Various neighborhoods and locations in Gdansk
Airport
Botanical Gardens and Zoo
Bus Station
Chelm
Dluga (Long) Street
Dolne Miasto
Eikkis Apartment
Factory District
Five Star
Forest City
Fort Grodzisko
Ganymede Bar
Golden Gate
Great Mill
Harbor
Holy Trinity Church
Hospital
International Brigade Post Office HQ
Kaminskis Compound
Kaminskis Hotel
Ladas Compound
Light Munitions Factories
Marians Farm
Merchant Union Distillery
Merchant Union Fortress
Milk Bar
Neptune Theater
Nowe Ogrody
Old Coal Power Plant
Old City
Olowianka Island
Ostrow Island
Portowa Island
Portowa Island Rail Yard
Refinery
Siedlce Gdanski
Sikora Armaments
Solidarity Market
St. Marys
The Admirals
Thieves Market
Westerplatte
Wyspa Spichrzow
Description
Gdansk was the 4th largest city in Poland and served as its principle sea port. Beginning in the spring of 1997, city was bombed by NATO aircraft targeting the rail yards, dock facilities, power plant, heavy industry, and petrochemical facilities. As NATO advanced into Poland, the bombing shifted to tactical military targets and the city began preparations for the arrival of ground forces. By May the fighting had reached the outskirts and city soon encircled. Initially, NATO fought to contain the Pact forces inside the city and keep them penned up - until enough resources were available for an urban assault. Over the weeks and months that followed, the city's inhabitants were subject to artillery fire and probes, reducing whole blocks to rubble, and localized use of chemical weapons. Food and supplies rapidly dwindled. On June 2nd a Polish Foxtrot class submarine, ORP Wilk, slipped into the harbor delivering supplies. Then in the autumn of 1997, with Warsaw in the south relieved and NATO falling back under mounting pressure from they Soviets, the siege was abandoned.
Following the relief of Gdansk, the city was struck by a low-yield nuclear ground bursts, targeting the airport. Despite the blast and fire damage, the populated city core was neither destroyed or abandoned. Winds at the time carried radioactive fallout from ground zero northeast, missing the city center, but blanketing the populated Sopot, Oliwa, and Zaspa neighborhoods. Then in the early months of 1998, a second tactical strike targeted the damaged but still functioning harbor facilities near the Westerplatte. This time the city was spared the horrors of radioactive fallout. but the population had already been decimated.
Over the next two years the number of inhabitants would continue to decline as disease and other hardships ravaged the survivors. The winters were the worst, when the cold killed during the nights and food stocks ran low. Polish authorities lacked the manpower to do little of anything and civil order inched closer to anarchy. In turn, neighborhoods and streets began to form armed watches and gangs. Alliances were made, factions formed, and though fighting often broke out, Gdansk didn't implode.
As time wore on, Gdansk increasingly found itself distancing itself from Malbork, which had become the nearest regional authority. The Baltic city was expected to use the remnants of its fishing fleet to help feed the other garrison towns such as Gydnia, despite their much smaller populations, and there was little in return. Anger and frustration set in as Malbork was given priority on food and other resources. Dissension slowly grew and would play a part when NATO returned.
In 2000, Gdansk was occupied by elements of the US 2nd Marine Division during NATO's summer offensive. Landings at Sobieszewo Island, Sopot, and up the Vistula River, scattered the relatively weak Polish forces in the area. In some instances, militias stood down, rather than mustering and joining in what would have been a futile defense. Others quietly welcomed the the Marines' arrival. Before long American civil affairs personnel contacted key figures and factions in the city who were sympathetic to the Polish Free Congress. While some had been known in advance by NATO intelligence, others stepped forward, eager to help form a joint governing authority with the occupation forces. For those in Gdansk who'd been wishing for less interference from the Polish Military Government in Malbork, the invasion offered them just what they were looking for - even if it was under a foreign flag.
US forces were not in Gdansk for long however. Following the failure of the NATO offensive and shocking WarPac counterattack, a general retreat was issued. Overnight, the Marines withdrew in a confused evacuation that coincided with a costly skirmish at sea. Though many Marines were left stranded, the pro-independence supporters were for the most part, now on their own. Without foreign support, most people in Gdansk at the time thought independence was anything but a lost cause. The city was too divided and too disorganized to take direct action. Slowly however, with the reformation of the stranded Marines into a cohesive unit, the arrival of freed NATO PoWs, and the efforts of charismatic leaders, the city closed it's doors to the outside - not openly declaring independence, yet, but breaking ties with the oppressive leadership in Malbork.
Currently, the pro-independence leaders and organizations lack any real unity, are distrustful of each other, to form a Free City under one banner. There are others still that wish to retain the city's allegiance to Malbork, either out of loyalty or fear. The KGB/GRU exploit work to exploit the fear, spreading propaganda as well as abducting or assassinating key members of the original NATO established authority.
It's now only a matter of time before Polish and Soviet troops march on Gdansk to bring it back under control.
Official Map of Gdansk with Various Factions
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