Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig

Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig was a battle fought on 1 September 1939 at Polish Post Office in the Free City of Danzig, in what is now Poland. It was part of the 1939 Invasion of Poland. The recorded result: Danzig/German victory.

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Defenders of the Polish Post Office in Gdansk, Poland 1939
Defenders of the Polish Post Office in Gdansk, Poland 1939. Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1 September 1939
WherePolish Post Office in the Free City of Danzig, Poland54.355N, 18.657E
OutcomeDanzig/German victory
BelligerentsSecond Polish RepublicagainstFree City of Danzig; Supported by: Nazi Germany
Casualties and losses8 killed; 14 wounded (6 died later); 38 capturedand8–10 killed; 21–22 wounded
Part of1939 Invasion of Poland1939

Where it sits in the 1939 Invasion of Poland

Battle of Wizna, 1939Battle of Łódź, 1939Battle of Cześniki, 1939Battle of Mikołów, 1939Battle of Pszczyna, 1939Battles of Parczew, Jabłoń and Milanów, 1939Battle of Westerplatte, 1939Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig, 1939Battle of Mława, 1939Charge at Krojanty, 1939Defense of the Coast of Poland in the September Campaign, 1939Battle of Mokra, 1939Battle of the Border, 1939Battle of Chojnice, 1939Battle of Lasy Królewskie, 1939Battle of Węgierska Górka, 1939Battle of Grudziądz, 1939Battle of Jordanów, 1939Battle of Częstochowa, 1939Battle of Borowa Góra, 1939Defense of Katowice, 1939Battle of Piotrków Trybunalski, 1939Battle of Różan, 1939Battle of Tuchola Forest, 1939Battle of Tomaszów Mazowiecki, 1939Battle of Pułtusk, 1939Battle of Krasną, 1939Battle of Łomża, 1939Siege of Warsaw, 1939Battle of Radom, 1939Siege of Gdynia, 1939Defense of Ochota and Wola (1939), 1939Battle of Wola Cyrusowa, 1939Battle of Odrzywoł, 1939Battle of the Bzura, 1939Battle of Hel, 1939Battle of Kampinos Forest, 1939Battle of Kępa Oksywska, 1939Battle of Mrogą, 1939Trip to Wawrzyszew, 1939Battle of Przemyśl, 1939Battle of Kałuszyn, 1939Raid on Okęcie and Załuski, 1939Battle of Modlin, 1939Battle of Kobryń, 1939Battle of Jaworow, 1939Battle of Biłgorajem, 1939Battle of Wilno, 1939Battle of Wólka Węglowa, 1939Battle of Grodno, 1939Battle of Kamionka Strumiłowa, 1939Battle of Krasnobród, 1939Battle of Husynne, 1939Battle of Rawa Ruska, 1939Battle of Władypol, 1939Battle of Szack, 1939Battle of Wytyczno, 1939Battle of Kock, 193919391939Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig, 1939
59 placed engagements of the 1939 Invasion of Poland in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1 September 1939
PlacePolish Post Office in the Free City of Danzig, Poland
54.355N, 18.657E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength56 postmen & families (43 armed with pistols and grenades); 1 anti-tank rifle; 3 Browning wz.1928 light machine guns180 Danzig police; 3 armoured cars; 2 75mm artillery pieces; 1 105mm howitzer
Casualties and losses8 killed; 14 wounded (6 died later); 38 captured8–10 killed; 21–22 wounded
Commanders
  • Konrad Guderski
  • Alfons Flisykowski
Defense of the Polish Post Office in DanzigDefense of the Polish Post Office in DanzigBattle of OliwaSiege of DanzigSiege of DanzigSiege of DanzigSiege of DanzigKaliningradGdyniaGrudziądzOlsztyn100 km54.355N, 18.657E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-04-10. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 11 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -8 to 125 m, 133 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 46% built-up, 27% tree cover, 15% grassland.

built-up: 46%tree cover: 27%grassland: 15%water: 6%cropland: 4%built-up 46%tree cover 27%grassland 15%water 6%cropland 4%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 114 mnorth to south, 10.0 km-3 to 14 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 8 times between 1577 and 1939.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1939

Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 469 in present-day Poland.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q564388, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig, revision 1375764049, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.