Hitler's invasion of Poland did not bring an immediate British and French declaration of war; both governments first demanded a withdrawal and set 3 September as the deadline. The intervening roughly 48 hours gave German surface raiders already at sea time to adjust their movements and orders before Britain and France formally entered the conflict. In this account, calling the following months a phoney war obscures how quickly fighting at sea became real while land operations in the west remained limited. Graf Spee's cruise began amid diplomacy, mobilization, and pre-positioning, before the first merchant ship was attacked.
Notable Point · 0:13-1:51
The declaration delay gives German raiders a head start
The ultimatum after Germany invaded Poland gave already-deployed surface raiders roughly 48 hours to adjust before Britain and France entered the war.