The city of Danzig was home to a lengthy territorial dispute between the Germans and Poles who inhabited it and had been declared a free city by the League of Nations. In late August 1939, the Schleswig-Holstein, a German World War I–era battleship, had entered Danzig on a goodwill visit.
At 4:48 AM on September 1, it fired its first shots against the Polish garrison, consisting of few than 100 man, stationed in the peninsula of Westerplatte.
Minutes later, the garrison came under attack from hundreds of elite German commandos and marines, but they were forced to turn back following heavy casualties.
The Poles held back numerous attacks, day in and day out, under constant naval, mortar and MG fire and armed only with their rifles, a single 75mm cannon and their balls.
Over 60 Luftwaffe Stuka dive bombers began attacking the garrison, wreaking such havoc that the German troops didn’t think anyone would still be alive, yet only 5 Polish defenders were killed.
After subsequent attacks were repelled, resulting in heavy casualties, two fire trains were sent the next day. Both of them failed, the first one resulting in heavy casualties for the Germans.
As the German Blitzkrieg pushed the Polish army back everywhere else on the front, Westerplatte became a symbol of resistance. However, it wasn’t to last.
On September 7, despite the Poles’ successful defense, with low supplies, ammo and medical, the Polish garrison surrendered.
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While they may have lost the battle, they won the utmost respect of the German troops, who allowed Polish commander Major Sucharski to keep his sword and saluted the Polish defenders as they marched out. The fighting killed only 15 Polish soldiers, 40 wounded compared to 50 Germans killed and over 150 wounded.
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The week long battle had tied up over 3000 German units.
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The day after the capitulation, the Germans discovered a grave with the bodies of 4 unidentified Polish soldiers who had been executed by their comrades for attempted desertion.
The Battle of Westerplatte is often considered a Polish Thermopylae. #ww2 #poland #stubbornfuckers #hardcore #stayzero #zerofoxtrot