Polish Forces

Parada najeźdzców w Brześciu Litewskim 1939 r.

Side by side, German and Soviet troops watch a joint victory parade in the streets of Brest-Litovsk during the partition of Poland. The German invasion of Poland began on September 1, 1939, and the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939, after both countries signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. The treaty was a non-aggression pact and included a secret protocol that divided Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania into German and Soviet "spheres of influence, " anticipating potential " territorial and political changes" in those countries. Brest-Litovsk, Poland (now Brest, Belarus). September 22, 1939