Westerplatte, Poland First Shots of WWII

Here is our destination for the day, Westerplatte.  The site that is generally accepted as being the place where the very first shots of WWII were fired. (Although some would argue Tczew witnessed shots 3 minutes earlier.)  Gdansk, or Danzig, was never given fully to Poland or Germany after WWI and thus saw both sides build up forces in the area.  Finally, Germany sent a ship on a supposed memorial mission to the port here.  Fortunately the Polish had been secretly building up their forces and resistance for months, even surreptitiously thinning the firing lines under the cover of night, snipping enough branches and limbs to fire more effectively but not too many to avoid the notice of the German forces in the area.  They also would build structures in the middle of the night, hammering with felt wrapped around the hammer heads and nails to muffle the sound.  The original plans called for the few Polish fighters at Westerplatte to hold out for 12 hours, enough time for the backup that would never come.  Hitler assumed they would last a day.  Beyond all odds, they held out for seven days under constant fire and shelling from the German forces, including bombings from above by the superior German air force.  After finally capturing Westerplatte, the Germans had so much respect for the Polish fighters here, they allowed the Captain to carry a ceremonial saber and swore that the Polish had used underground bunkers to fire upon them and resist so effectively.  Amazing, living and breathing history here.