Westerplatte

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Battle of Westerplatte
Part of Invasion of Poland
German battleship Schleswig-Holstein shelling Polish positions at Westerplatte, 1 September 1939
Date September 1 - September 7, 1939 Location Westerplatte, Danzig (northern Poland) Result German victory
Combatants
Poland	Nazi Germany
Commanders
Henryk Sucharski (nominal) Franciszek Dąbrowski (de-facto)	Friedrich Eberhardt (land) Gustav Kleikamp (sea)
Strength
182 soldiers 25 civilians 1 M1902 gun 2 Bofors 37 mm AT guns 4 Brandt 81 mm mortars 41 MGs	3,500 soldiers 47-70 Stuka dive bombers 65 guns 3 vessels
Casualties
14 KIA 53 WIA	300-400 KIA and WIA (est.)

Invasion of Poland

Westerplatte – Danzig – The Border - Krojanty – Lasy Królewskie – Mokra – Gdańsk Bay – Pszczyna – Mława – Tuchola Forest – Jordanów – Borowa Góra – Mikołów – Węgierska Górka – Tomaszów Mazowiecki – Wizna – Łódź – Przemyśl – Piotrków – Różan – Radom – Łomża – Wola Cyrusowa – Warsaw – Gdynia – Hel – Bzura – Jarosław – Kałuszyn – Węgrów – Wilno – Lwów – Modlin – Kobryń – Brześć – Kępa Oksywska – Tomaszów Lubelski – Wólka Węglowa – Kampinos Forest – Janów, Wereszyca, and Hołosko – Krasnystaw – Grodno – Cześniki – Krasnobród – Władypol – Szack – Wytyczno – Parczew – Kock

Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, at an estuary of the Dead Vistula (one of the Vistula delta estuaries), in the Gdańsk harbour channel. From 1926 - 1939 a Polish Military Transit Depot was located there, on a territory of the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk).

It is famous as the place of battle of Westerplatte, one of the first - and longest - battles of the Invasion of Poland in 1939.

Contents 1 The transit depot 2 Battle of Westerplatte 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 Related reading 5.1 Sources and documents 5.2 Guidebooks 5.3 Fiction 5.4 Other 6 External links

[edit] The transit depot

In 1925 the Council of the League of Nations allowed Poland to keep 88 soldiers on Westerplatte. By September 1939 the crew of Westerplatte had increased to 182 soldiers. They were armed with one 75 mm field gun, two 37 mm Bofors antitank guns, four mortars and a number of medium machine guns. There were no real fortifications, only several concrete blockhouses hidden in the island's forest.

The Polish garrison was separated from Freie Stadt Danzig (Gdańsk) city by the harbour channel, with only a small pier connecting them to the mainland. In case of war, the defenders were supposed to withstand a sustained attack for 12 hours.

The Polish garrison's commanding officer was Major Henryk Sucharski, the executive officer was Captain Franciszek Dąbrowski (according to recent opinions, from September 2 Captain Dąbrowski was also the actual commander, following Sucharski's nervous breakdown).

[edit] Battle of Westerplatte

At the end of August 1939 the German pre-Dreadnought battleship Schleswig-Holstein came to Danzig (Gdańsk) under the pretext of a courtesy visit and anchored in the channel near Westerplatte.

On September 1, 1939, at 0445 local time, as Germany began its invasion of Poland, Schleswig-Holstein started to shell the Polish garrison with its 280 mm and 150 mm guns. This was followed by an attack by German naval infantry who were hoping for an easy victory, but were repelled with Polish small arms and machine gun fire. Another two assaults that day were repelled as well, with the Germans suffering unexpected losses. However, the only Polish 75 mm gun was destroyed after firing 28 shells at German positions across the channel.

Over the coming days, the Germans repeatedly bombarded Westerplatte with naval and heavy field artillery (including 210 mm howitzers) along with dive-bombing raids by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas. Repeated attacks by German marines, SS Heimwehr Danzig (Danzig SS and police group) and Wehrmacht's combat engineers were repelled by the Poles for seven days. Finally, the Westerplatte garrison, who were now exhausted - with many defenders severely wounded - as well as being short on food, water, ammunition and medical supplies, surrendered on September 7.

Approximately 2,600 German soldiers were engaged in action against the 205 strong Polish garrison. The exact number of German losses remains unknown or undisclosed, but are estimated to be in range of several hundred. Polish casualties were much lower - 15 killed and 53 wounded. An additional victim, Sergeant Kazimierz Rasiński, the radio telephone operator, was murdered after the capitulation after refusing to give in the radio codes to the Germans.

[edit] Aftermath

The ruins of the island's barracks and blockhouses are still there. After the war one of the barracks has been converted into a museum - two shells from the Schleswig-Holstein prop up its entrance.

Polish poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński wrote a widely known poem about this battle, A Song of the Soldiers of Westerplatte (Pieśń o żołnierzach Westerplatte).

Monument at Westerplatte.

Memorials to fallen soldiers.

[edit] See also

• Karol Szwedowski
• Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig
• Bombing of Wieluń

[edit] Related reading

[edit] Sources and documents

• Stanisława Górnikiewicz-Kurowska (red.) (1994). Znaki pamięci : listy westerplatczyków (1940-1993). "Marpress". ISBN 83-85349-21-9. 
• Jacek Żebrowski (red.) (2001). Dziennik działań bojowych pancernika "Schleswig-Holstein" 8.09.-2.10.1939 r.. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek. ISBN 83-7322-123-9. 

[edit] Guidebooks

• Franciszek Mamuszka (1988). Westerplatte : przewodnik historyczny. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo PTTK "Kraj". ISBN 83-7005-192-8. 
• Rafał Witkowski (1989). Westerplatte : informator historyczny. Gdańsk: Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. ISBN 83-03-01772-1. 

[edit] Fiction

• Mariusz Wójtowicz-Podhorski, Krzysztof Wyrzykowski (2004). Westerplatte: Załoga śmierci. Milton Media. ISBN 83-920878-0-1. 

[edit] Other

• Zbigniew Flisowski (1982). Tu, na Westerplatte. Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza. 
• Zbigniew Flisowski (red.) (1989). Westerplatte. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa MON. ISBN 83-11-07694-4. 
• Maria and Zbigniew Flisowscy (1985). Bastion u wrót Gdańska. Warsaw: Nasza Księgarnia. ISBN 83-10-08779-9. 
• Władysław Kluz (1989). Honor : mjr Henryk Sucharski. Warsaw: Akademia Teologii Katolickiej. 
• Mirosław Gliński (1998). Westerplatte. Gdańsk: Muzeum Historii Miasta Gdańska : Wydaw. Gdańskie. ISBN 83-85843-76-0. 
• Stanisława Górnikiewicz-Kurowska (1988). Lwy z Westerplatte. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Morskie. ISBN 83-215-7237-5. 
• Stanisława Górnikiewicz-Kurowska (1999). Westerplatczycy : losy obrońców Wojskowej Składnicy Tranzytowej. Gdańsk: "Marpress". ISBN 83-87291-53-6. 
• Andrzej Drzycimski (1989). Wojna zaczęła się na Westerplatte. Gdańsk: Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. ISBN 83-03-02403-5. 
• Andrzej Drzycimski (1990). Major Henryk Sucharski. Wrocław: Ossolineum. ISBN 83-04-03374-7. 
• Melchior Wańkowicz (1990). Westerplatte. Pax. ISBN 83-211-1113-0. 

[edit] External links

• Detailed description of attack
• A Song of the Soldiers of Westerplatte
• westerplatte.pl/
• Satellite photo of Westerplatte in WikiMapia

Coordinates: 54°24′27″N, 18°40′17″E