On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked and invaded Poland. They attacked from the North, South, and West, as well as bombing some major cities.
The Germans used a tactic called Blitzkrieg, or "lightning war," which was done by using tanks and other vehicles to quickly surround and capture or kill Polish infantry. Though Poland had some of the most advanced modern weapons of the time, they simply didn't have enough, so Blitzkrieg worked devastatingly well. In addition to this, due largely to pressure from the French and British, saying that they would withhold aid if Poland mobilized its military, only about 1/3 of the Polish military was ready to defend against the Germans. This was probably because France and Britain weren't quite ready for war, either. However, on September 3, they did keep their obligations to Poland by declaring war on Germany.
The night before, Hitler had staged Poland by having Nazi agents perform a mock attack on a German radio station, dressed in Polish uniforms, and leaving dead concentration camp prisoners, also in Polish uniforms.
The Nazi army saw rapid success against the unprepared Polish military, smashing the through Polish ranks and isolating sections of the army. By September 8, the Nazi army had reached Poland's capital, Warsaw, and on the 9th, the battle of the Bzura began. This battle lasted until the 19th-22nd (depending on sources), when the Poles were defeated and fled to eastern Poland to await the aid of the Allies. However, the Allies gave limited aid, and the Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland beginning on the 17th rendered any plan of Polish defense obsolete. The Polish military then retreated to Romania, and the Germans and Soviets gained control of Poland, following the defeat of Warsaw on the 27th, and the surrender of Polish forces at the battle of Kock, on October 6.
Sources: Invasion of Poland | Wikipedia, Invasion of Poland | World War II Database
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