Battle of Westerplatte (1939): Poland's Seven-Day Defence

The Battle of Westerplatte was the defence of a small Polish military depot in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk) against German attack from 1 to 7 September 1939. The shelling of the depot by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein at dawn on 1 September was one of the first acts of the Second World War. For seven days roughly 200 Polish soldiers held out against far stronger forces, making Westerplatte a lasting symbol of Polish resistance.

Background: a Polish outpost in a Free City

After the First World War the Treaty of Versailles made Danzig a Free City under League of Nations protection, with Poland given rights to use its port. In 1924 the League granted Poland the Westerplatte peninsula, at the mouth of the harbour channel, as a site for a Military Transit Depot to handle munitions and military supplies.

The garrison was officially limited to 88 men, but by 1939 Poland had secretly increased it to around 180 to 210 soldiers and some civilian staff. They built concealed concrete guardhouses and field positions among the trees. The commander was Major Henryk Sucharski, with Captain Franciszek Dąbrowski as his deputy. Polish plans reportedly expected the post to resist for only about 12 hours.

The attack

On 25 August 1939 the old German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, a pre-First World War training ship, arrived in Danzig on what was officially a courtesy visit. At about 4:45 am on 1 September, as the invasion of Poland began, its guns opened fire on the depot at close range. A company of German naval assault troops followed, supported by Danzig police and SS units, but they were driven back by machine-gun and mortar fire with heavy losses.

Over the next days the Germans brought up artillery and attacked repeatedly. On 2 September Junkers Ju 87 dive-bombers struck the peninsula, destroying one of the guardhouses and killing several defenders. The Polish soldiers, cut off and without hope of relief, fought on through repeated bombardments and night assaults while their supplies of water, food and medicine ran low.

The surrender

By 7 September the wounded could no longer be properly treated and the garrison’s position was hopeless. At around 10:15 to 10:30 am the defenders raised a white flag. The German commander, Major-General Friedrich Eberhardt, is reported to have allowed Major Sucharski to keep his sword as a mark of respect, and the garrison went into captivity.

About 15 Polish soldiers were killed and around 40 wounded during the week. German losses are disputed, with estimates ranging widely. The surviving defenders spent the rest of the war in prisoner-of-war camps.

Militarily, the battle had little effect on the wider campaign, since Danzig itself was quickly secured by German and local Nazi forces. On the same day, 1 September, the staff of the Polish Post Office in Danzig defended their building for about 15 hours; most of the survivors were later tried by a German court-martial and executed. Westerplatte’s longer resistance, however, became famous because Polish radio reported every day that the depot was still holding out.

Key people

Major Henryk Sucharski commanded the depot and became the face of the defence in post-war Poland. Captain Franciszek Dąbrowski, his deputy, was central to the fighting; some historians argue that he effectively led the defence after Sucharski suffered a nervous breakdown on 2 September, while others reject this, and the question remains debated. Gustav Kleikamp commanded the Schleswig-Holstein, and Friedrich Eberhardt commanded the German forces in Danzig.

Myths and facts

Myth: Westerplatte was the very first fighting of the war. It was one of the first actions, but German aircraft bombed the town of Wieluń a few minutes earlier, and fighting also broke out the same morning at the Polish Post Office in Danzig and on the frontier.

Myth: the defenders were wiped out. Most of the garrison survived the battle and surrendered. Their story is one of endurance rather than a last stand to the death.

Legacy

Westerplatte became a national symbol in Poland. Radio reports during September 1939 told of its resistance, and after the war it featured in films, poems and school lessons. The Monument to the Coast Defenders was unveiled on the peninsula in 1966, and the anniversary of 1 September is marked there each year. Westerplatte is now a memorial site, and archaeological research has recovered remains of defenders and details of the fighting.

Timeline

• 1924: The League of Nations grants Poland the Westerplatte peninsula for a military depot.
• 1939, 25 August: The battleship Schleswig-Holstein arrives in Danzig.
• 1939, 1 September, about 4:45 am: The Schleswig-Holstein opens fire and the first assault is repulsed.
• 1939, 2 September: German dive-bombers attack the depot.
• 1939, 7 September: The Polish garrison surrenders.
• 1966: The Monument to the Coast Defenders is unveiled.

Why it matters

Westerplatte showed that Poland would fight in September 1939, even in hopeless circumstances, and its defence helped shape Polish national memory of the war. It also marks the place where, for many Europeans, the Second World War began. The fate of Poland that followed, including the Soviet invasion on 17 September, gave that symbol even greater weight.