Poland stands apart from other nations who fell prey to the wrath of Axis aggression during WWII in that it was the flashpoint of the war in Europe; not as a match that lit a powder keg but rather a foot that stepped on a landmine. In 1939 Poland found itself consumed by Hitler's sweeping blitzkrieg warfare from the west as well as the Soviet Union in the east who had agreements with the Germans to divvy the nation up amongst themselves. The uniqueness of Poland's unfortunate geographic location led to a variety of political, ethnic, and other unified groups who all brought their personal agendas to the fight. The top players in the resistance movements of Poland where the exiled Polish government, the British Empire whom the Poles heavily relied on for support to combat their various aggressors, and the Soviet Union who would prove to be a wild-card ally at best. Despite many efforts including a grandiose rebellion known as the Warsaw Uprising, the Nazis maintained relatively secure control of Poland until the Soviet army drove them back in the final months of the war in Europe (Keegan). The lack of success on the part of the Polish resistance forces is a direct result of the myriad of problems with their allied supporters.
On 26 September 1939, twenty five days after the Germans invaded the Polish border, a Romanian plane hijacked by Polish forces landed near Warsaw carrying an emissary of the Polish commander-in-chief. His two orders for the garrison defending the capital were first to avoid further damages to the city by surrendering, and second to form a secret military organization. The Polish Underground Army was established as a result of the second mandate, although for the moment they were under orders to remain docile (SA). After the invasion the remnants of the Polish government fled first to France and then in 1940 to the United Kingdom in order to continue operations in exile (PP).