Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
offensive on the Eastern Front in the final stages of World War II. It took place in
Sambia
Sambia () or Samland () or Kaliningrad Peninsula (official name, , ''Kaliningradsky poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The peninsula is bounded by the Curonian Lagoon t ...
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
clear German forces from much of
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
. The defenders had been driven into a series of
pockets
A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag or ...
on the Baltic coast and in the city of
Königsberg
Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
, in which they were besieged.
Marshal
Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky ( 1895 – 5 December 1977) was a Soviet general who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, he served as the Chief of the General ...
, who had taken over command of the
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War.
The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...
in February, incorporated General
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan, born Hovhannes Baghramyan ( – 21 September 1982), was a Soviet military commander of Armenian origin who held the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. As commander of the 1st Baltic Front, he orchestrated the ...
's
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It ...
into his command from February 22, redesignating it as the Zemland Army Group (or Samland Front).Duffy, p.203 Bagramyan's forces initially laid siege to
Königsberg
Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
; the city was eventually stormed on April 9. They were then given the task of overcoming the substantial German force still remaining in
Sambia
Sambia () or Samland () or Kaliningrad Peninsula (official name, , ''Kaliningradsky poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The peninsula is bounded by the Curonian Lagoon t ...
.
German planning
German defence efforts had largely focused on the port of
Pillau
Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...
at the tip of the peninsula, which was the main evacuation point for casualties and East Prussian civilians. Throughout the
Battle of Königsberg
The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet Union, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3 ...
Hans Gollnick
__NOTOC__
Hans Gollnick (22 May 1892 – 15 February 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
At the beginning of World War II, Gollnick ...
, who had tried to maintain a corridor between Königsberg and Pillau.
On April 7, the remnants of
Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and Fourth Armies, which had been destroyed in encirclements at Danzig and
Heiligenbeil The term Heiligenbeil can refer to:
*The German name of Mamonovo, Russia
* Heiligenbeil concentration camp built near Mamonovo
*Heiligenbeil Pocket
The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron () was the site of a major encirclement battle o ...
respectively, were combined as '' Armee Ostpreußen'' with the task of defending Sambia, the
Vistula
The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
delta and the
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula (; ; ; or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is located in Puck County of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Name
The name of the peninsula ...
; Gollnick's troops were incorporated in it.
Most of the units of ''Armee Ostpreußen'' were little more than remnants, and the entire formation was very poorly supplied. During the battle for Sambia, its officers were outraged to discover that the ''
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' and ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'' had maintained large underground depots full of stores and fuel in the woods of the peninsula; the supplies had to be destroyed in the retreat.Duffy, p.384
Deployments
Red Army
*Samland Army Group (General
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan, born Hovhannes Baghramyan ( – 21 September 1982), was a Soviet military commander of Armenian origin who held the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. As commander of the 1st Baltic Front, he orchestrated the ...
)
**
2nd Guards Army
The 2nd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, most notably at Stalingrad.
History
The 2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Command (Stavka) from O ...
11th Guards Army
The 11th Guards Army () was a field army of the Red Army, the Soviet Ground Forces, and the Russian Ground Forces, active from 1943 to 1997.
History
World War II
For its prowess in battle, the second formation of the 16th Army was redesignat ...
49th Army
The 49th Combined Arms Army () is a combined arms ( field) army (CAA) of the Russian Ground Forces, formed in 2010 and headquartered in Stavropol. Military Unit в/ч 35181.
Part of the Southern Military District, the army traces its heritage b ...
Afanasy Beloborodov
Afanasy Pavlantyevich Beloborodov (; – 1 September 1990) was a general in the Red Army during the Second World War who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Between 1963 and 1968, he commanded the Moscow Military District.
Ea ...
Dietrich von Saucken
Friedrich Wilhelm Eduard Kasimir Dietrich von Saucken (16 May 1892 – 27 September 1980) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 2nd Army and the Army East Prussia. Turning down an offer to escape by air, he surrendered t ...
Gerhard Matzky
__NOTOC__
Gerhard Matzky (19 March 1894 – 9 June 1983) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Matzky joined the Bundeswehr in 1956 and s ...
1st
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
Pillau
Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...
' (Lieutenant-General
Kurt Chill
Kurt Chill (1 May 1895 – 5 July 1976), born in Toruń, was a Nazi German general in the German army during World War II who commanded the LV Army Corps (Wehrmacht), LV Army Corps.50th and 286th Infantry Divisions and 558th Volksgrenadier Division)
**
IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to:
France
* 9th Army Corps (France)
* IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...
(General
Rolf Wuthmann
Rolf Fritz Carl Max Willy Wuthmann (26 August 1893 – 20 October 1977) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the IX Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Wuthmann surrendered ...
to April 20, then Lieutenant-General
Hermann Hohn
__NOTOC__
Hermann Hohn (11 October 1897 – 13 November 1968) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II, who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves an ...
Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland
The , also commonly referred to simply as or , was an elite combat unit of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army () that fought on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front in World War II.
Originally formed in 1921, it was known as ...
The offensive plan called for the 5th and 39th Armies to break through towards Fischhausen as the main strike force, with the 11th Guards Army in reserve.Bagramyan, p.576 The 2nd Guards Army would attack in the north, with the 43rd Army breaking through on the southern flank. There would also be amphibious landings in the south of Sambia. The 3rd Belorussian Front's head of intelligence suggested that they faced up to 100,000 defending troopsBagramyan, p.575 but by shortening the frontage of each unit the attackers were able to achieve a superiority of two to one in men and three to one in artillery.Bagramyan, p.576 Bagramyan issued a call for the defenders to surrender in exchange for fair treatment and medical assistance for the wounded, but this went unanswered, and the offensive commenced with an artillery barrage and air attacks on April 13.
The initial attack scattered many of the remaining German forces, some falling back towards Pillau. The Soviet 115th Rifle Division broke through and cleared the 551st Volksgrenadier Division from Rauschen on the north-western tip of Sambia; the German forces in the north of the peninsula, including the 95th Infantry Division and parts of Heavy Panzer Battalion 511, were driven southwards into Palmnicken and destroyed.Schneider, p.91
By April 16, Soviet forces broke through near Fischhausen; parts of XXVI Corps, including the 5th Panzer and 28th Jäger Divisions became cut off on the peninsula at Peyse, and were lost.Duffy, p.219 A defence line, the ''Tenkitten-Riegel'', had been improvised across the narrow strip of land leading to Pillau; to break German resistance, the 11th Guards Army was committed on April 20. Fighting intensified at Tenkitten, where the commander of the 16th Guards Rifle Corps, Major-General S S Gur'ev, was killed by a shell fragment on April 22.Maslov, p.178
The German defensive perimeter was pushed back towards Pillau, which was defended by elements of the 1st, 21st, 58th and other Infantry Divisions; the remaining German troops were evacuated to the Frische Nehrung. Pillau had been heavily fortified, being described by Bagramyan as "Konigsberg in miniature",Bagramyan, p.584 and was supported by fire from naval artillery and coastal batteries. After a stubborn defence, it was eventually stormed by units of the 11th Guards Army, including the 31st Guards Rifle Division, on April 25, the town being cleared in around 12 hours.Bagramyan, p.586 The last German position to fall was a battery commanded by Major-General Karl Henke, which was overrun by the 16th Guards Rifle Corps on April 27.Duffy, p.219 (who misidentifies Major-General Henke as Major Henke)
Aftermath
The Red Army claimed to have killed or taken prisoner 80,000 German troops during the operations in Sambia.Bagramyan, p.588. This estimate seems high, but may include all prisoners taken on the Frische Nehrung.
The remnants of IX Corps resisted on the Frische Nehrung to the end of the war, though the corps staff was removed to
Bornholm
Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...
.
The headquarters of the Zemland Group of Forces later became the headquarters of the
Baltic Military District
The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Baltic states, formed shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...
on 9 July 1945.V.I. Feskov et al 2004, Tomsk, p.8.