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WWII On This Day: September 25

What happened on September 25 during World War II? This date brings together 3 events from 1939 and 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1939
Warsaw burning during the German air attacks of 25 September 1939, photographed from a Luftwaffe aircraft.
Warsaw burning during the German air attacks of 25 September 1939, photographed from a Luftwaffe aircraft. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S53511 · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE Source
Invasion of Poland 1939

Warsaw endures its heaviest day of bombardment

German aircraft and artillery attacked Warsaw throughout 25 September, producing widespread fires across a city whose water, medical and transport systems were already under severe pressure. Contemporary Polish accounts describe hundreds of bombers operating through the day. The bombardment formed part of the siege and preparations for the final ground assault, with air and artillery attacks directed against a defended urban area already crowded with civilians and refugees. By the end of the day the cumulative damage to utilities, housing, hospitals and communications had narrowed the military command's options. The…

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Aerial view of Warsaw burning after German bombing in September 1939.
Aerial view of Warsaw burning after German bombing in September 1939. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L14673 · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE Source
The Bombing of Cities

Warsaw is bombed inside a siege

Warsaw had been under air and artillery attack since German forces reached the capital in September. On 25 September the Luftwaffe mounted one of the heaviest attacks of the siege while German artillery also struck the city. Warsaw was not an undefended city presented to a free-standing strategic bomber force. Polish troops were actively defending the capital and the bombardment formed part of the German effort to force that defence to collapse. Civilians, hospitals, water, power and housing nevertheless shared the same urban space as military headquarters and communications. The…

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1944
Allied transport aircraft and gliders overhead while paratroops descend over the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden on 17 September 1944.
U.S. Army Air Forces / National Archives, NAID 531308 · Public domain in the United States · Source
Operation Market Garden

Operation Berlin begins

Operation Berlin began after dark on 25 September. Marked routes led men from the Oosterbeek perimeter toward the river while British and Canadian engineers operated assault boats from the south bank under artillery cover and heavy rain. The evacuation continued through the night. Dutch defence records give 2,163 men crossing during the main operation; additional survivors escaped later. Wounded men and medical staff who could not be moved remained behind.

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