Battle of Westerplatte

Battle of Westerplatte
Part of Invasion of Poland, World War II
German soldiers on Westerplatte after the battle. Sometimes called the "Polish Verdun" due to the heavy shelling the Poles received.
Date September 1–7, 1939 Location Westerplatte, Free City of Danzig 54°24′27″N 18°40′17″E / 54.40750°N 18.67139°E / 54.40750; 18.67139Coordinates: 54°24′27″N 18°40′17″E / 54.40750°N 18.67139°E / 54.40750; 18.67139 Result German victory
Belligerents
Poland	Germany Free City of Danzig
Commanders and leaders
Henryk Sucharski Franciszek Dąbrowski	Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt Gustav Kleikamp Wilhelm Henningsen †
Strength
209 soldiers	~3,400 soldiers and policemen 1 pre-dreadnought 2 torpedo boats 60 dive bombers
Casualties and losses
15–20 dead 53 wounded Remainder captured	300-400 dead or wounded

The Battle of Westerplatte was the first battle in the Invasion of Poland and marked the start of the Second World War in Europe. Beginning on September 1, 1939, German naval forces and soldiers and Danzig police assaulted the Polish Military Transit Depot (Wojskowa Składnica Tranzytowa, or WST) on the peninsula of Westerplatte, in the harbour of the Free City of Danzig. The Poles held out for seven days in the face of a heavy attack that included dive bomber attacks.

The defense of Westerplatte served as an inspiration for the Polish Army and people in the face of successful German advances elsewhere, and today is still regarded as a symbol of resistance to the invasion. The site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated September 1, 2003 and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

The League of Nations High Commissioner for Danzig allowed Poland to keep only 82 soldiers on Westerplatte, who guarded naval ammunition stores agreed to by the Danzig Senate in 1921. However, on 6 March 1933, Poland attempted to reinforce the garrison with 120 additional troops, but this caused an uproar, and Poland was forced to withdraw the excess troops.

The WST was separated from the New Port of the Free City of Danzig (present day Gdańsk) by the harbour channel, with only a small pier connecting them to the mainland; the Polish-held part of the Westerplatte was separated from the territory of Danzig by a brick wall. Fortifications built at Westerplatte were in fact not very impressive: there were no real bunkers or underground tunnels, there were only five small concrete outposts (guardhouses) hidden in the peninsula's forest and a large barracks prepared for defense, supported by a network of field fortifications such as trenches and barricades. Several of the buildings were reinforced with concrete, which enabled them to withstand seven days of attacks.

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