Polish 7TP Light Tank

Germany opened the Second World War when it invaded Poland in September of 1939. Though the Wermacht subsequently crushed Poland in a matter of weeks, what is often forgotten is that the Poles fought hard. It actually took 17 days before the Germans conclusively defeated them. Even then the Germans took ten more days to conquer Warsaw. The Poles actually held out longer than it took the Germans in May of 1940 to break the French Army's back and drive the British Expeditionary Force from Europe. Had the British and French seriously challenged the western German border in September 1939 the Wermacht may have been dangerously overstretched or worse. Regardless, the Allies left Poland to fight alone. Poland alone against Germany however did not necessarily represent a German cakewalk.

In August 1939, Poland possessed a population comparable to France. Moreover, its army included 30 infantry divisions, 11 cavalry brigades, part of the century's old Polish tradition of mounted excellence on the battlefield, and two armored brigades. All told over one million men strong when mobilized. Though obsolete tankettes served as the dominant Polish armored fighting vehicle of the day, the Poles also had small numbers of 7TP Light Tanks. Moreover, the 7TP was, in terms of hitting power, the equal of its German foes. Well armed with a Bofors Wz. 37mm L/45 cannon, the nearly ten ton 7TP could easily destroy the Panzer Is and IIs that mostly equipped Germany's panzer divisions. Nevertheless, the Poles, with a small industrial base, could field hardly enough of these well armed tanks.


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