Bombing of Wieluń
The bombing of Wieluń is considered by many to be the first major act of World War II, and the September Campaign. After Luftwaffe air units moved into Polish airspace in the early morning of 1 September, they reached the town of Wieluń by 04:40–45. Around this time, the first strikes on the town were conducted, with a total of 46,000 kg bombs being dropped on civilian targets for 9 consecutive hours. Elsewhere, the Battle of Westerplatte and Danzig skirmishes began around the same time (04:45), starting the well-coordinated Invasion of Poland.
| Bombing of Wieluń | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Invasion of Poland | |||||||||
Wieluń town center after German Luftwaffe bombing on 1 September 1939 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Poland | Germany | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| none |
Walter Sigel Friedrich-Karl Freiherr von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels Oskar Dinort | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| None | Luftwaffe | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| None | Several dozen bombers, mostly Junkers Ju 87B | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 127-500 civilian casualties | None | ||||||||
(map before 1939 invasion of Poland)
Located near the German border, the town of Wieluń was completely undefended, lacking anti-air capabilities and a military garrison. Despite Wieluń having no military targets, airstrikes continued. German intelligence reports had stated there was a Polish cavalry brigade stationed in the town. The Luftwaffe had reportedly bombed a "clearly marked" hospital, and strafed fleeing civilians, and also bombed the nearby towns of Działoszyn, Radomsko, and Sulejów, which also had no military targets.
In the aftermath, 127 civilian casualties were reported – possibly "several hundred" – but the exact number remains unknown. 70% of the town (90 percent, in the city center) was destroyed.
As the attack on the town happened without a declaration of war, it constituted the first German war crime in World War II, because it violated the 1907 Hague Convention III - Opening of Hostilities prohibiting hostilities against neutral powers without notification of a declaration of war.