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• » 5 Sep 1939

• France aimed limited offensive at Saarbrücken. ww2dbase [TH]
• In a private conversation, Franz Halder and Walther von Brauchitsch both agreed that the war against Poland was effectively won. ww2dbase [Franz Halder | CPC]

• An Avro Anson aircraft of No. 500 Squadron RAF made the first attack of the war on an enemy submarine. ww2dbase [Anson | AC]

• Heinz Guderian was awarded Clasp to his Iron Cross Second Class. ww2dbase [Heinz Guderian | AC]

• German Army units crossed the Vistula River in Poland. Meanwhile, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov responded to the German invitation to jointly invade Poland in the positive, but noted that the Soviet forces would need several days to prepare; he also warned the Germans not to cross the previously agreed upon line separating German and Soviet spheres of influence. ww2dbase [Invasion of Poland | TH]
• Wolfgang Falck shot down one Polish two-seater aircraft. ww2dbase [Wolfgang Falck | CPC]

• Jan Smuts became the 4th Prime Minister of South Africa. ww2dbase [Jan Smuts | CPC]

• The United States publicly declared neutrality in the war. ww2dbase [TH]
• Franklin Roosevelt put the arms embargo in place in response to the start of the European War as required by law, but he would soon approach the United States Congress in attempt to remove the ban. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | CPC]
• President Franklin Roosevelt issued two Neutrality Proclamations. Roosevelt also ordered the Navy to perform a neutrality patrol to track any belligerent naval force approaching the US's Atlantic coast or the West Indies. ww2dbase [United States Neutrality Patrol | Franklin Roosevelt | DS]

5 Sep 1939 Interactive Map