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That's the Explorers Podcast. Hello everyone and welcome to history of the Second World War,

Episode 120, the September campaign part 12, Poland's allies.

This begins our two-part series on the entry of Britain and

France into the war on September 3rd, 1939. When the Germans had invaded Poland on September 1st,

the two Western nations did not immediately enter the war, as their agreements with Poland

might have pointed to, and instead there would be a period

of attempted negotiation. These attempts would mainly proceed along two routes, both of which would be

equally unfruitful. The first was a series of warnings, and eventually an ultimatum to Germany,

that they had to cease their actions in Poland immediately,

or London and Paris would declare war. The second avenue of discussion revolved around the

idea of an Italian-led conference between the major powers of Europe. Both of these avenues would

drive the actions of politicians in both Western nations, with the warnings and ultimatums coming attached

with future deadlines which delayed action, while the possibility of an Italian peace conference

also meant further waiting before any real action was taken. On the home front in both

nations, the constant coverage of the crisis on the Polish border over the previous weeks had made

war seem more likely. And after September 1st, real actions would very quickly be taken that

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