According to the city's website, Tczew was the location of the start of World War II when German bombers attacked Polish sapper installations to prevent the bridges from being blown up at 04:34 on 1 September 1939 (the shelling of Westerplatte commenced at 04:45). The Germans sent two trains with soldiers to capture the bridges, disguised as freight trains, but thanks to Polish railroaders at Szymankowo, they came late, losing surprise factor, and the bridges were blown up after 6 am that day.[13]