On September 17th, the [[Soviet Union]] invaded Poland. [[Stalin]] had secured a ceasefire with Japan over the Khalkhin Gol incidents, allowing him to follow up on his promise to invade Poland from the east, as per the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]]. The combined weight of German and Soviet forces sealed the inevitable. Poland surrendered on September 27th, following the fall of [[Warsaw]]. Remaining pockets of resistance were crushed and surrendered on October 6th.
[[Britain]] and [[France]] declared war on Germany two days after the invasion of Poland began. The Dominions of the British Commonwealth followed shortly after. Polish resistance would soon begin, and would continue throughout the entire war. Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR. Germany acquired the western regions, approximately 48.4% of the country. Page text.<ref name="rcin.org.p">[http://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf http://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf]</ref> The Soviet Union acquired the rest. About 270 sq. miles of land was given to Germany's puppet state [[Slovakia]].
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