WW2-Poland-2015
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Westerplatte<br />
The transit depot<br />
In 1925 the Council of the League of Nations allowed <strong>Poland</strong> to keep 88 soldiers on Westerplatte, which the Poles had<br />
secretly increased to 176 men and six officers by September 1939. They were armed with one 75 mm gun, two 37 mm<br />
Bofors antitank guns, four mortars and a number of medium machine guns. There were no heavy fortifications, but<br />
several reinforced buildings and guardhouses equipped with heavy weapons hidden in the peninsula's forest.<br />
The Polish garrison was separated from Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk) by the harbor channel, with only a<br />
narrow isthmus connecting the area to the mainland. In case of war, the defenders were supposed to withstand a<br />
sustained attack for 12 hours after which a relief from the main units of the Polish Army were to arrive.<br />
The Polish garrison's commanding officer was Major Henryk Sucharski, the executive officer was Captain Franciszek<br />
Dąbrowski.<br />
Battle of Westerplatte<br />
For more details on this topic, see Battle of Westerplatte.<br />
Maj. Sucharski surrendering the Westerplatte post<br />
On 1 September 1939, only minutes after the German Luftwaffe (Airforce) had begun the invasion of <strong>Poland</strong> by<br />
dropping bombs in a series of raids on the city of Wieluń by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas, at 04:45 local time, the<br />
battleship Schleswig-Holstein, then on a "courtesy visit" to the Free City of Danzig, opened fire on the Polish garrison<br />
without warning. This was followed by an attack by Lt. Willhem Henningsen’s storm unit from the Schleswig-Holstein<br />
and the "Wehrmacht pioneers." However, soon after crossing the artillery-breached brick wall, the attackers were<br />
ambushed by the Polish defenders, with small arms, mortar and machine gun fire from concealed and well-positioned<br />
firing points that caught them in a crossfire. Another two assaults that day were repelled as well, with the Germans<br />
suffering unexpectedly high losses.<br />
Over the coming days, the Germans repeatedly bombarded Westerplatte with naval artillery and heavy field<br />
artillery along with dive-bombing raids byJunkers Ju 87 Stukas. Repeated attacks by 3500 German soldiers were<br />
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