Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk,
Poland, located on
It is famous as the place of Battle of Westerplatte, the first major battle of the Invasion of Poland in 1939.
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) by the harbour channel, with only a narrow isthmus connecting the area 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.
Battle of Westerplatte
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For more details on this topic, see Battle of Westerplatte.
On September 1 1939, at 0445 local time, as Germany began its invasion of Poland, Schleswig-Holstein started to shell the Polish garrison. This was followed by a repelled attack by German naval infantry. Another two assaults that day were repelled as well. Over the coming days, the Germans repeatedly bombarded Westerplatte with naval and heavy field artillery along with dive-bombing raids by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas. Repeated attacks were repelled by the Poles for seven days. On September 7th major Henryk Sucharski decided to surrender.
Aftermath
The ruins of the defenders' barracks and blockhouses are still there. After the war, one of the barracks was 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. |
See also
Further reading
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.
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.
Fiction
- Mariusz Wójtowicz-Podhorski, Krzysztof Wyrzykowski (2004). Westerplatte: Załoga śmierci. Milton Media. ISBN 83-920878-0-1.
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.
External links
- Detailed description of attack
- A Song of the Soldiers of Westerplatte
- westerplatte.pl/
- Satellite photo of Westerplatte in WikiMapia
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