Atlas of Battles

siege, major, interwar and Second World War

Siege of Warsaw

Siege of Warsaw was a siege conducted on 8 September 1939 at Warsaw, in what is now Poland; it lasted 20 days. It was part of the 1939 Invasion of Poland. The recorded result: German victory.

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The Royal Castle in Warsaw burning 17.09.1939 after a German shellfire.
The Royal Castle in Warsaw burning 17.09.1939 after a German shellfire.. Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought8 September 1939lasted 20 days
WhereWarsaw, Poland52.230N, 21.011E
OutcomeGerman victory
BelligerentsNazi GermanyagainstSecond Polish Republic; Service for Poland's Victory (from 27 September)
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, 193919391939Siege of Warsaw, 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

Date8 September 1939
to 28 September 1939
PlaceWarsaw, Poland
52.230N, 21.011E
KindSiege, interwar and Second World War
Territorial changeGerman occupation until 1945
Strength175,000 soldiers; 1,000 artillery pieces; 1,200 aircraft; 220 tanksPeak strength: 124,000-140,000 soldiers; 86 anti-aircraft guns; 64 artillery pieces; 33 tanks; ----Pursuit Brigade: 54 aircraft
Casualties and losses5,000 killed; 13,000 wounded; 80 tanks; 80-100 aircraft5,000 killed; 13,000-16,000 wounded; 140,000 captured; 80 tanks and tankettes; 63 aircraft; 18,000 civilians killed
Commanders
  • Walerian Czuma
  • Juliusz Zulauf
  • Juliusz Rómmel
  • Marian Porwit
  • Tadeusz Kutrzeba
  • Stefan Starzyński
Siege of WarsawSiege of WarsawWarsaw UprisingCapture of Warsaw (1657)Battle of WarsawSiege of WarsawLiberation of Warsaw concentration campWarsaw UprisingŁódźLublinBiałystok100 km52.230N, 21.011E
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 Siege of Warsaw
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Warsaw today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-09-16. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 113 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 136 m, 136 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 58% built-up, 33% tree cover, 6% water.

built-up: 58%tree cover: 33%water: 6%grassland: 3%built-up 58%tree cover 33%water 6%grassland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 125 mnorth to south, 10.0 km74 to 128 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 17 times between 1656 and 1944.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1939

Siege of Warsaw 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 Q182240, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Warsaw (1939), revision 1380775545, 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.