Zemland offensive operation
Encyclopedia
The Samland Offensive was a Soviet
offensive on the Eastern Front
in the final stages of World War II. It took place in Sambia
; .
clear German forces from much of East Prussia
. The defenders had been driven into a series of pockets
on the Baltic coast and in the city of Königsberg
, in which they were besieged.
, who had taken over command of the 3rd Belorussian Front
in February, incorporated General Hovhannes Bagramyan
's 1st Baltic Front
into his command from February 22, redesignating it as the Zemland Army Group (or Samland Front). Bagramyan's forces initially laid siege to Königsberg
; the city was eventually stormed
on April 9. They were then given the task of overcoming the substantial German force still remaining in Sambia
.
, who had tried to maintain a corridor between Königsberg and Pillau.
On April 7, the remnants of Second and Fourth Armies, which had been destroyed in encirclements at Danzig
and Heiligenbeil
respectively, were combined as Armee Ostpreußen with the task of defending Sambia, the Vistula
delta and the Hel 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
and Kriegsmarine
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.
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 Detachment 502, were driven southwards into Palmnicken and destroyed.
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. 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.
The German defensive perimeter was pushed back towards Pillau, which was defended by elements of the 1st, 21st, 58th and other Infantry Divisions; remaining German troops were evacuated to the Frische Nehrung. Pillau had been heavily fortified, being described by Bagramyan as "Konigsberg in miniature", and was supported by fire from naval artillery and coastal batteries. After a stubborn defence, it was eventually stormed by units of 11th Guards Army, including the 31st Guards Rifle Division
, on April 25, the town being cleared in around 12 hours. 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.
The remnants of IX Corps resisted on the Frische Nehrung to the end of the war, though the corps staff was removed to Bornholm
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
offensive on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in the final stages of World War II. It took place in Sambia
Sambia
Sambia or Samland is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The Curonian Lagoon and the Vistula Lagoon demarcate the peninsula. Prior to 1945 it formed an important part of East Prussia.-Names:Sambia is named after the Sambians, an extinct...
; .
Role in the conflict
The East Prussian Offensive, which commenced on January 13, 1945, had seen the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
clear German forces from much of East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. The defenders had been driven into a series of pockets
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
on the Baltic coast and in the city of Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, in which they were besieged.
Soviet planning
Marshal Aleksandr VasilevskyAleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Russian career officer in the Red Army, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953...
, who had taken over command of the 3rd Belorussian Front
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
in February, incorporated General Hovhannes Bagramyan
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
's 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
into his command from February 22, redesignating it as the Zemland Army Group (or Samland Front). Bagramyan's forces initially laid siege to Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
; the city was eventually stormed
Battle of Königsberg
The Battle of Königsberg , was one of the last operations of the East Prussian Offensive during World War II. In four days of violent urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Königsberg...
on April 9. They were then given the task of overcoming the substantial German force still remaining in Sambia
Sambia
Sambia or Samland is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The Curonian Lagoon and the Vistula Lagoon demarcate the peninsula. Prior to 1945 it formed an important part of East Prussia.-Names:Sambia is named after the Sambians, an extinct...
.
German planning
German defence efforts had largely focused on the port of Pillau at the tip of the peninsula, which was the main evacuation point for casualties and East Prussian civilians. Throughout the siege of Königsberg, Sambia had been defended by Army Detachment Samland under the command of General Hans GollnickHans Gollnick
Hans Gollnick was a German general.Gollnick was born at Gut Gursen in the Province of Pomerania as the son of Paul Gollnick, lord of the manor of Gursen, and Elisabeth Peglow descendant from the ducal house of Pomerania.Gollnick entered military service on 22 March 1912, and served in World War I...
, who had tried to maintain a corridor between Königsberg and Pillau.
On April 7, the remnants of Second and Fourth Armies, which had been destroyed in encirclements at Danzig
East Pomeranian Offensive
The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front...
and Heiligenbeil
Heiligenbeil Pocket
The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron was the site of a major encirclement battle on the Eastern Front during the closing weeks of World War II, in which the Wehrmacht's 4th Army was almost entirely destroyed during the Soviet Braunsberg Offensive Operation...
respectively, were combined as Armee Ostpreußen with the task of defending Sambia, the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
delta and the Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula |Nehrung]]) is a 35-km-long 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.- Geography :...
; 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
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
and Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
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.
Red Army
- Zemland Army Group (General Hovhannes BagramyanHovhannes BagramyanIvan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
)- 2nd Guards Army (Lieutenant-General Porfirii Chanchibadze)
- 11th Guards Army11th Guards ArmyThe 11th Guards Army was a Soviet field army active from 1943 to 1997, which traces its origins to the formation of the Soviet 16th Army in June-July 1940.-History:...
(General Kuzma GalitskyKuzma GalitskyKuzma Nikitovich Galitsky was a Soviet army general who earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union.-Biography:Kuzma Galitsky was born on October 24, 1897 in the city of Taganrog into a worker's family. He studied at the Taganrog Boys Gymnasium, which he graduated from in 1912, and worked at the...
) - 5th Army (Colonel-General Nikolay KrylovNikolay KrylovNikolay Krylov may refer to:* Nikolay Ivanovich Krylov , Soviet general* Nikolay Mitrofanovich Krylov , Russian mathematician* Nikolay Sergeyevich Krylov , Russian physicist...
) - 49th Army (Lieutenant-General Ivan Grishin)
- 43rd Army (General Afanasii Beloborodov)
Wehrmacht
- Elements of Armee Ostpreußen (General Dietrich von SauckenDietrich von SauckenFriedrich Wilhelm Eduard Kasimir Dietrich von Saucken was a general in the German army, the Wehrmacht Heer, during World War II...
)- XXVI Corps (General Gerhard MatzkyGerhard MatzkyGerhard Matzky was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful...
) (remnants of 58th58th Infantry Division (Germany)The 58th Infantry Division was a unit of the German Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939, took part in the Battle of France in 1940, and then Operation Barbarossa in 1941...
, 1st, and 21st21st Infantry Division (Germany)-History:The division was formed in 1934 in Elbing, East Prussia, by expanding the 3rd Prussian Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division of the old Reichswehr. As this was a direct breach of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, its existence was initially concealed; it was formally designated as...
Infantry Divisions, 5th Panzer Division, 28th Jäger Division28th Jäger Division (Germany)The 28th Jäger Division was a German military unit during World War II.-Background:The main purpose of the German Jäger Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller, coordinated units were...
, and 561st Volksgrenadier Division) - LV Corps / 'Fortress Pillau' (Lieutenant-General Kurt ChillKurt ChillKurt Chill was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LV. Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful...
) (remnants of 50th50th Infantry Division (Germany)The 50th Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 26 August 1939 from the Grenzkommandantur Küstrin.-50. Infanterie-Division 1939:*Infanterie-Regiment 121*Infanterie-Regiment 122...
and 286th286th Security Division (Germany)The 286th Security Division was a German military formation which fought in World War II.-History and organisation:The 286th Security Division was formed on 15 March 1941 around elements of the 213th Infantry Division...
Infantry Divisions and 558th Volksgrenadier Division) - IX CorpsIX Army Corps (Germany)- Commanders :* Artillery General Friedrich Dollmann, 1 October 1934 – 25 August 1939.* Infantry General Hermann Geyer, 25 August 1939 – 31 December 1941....
(General Rolf WuthmannRolf WuthmannRolf Wuthmann was a highly decorated General der Artillerie in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
to April 20, then Lieutenant-General Hermann HohnHermann HohnGeneralleutnant Dr. rer. pol. Hermann Hohn was a German general serving during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
) (remnants of 95th95th Infantry Division (Germany)The 95th Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 19 September 1939 in Wildflecken and Hammelburg.-Commanding officers:...
, 93rd93rd Infantry Division (Germany)The 93rd Infantry Division was a German infantry division that was formed in the fall of 1939. The division fought in the Second World War in both the Battle of France and on the Eastern Front...
, and 14th14th Infantry Division (Germany)The 14th Infantry Division was a German military unit which fought during World War II.-History and Organisation:...
Infantry Divisions, 551st Volksgrenadier Division and Panzergrenadier Division GroßdeutschlandGroßdeutschland DivisionThe Großdeutschland Division was an elite Heer combat unit of the Wehrmacht. The Großdeutschland was considered to be the premier unit of the German Army and as such it was one of best-equipped unit of the German Armed Forces, receiving equipment before all other units.- Early history -...
) - Elements of Heavy Panzer Detachment 502502nd Heavy Tank Battalion (Germany)The 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion was a German World War II independent armoured battalion equipped with heavy tanks. The battalion was the first unit to receive and field the Tiger I or Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E. It fought on the Eastern front...
and Heavy Panzer Detachment 505
- XXVI Corps (General Gerhard Matzky
The offensive
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. 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 troops 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 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 Detachment 502, were driven southwards into Palmnicken and destroyed.
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. 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.
The German defensive perimeter was pushed back towards Pillau, which was defended by elements of the 1st, 21st, 58th and other Infantry Divisions; remaining German troops were evacuated to the Frische Nehrung. Pillau had been heavily fortified, being described by Bagramyan as "Konigsberg in miniature", and was supported by fire from naval artillery and coastal batteries. After a stubborn defence, it was eventually stormed by units of 11th Guards Army, including the 31st Guards Rifle Division
31st Guards Rifle Division
The 21st Guards Motor Rifle Division is a unit of the Russian Ground Forces, within the Far East Military District, formed from the Red Army 31st Guards Rifle Division, an infantry division of World War II which subsequently became a motor-rifle, and ultimately a tank division.-Overview:The...
, on April 25, the town being cleared in around 12 hours. The last German position to fall was a battery commanded by Major-General Karl Henke
Karl Henke
Karl Henke was an engineer officer in the Reichsheer during World War I, in the German inter-war army, the Reichswehr, and in the Wehrmacht.-Military service, World War I:...
, which was overrun by the 16th Guards Rifle Corps on April 27.
Aftermath
The Red Army claimed to have killed or taken prisoner 80,000 German troops during the operations in Sambia.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
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
.