Battle
Defence of the Hel Peninsula
1 Sept 1939 – 2 Oct 1939 · Hel Peninsula
From 1 September to 2 October 1939 about 2,800 Polish soldiers held the Hel Fortified Area on the Baltic coast under Rear Admiral Włodzimierz Steyer; the navy commander, Rear Admiral Józef Unrug, also moved his headquarters there. They faced roughly 38,000 German infantry, supported by two old pre-dreadnought battleships, two destroyers and dozens of aircraft. Unrug ordered a surrender on 1 October and German forces occupied the peninsula by 2 October, taking about 3,600 Polish soldiers and sailors prisoner.
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- [1]Battle of Hel
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