Westerplatte fortifications

[daveh]

I am interested in any pics and plans of the fortifications of Westerplatte.
Can anyone help with links or postings..in english for preference.

Westerplatte was the first position to be fired on by the Germans. Its small garrison held out for about 7 days against SS troops, battleship guns, heavy mortars, Stukas and infantry. The garrison lost 15 KIA and 20 WIA inflicting c 9 to 10 times this number of casualties on the Germans.

[Ogorek]

You can't do better than the AFTER THE BATTLE issue dedicated to Westerplatte - by Karel Magry EXCELLENT!

[PolAntek]

Westerplatte – a testament to the courage and tenacity of the Polish soldier. If you’ve even seen the German footage of the Schleswig-Holstein firing salvo after salvo from her four 280 mm and ten 150 mm guns from point blank range just off shore you can’t help but wonder how the Poles held out. I have some of this film in my collection, and it is just unbelievable that they withstood the attack as long as they did.

Sorry that I do not have any plans or pictures relevant to your question. However, I can share the following photos that came up for sale on e-Bay a while ago. You can see the ordeal painted on the face of the captured soldiers.

[seppalar]

Does anyone have a good map of the Westerplatte and Danzig. I have seen some small scale maps but they don't give a good impression of how large the Westerplatte was.

Was it on the scall of a couple of hunded meters long? A kilometer? How far from the centre of Danzig? What was it's elevation etc?

Of course I'm really wondering what kind of a heavy fort could have been built there and where its guns could reach in the area. A little Fort Drum might have been useful for keeping Danzigers a bit less enthusiastic about war!

Rick Seppala

[Musashi]

Does anyone have a good map of the Westerplatte and Danzig. I have seen some small scale maps but they don't give a good impression of how large the Westerplatte was.

Was it on the scall of a couple of hunded meters long? A kilometer? How far from the centre of Danzig? What was it's elevation etc?

I am very busy now, so you have a map of Westerplatte with a scale. If I have time I'll find a map of Gdansk. I'll be unable to find a city plan of Danzig, because such a city does not exist!

[henryk]

For a large scale map of any area of present day Gdansk (interactive):
http://plan.naszemiasto.pl/plan_gdansk.html
The London Public Library has a large scale map of Gdansk in the travel file folder for Poland.

[seppalar]

Thank you very much Mushashi,

The Westerplatte was pretty big, big enough to arm much more effectively than was done.

Rick Seppala

[Stephan]

The Westerplatte was pretty big, big enough to arm much more effectively than was done.

Yes. But Westerplatte wasnt meaned to be a fortess but merely a guarding installation. So for example the lone 75mm field gun - their "secret weapon" - was there more or less illegally.

And they had right to have only 150 soldiers + the officers. So they oh so cunningly secured the 30 civilian workers all were soldiers in reserve - and when the shooting began - voilá! In 5 minutes the force was reinforced by 30 trained soldiers...

[seppalar]

Stephan,

there go my plans for another Fort Drum! Even 180 men wouldn't make that work.

Now when I get in my Way-Back machine I will wave to put the big guns at the tip of the Hela peninsula. I think the Lion's (Tiger's?) 13.5" turrets would be a better investment than submarines. They might have made Gdansk'ers think before going Nazi.

Thanks for the info.

Henryk, I want a map of 1939 Danzig (Gdansk) because I want to know how far it was to various critical installations. That is to say, could 22cm mortars in Gdynia have knocked the power plant and waterworks out, could they have supported the Post Office workers etc? Even the Map Library at UWO doesn't have such a map - or if they do they don't know it, you can look in the Autogun forum to see my comments on the UWO libraries.

Rick Seppala

[czajna]

Westerplatte WAS NOT the first position to be fired on by the Germans. Before German attacked Westerplatte, Luftwaffe had bombarded Wielun town.

[Windward]

http://www.republika.pl/zweglarz/

a good page about Polish Navy 1918-1945, and has some maps

[henryk]

This site has a 1938 Polish Military typographical Map which includes the Free City Of Gdansk, 1:100,000 Scale. I never saw the Gdansk part, as it takes ages to load on dial-up; but it was interesting to compare 1938 Gdynia with present day.
http://mapywig.obluze.net.pl/mapy/P31_S27_Gdansk_tp.png

[mietek]

Page about westerplatte (not so many pictures yet):
http://www.westerplatte.org/westerplatt ... e/0005.jpg
http://www.westerplatte.org/glowna/index.php?kod=31

and thread about westerplatte (but some pictures are from other locations):

http://www.odkrywca-online.com/pokaz_watek.php?id=67736

Last year publication about westerplatte:



Best Regards

mietek

[GeneralJack]

Page about westerplatte (not so many pictures yet):
http://www.westerplatte.org/westerplatt ... e/0005.jpg
http://www.westerplatte.org/glowna/term paper.php?kod=3

and thread about westerplatte (but some pictures are from other locations):

http://www.odkrywca-online.com/pokaz_watek.php?id=67736

Last year publication about westerplatte:



Best Regards

mietek

Once again, a great forum for a person looking to learn about world history, especially that of wars. It is incredible to me to hear the story of the ground-holding polish military and their first encounter with the Germans. This has to be the oldest thread I have dug up here on the forums, but I am so very glad to have found it. These links are providing me with a lot of new knowledge. Thank you mietek.

[naltar]

just for some reference, I'm working on getting a scan of a Westerplatte map, dated 1934. Scale is somewhat bewildering (5K, no mistake there), and one sheet covers the whole area, apparently. I will post a message once the scan is available. It might take a couple of months, but it will be done.

n.