Battle of Westerplatte

Battle of Westerplatte
	Part of the Invasion of Poland of World War II
	; German battleship Schleswig-Holstein firing her guns on 5 September 1939; taken by the Associated Press
Date	1–7 September 1939; (7 days)
Location	Westerplatte, Free City of Danzig54°24′27″N 18°40′17″E / 54.40750°N 18.67139°E
Result	German victory
Belligerents
Germany; Free City of Danzig	Poland
Commanders and leaders
F.G. Eberhardt; Gustav Kleikamp; Wilhelm Henningsen †	Henryk Sucharski ; Franciszek Dąbrowski
Strength
c. 3,400 soldiers; 1 battleship; 1 torpedo boat; 1 minesweeper; 60 Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers; 1 Howitzer (105 mm); 2 Howitzers (210 mm)	182–240 soldiers; 1 Armata 75 mm field gun; 2 Bofors 37 mm anti-tank guns; 4 81 mm mortars; c. 40 machine guns
Casualties and losses
50 killed; c. 150 wounded	15 killed; 20 wounded; 155–185 captured
	Location in Poland, 1939 borders

The Battle of Westerplatte was the first battle of the German invasion of Poland, marking the start of World War II in Europe. It occurred on the Westerplatte peninsula in the harbour of the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). A small forested island separated from Gdansk by the harbour channel, Westerplatte was established as a Polish military outpost during the interwar period.

In the mid-1920s, the Second Polish Republic established the Polish Military Transit Depot (Wojskowa Składnica Tranzytowa, WST) on the Westerplatte peninsula in the Free City of Danzig. Beginning on 1 September 1939, the German Wehrmacht and Danzig Police assaulted the WST. Despite initial assessment on both sides that the Polish garrison might hold out for several hours before being reinforced or overwhelmed, the Poles held out for seven days and repelled thirteen assaults that included dive-bomber attacks and naval shelling.

The defence of the Westerplatte was an inspiration for the Polish Army and people in the face of German advances elsewhere and is still regarded as a symbol of resistance in modern Poland. The Polish government in Gdańsk is planning to open a dedicated public museum on the site in 2026.