Prelude
The coastal batteries on Hel were among the strongest on Polish soil at the start of the Second World War. On September the first in 1939 the Germans invaded Poland. It was the first armed conflict of Germany, before they annexed the Rhineland, Austria and the Sudetenland without a shot fired.
In the Harbour of Danzig the battleship SMS Schleswig-Holstein floated as a guest, like a Trojan horse the battleship was disguised with a “ceremonial visit”. The Germans cleverly placed a fully armed pre-dreadnought behind the Polish defences.
The Battle of Hel
While the German forces crossed the Polish border, the Schleswig-Holstein released its fury at the Polish defenders on the Westerplatte, point blank and from the rear. Schleswig-Holstein fired the first shots of the war. When the Polish army got over their initial surprise, they put up a strong fight which raged on for days.
Invading German forces sealed off the Hel peninsula so they could march on to Danzig – Gdansk today. The Battle for the Westerplatte and the Battle for Gdansk were prioritized to the Battle of Hel. 2800 Polish soldiers fought on the Hel peninsula with their 152,4 mm gun batteries and very effective FLAK batteries. They were bombarded by battleships, BF109 Messerschmitt fighters and the feared Stuka dive bombers. The defenders shot down approximately 50 planes during the battle. The Polish navy joined in on the battle and lost some ships during this battle, three of them can still be seen on a beach of the peninsula. In the last part of the battle the Polish defenders blew up parts of the Peninsula making Hel an island.
Due to low morale and ammunition shortage the defenders surrendered after a struggle of 32 days on October the 2nd, They were amongst the last Polish forces to put down their weapons.
