From Aircraft Bombs to Artillery Shells: Over 4,700 Dangerous Artifacts Removed From WWII Battlefield in Poland

Over 4,700 dangerous artifacts were taken from a World War II battlefield in Europe.

The artifacts included aircraft bombs, artillery shells, and other items that have clear military origins. These were found in the Westerplatte peninsula of Poland's Bay of Gdańsk, situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

Battle of Westerplatte

Back in September 1939, forces entered the Westerplatte peninsula and started the Battle of Westerplatte. It is considered the first battle of Poland's Nazi invasion.

The Battle of Westerplatte started when German forces assaulted the Polish Military Transit Depot (WST), which was an ammunition depot that was garrisoned.

Though the battle ended with the victory of the Nazi forces, it is considered a resistance symbol in Poland today. This is due to how the Polish garrison was able to hold out for around seven days, which was longer than what either side expected.

The battle was able to tie up substantial forces of Germany in Westerplatte and prevent more than 3,000 soldiers from Germany from offering support to the battles of Gdynia and Hel nearby.

With strong military power and superiority, the German Army was able to control Poland in just a few weeks' time. Subsequently, the Army went on to conquer a huge area of Europe during the early war stages.

As a response to Poland's invasion, France and the United Kingdom ended up declaring war against Germany's Nazis.

Over 4,700 Dangerous Artifacts Cleared

Since 2016, Gdańsk's Museum of the Second World War has been working on a project to clear dangerous materials from the Westerplatte area. This project has covered Polish Army specialists and other experts from private companies.

The clearing work's last stage, which was recently finished, mainly focused on a 2.5-hectare area. As part of this stage, the specialists were able to find 49 dangerous artifacts that were sent to be neutralized.

Moreover, over 180 additional historical artifacts were also uncovered.

The museum also revealed in a press release that the most recent work has brought the count of retrieved dangerous artifacts to over 4,700 dangerous items across more than 13 hectares.

The items include around 200 artillery shells with different calibers, three aircraft bombs, fuses, hand grenades and mortars, and other elements of ammunition for small arms.

One aircraft bomb was found to weigh over 1,100 pounds and was situated roughly 12 inches below the surface.

Historical Artifacts

The efforts also resulted in the uncovering of around 3,800 historical artifacts that were related to the history of Westerplatte. These trace back to the 18th century up until the postwar period.

Such objects include musket shells, coins, cannonballs, decorative stove tiles, and several items linked to the WST across the peninsula.

The musket shells serve as evidence of the fights of the War of the Polish Succession as well as the Napoleonic period in 1733-1738.

The artifacts related to the WST included uniform and weapon elements, as well as railway infrastructure parts.

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