Battle of Westerplatte

Westerplatte is a peninsula in the Bay of Gdańsk, which in 1939 was known as the Bay of Danzig. Following the re-establishment of Polish independence after World War I, much of the surrounding region became part of Poland. The city of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), historically an important port city, became an independent city-state, the Free City of Danzig. The Free City was nominally supervised by the League of Nations but Danzig became increasingly allied with Germany, reflecting its predominantly ethnic German population. In 1921, in the wake of the Polish-Soviet War, the League of Nations granted Poland the right to install a garrisoned ammunition depot near Danzig. Despite objections from the Free City, this right was confirmed in 1925, and an area of was selected on the Westerplatte peninsula. Westerplatte was separated from the New Port of Danzig mainly by the harbour channel; on land, the Polish-held part of Westerplatte was separated from Danzig's territory by a brick wall topped with barbed wire. The depot, referred to in League documents as the (WST) (), was completed in November 1925, officially transferred to Poland on the last day of that year, and became operational shortly after in January 1926, with 22 active storage warehouses. The Polish garrison's complement was set at 2 officers, 20 NCOs, privates to a total strength of 88 all ranks, and Poland was prohibited construction of further military installations or fortifications on the site. According to one source, on 14 March 1933, the League had authorized Poland to reinforce its garrison. Later, the Poles constructed clandestine fortifications on Westerplatte. ==Prelude==

In March 1939, a German ultimatum to Lithuania led to Germany's annexation of the nearby Lithuanian coastal Klaipėda Region; subsequently, the Westerplatte garrison was placed on alert. Estimates include some 20 mobilized civilians and about 10 regular troops who happened to be on site when fighting began. Field fortifications were extended: more trenches were dug, wooden barricades were built, barbed wire was strung into wire obstacles, and reinforced concrete shelters were built into the basements of the barracks. Foliage was thinned to reduce cover on expected avenues of attack. Neither Eberhardt nor Kleikamp had specific information on the Polish defences. The Germans assumed that preliminary bombardment would soften up the fortifications enough for the marines to capture Westerplatte. Kleikamp had been assured by the Danzig Police that "Westerplatte would be taken in 10 minutes." Eberhardt himself was more cautious, estimating that "a few hours" would be needed to overcome the Polish garrison, which the Germans estimated at no more than 100 men. The battle was fought at the semi - fortified supply depot on the Westerplatte peninsula at the mouth of the Vistula river north of Danzig (Gdansk). ==Battle==

On the early morning of 1 September 1939, Schleswig-Holstein fired a broadside at the Polish garrison. That salvo's time has been variously stated as 04:43 04:45, or 04:48. Polish historian Jarosław Tuliszka explains that 04:45 was the planned time, 04:47 was the time the order was given by Kleikamp and 04:48 was the time the guns actually fired. Other sources indicate the shot was fired at 04:00 rather than at or around 04:45. Eight minutes later Henningsen's marines from the Schleswig-Holstein, who had disembarked two hours earlier on the eastern side of the peninsula, advanced, expecting an easy victory over the Poles. Meanwhile, the German infantry was also shelled by the Polish mortars, and even the battleship itself was targeted by the Polish 37 mm guns. At 06:22, the German marines frantically radioed the battleship that they had sustained heavy losses and were withdrawing. Casualties were approximately fifty Germans and eight Poles, mostly wounded. A longer bombardment from the battleship, lasting from 07:40 to 08:55, preceded a second attack and succeeded at knocking out the Polish field gun. The German commanders concluded that a ground attack was not feasible until the Polish defences had been softened up. In the following days, the Germans bombarded the Westerplatte peninsula with naval and heavy field artillery, including a 105 mm howitzer battery and 210 mm howitzers. The Poles' Wał outpost had been abandoned. Now only the Fort outpost prevented an attack from the north. Though the Poles never landed a hit on the German naval units, T196 and Schleswig-Holstein suffered accidents due to crew error or equipment failure, with at least one fatality and several injured men on the battleship. , 8 September, after the battle At a second conference with his officers, on 6 September, Sucharski was again ready to surrender: the German Army was by now outside Warsaw, and Westerplatte was running critically low on supplies; moreover, many of the wounded were suffering from gangrene. Sucharski surrendered the post to Kleikamp, and the Germans stood at attention as the Polish garrison marched out at 11:30. ==Aftermath==

being raised on Westerplatte, 8 September 1939 On 8 September, the day after the capitulation, the Germans discovered a grave with the bodies of four unidentified Polish soldiers who had been executed by their comrades for attempted desertion. According to Tomasz Sudoł this had likely taken place following the 2 September air raids. Five days after the capitulation, on 12 September 1939, the Polish wireless operator, Sergeant Kazimierz Rasiński, was murdered by the Germans. He was shot after brutal interrogation during which he refused to hand over radio codes. On 19 September Hitler came to visit Danzig. While there, on 21 September, he inspected Westerplatte. == Significance ==

The Battle of Westerplatte is often described as the opening battle of World War II, but it was only one of many battles in the first phase of the German invasion of Poland known as the Battle of the Border. British historian I. C. B. Dear described the Schleswig-Holstein's salvos as having occurred "minutes after Luftwaffe attacks on Polish airfields" and other targets. A bridge in nearby Tczew had been bombed around 04:30, and the false-flag Operation Himmler had begun hours earlier. The Polish historian Krzysztof Komorowski writes that "Westerplatte has become one of the symbols of the Polish struggle for independence, and is inscribed in the list of the most heroic battles of modern Europe." On 16 September Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński penned a poem, '''', voicing a subsequent myth that all of Westerplatte's defenders had died in the battle, fighting to the last man. The battle became a symbol of resistance to the invasion – a Polish Battle of Thermopylae. That same year, the Polish Underground State named a street after Westerplatte; and the following year, during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, an insurgent stronghold was named Westerplatte. == Controversy ==

Controversy surrounds the Polish garrison's commanding officer, Sucharski. Early historiography considered him to have been in command throughout the battle, and so early accounts portrayed him as a heroic figure. More recent accounts from the early 1990s have presented evidence that Sucharski's officers had vowed not to disclose in their lifetimes that their commander had been shell-shocked for most of the battle and had advocated surrender as early as 2 September and several times thereafter and that his second-in-command, Dąbrowski, had effectively taken command following Sucharski's breakdown on the second day of the siege. Sucharski's conduct is still debated by historians. == Remembrance ==

Westerplatte is a common venue for state remembrance ceremonies relating to World War II, usually held on 1 September. They are generally attended by high-ranking Polish politicians such as Prime Minister Donald Tusk (2014), President Bronisław Komorowski (2015), President Andrzej Duda (2016), and Prime Minister Beata Szydło (2017). The commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, in 2009, was attended by Tusk, former Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, and former Presidents Lech Wałęsa and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, as well as by important figures from about 20 other countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and French Prime Minister François Fillon. The Battle of Westerplatte has been the subject of two Polish films: Westerplatte (1967), and Tajemnica Westerplatte (The Secret of Westerplatte, 2013). It has also inspired dozens of books and scores of press articles, scholarly studies, and fictional works, as well as poems, songs, paintings, and other works of art. Westerplatte became a popular tourist attraction. In 1981, the cross was restored to the cemetery. his visit is commemorated by a plaque unveiled in 2015. Following the fall of communism in Eastern and Central Europe, a change symbolic of Poland's political transformation was the 2007 transfer of the Soviet T-34 tank from the cemetery to a museum in another town. On 1 September 2003, the site was designated an official Historic Monument. In the mid-2010s, the Polish government decided to create a dedicated , commemorating the 1939 battle; as of 2019, the museum was planned to be opened in 2026. ==See also==