, returned to their bases and were soon placed by others.
re-
The attacks succeeded each other at intervals of about two hours, un- til twilight. But the Polish anti-ai defence and pursuers stood their ground. On the first day of the war, the Polish aviation shot down 36 German planes.
Poland, during the same time, lost 12 planes. The story of a Polish pilot who, having exhausted his re- serve of bombs, dived on to the enemy plane and crashed it, perish- ing with it in the flames, will re- main graven in our history.
The first day's response of the Polish artillery and air force is of a nature to make. the Germans re- flect. On the next day, that is, September 2nd, after a calm night, the German fliers pursued their at tacks from a great height (5000 meters) in order to avoid the action of the Polish anti-alr defence. This is why the damage was less effective as regards the military objectives and made more victims among the civilian population. At Grodzisk, near Warsaw, a bomb destroyed the war memorial of 1920 near the Town Hall. At Gelestynow, a. German
ordinary civilian train composed of families of officers and officials which were being evacuated from the city. There were 47 victims, 17 killed and 30 wounded,
What is characteristic is that the German air crews are mainly com- posed of young men aged from 18 to 19 years. This has been noted several times in respect of the planes that have been shot down. One of the German bombers was forced to land in the Hozer Garden at Warsaw.
The crew was taken prisoner. They were quite young men and it was quite clear that they had been forced to absorb drugs or alcohol. A similar case was observed near Brzesc where an enemy crew after a forced landing, tried to resist. The pilots were disarmed. In fact, they were drunk.
A striking testimony of the cruelty and the disloyalty of the German airmen is the incident that took place near Plonsk north of Warsaw on September 2nd. A plane flew over a little village with the distinctive insignia of a Polish apparatus. It was flying low, as if it sought to land. The inhabitants, who were quite capable of distinguishing the Polish emblems from those of the enemy, rushed out on to the road to show the pilot the best landing ground and acclaimed him.
The crew first made friendly ges- tures, but soon the machine flew still lower. The population, which had crowded on to the road, was decimated by the machine guns.
This is not an isolated case in which the enemy, disguising himself under the colours of the adversary, has impudently violated every known convention. In their war against Poland, the Germans resorted to the most inhuman methods. From the very first days the German aviators launched parachutists in our lines who were instructed to destroy the communications and to direct the attacks of the enemy. But the Poles were fully capable of seizing agents of the enemy. This being the case, the Germans dis- guised them as Polish soldiers.
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