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Westerplatte [Map]

Size: 1000x1000m
Last update: 22.08.2025

Westerplatte, a small Polish Military Transit Depot near Gdańsk, became the site where the Second World War began. At dawn on September 1st, 1939, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire, followed by a massive assault from land, sea, and air forces.

Inside the peninsula, a garrison of fewer than 200 Polish soldiers faced several thousand German troops, supported by artillery, naval guns, and Luftwaffe bombers. The defenders had been ordered to resist for only 12 hours until relief could arrive which never did , they endured seven days of relentless fighting.

Cut off, outnumbered, and with little hope of reinforcement, the Polish soldiers fought with extraordinary bravery, repelling repeated assaults and inflicting heavy casualties on the attackers. Their resistance became a powerful symbol of courage and determination, marking the opening chapter of the war with an act of defiance remembered to this day.