Agony of the Third Reich. On April 26, 1945, 75 years ago, after a week of fighting, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front took the main city of Pomerania - Stettin. On May 1, our troops took Rostock, on May 3, in the Wismar region, they established contact with the British.
As a result, the main forces of the German 3rd Panzer Army were destroyed. The army of Manteuffel (Manteuffel) could not come to the aid of Berlin. The exit of Rokossovsky's armies to the Baltic Sea did not give the German command the opportunity to transfer divisions from Courland by sea for the defense of the Reich.
General situation in the Pomeranian direction
After the elimination of the East Pomeranian grouping of the Wehrmacht, Rokossovsky's armies were transferred to the west, in the direction of Stettin and Rostock, in order to take part in the Berlin strategic operation. Part of the forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front (2nd BF) remained in the east to defeat the enemy group on the Putziger-Nerung spit north of Gdansk (19th Army) and to defend the Baltic Sea coast to the Oder. The main grouping of the front was heading for the Altdam-Schwedt sector.
Rokossovsky's troops were to strike north of Berlin, cutting off the northern flank of the Berlin grouping and providing the 1st Belorussian Front from the northern flank. Destroy German troops north of the German capital, reach the Baltic coast. The 1st BF was supposed to start the offensive a little later than the troops of the 1st BF and the 1st UV, in order to complete the regrouping of forces. It was a daunting task. The 2nd BF, in fact, was still completing hostilities in Eastern Pomerania. The troops that were just advancing in the direction of the east had to be deployed to the west in order to overcome 300-350 km with a forced march. It was necessary to go to places where intense battles had just ended, where there was a lot of destruction and ashes. Work to clear and rehabilitate roads and crossings over numerous water obstacles has just begun. The railways barely functioned, the track and bridges were in such a state that the trains barely went. There was not enough rolling stock. And in such conditions, it was necessary to transfer hundreds of thousands of people, thousands of guns, tanks and other equipment, tens of thousands of tons of ammunition, various military equipment, etc.
The armies of the 2nd BF made a difficult march and had to start an offensive practically on the move, without serious preliminary preparation. In the future, this will complicate the operation. Rokossovsky's troops had to cross a large water barrier - the Oder in the lower reaches. The river here formed two wide channels: Ost-Oder and West-Oder (Eastern and Western Oder). Between them there was a floodplain, which was flooded at that time. That is, in front of the troops there was a water strip up to 5 km wide. At the same time, it was impossible to go on watercraft through the floodplain - it was too shallow. Soviet soldiers gave an apt definition of the current situation: "Two Dnieper, and in the middle Pripyat."
In addition, the right bank was high, dominating the river, which strengthened the position of the Nazis. The floodplain flooded with water was almost impassable. But in some places there were remnants of dilapidated dams and embankments, it was decided to use them. There were dams on the sections of the 65th (destroyed highway) and 49th armies. It is also worth noting that Rokossovsky's armies have just carried out a complex and bloody East Pomeranian operation. The divisions did not have time to replenish, they had only 3, 5-5 thousand soldiers each.
German defense
The main zone of the German defense was equipped along the western bank of the Western Oder River. It reached a depth of 10 km and consisted of two or three positions. Each position had one or two continuous trenches. Every 10-15 meters along the banks of the Oder there were cells for riflemen and machine gunners, connected to the trench by communication trenches. All settlements to a depth of 40 km were turned into strongholds. The second line of defense ran along the western bank of the river. Randov, 20 km from the Oder. Then there was also a third line of defense.
The isthmus from the Baltic coast near Wald-Dyvenov to Sager (only 30 km along the front) was held by the corps group "Swinemünde" under the command of General Freilich. It consisted of a Marine Corps and five fortress regiments, two Marine battalions, parts of an infantry training division and an Air Force school. To the south, on a 90-kilometer sector, the defense was held by the 3rd German Panzer Army under the command of Colonel-General Manteuffel. The army consisted of the 32nd Army Corps, the Oder Corps, the 3rd SS Panzer Corps and the 46th Panzer Corps. The main grouping of the German army was located in the direction of the main attack.
Operation plan
The main blow on the 45-kilometer stretch from Stettin to Schwedt was delivered by three Soviet armies: the 65th, 70th and 49th armies of Generals Batov, Popov and Grishin. Also, the strike grouping of the front included 5 mobile formations: the 1st, 8th, 3rd Guards Tank Corps of Generals Panov, Panfilov and Popov, the 8th Mechanized Corps of Firsovich and the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps of Oslikovsky. The offensive was supported by Vershinin's 4th Air Army.
Having broken through the defenses of the German army on the western bank of the Oder, the Soviet armies were to develop an offensive in the general direction of Neustrelitz and to reach Elbe-Labe on the 12-15th day of the operation. After the breakthrough of the enemy's front in the zone of each army, it was planned to introduce tank and mechanized (49th Army) corps. The 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps remained in reserve. A powerful artillery group was concentrated in the breakthrough area - up to 150 guns per kilometer (excluding 45- and 57-mm guns). Before the offensive, aviation inflicted a strong blow on enemy positions, headquarters, communication centers, and places of concentration of reserves. During the development of the offensive, each combined-arms army was supported by one assault air division. The Air Force was to play a particularly important role in breaking through enemy defenses. The width of the river and the swampy area did not allow immediately using all the capabilities of the artillery. It was impossible to quickly transfer the guns to the western coast; it was necessary to prepare the crossings. Therefore, the main burden of infantry fire training was assumed by aviation. And the Soviet pilots coped with this task.
The engineering preparation of the operation also played an important role. The engineering units led by General Blagoslavov did a good job. Dozens of pontoons, hundreds of boats, rafts, a large amount of timber for the construction of berths, bridges and crossings were prepared and brought up, gates were built on the swampy areas of the coast.
Forcing the Oder
On April 16, 1945, the troops of the 1st BF began an offensive. At night, forward units crossed the Eastern Oder and occupied the dams. The advanced posts of the Nazis were overturned. Soviet troops began crossing to these original bridgeheads. This played an important role in the offensive. Our reconnaissance groups began to cross over to the western bank of the Oder, sometimes by swimming. Soviet soldiers seized the "tongues", conducted reconnaissance in force, harassed the enemy. The advance detachments captured the first sectors on the western bank of the Oder and held them, repelling the attacks of the Nazis.
On the night of April 20, 1945, bomber aircraft struck German positions. At night, the forward detachments waged an active struggle to expand the previously captured areas on the western bank of the Oder. In the interfluve, on the dams, the accumulation of forces and means continued. On the floodplain, shield crossings were laid through the swamps. To mislead the German command, the preparation of an offensive north of Stettin was demonstrated. The troops of Fedyuninsky's 2nd Shock Army and Romanovsky's 19th Army made all sorts of noise. In fact, here the Soviet troops were preparing a landing operation across the Divenov Strait.
In the morning, artillery preparation was carried out, then Rokossovsky's armies on a wide front began to cross the river. The crossing took place under the cover of smoke screens. Batov's army began crossing the river a little earlier (because of the wind, water was catching up in the floodplain). The army has prepared many boats of the light type, which have already justified themselves while overcoming water obstacles with swampy shores. In shallow waters, the infantrymen easily carried boats on their hands. Batov was able to quickly transfer to the right bank a large detachment of infantry, armed with machine guns, mortars and 45-mm cannons. He significantly strengthened the advanced groups that had previously entrenched here. New troop echelons followed them.
On the western bank, the most stubborn battles were fought over dams, which were necessary for the Soviet troops as berths and ramps, where it was possible to unload heavy equipment and weapons that were transported on ferries. In the morning, due to fog and smoke, aviation operations were limited. But from 9 o'clock in the morning, Soviet aviation began to operate in full force, supporting the advance of the forward detachments. The fighting became more and more fierce. As the landing groups accumulated, the bridgeheads expanded, and the Germans desperately counterattacked, trying to throw our troops into the river.
Soviet engineers began laying down pontoon and ferry crossings. The Germans tried to stop the guidance of crossings with the help of ships that appeared in the strait. However, Soviet aviation quickly drove away the enemy ships. The bridgehead in the sector of Batov's army was significantly expanded. The Soviet infantry continued the offensive without the support of tanks and only with light cannons. By 13 o'clock, two 16-ton ferry crossings were launched. By evening, the 31st battalion with 50 45-mm cannons, 70 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and 15 light self-propelled guns Su-76 were transferred to the western coast. For the bridgehead, the forces of 4 rifle divisions of two corps fought. During the day, Batov's troops captured a bridgehead more than 6 km wide and up to 1.5 km deep. The German command threw army reserves into battle, trying not to throw the enemy into the water, but at least to restrain the further advance of the Russian troops. The 27th and 28th SS Infantry Divisions Langemark and Wallonia, reinforced by tanks, were thrown into the counterattack.
The troops of Popov's 70th Army also successfully crossed the Oder with the help of a mass of boats prepared in advance on the eastern bank. The army delivered its main blow in a sector of 4 km, where the density of artillery barrels was increased to 200-220 per 1 km. 12 battalions with machine guns, mortars and several 45-mm cannons were transferred to the other side. The Germans stubbornly resisted, only in the morning our troops repulsed 16 counterattacks. The Nazis, taking advantage of the lack of Russian artillery, actively used tanks. Aviation played an important role in repelling enemy attacks. The air supremacy of our Air Force was complete. The Germans conducted only aerial reconnaissance.
Army artillery was unable to immediately suppress a strong enemy stronghold in the Greifenhagen area, opposite the destroyed bridge over the West Oder. Therefore, the Nazis fired heavily and for a long time did not allow our troops to walk along the dam, to use it for the transfer of heavy weapons. Only after the strike of our attack pilots, who supported the infantry attack, was the strong point neutralized. The sappers immediately began to direct the crossings. By the end of the day, 9 amphibious, 4 ferry crossings and a 50-ton bridge were in operation. Six ferries plyed along the river, towed by amphibious vehicles. Artillery was transferred to the western bank of the Oder, which eased the position of the infantry.
In the sector of Grishin's 49th Army, the situation was more complicated. Here the Nazis repulsed all attempts to cross. Army intelligence made a mistake. The interfluve of the Oder was cut by canals here. One of them was mistaken for the main channel of the West Oder and brought down the main artillery fire on its western bank. As a result, when our infantry crossed the channel and approached the West Oder, heavy fire fell on it. The bulk of German firing positions were not affected. Special hopes were pinned on the army, it was supposed to support the offensive of the right wing of the 1st BF, which began the offensive earlier. Grishin's army was supposed to cut through the enemy's defensive lines, to push the units of the 3rd Panzer Army stationed here to the north and north-west. Therefore, it was decided on April 21 to resume the offensive.
Breakthrough of the German defense
The battles to expand the bridgeheads continued at night. The active transfer of troops to the bridgeheads continued, their position was now quite strong. At night, Soviet bombers attacked enemy positions in the 49th Army's sector.
During the day, fierce battles continued, gnawing at the enemy defense. There were not enough Soviet troops on the bridgeheads to launch a decisive assault. And the Nazis made every effort to throw the Russians into the water. But our soldiers and commanders fought to the death, not only did not retreat, but also continued to expand the occupied territory. In the sector of Batov's army, the Germans threw another infantry division into battle. Since there was success in the Batov sector, two motor-pontoon battalions with their parks, which were previously assigned to the 49th Army, were transferred here. By evening, a 30-ton and 50-ton bridges and a 50-ton ferry were in operation. There were also six ferry crossings on the river, of which two were large 16-ton ferries.
In the sector of the 70th Army, the successes were more modest, but Popov's troops also expanded the bridgehead. New crossings were established across the river. This made it possible to transfer new forces of infantry and divisional artillery to the west bank. The 49th Army was able to capture two small bridgeheads. Grishin's army was the worst. The Germans attacked here incessantly. As a result, the front command decided to shift the center of gravity of the strike to the right flank. The means of reinforcement attached to the 49th army were transferred to the 70th and 65th armies. The 49th army itself was supposed to part of the forces to continue fighting on the bridgeheads, distracting the enemy, and the other to cross the river along the crossings of the neighboring 70th army.
On April 22, Batov's army continued to break the enemy, expand the bridgehead and took several settlements. The Germans fiercely resisted, but they were driven back. All the army's rifle formations, an anti-tank brigade and a mortar regiment were transferred to the western bank. At night, a 60-ton floating bridge was raised, which made it possible to transfer heavy weapons. The 70th Army also continued to push the enemy back and transfer new battalions. The 4th Air Army actively supported the ground forces and played great in repelling the tank attacks of the German army (there was still not enough artillery on the bridgeheads). As a result, the bridgehead on the west bank of the West Oder was expanded to 24 km wide and 3 km deep.
By April 25, the troops of Batov and Popov, reinforced with front-line means, advanced another 8 km. The bridgehead was expanded by 35 km in width and 15 km in depth. The 65th Army deployed part of its forces to the north, against Stettin. The tanks of Panfilov's 3rd Guards Corps went along the crossings of the 70th Army. The main forces of the 49th Army were drawn up to the same crossings. The soldiers were rushing forward, victory was near! The German command threw practically all available reserves into battle: the 549th Infantry Division from the Stettin area, the 1st Marine Division, the anti-tank brigade, the Friedrich tank destroyer brigade, etc. However, all German counterattacks were repulsed. Batov's army had already transferred all three of its corps, Popov's army - two, the third was on the way, the river was crossed by two guards tank corps - the 3rd and 1st.
Elbe
Our troops repelled enemy counterstrikes, completed a breakthrough of the defense in a 20-km sector and on his shoulders broke through to the second line of defense on the Randov River. The Germans were unable to provide strong resistance on this line - almost all were defeated during the battle on the western bank of the Oder. In addition, the powerful offensive of Rokossovsky's armies did not give the Germans the opportunity to transfer part of the forces of the 3rd Panzer Army for the defense of Berlin. The 2nd Shock Army was partly aimed at Anklam, Stralsund, with the other part was to occupy the islands of Usedom and Rügen. Fedyuninsky's army was reinforced by one corps of the 19th Army. Romanovsky's 19th army also began to move, it advanced on the coastal flank on Swinemunde and further on Greifswald. Batov's army and Panov's Guards Corps were aimed northwest to crush German forces northeast of the Stettin-Neubrandenburg-Rostock line. Popov's 70th army with the 3rd Panzer Corps advanced on Waren, Gismor and Wismar. Grishin's 49th Army with Firsovich's 8th Mechanized Corps and Oslikovsky's 3rd Cavalry Corps marched directly westward to the Elbe. She was supposed to cut off the German units that were sent to the rescue of Berlin, throw them back under the blows of the neighboring 70th Army.
On April 26, 1945, Rokossovsky's troops stormed Stettin (Slavic Szczecin), broke through the enemy's second line of defense on the Randov River and rushed west. The Nazis still resisted, threw everything they had into battle. Including only formed militia battalions. However, their desperate counterattacks were repelled. The German units thrown into battle were defeated. The Soviet armies broke into the operational space and quickly developed an offensive. Tanks rushed forward. Large caliber artillery demolished enemy strongholds. Rocket artillery swept away the counterattacking Nazis. Aviation struck at the remaining centers of resistance, crushed the approaching reserves of the enemy. Using the crossings of the 70th Army, the 49th Army deployed to full power. With a blow to the flank and rear, Grishin's army defeated the enemy units that were defending in its sector.
On April 27, our troops advanced rapidly. The Germans could no longer offer strong resistance, anywhere to gain a foothold. The Nazis retreated to the west, destroyed communications, hoping to surrender to the allies, but in some places they still snapped hard. The 2nd Shock Army occupied the island of Gristov, reached Swinemünde, part of the army went to Stralsund. On the way, Fedyuninsky's army finished off the remnants of the Stettin group. Soon Fedyuninsky's 2nd Shock Army and Batov's 65th left the Baltic Sea. In the central sector, the Germans tried to organize resistance in the wooded-lake region of Neustrelitz, Waren and Furstenberg. The troops defeated on the Oder, units that were retreating under the blows of the right flank of the 1st BF, retreated here. There were also units that were transferred by sea from the Danzig Bay area and from the Western Front, which had previously been planned to be sent to save Berlin. The Nazis put up fierce resistance, but were destroyed under the blows of the 70th and 49th Soviet armies with the support of mobile formations and the Air Force. On April 30, Neistrelitz was occupied, on May 1 - Varen. The offensive of the troops of Popov and Grishin continued non-stop.
On May 1, 1945, Stralsund and Rostock fell. On May 3, Panfilov's tankmen south-west of Wismar established contact with the intelligence of the 2nd British Army. On May 4, the troops of Popov, Grishin, Firsovich and the cavalry of Oslikovsky reached the demarcation line with the allies. Meanwhile, the armies of Fedyuninsky and Romanovsky were clearing the islands of Wallin, Usedom and Rügen from the Nazis. Also, two divisions of the 19th Army were landed on the island of Bornholm, where the German garrison refused to surrender. About 12 thousand enemy soldiers were disarmed on the island.
This operation was completed. Victory! Rokossovsky recalled:
“This is the greatest happiness for a soldier - the consciousness that you helped your people to defeat the enemy, to defend the freedom of the Motherland, to restore peace to it. The knowledge that you have fulfilled your soldier's duty, a heavy and noble duty, higher than which there is nothing on earth! The enemy who tried to enslave our socialist state was defeated and defeated."
