Author(s): John Christopher

History

Seventy-five years ago, on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. With political agreements in place to come to Poland's aid, Britain and France both declared war on Germany within two days. It was the start of a conflict that would erupt over every continent, see the deaths of tens of millions of people, much of central Europe destroyed, the development of jets, intercontinental missiles, computers as well as the Atomic Bomb. 1939, in particular, saw the sinking of the passenger ship Athenia on the first day of the war, the evacuation of children from Britain's population centres, the daring attack by U-49 on the Royal Oak at Scapa Flow, air raids on Wilhelmhaven and on Shetland and the Forth Bridge, It also saw the development of the Blitzkreig tactics that were to prove so successful in France in 1940.