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{{Short description|First battle in the Invasion of Poland and beginning of the Second World War}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2022}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Westerplatte
| partof            = the [[Invasion of Poland]] of [[World War II]]
| image             = The Nazi-soviet Invasion of Poland, 1939 HU106374.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = German battleship [[SMS Schleswig-Holstein|''Schleswig-Holstein'']] firing her guns on 5 September 1939; taken by the [[Associated Press]]
| date              = 1–7 September 1939<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/><br/>(7 days)
| place             = [[Westerplatte]], [[Free City of Danzig]]
| coordinates       = {{coord|54|24|27|N|18|40|17|E|region:PL_type:event_scale:50000|display=inline}}
| map_type          = Poland 1939
| map_caption       = Location in Poland, 1939 borders
| result            = German victory<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/>
| combatant2        = {{flagcountry|Second Polish Republic}}
| combatant1        = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}<br/>{{flag|Free City of Danzig}}<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/>
| commander2        = {{flagdeco|Second Polish Republic}} [[Henryk Sucharski]]{{Surrender}}<br>{{nowrap|{{flagdeco|Second Polish Republic}} [[Franciszek Dąbrowski]]{{Surrender}}}}
| commander1        = {{nowrap|{{flagdeco|Nazi Germany}} [[Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt|F.G. Eberhardt]]<br>{{flagdeco|Nazi Germany}} [[Gustav Kleikamp]]<br>{{flagdeco|Nazi Germany}} [[Wilhelm Henningsen]]{{KIA}}}}
| strength2         = 182–240 soldiers<br/>1 [[Armata 75 mm wz.02/26|Armata 75 mm field gun]]<br/>2 [[Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun]]s<br/>4 [[Brandt Mle 27/31|81 mm mortars]]<br/>{{circa|40}} machine guns
| strength1         = {{circa|3,400}} soldiers<br/>[[SMS Schleswig-Holstein|1 battleship]]<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/><br/>[[SMS G196|1 torpedo boat]]<br/>[[German minesweeper M 107|1 minesweeper]]<br/>60 [[Junkers Ju 87]] dive bombers<br/>1 [[Howitzer]] (105 mm)<br/>2 [[Howitzer]]s (210 mm)
| casualties2       = 15 killed<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/><br/>20 wounded<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/><br/>155–185 captured
| casualties1       = 50 killed<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/><br/>{{circa|150}} wounded
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Polish September Campaign}}
}}
The '''Battle of Westerplatte''' was the first battle of the German [[invasion of Poland]], marking the start of [[World War II]] in Europe.<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign">{{cite book |last1=Zaloga |first1=Steven |last2=Madej |first2=Victor |title=The Polish Campaign, 1939 |date=1985 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |location=New York, New York |isbn=0-88254-994-4}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mann |first=Chris |title=Great Battles of World War II |language=}}</ref>

In the mid-1920s, the [[Second Polish Republic]] established the [[Poland|Polish]] Military Transit Depot ({{lang|pl|Wojskowa Składnica Tranzytowa}}, WST) on the [[Westerplatte]] peninsula in the [[Free City of Danzig]]. Beginning on 1 September 1939, the German ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' and [[Free City of Danzig Police|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|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.

==Background==
[[Westerplatte]] is a peninsula in the [[Bay of Gdańsk]], which in 1939 was known as the Bay of Danzig.<ref name="LerskiLerski1996">{{cite book|author1=Lerski|first=George J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTUTqE2difgC&pg=PA646|title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=978-0-313-26007-0}}</ref>{{rp|646}} Following the re-establishment of Polish independence after [[aftermath of World War I|World War I]], much of the surrounding region became part of [[Second Polish Republic|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.<ref name="Parish2009">{{cite book|author=Parish|first=Matthew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzQBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA210|title=Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia|date=2009|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0-85771-273-8}}</ref>{{rp|210}}<ref name="Fox2008">{{cite book|author=Fox|first=Gregory H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nqEtn_nFmyEC&pg=PA21|title=Humanitarian Occupation|date=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-46973-9}}</ref>{{rp|21}}

In 1921, in the wake of the [[Polish-Soviet War]], the League of Nations granted Poland the right to install a [[garrison]]ed [[ammunition depot]] near Danzig.<ref name="JanOsm">{{cite book|last1=Osmańczyk|first1=Edmund Jan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSxS2MmQsewC&pg=PA2684|title=Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: T to Z|last2=Lee|first2=Rupert|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2003|isbn=978-0-415-93924-9}}</ref>{{rp|2684}} Despite objections from the Free City, this right was confirmed in 1925, and an area of {{convert|60|ha|km2 acre|lk=in}} was selected on the Westerplatte peninsula.<ref name="JanOsm"/>{{rp|2684}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://muzeum1939.pl/en/exhibition-westerplatte/845.html|title=Exhibition on Westerplatte|last1=Garba|first1=Bartłomiej|last2=Westphal|first2=Marcin|date=30 September 2017|website=muzeum1939.pl|publisher=Museum of the Second World War|language=en|access-date= 4 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="Komorowski2009" >Komorowski, 2009</ref>{{rp|443}} 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.<ref name=":0" />{{rp|443}}<ref name="Komorowski2009" /> A dedicated rail line, passing through the Free City, connected the depot with nearby Polish territory.<ref name="Komorowski2009p443">Komorowski, 2009 p443</ref> The depot, referred to in League documents as the {{ill|Depot for Polish Munitions in Transit in the Port of Danzig|pl|Wojskowa Składnica Tranzytowa}} (WST)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIS1wIZmWl0C&q=%22Depot+for+Polish+Munitions+in+Transit+in+the+Port+of+Danzig%22|title=Report to the ... Assembly of the League on the Work of the Council, on the Work of the Secretariat and on the Measures Taken to Execute the Decisions of the Assembly|date=1926|publisher=League of Nations|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|45}} ({{langx|pl|Wojskowa Składnica Tranzytowa}}), 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 [[Non-commissioned officer|NCO]]s, [[private (rank)|private]]s to a total strength of 88 all ranks, and Poland was prohibited construction of further military installations or fortifications on the site.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|443–444}}

By early 1933, German politicians and media figures complained about the need for border adjustments. In addition, the Polish and French governments discussed the need for a [[preventive war]] against Germany.  On 6 March, in what became known as the "Westerplatte incident" or "crisis", the Polish government landed a marine battalion on Westerplatte, briefly reinforcing the WST garrison to about 200 men, demonstrating Polish resolve to defend the depot; the Polish manoeuvre was also intended to put pressure on the Danzig government, which was trying to renounce a prior agreement on shared Danzig-Polish control over the harbour police and to acquire full control of the police and the harbour.<ref name="Weinberg2010" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Crockett|first=Jameson W.|date=2009|title=The Polish Blitz, More than a Mere Footnote to History: Poland and Preventive War with Germany, 1933|journal=Diplomacy & Statecraft|volume=20|issue=4|pages=561–579|doi=10.1080/09592290903455667|s2cid=153437646}}</ref> According to one source, on 14 March 1933, the League had authorized Poland to reinforce its garrison.<ref name="JanOsm" />{{rp|2684}} However, according to another, the additional Polish troops were withdrawn on 16 March, following protests from the League, Danzig, and Germany but only in exchange for Danzig's withdrawal of its objections to the harbour-police agreement.<ref name="Weinberg2010">{{cite book|author=Weinberg|first=Gerhard L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o5FiQbU_nAkC&pg=PA50|title=Hitler's Foreign Policy 1933–1939: The Road to World War II|date=2010|publisher=Enigma Books|isbn=978-1-929631-91-9}}</ref>{{rp|50}}

Later, the Poles constructed clandestine [[fortification]]s on Westerplatte.<ref name=":0" /> These were relatively minor: there were no [[bunker]]s or tunnels, only several small guardhouses, partially hidden in the peninsula's forest and several more buildings in the middle of the peninsula, including [[barracks]]. Most buildings were constructed with [[reinforced concrete]] and were supported by a network of field fortifications, including [[trench]]es, [[barricade]]s and [[barbed wire]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name="Zaloga">{{cite book|author=Zaloga|first=Steven J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W8Q-vgAACAAJ|title=Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg|date=2002|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84176-408-5 |series=Campaign 107}}</ref>{{rp|54}}

==Prelude==
In March 1939, a [[1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania|German ultimatum to Lithuania]] led to Germany's annexation of the nearby [[Lithuania]]n coastal [[Klaipėda region]]; subsequently, the Westerplatte garrison was placed on alert.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|445}} Fearing a possible Nazi [[coup d'état]] in Danzig, the Poles decided secretly to reinforce their garrison<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|445}} and resorted to a subterfuge, civilians in Polish Army uniform would leave the base, and new Polish soldiers would enter it.<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|445}}

By late August 1939, the Poles had reinforced their 88-man garrison, though its strength is still debated; older sources speak of 182 men but more recent research suggests something in the range of 210 to 240, including six officers: [[Major (rank)|Major]] [[Henryk Sucharski]], his second-in-command [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] [[Franciszek Dąbrowski]], Captain [[Mieczysław Słaby]], [[Poruchik|Lieutenant]] [[Leon Pająk]], Lieutenant {{ill|Stefan Ludwik Grodecki|pl|Stefan Ludwik Grodecki}}, and [[Podporucznik|Second Lieutenant]] {{ill|Zdzisław Kręgielski|pl|Zdzisław Kręgielski}}.<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|445}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dróżdż|first=Krzysztof Henryk|date=2013|title=Przyczynek do badań nad stanem liczbowym załogi Wojskowej Składnicy Tranzytowej na Westerplatte we wrześniu 1939 roku|trans-title=Addendum to the studies on the numbers of personnel the Westerplatte Military Depot in September 1939|url=http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2013-t14(65)-n2_(244)/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2013-t14(65)-n2_(244)-s196-200/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2013-t14(65)-n2_(244)-s196-200.pdf|journal=Przegląd Historyczno-Wojskowy|language=pl|volume=14(65)/2 (244)|pages=196–200}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Szkudliński|first=Jan|date=2012|title=Spór w sprawie białej flagi nad Westerplatte|trans-title=Debate Regarding the White Flag at Westerplatte|url=http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2012-t13_(64)-n4_(242)/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2012-t13_(64)-n4_(242)-s153-163/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2012-t13_(64)-n4_(242)-s153-163.pdf|journal=Przegląd Historyczno-Wojskowy|language=pl|volume=13 (64)/4 (242)|pages=153–163}}</ref> Estimates include some 20 mobilized civilians and about 10 regular troops who happened to be on site when fighting began.<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|445}} In addition to light arms consisting of pistols, grenades, and about 160 rifles, weaponry included a [[75 mm field gun wz. 1902/26]], two [[Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun]]s, four [[Brandt Mle 27/31|81 mm mortars]], and about 40 machine guns, including 18 heavy machine guns.<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|446}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Westerplatte|url=http://www.mhmg.pl/oddzial/13/westerplatte|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141310/http://www.mhmg.pl/oddzial/13/westerplatte|archive-date=12 June 2018|access-date=5 June 2018|website=www.mhmg.pl|publisher=Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Gdańska|language=pl}}</ref> Field fortifications were extended: more trenches were dug, wooden barricades were built, barbed wire was strung into [[wire obstacle]]s, and reinforced concrete shelters were built into the basements of the barracks.  Foliage was thinned to reduce cover on expected avenues of attack.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|446}}<ref name=Mann/>{{rp|11–12}}

The Polish defence, which anticipated principally a German land-based assault, rested on three lines of defence. The outer line included [[Entrenchment (fortification)|entrenched]] outposts (codenamed ''Prom'', ''Przystań'', ''Łazienki'' and ''Wał'') which were to hold long enough for the garrison to mobilize. The second line of defence centred on five guardhouses (numbered I to V) in the center of the depot. The final defence comprised the headquarters and barracks at the depot's centre (sometimes referred to as Guardhouse VI). The Poles also had several supporting positions (''Elektrownia'', ''Deika'', ''Fort'', ''Tor kolejowy'' and ''Kej'').<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|445–446}} The plan called for the garrison to hold out for 12 hours, after which the [[siege]] was expected to be lifted by reinforcements arriving from the mainland.<ref name=Lask/>

On 25 August 1939, the German [[pre-dreadnought battleship]] {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein||2}}, under the pretext of making a [[courtesy call]], sailed into [[Port of Gdańsk|Danzig harbour]],<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|446}} anchoring {{convert|150|m|yd}} from Westerplatte. On board was a ''[[Marinestosstruppkompanie]]'' ([[Marines|marine]] [[Shock troops|shock-troop]] [[Company (military unit)|company]]) of 225 marines under [[Lieutenant]] Wilhelm Henningsen. On land the Germans had the ''[[SS Heimwehr Danzig]]'' force of 1,500 men under Police General [[Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt]]. In overall command was Captain [[Gustav Kleikamp]], aboard ''[[Schleswig-Holstein]]''. Initially, the marines were ordered to attack on the morning of 26 August 1939, on that day Kleikamp moved the battleship farther upstream, and as a result, Sucharski put his garrison on heightened alert.<ref name=Mann/>{{rp|12}} Shortly before the German disembarkation, the orders were rescinded as [[Adolf Hitler]] had postponed hostilities on learning of the [[Polish-British Common Defence Pact]], signed the day before, on 25 August 1939, and that Italy was hesitant about its obligations under the [[Pact of Steel]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Piekałkiewicz|first=Janusz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DEogAAAAMAAJ|title=Sea War, 1939–1945|publisher=Historical Times|year=1987|isbn=978-0-918678-17-1|author-link=Janusz Piekałkiewicz}}</ref>{{rp|18}}

Neither Eberhardt nor Kleikamp had specific information on the Polish defences.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Szkudliński|first=Jan|date=2015|title=Wojskowa składnica tranzytowa na Westerplatte w świetle nowych niemieckich materiałów archiwalnych|trans-title=Westerplatte Military Depot in Light of the New German Archival Materials|url=http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2015-t16_(67)-n3_(253)/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2015-t16_(67)-n3_(253)-s141-159/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2015-t16_(67)-n3_(253)-s141-159.pdf|journal=Przegląd Historyczno-Wojskowy|language=pl|volume=16 (67)/3 (253)|pages=141–159}}</ref> The Germans assumed that preliminary bombardment would soften up the fortifications enough for the marines to capture Westerplatte.<ref name="DGW">{{cite book|author=Williamson|first=David G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtg8a-0ggkEC|title=Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of 1939|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8117-0828-9}}</ref>{{rp|66}} Kleikamp had been assured by the [[Free City of Danzig Police|Danzig Police]] that "Westerplatte would be taken in 10 minutes."<ref>{{cite book|author=Hargreaves|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTW_dftTTUcC&pg=PA120|title=Blitzkrieg Unleashed: The German Invasion of Poland, 1939|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8117-0724-4}}</ref>{{rp|120}} 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.<ref name=Lask/> 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==
[[File:Westerplatte en.PNG|thumb|right|Map of the battle]]
On the early morning of 1 September 1939, ''Schleswig-Holstein'' fired a [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]] at the Polish garrison. That salvo's time has been variously stated as 04:43<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-17 |title=The Invasion of Poland |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/invasion-poland-september-1939 |access-date=2025-11-22 |website=The National WWII Museum {{!}} New Orleans |language=en}}</ref> 04:45,<ref name="Zabecki2015"/><ref name="Paterson2015"/> 04:47,<ref>{{cite book|last = Williamson|first = Gordon|year = 2003|title = German Battleships 1939–45|publisher = Osprey Publishing|location = Oxford|isbn = 978-1-84176-498-6}}</ref>{{rp|5–6}} or 04:48.<ref name="Komorowski2009"/>{{rp|446}}<ref name="Tuliszka2003">{{cite book|last=Tuliszka|first=Jarosław|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1XYjAQAAMAAJ|title=Westerplatte 1926–1939: dzieje Wojskowej Składnicy Tranzytowej w Wolnym Mieście Gdańsku|publisher=Wydawn. Adam Marszałek|date=2003|isbn=978-83-7322-504-6|language=pl|trans-title=Westerplatte 1926–1939: The History of the Military Transit Depot in the Free City of Gdańsk}}</ref>{{rp|8, 152}} 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.<ref name="Tuliszka2003"/>{{rp|152}}  Shortly after, on Westerplatte, Sucharski radioed the [[Hel Fortified Area|nearby Polish military base]] on the [[Hel Peninsula]], "SOS: I'm under fire."<ref name="Mann">{{cite book|author=Mann|first=Chris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cU_NAAACAAJ|title=Great Battles of World War II|publisher=Parragon|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4075-2513-6}}</ref>{{rp|12}} Other sources indicate the shot was fired at 04:00 rather than at or around 04:45.<ref name="1939 Polish Campaign"/> The battleship's initial bombardment was not very successful, failing to inflict a single casualty among the defenders, as due to the battleship's proximity to its target its heavier shells did not have time to arm and did not explode upon impact.<ref name="Forczyk2019">{{cite book|author=Robert Forczyk|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPSGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT100|title=Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939|year=2019|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-3494-2}}</ref>{{rp|100}}

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.<ref name=Lask/><ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|100}} However, after crossing the artillery-breached brick wall at the border, advancing about {{convert|200|m|yd}}, and engaging the Polish ''Prom'' outpost, the Germans ran into an [[ambush]].<ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|101}} They found themselves in a [[kill zone]] of Polish crossfire from concealed firing positions, while barbed-wire entanglements impeded their movements. Around 05:15, the field gun, commanded by Pająk, opened intense fire on the advancing Germans, firing 28 rounds and knocking out several machine-gun nests atop warehouses across the harbour canal.<ref>Mann, 2008 p12</ref> Meanwhile, the German infantry was also shelled by the Polish mortars, and even the battleship itself was targeted by the Polish 37&nbsp;mm guns.<ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|101}} Around that time, the Poles also repulsed an attempt by a small maritime unit of the Danzig Police to land on the western side of the depot.<ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|101}} In that initial engagement, Poles sustained two casualties, and a Polish soldier, [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Wojciech Najsarek]], was killed by [[machine gun|machine-gun fire]]. Najsarek has been described as the first Polish combat casualty of the battle and perhaps of the war.<ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|101}}<ref name="Kurier">{{cite journal|author=Masłowska|first=Teresa|date=September 2007|title=Wojenne drogi polskich kolejarzy|trans-title=Wartime Fates of Polish Railwaymen|url=http://www.pkp.pl/files/09-14.pdf|journal=Kurier PKP|language=pl|volume=2007|issue=35|pages=10|quote=Wojciech Najsarek był jedną z pierwszych ofiar II wojny światowej.}}</ref><ref name="Drzycimski1990">{{cite book|author=Drzycimski|first=Andrzej|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6oRJAAAAIAAJ|title=Major Henryk Sucharski|publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich|year=1990|isbn=978-83-04-03374-0|language=pl|quote=st. sierż. Wojciech Najsarek, zawiadowca stacji, poległ jako pierwszy z żołnierzy Składnicy, na posterunku, na stacji PKP Westerplatte}}</ref>{{rp|140}}

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.<ref name=Mannp13>Mann, 2008 p13</ref> 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.<ref name=Lask/><ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|101}} The Germans assaulted again from 08:35 to 12:30<ref name=Lask/> but encountered [[Anti-personnel mine|mines]], felled trees, barbed wire and intense fire.<ref name=Mannp13/> By noon, when the Germans retreated, Henningsen had been gravely wounded.<ref name=Lask/><ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|101}} Eberhardt requested air support, but it was delayed due to bad weather over Westerplatte.<ref name="Forczyk2019" />{{rp|101}} On that first day's combat, the Polish side had sustained four killed and several wounded.<ref name="Komorowski2009"/>{{rp|446}} The German marines had lost sixteen killed and a hundred and twenty wounded.<ref name="Lask">{{cite journal|last=Laskowski|first=Piotr|date=2008|title=Kompania szturmowa Kriegsmarine w walkach na Westerplatte 1939 r|trans-title=Assault Company of Kriegsmarine in the Battle of Westerplatte in 1939|url=http://www.okretywojenne.pl/pefu/westbatterie/images/2008b/kompania_szturmowa.pdf|journal=Przegląd Morski|language=pl|volume=9|pages=55–63}}</ref>

<!--[[File:Schleswig Holstein ostrzeliwuje Westerplatte 39 09 01 b.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Schleswig-Holstein (battleship)|Schleswig-Holstein]]'' fires at [[Westerplatte]]]]-->
The German commanders concluded that a ground attack was not feasible until the Polish defences had been softened up.<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|443}} Re-examining aerial photographs, where they had previously underestimated the Polish defences, they now overestimated them, concluding the Poles had constructed extensive underground and armoured fortifications (six haystacks were declared to be armoured bunker domes).<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last1=Piński|first1=Jan|last2=Przedmojski|first2=Rafał|date=4 September 2005|title=Koniec mitu Westerplatte|language=pl-PL|trans-title=The End of Westerplatte's Myth|work=WPROST.pl|url=https://www.wprost.pl/80278/Koniec-mitu-Westerplatte|access-date=6 July 2018}}</ref> In the following days, the Germans bombarded the Westerplatte peninsula with [[naval artillery|naval]] and heavy [[field artillery]], including a 105&nbsp;mm [[howitzer]] battery and 210&nbsp;mm howitzers.<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|447}} On 2 September, from 18:05 to 18:25,<ref name=Lask/> a two-wave air raid by 60 [[Junkers Ju 87]] ''Stuka'' [[dive bomber]]s dropped {{convert|26.5|t|lbs}} of bombs,<ref name="Komorowski2009"/>{{rp|446}} eliminating the Polish mortars, destroying Guardhouse V with a {{convert|500|kg|lbs}} bomb and killing at least eight Polish soldiers. The air raid shrouded all of Westerplatte in clouds of smoke and destroyed the Poles' only radio and much of their food supply.<ref name=Mannp13/> According to some German sources, after the air raid the Poles briefly displayed a white flag; but not all historians are convinced of this, and the German observers may have been mistaken.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=Lask/><ref name=":2" />

On 4 September, a [[German torpedo boats of World War II|German torpedo boat]], ''[[T196]]'', supported by an old minesweeper, the [[German minesweeper M 107|''Von der Gronen'']], made a surprise attack.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohwer|first1=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945|last2=Hümmelchen|first2=Gerhard|publisher=Greenhill Books|date=1992|isbn=978-1-85367-117-3 |page=3}}</ref> The Poles' ''Wał'' outpost had been abandoned. Now only the ''Fort'' outpost prevented an attack from the north.<ref name=Mannp14>Mann 2008 p14</ref> 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.<ref name=":2"/>

On 5 September, Sucharski held a conference with his officers, during which he urged surrender: the post had only been supposed to hold out for twelve hours.<ref name=Mann/>{{rp|11,14}} His deputy, Dąbrowski, opposed surrender and the group decided to hold out a while longer.<ref name=Mannp14/>

[[File:Eberhardt et Sucharski.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Henryk Sucharski|Major Sucharski]] (right) surrenders [[Westerplatte]] to General [[Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt]], 7 September 1939]]
Subsequently, the Poles repelled several cautious German probing attacks. At 03:00 on 6 September, during one of the attacks, the Germans sent a burning train toward the Polish positions, but the ploy failed when the terrified driver decoupled prematurely.<ref name=Mann/>{{rp|14}} The train failed to reach its target, an oil cistern; instead, it set fire to the woods, which had provided the Poles with valuable cover. In addition, the burning wagons created a perfect field of fire; the Germans suffered heavy losses. A second fire-train attack, in the afternoon, also failed.<ref name=Mannp15>Mann 2008 p15</ref>
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2008-0513-500, Danzig, Westerplatte, Wald.jpg|thumb|German soldiers on [[Westerplatte]], 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]].<ref name=Mann/>{{rp|15}} At 04:30 on 7 September, the Germans opened intense fire on Westerplatte which lasted till 07:00. Flamethrowers and bombardment destroyed Guardhouse II and damaged Guardhouses I and IV.<ref name=Mannp15/> ''Schleswig-Holstein'' took part in the bombardments.<ref name="Komorowski2009p447"/>

At 09:45 on 7 September 1939, a white flag appeared. The Polish defence had so impressed the Germans that their commander, Eberhardt, initially let Sucharski keep his ceremonial ''[[szabla]]'' (Polish [[saber]]) in captivity<ref name="Komorowski2009p447"/> although it would be confiscated later.<ref name=Mannp15/> Contemporary English-language publications which reported on the event, such as ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' and the ''Pictorial History of the War'', misidentified the Polish commander as a Major "Koscianski".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Life|title=Heroic Polish Defense of Westerplatte Ends as Nazi Mop-up of Poland Begins|date=9 October 1939|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30|page=30|issn=0024-3019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hutchinson|first1=Walter|title=Hutchinson's Pictorial History of the War (Volume 1)|date=1939|publisher=Virtue and Company Ltd|pages=89|oclc=871264173}}</ref>{{Rp|89}}

Sucharski surrendered the post to Kleikamp, and the Germans stood at attention as the Polish garrison marched out at 11:30.<ref name=Mannp15/> Over 3,000 Germans, including soldiers and support formations such as the Danzig Police, had been tied up in the week-long operation against the small Polish garrison; about half of the Germans (570 on land, over 900 at sea) had taken part in direct action. German casualties totalled 50 killed (16 from the [[Kriegsmarine]]<ref name=Lask/>) and 150 wounded.<ref name="Komorowski2009p447"/> The Poles had lost 15 men and had sustained at least 40 wounded.<ref name="Komorowski2009p447">Komorowski 2009 p447</ref><ref name=Lask/>

==Aftermath==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-516-505, Westerplatte, hissen der Reichskriegsflagge.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Reichskriegsflagge|German war flag]] 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sudoł|first=Tomasz|date=2013|title=Tajemnica Westerplatte|trans-title=The Secret of Westerplatte|url=http://pamiec.pl/download/49/30538/Tajemnica_Westerplatte__22013.pdf|journal=Pamięć.pl|language=pl|volume=2|pages=14–15|access-date=2018-07-06|archive-date=2014-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826161841/http://pamiec.pl/download/49/30538/Tajemnica_Westerplatte__22013.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 [[Code (cryptography)|codes]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rasiński Kazimierz sierż rez|url=http://mhmg.pl/lista/zaloga-westerplatte/293/rasinski-kazimierz-sierz-rez/193|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621143648/http://mhmg.pl/lista/zaloga-westerplatte/293/rasinski-kazimierz-sierz-rez/193|archive-date=21 June 2018|access-date=21 June 2018|website=www.mhmg.pl|publisher=Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Gdańska|trans-title=Rasiński Kazimierz Sgt.|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Jackson|first=Robert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_VmAAAAMAAJ|title=Battle of the Baltic: The Wars 1918–1945|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84415-422-7}}</ref>{{rp|55}} On 19 September [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] came to visit Danzig. While there, on 21 September, he inspected Westerplatte.<ref name=":0" />

Westerplatte saw another round of fighting during the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]] in 1945. From 28 March to 1 April, elements of the German [[73rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|73rd Infantry Division]] defended the peninsula from the Soviet [[76th Guards Rifle Division]] until the German units were evacuated by sea.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Walki Sowietów i Niemców o Westerplatte|trans-title=Soviet and German Struggle over the Westerplatte|url=https://muzeum1939.pl/walki-sowietow-i-niemcow-o-westerplatte/timeline/212.html|access-date=28 August 2020|website=Muzeum II Wojny Światowej|language=pl}}</ref>

== Significance ==
[[File:Westerplatte koszary 2.jpg|thumb|Ruins of Westerplatte barracks, 2005]]
[[File:79th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II (7).jpg|thumb|A Polish naval officer delivering an address during the 79th anniversary of the Battle of Westerplatte in 2018.]]
The Battle of Westerplatte is often described as the opening battle of [[World War II]],<ref name="Zabecki2015">{{cite book|author=Zabecki|first=David T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mq_lCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT1663|title=World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-81242-3|quote=The earliest fighting started at 0445 hours when marines from the battleship Schleswig-Holstein attempted to storm a small Polish fort in Danzig, the Westerplate}}</ref>{{rp|1663}}<ref name="Paterson2015">{{cite book|author=Paterson|first=Lawrence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w34ACwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|title=Schnellboote: A Complete Operational History|year=2015|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1-84832-083-3|quote=Two minutes later the old battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened World War Two by bombarding the Polish military transit depot at Westerplatte, Danzig}}</ref>{{rp|19}} 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.<ref name="Dear1995">{{cite book|author=Dear|first=Ian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K6iLdPOQddAC|title=The Oxford Guide to World War II|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-534096-9}}</ref>{{rp|995}} A bridge in nearby [[Tczew]] had been bombed around 04:30,<ref name="ZalogaMadej1990">{{cite book|last1=Zaloga|first1=Steve|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L1EpAQAAMAAJ|title=The Polish Campaign, 1939|last2=Madej|first2=W. Victor|year=1990|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=978-0-87052-013-6}}</ref>{{rp|107}}<ref name="Weal2012">{{cite book|author=Weal|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7jvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT4|title=Bf 109D/E Aces 1939–41|year=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-78200-526-1}}</ref>{{Rp|4–7}} and the [[false flag|false-flag]] [[Operation Himmler]] had begun hours earlier.<ref name="Wittmann2016">{{cite book|author=Wittmann|first=Anna M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lm91DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA83|title=Talking Conflict: The Loaded Language of Genocide, Political Violence, Terrorism, and Warfare|year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-4408-3425-7}}</ref>{{rp|83}}

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."<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|448}}

For both sides, the battle had mostly political, rather than tactical, importance.<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|447}} It tied up substantial German forces for much longer than anyone had expected, preventing ''Schleswig-Holstein'' from lending fire support in the nearby [[battle of Hel|battles of Hel]] and [[battle of Gdynia|Gdynia]].<ref name="Komorowski2009" />{{rp|448}}

Westerplatte's defence inspired the Polish Army and people even as German advances continued elsewhere; beginning on 1 September 1939, [[Polish Radio]] repeatedly broadcast the phrase that made Westerplatte an important symbol: ''"Westerplatte broni się jeszcze"'' ("Westerplatte fights on").<ref name="doct">{{Cite book|last=Zajączkowski|first=Krzysztof|url=http://www.sbc.org.pl/Content/96273/doktorat3357.pdf|title=Westerplatte. Mechanizmy kształtowania się i funkcjonowania miejsca pamięci w latach 1945–1989 (rozprawa doktorska)|publisher=Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach|year=2013|language=pl|trans-title=Westerplatte. Mechanisms of Creation and Functioning of Places of Memory in Years 1945–1989 (Doctoral Thesis)}}</ref>{{rp|39, 53}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://muzhp.pl/pl/e/1980/kapitulacja-westerplatte|title=Kapitulacja Westerplatte - Muzeum Historii Polski|last=Cichocki|first=Paweł|website=Muzeum Historii Polsk|language=pl|access-date=21 June 2018|trans-title=Surrender of Westerplatte – Polish History Museum|archive-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621143417/http://muzhp.pl/pl/e/1980/kapitulacja-westerplatte|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 16 September [[Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński]] penned a poem, ''{{ill|Song about the Soldiers of Westerplatte|pl|Pieśń o żołnierzach Westerplatte}}'', voicing a subsequent myth that all of Westerplatte's defenders had died in the battle, fighting to the last man.<ref name=doct/>{{rp|51, 158}}<ref name="Gałczyńska1998">{{cite book|author=Gałczyńska|first=Kira|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1JhAAAAMAAJ|title=Gałczyński|publisher=Wydawn. Dolnośląskie|year=1998|language=pl|isbn=978-0-195-08137-4}}</ref>{{rp|99}} The battle became a symbol of resistance to the invasion – a Polish [[Battle of Thermopylae]].<ref name="LerskiLerski1996"/>{{rp|646}} As early as 1943, a [[Polish People's Army]] unit was named for Westerplatte's soldiers (the [[1st Armoured Brigade (Poland)|Polish 1st Armoured Brigade of the Defenders of Westerplatte]]).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Anduła|first=Kamil|title=Udział 1 Warszawskiej Brygady Pancernej im. Bohaterów Westerplatte w walkach o Kępę Oksywską (30 marca-5 kwietnia 1945 r.)|trans-title=Participation of the Polish 1st Armoured Brigade of the Heroes of Westerplatte in the Battle of Kępa Oksywska (30 March-5 April 1945)|url=http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2012-t13_(64)-n3_(241)/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2012-t13_(64)-n3_(241)-s43-62/Przeglad_Historyczno_Wojskowy-r2012-t13_(64)-n3_(241)-s43-62.pdf|journal=Przegląd Historyczno-Wojskowy|language=pl|volume=13 (64)/3 (241)|pages=43–62}}</ref> 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''.<ref name=doct/>{{rp|58}}

== 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-shock]]ed 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.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="doct" />{{rp|153}}<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kwiatkowski|first=Mikołaj|date=30 August 2016|title=Major Henryk Sucharski: wojskowy z tajemnicą|language=pl|trans-title=Major Henryk Sucharski: The Soldier with a Secret|work=Histmag.org|url=https://histmag.org/major-henryk-sucharski-wojskowy-z-tajemnica-13841/1|access-date=6 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="Derdej2009">{{cite book|author=Piotr|first=Derdej|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=La5KfmIfGv8C&pg=PA8|title=Westerplatte, Oksywie, Hel 1939|publisher=Bellona|year=2009|language=pl|isbn=978-83-11-11585-9}}</ref>{{Rp|8}}

Sucharski's conduct is still debated by historians.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Maciorowski|first=Mirosław|date=1 September 2014|title=Tajemnica majora Sucharskiego|language=pl|trans-title=The Secret of Major Sucharski|work=wyborcza.pl|url=http://wyborcza.pl/alehistoria/1,121681,16550762,Tajemnica_majora_Sucharskiego.html|access-date=6 July 2018}}</ref>

== 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),<ref>{{Cite news|date=1 September 2014|title=Westerplatte. Tusk jak nie Tusk: dziś nie "czas na piękne przemówienia"|language=pl|trans-title=Westerplatte. Tusk as if Not Tusk: Today Not the "Time for Beautiful Speeches"|work=WPolityce|url=https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/211722-westerplatte-tusk-jak-nie-tusk-dzis-nie-czas-na-piekne-przemowienia|access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref> President [[Bronisław Komorowski]] (2015),<ref>{{Cite news|date=8 May 2015|title=Komorowski na Westerplatte: w Europie są siły, które dążą do utrzymania sąsiadów w wasalnej zależności|language=pl|trans-title=Komorowski on Westerplatte: There Are Forces in Europe that Seek to Keep Their Neighbors in Vassal Dependence|work=TVP Info|url=https://www.tvp.info/19970456/komorowski-na-westerplatte-w-europie-sa-sily-ktore-daza-do-utrzymania-sasiadow-w-wasalnej-zaleznosci|access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref> President [[Andrzej Duda]] (2016),<ref>{{Cite news|date=1 September 2016|title=Nie można pozwolić na to, aby wracały w Europie działania i ambicje o charakterze imperialnym|language=pl|trans-title=Imperial Actions and Ambitions Must Not Be Allowed to Return in Europe|work=TVN24.pl|url=https://www.tvn24.pl/wiadomosci-z-kraju,3/77-rocznica-rozpoczecia-ii-wojny-uroczystosci-na-westerplatte,672699.html|access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref> and Prime Minister [[Beata Szydło]] (2017).<ref>{{Cite news|date=1 September 2017|title="Musimy przypominać, kto był bohaterem, a kto katem". Premier na Westerplatte w 78. rocznicę wybuchu II wojny światowej|language=pl|trans-title="We have to Remind Who Was the Hero and Who Was the Executioner." Prime Minister at Westerplatte on the 78th Anniversary of the Outbreak of World War II|work=WPROST.pl|url=https://www.wprost.pl/kraj/10073292/Musimy-przypominac-kto-byl-bohaterem-a-kto-katem-Premier-na-Westerplatte-w-78-rocznice-wybuchu-II-wojny-swiatowej.html|access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sandecki|first=Maciej|date=2 September 2009|title=Przesłanie z Westerplatte|trans-title=A Message from Westerplatte|url=http://wyborcza.pl/1,75398,6991440,Przeslanie_z_Westerplatte.html|access-date=8 July 2018|website=wyborcza.pl|language=pl}}</ref>

The Battle of Westerplatte has been the subject of two Polish films: ''[[Westerplatte (film)|Westerplatte]]'' (1967), and ''[[Tajemnica Westerplatte]]'' (The Secret of Westerplatte, 2013).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Szczerba|first=Jacek|date=1 September 2017|title="Tajemnica Westerplatte" czy "Westerplatte" - dwa filmy na ten sam temat|language=pl|trans-title="Tajemnica Westerplatte" or "Westerplatte" - Two Movies About the Same Topic|work=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]]|url=https://wyborcza.pl/7,90535,22305504,tajemnica-westerplatte-czy-westerplatte-dwa-filmy-na-ten.html|access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name="doct" />{{rp|3, 55}}

=== Tourist attraction ===
The Polish 75&nbsp;mm field gun became one of Germany's first [[War trophy|war trophies]] of World War II, displayed on a column at [[Flensburg]]. After the war, it was moved to stand before the [[Naval Academy Mürwik]].<ref name="Lask" />
[[File:Westerplatte-Denkmal Danzig 2010.jpg|thumb|right|[[Westerplatte Monument]], an obelisk also known as the "Monument to the Defenders of the Coast" or "Historical Monument, Site of the Battle of Westerplatte".]]
Westerplatte's Guardhouses I, III and IV, the power plant, and the barracks survived the war.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=doct/>{{rp|294}} In 1946, a {{ill|Cemetery of the Fallen Defenders of Westerplatte|pl|Cmentarzyk Poległych Obrońców Westerplatte}} and a [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]] were established on the peninsula; the cemetery was placed near the destroyed Guardhouse V.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=doct/>{{rp|296}} During the early postwar [[Stalinist]] era, Westerplatte was presented as a symbol of Poland's prewar anticommunist government and was marginalised in official history; Mieczysław Słaby, the garrison surgeon at Westerplatte, was arrested, tortured and died in the custody of the [[Ministry of Public Security (Poland)|Ministry of Public Security]] in 1948.<ref name=":4" /> After [[Polish October|the mid-1950s liberalization]], Westerplatte was repurposed as a [[Propaganda in the Polish People's Republic|communist propaganda]] symbol; in 1956, the [[Polish Naval Academy]] was named for the "Heroes of Westerplatte", and that name began to be given to schools, streets, and other institutions.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=doct/>{{rp|298, 300}} In 1962 a [[Christian cross]] at the cemetery was replaced with a Soviet [[T-34]] tank, and the first government-organized remembrances began at Westerplatte.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=doct/>{{rp|302–304}} In 1966, a [[Westerplatte Monument]], a {{convert|25|m|yd}}-tall [[obelisk]] atop a [[mound]], was erected at Westerplatte, set within a park, with smaller installations.<ref name=doct/>{{rp|308–311}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=ZDiZ|title=1 Pomnik Historii "POLE BITWY NA WESTERPLATTE"|trans-title=1 Monument to the History of "The Battle Field on Westetplatte"|url=http://www.zdiz.gda.pl/zdizgdansk/chapter_76059.asp|access-date=6 July 2018|website=Gdański Zarząd Dróg i Zieleni|language=pl|archive-date=17 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217001624/http://www.zdiz.gda.pl/zdizgdansk/chapter_76059.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> Westerplatte became a popular tourist attraction.<ref name=doct/>{{rp|351}} Later, Guardhouse I was relocated in order to save it from destruction during the construction of a new harbour channel.<ref name=":0" /> In 1971, Sucharski's grave was relocated to Westerplatte from his original burial place in Italy.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=doct/>{{rp|319–322}} In 1974, a small museum was opened in the renovated Guardhouse I.<ref name=doct/>{{rp|326}} Since the 1980s, Westerplatte has been administered by the [[National Museum, Gdańsk|National Museum in Gdańsk]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Gierszewski|first=Andrzej|date=30 April 2018|title=Wartownia Nr 1 Westerplatte|trans-title=Guardhouse No. 1 Westerplatte|url=https://muzeumgdansk.pl/oddzialy-muzeum/wartownia-nr1-westerplatte/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=|publisher=Muzeum Gdańska|language=pl}}</ref> In 1981, the cross was restored to the cemetery.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=doct/>{{rp|334}} In June 1987, Westerplatte was visited by [[Pope John Paul II]];<ref name=doct/>{{rp|338}}<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 June 2018|title=12 czerwca 1987. Jan Paweł II na Westerplatte|trans-title=June 12, 1987. John Paul II at Westerplatte|url=http://www.solidarnosc.gda.pl/aktualnosci/12-czerwca-1987-jan-pawel-ii-na-westerplatte/|access-date=8 July 2018|website=Region Gdański NSZZ "Solidarność"|language=pl-PL|archive-date=8 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708133154/http://www.solidarnosc.gda.pl/aktualnosci/12-czerwca-1987-jan-pawel-ii-na-westerplatte/|url-status=dead}}</ref> his visit is commemorated by a plaque unveiled in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Oleksy|first=Ewelina|date=13 June 2015|title=Tablica ze słowami papieża Jana Pawła II na Westerplatte [ZDJĘCIA]|language=pl-PL|trans-title=Plaque with the Words of Pope John Paul II at Westerplatte [PHOTOS]|work=gdansk.naszemiasto.pl|url=http://gdansk.naszemiasto.pl/artykul/tablica-ze-slowami-papieza-jana-pawla-ii-na-westerplatte,3419841,artgal,t,id,tm.html|access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref>

Following the [[fall of communism]] in [[Eastern and Central Europe]], a change symbolic of [[History of Poland (1989–present)|Poland's political transformation]] was the 2007 transfer of the Soviet T-34 tank from the cemetery to a museum in another town.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=doct/>{{rp|349–350}} In 2001, the Polish government recognised Westerplatte's ruins as an [[object of cultural heritage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/rejestr-zabytkow/zestawienia-zabytkow-nieruchomych/stan%20na%2031.03.2016/POM-rej.pdf|title=Official Listing of Objects of Cultural Heritage|website=NID (National Heritage Board of Poland)|access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref> On 1 September 2003, the site was designated an official [[List of Historical Monuments (Poland)|Historic Monument]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gdańsk – pole bitwy na Westerplatte|trans-title=Gdańsk - The Battlefield on Westerplatte|url=https://www.nid.pl/pl/Informacje_ogolne/Zabytki_w_Polsce/Pomniki_historii/Lista_miejsc/miejsce.php?ID=278|access-date=21 June 2018|website=www.nid.pl|publisher=Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa|language=pl}}</ref> In the mid-2010s, the Polish government decided to create a dedicated {{ill|Westerplatte Museum|pl|Muzeum Westerplatte i Wojny 1939}}, commemorating the 1939 battle; as of 2019, the museum was planned to be opened in 2026.<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 November 2019|title=Muzeum na Westerplatte zacznie powstawać w 2022 roku|trans-title=The Museum on Westerplatte Will Start to Be Built in 2022|url=https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Muzeum-na-Westerplatte-zacznie-powstawac-w-2022-roku-n139866.html|access-date=28 August 2020|website=trojmiasto.pl|language=pl}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Battle of Westerplatte}}
* [[Bombing of Wieluń]]
* [[Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig]]
* [[2022 Snake Island campaign|2022 Snake island campaign]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

*{{cite book|last=Komorowski|first=Krzysztof|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLydUSWHEm0C|title=Boje polskie 1939–1945: przewodnik encyklopedyczny |publisher=Bellona|date=2009|isbn=978-83-11-10357-3|trans-title=Polish Fights: 1939–1945: An Encyclopedic Guide |chapter=Westerplatte (1–7 IX 1939) }}
*{{cite book|last=Mann |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cU_NAAACAAJ |title=Great Battles of World War II |publisher=Parragon |date=2008 |isbn=978-1-4075-2513-6}}

{{Gdańsk}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerplatte, Battle Of}}
[[Category:1939 in Poland]]
[[Category:Battles of the Invasion of Poland]]
[[Category:Sieges involving Germany]]
[[Category:Sieges involving Poland]]
[[Category:Free City of Danzig]]
[[Category:Danzig in World War II]]
[[Category:September 1939 in Europe]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in 1939]]
[[Category:Sieges of Gdańsk]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in Poland]]
[[Category:Ambushes in Europe]]
[[Category:Ambushes of World War II]]
[[Category:Naval bombing operations and battles of World War II]]
[[Category:Attacks on ports and harbours]]