[Wikipedia] Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)

[Faraaz Damji]

   The Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 was a military operation that
   started on September 17, 1939, during the early stages of World War
   II, sixteen days after the Nazi German attack on Poland.  It ended in a
   decisive victory for the Soviet Union's Red Army.  On August 23, the
   Soviets signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany, and on 1
   September, the Germans invaded Poland from the west.  The Red Army
   invaded Poland from the east on 17 September after several calls by
   Germany to do so.  The Soviet government announced that it was acting
   to protect the Ukrainians and Belarusians who lived in the eastern
   part of Poland, claiming that the Polish state had collapsed in the
   face of the German attack and could no longer guarantee the security
   of its own citizens.  The Red Army quickly achieved its targets,
   meeting only light Polish resistance.  6,000 to 7,000 Polish soldiers
   died in the fighting, and 230,000 or more were taken prisoners of war.
   The Soviet government annexed the territory newly under its control
   and in November declared that the 13.5 million Polish citizens who
   lived there were now Soviet citizens.  The Soviets quelled opposition
   by executing and arresting thousands.  During the existence of the
   People's Republic of Poland, the invasion was considered a delicate
   subject, almost taboo, and was often omitted from official history in
   order to preserve the illusion of "eternal friendship" between members
   of the Eastern Bloc.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland_%281939%29


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Today's selected anniversaries:

1862:
   American Civil War: Almost 23,000 total casualties were suffered at
   the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, where Confederate
   and Union troops fought to a tactical stalemate.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Antietam)

1894:
   The Imperial Japanese Navy defeated the Beiyang Fleet of Qing China
   in the Battle of the Yalu River at the mouth of the Yalu River in
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   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Yalu_River_%281894%29)

1916:
   World War I: "The Red Baron", a flying ace of the German
   Luftstreitkräfte, won his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen)

1978:
   President Anwar Al Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin
   of Israel (pictured with U.S. President Jimmy Carter) signed the Camp
   David Accords after twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords)

2001:
   The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened for the first time after the
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   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average)


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Wiktionary's Word of the day:

   diphthong: (phonetics): A complex vowel sound that begins with the
   sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel.
   (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diphthong)


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Wikiquote of the day:

   You don't lead by pointing and telling people some place to go.  You
   lead by going to that place and making a case.  -- Ken Kesey

   (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Kesey)