Fall Weiss (1939)

See also Fall Weiss (1942)

Fall Weiss (German spelling Fall Weiß) was a German strategic plan for a war with Poland prepared before 1939 and put into action on 1 September 1939.

Plan details

The plan called for start of hostilities before the declaration of war and to pursue the Blitzkrieg doctrine of lightning war. German units were to invade Poland from three directions:

• main attack from Germany mainland through western Polish border
• second route of attack from northern Prusy area
• tertiary attack by German and allied Slovak units from the territory of Slovakia

All three assaults were to converge on Warsaw, while the main Polish army were to be encircled and destroyed west of the Vistula.

Fall Weiss was initiated on 1 September of 1939, and was the first operation of the Second World War.

Similar plans

Alongside of Fall Weiss ("Case White") German strategists prepared other variants of the plan:

• Fall Gelb ("Case Yellow") (1940) - German offensive against western Europe
• Fall Grün ("Case Green") (1938) - the German invasion of Czechoslovakia
• Fall Grün 2 - (1940) - the German plan to invade Ireland
• Fall Rot ("Case Red") (1935) - German defense plan in case of an incursion by France when Czechoslovakia is invaded

See also

• List of operations and projects (military and non-military)
• Polish September Campaign
• German order of battle for Operation Fall Weiss