The defeat of the Konigsberg grouping created favorable conditions for the final destruction of the remnants of the East Prussian grouping - the "Zemland" group. The troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the command of A. M. Vasilevsky on April 13, almost without a pause, went on the offensive against the German troops entrenched on the Zemland Peninsula and the Pillau naval base. On April 26, the port and the Pillau fortress were captured. The East Prussian operation ended with the destruction of the Nazi group on the Zemland peninsula.
Position and strength of the parties
THE USSR. In order to immediately break the strong defense of the enemy and not drag out the hostilities, Marshal Vasilevsky decided to involve five combined-arms armies in the operation. The 2nd Guards, 5th, 39th and 43rd Armies were in the first echelon, the 11th Guards Army was in the second. For this, the forces were regrouped: the front, which was previously occupied by the 2nd Guards and 5th Armies, was reinforced by the 39th Army, the 43rd Army was deployed on the southern coast of Frisches Huff Bay, the 11th Guards Army was withdrawn to the front reserve … The troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front numbered more than 111 thousand people, more than 3 thousand guns and mortars, 824 tanks and self-propelled guns. As a result, at the beginning of the operation in manpower, Soviet troops outnumbered the enemy by almost twice, in artillery by 2, 5 times, in tanks and self-propelled guns almost 5 times.
Given the small length of the front and the small number of units and formations, the army received narrow strips for the offensive. The largest was the zone of the 2nd Guards Army - 20 km, but it had an advantage, the Chanchibadze army occupied these positions for two weeks and managed to study the terrain, the enemy's defenses and prepare for the offensive. The rest of the armies had an offensive zone of 7-8 km. The main blow was delivered by the 5th and 39th armies with the direction of Fischhausen, in order to cut the enemy grouping into two parts and then eliminate it. The 11th Guards Army was to build on the success of the two armies. The 2nd Guards and 43rd Armies supported the general offensive on the flanks, advancing along the northern and southern coasts of the Zemland Peninsula.
The Baltic Fleet was supposed to cover the coastal flanks of the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front; to cover sea communications with light forces and submarines and to carry out patrol service; land tactical assault forces in the enemy's rear; support the landing forces with artillery fire and prevent the evacuation of the enemy by sea. The naval aviation was supposed to deliver massive strikes against the enemy's sea lanes and support the landing forces.
Germany. The western part of the Zemland Peninsula was defended by the 9th and 26th Army Corps, which included 7-8 infantry and one tank division. Taking into account the battle groups and other units, the enemy forces reached 10 divisions. The Soviet troops were opposed by more than 65 thousand soldiers and officers, 1200 guns and mortars, 166 tanks and assault guns.
In addition, the 55th Army Corps (three to four divisions and a number of special units) was located on the Pillau Peninsula in the second echelon, and the 6th Army Corps was hastily rebuilding on the Frische-Nerung Spit from the remnants of the defeated Heilsberg grouping. All German troops were combined into the 2nd Army, and from April 7th into the "East Prussia" army. The army was created on the basis of the headquarters and some units of the 2nd army and the remnants of the 4th army units located in the territory of East and West Prussia. The commander of the 4th German Army, General Müller, was removed from his post and replaced by General Dietrich von Sauken.
The German command was expecting the main blow in the central and southern directions, so the most dense battle formations were located here: the 93rd, 58th, 1st, 21st, 561st and 28th Infantry and 5th Panzer divisions, that is, about 70-80% of the first echelon troops. The Germans had a well-developed defense with a dense network of trenches, strongholds and nodes of resistance. Strong defensive lines were located on the Pilaus Peninsula. The city of Pillau was a strong fortress.
The first stage of the offensive
On the morning of April 13, a strong artillery preparation began. At the same time, the 1st and 3rd air armies were attacking enemy positions. After an hour-long artillery preparation, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front went over to the offensive. The Soviet armies broke through the enemy's defenses. True, the offensive began to develop not according to the original plan.
In the afternoon, German resistance intensified. The Germans launched a series of counterattacks at the junction of the 5th and 39th armies of Krylov and Lyudnikov. By the end of the day, Soviet troops advanced 3-4 km, capturing about 4 thousand Germans. The next day, the battle continued with great ferocity. The German command, having guessed the intention of the command of the 3rd Belorussian Front, strengthened the defense in the direction of the offensive of the 5th and 39th armies. At the same time, in order to save the northern part of the grouping, the Germans began to quickly withdraw troops in front of the front of the 2nd Guards Army. As a result, in three days of fighting, our troops in the main direction advanced only 9-10 km, and the right flank of the 2nd Guards Army of Chanchibadze - 25 km and reached the coast.
The 2nd battalion of armored boats of the Baltic Fleet rendered great assistance to the Soviet troops. Baltic sailors broke into the Frisches-Huff Bay and the Königsberg Sea Canal, delivered surprise strikes, suppressing enemy firing points that impeded the advance of ground forces. Naval aviation and a group of naval railroad artillery launched massive strikes against the enemy. On April 15 and 16, 1945, the 24th Guards Rifle Division's tactical assault forces landed on the Königsberg Canal dam in the Pais-Zimmerbude area. The landing and fire support of the armored boats allowed the 43rd Army to clear the Pais and Zimmerbude strongholds and the canal dam from the Nazis. This created favorable conditions for the offensive of the Red Army along the coast of the gulf.
The loss of defensive lines and heavy losses forced the German command on April 15 to abolish the command of the "Zemland" task force and subordinate the remnants of its troops to the command of the "East Prussia" army. The German command, trying to save as many troops as possible, made desperate efforts to evacuate people. Sea transport worked around the clock. All free floating craft were mobilized from the coast of the Baltic Sea, the lower reaches of navigable rivers remaining in the hands of the Germans. The ships were pulled into the Danzig Bay. However, here they were subjected to massive Soviet air strikes and suffered significant losses.
The movement of the 2nd Guards Army along the coast of the Baltic Sea in a southerly direction and the offensive of the 39th and 5th armies in the general direction of Fishhausen forced the Germans to pull troops into the southwestern part of the peninsula and organize a defense on a narrow front. On the night of April 17, our troops took a strong enemy resistance center, Fischhausen. The remnants of the German Zemland grouping (about 20 thousand soldiers) withdrew to the Pillau area and consolidated in a previously prepared position. The offensive of the Soviet troops was suspended.
Thus, in five days of the offensive, our troops cleared the Zemland peninsula of enemy troops, and reached the first line of defense of the Pilaus peninsula, the front of which was 2-3 km. Here the enemy had the opportunity to maximally compact the battle formations, and it was impossible to bypass him. The front offensive was halted. On the one hand, our troops won a victory, reached the coast and liberated the territory. On the other hand, it was not possible to crush and encircle the enemy troops. The German command withdrew the northern part of the Zemland grouping from under the blow and withdrew the troops to prepared positions on the Pillau Peninsula. The German troops retained their combat capability, they still fought stubbornly and skillfully, although they suffered serious losses. The current situation threatened to delay the operation. The introduction of fresh forces into battle was required.
Broken equipment of the German army on the Zemland peninsula
Mortar crew of the 11th Guards Army at a firing position on the outskirts of Pilau
The second stage of the operation. Assault on Pillau
The Soviet command decided to bring Galitsky's 11th Guards Army into battle. On April 16, Vasilevsky ordered the 11th Army to change the troops of the 2nd Guards Army and on April 18th to launch an offensive on Pillau and the Frische-Nerung Spit. The 5th, 39th and 43rd armies were also withdrawn to the front reserve.
The command of the 11th Guards Army decided to strike at the enemy's outer flanks, break through its defenses and develop the offensive with second echelons of corps. By the end of the second day, with the support of amphibious assault forces, it was planned to take Pillau. On the night of April 17, the divisions of the 16th and 36th Guards Rifle Corps began to move to their original position.
The Pillau Peninsula was about 15 km long and 2 km wide at the base to 5 km at the southern end. German troops erected six defensive positions here, which were located 1-2 km from one another. There were also pillboxes with armored caps. On the northern outskirts of Pillau there were four fortress forts and a sea fortress, on the northern bank of the Frische-Nerung spit - two forts. Having found out that the enemy has a serious defense, the start of a new offensive was postponed to April 20. On April 18, Soviet troops conducted reconnaissance in force. On April 19, reconnaissance continued. It turned out that we were facing parts of three or four divisions, which support about 60 artillery and mortar batteries, up to 50-60 tanks and self-propelled guns, several warships from the Pillau raid and the sea.
At 11 o'clock. On April 20, 1945, the 11th Guards Army launched an offensive. However, despite the strong artillery barrage (600 barrels) and air support (more than 1,500 sorties), it did not work out immediately to break the enemy's defenses. Our troops advanced only 1 km, capturing 2-3 lines of trenches. On the second day of the operation, the situation did not improve. The enemy's positions were hidden by the forest, which made it difficult for artillery to operate, and the fire on the squares had little effect. The Germans defended the last stronghold in East Prussia with particular tenacity, went over to counterattacks with forces up to an infantry battalion supported by tanks and assault guns. On the second day, the weather worsened, which reduced the activity of our aviation. In addition, the forces of the German grouping were underestimated, considering that after the defeat of the Zemland grouping, victory was already assured.
On April 22, the 8th Guards Corps entered the battle on the left flank of the army. On the third day of fierce fighting, the Germans were pushed 3 km away. The German command threw into battle the remnants of previously defeated divisions, all units and subunits at hand. The narrow line of defense was saturated to the limit with fire weapons, which made it difficult for our troops to advance. For every 100 meters, on average, there were 4 machine guns and 200 soldiers with automatic weapons. Here the Germans had reinforced concrete and armored pillboxes, concrete platforms for heavy weapons, including 210 mm caliber. The German defense had to be literally "gnawed", meter by meter. And the closer the Soviet troops approached Pillau, the more permanent structures became. All stone buildings of Pillau and its suburbs, where there were almost no wooden buildings, were adapted for defense. Other large buildings were so well prepared for defense that they almost did not differ from the fortress forts. On the lower floors, they installed guns, positions of anti-tank grenade launchers, and machine-gun nests on the top. The fortress had a three-month supply and could be under siege for a long time. The Germans constantly counterattacked, all buildings had to be taken by storm. The balance of forces, especially in bad weather, when the aviation was inactive, was almost equal.
Therefore, the battles were extremely fierce and stubborn. On April 22, 1945, on the outskirts of Pillau, the hero of the storming of Konigsberg, the brave commander of the 16th Guards Rifle Corps, Major General Stepan Savelyevich Guriev, died. S. S. Guryev began service as a Red Army soldier during the Civil War, already as a regiment commander he participated in battles with Japanese troops in the Khalkhin-Gol River region. He fought since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. He was the commander of the 10th Airborne Brigade, then commanded the 5th Airborne Corps, having distinguished himself in the battles near Moscow. Bravely and skillfully led the 39th Guards Division in the battle for Stalingrad. Then he commanded the 28th and 16th Guards Corps. For the skillful leadership of the troops and personal courage during the assault on Koenigsberg, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1946, in the Kaliningrad region, the city of Neuhausen was renamed in honor of the deceased hero in Guryevsk and the Guryevsky district was formed.
Monument at the grave of Hero of the Soviet Union S. S. Guryev at the memorial to 1200 guards in Kaliningrad
I must say that Marshal Vasilevsky himself almost died in this operation. He went to the army observation post in Fischhausen, the area of which was regularly fired upon by enemy artillery, and came under fire. Vasilevsky's car was wrecked and he himself, by a lucky chance, survived.
German soldiers in an anti-tank ditch near Lochsted Forest. One of the many lines of defense in front of the Pillau naval fortress
German soldiers in shelters dug in the slopes of an anti-tank ditch near Lochsted Forest
Soviet soldiers at the Vostochny fort in Pillau
On April 24, our troops, despite the desperate resistance of the enemy, who threw the most combat-ready units into battle, including the marines supported by tanks, took Neuhoser. A stubborn battle for this stronghold, which covered the approaches to Pillau, lasted almost a day. On the night of April 25, our troops bypassed the naval fortress from the east, and on the right flank engaged in a battle on the near approaches to Pillau. On April 25, Soviet troops launched an assault on Pillau. The German command understood that the fortress was doomed, but was trying to gain time in order to evacuate as many troops as possible by sea or to the Frische-Nerung spit. In addition, the stubborn defense of Pillau wanted to somehow influence the development of the situation in the Berlin direction. The garrison of the fortress itself was small, but a significant number of field troops and various headquarters withdrew to the city. The Pillau garrison was supported by fortress and field artillery from the northern part of the Frische-Nerung Spit and the artillery of 8-10 warships and sea boats.
Commander Galitsky ordered the 16th Guards Corps to take the fortress on the southwestern tip of the peninsula, force the Zeetif Strait on the move and take a foothold on the Frische-Nerung Spit; To the 36th corps to occupy the southeastern region of the city and also to cross the strait; 8th corps - to liberate the eastern harbor and, having overcome the strait, to seize the Neitiff strong point (there was a German airbase).
On April 25, Soviet troops, who had rich experience in urban battles and especially in the storming of Konigsberg, cleared the outskirts and broke through to the city center. Assault teams took buildings, punched holes in the walls, blew up specially fortified houses and took Pillau step by step. For the Germans, only the coastal part in the southwestern region of the city and the fortress remained. On April 26, they took the Pillau fortress. The modernized old fortress, which had 1 thousand. garrison, did not succumb to medium-caliber artillery. Multi-meter brick walls and arched ceilings withstood shells of medium and even large calibers. The gate was filled with bricks and concrete blocks. The shape of the fortress in the form of a multi-beam star made it possible to conduct flanking fire. With strong artillery and machine-gun fire from numerous embrasures, the Germans threw back our troops. The garrison rejected the ultimatum of surrender. Only by pulling up dozens of heavy-caliber guns, tanks of the 213rd brigade and heavy self-propelled guns with 152-mm guns, concentrated fire, were able to weaken the enemy defense. The gates and barricades were swept away. With the onset of darkness, the soldiers of the 1st Guards Rifle Division launched a decisive assault. The guardsmen, having filled up the 3-meter ditch with fascists, boards and various improvised means, went out to the walls and began to climb the walls along the stairs, burst into the breaches. Inside the fortress, close combat began with the use of grenades, thick bombs and flamethrowers. After a fierce battle, the destroyed German garrison began to surrender.
Pillau fortress
Completion of the operation. Fights on the Frische-Nerung spit
Already on April 25, our troops crossed the Zeetif Strait on the move. Under the cover of artillery barrage and a powerful strike from heavy bombers, as well as a smoke screen, the amphibians of Captain Gumedov with the guardsmen of the 2nd Battalion of the 17th Infantry Regiment under the command of Captain Panarin were the first to cross the strait. The guardsmen seized the first trench of the enemy with a swift dash and withstood the counterattack of the German troops, who were trying to throw the first echelon into the water. The first to land was the infantry platoon of junior lieutenant Lazarev. He seized the bridgehead and stood to death, even the wounded refused to leave, continuing to shoot. Lieutenant Lazarev was wounded twice already during the crossing, the third was wounded in a battle with the Germans. However, the hero refused to leave and continued to fire from a machine gun, the crew of which died, destroying up to 50 Germans. Only when Lazarev lost consciousness was he taken away. The first guardsmen who seized a bridgehead on the spit - Yegor Ignatievich Aristov, Savely Ivanovich Boyko, Mikhail Ivanovich Gavrilov, Stepan Pavlovich Dadaev, Nikolai Nikolaevich Demin and the battalion's Komsomol organizer Junior Sergeant Vasily Alexandrovich Eremushkin were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The second echelon, the main forces of the 17th regiment, headed by its commander, Lieutenant Colonel A. I. Bankuzov, moved behind the first echelon in boats, boats, barges and other floating craft. At night, units of the 5th Guards Division crossed the strait and expanded the bridgehead. By 11 o'clock. On April 26, the Neithiff strongpoint was taken. The troops of the 84th and 31st divisions also crossed the strait and captured bridgeheads. This made it possible to organize the transfer of heavy weapons in the morning and begin the construction of a pontoon crossing, which was ready by the morning of April 27.
To speed up the operation on the spit, two assault forces were successfully landed. The Western detachment, led by Colonel L. T. Bely (units of the 83rd Guards Division - about 650 fighters) - from the high seas and the Eastern detachment of Rear Admiral N. E. Regiment of the 43rd Army) - from the side of Frisches Huff Bay. The western landing party landed in the area southwest of Lemberg (3 km south of the Zeetif Strait). The eastern detachment landed in the area of Cape Kaddih-Haken in two echelons.
Using several high-speed barges, which were armed with 88-mm guns, the enemy tried to disrupt the Soviet landing operation. The Germans were able to damage two minesweeper boats. But the attack of our armored boats forced them to retreat. The attack of our landing was not expected, and the paratroopers quickly captured the bridgehead. However, then significantly superior enemy forces attacked the Guardsmen, and they had to fight hard. The White Guards in the first half of the day repelled 8-10 attacks of German troops. Only after the landing of the first echelon of the Eastern Detachment and the approach of the troops of the 5th and 31st Guards Divisions did it become easier for the paratroopers. In general, the landing forces, although taking into account a number of mistakes, coped with their task. They distracted the enemy on themselves, disorganizing his defense.
In the liberated Pillau
German prisoners march in a column along the road in the area of the Frische-Nerung spit
The Frische-Nerung Spit (modern Baltic Spit), separating the sea from the Frische-Huff Bay, is about 60 km long. Its width ranges from 300 meters to 2 km. It was impossible to maneuver on it, so the Germans were able to create a tight defense and stubbornly fought back. Units of the 83rd, 58th, 50th, 14th and 28th Infantry Divisions, as well as numerous separate units and subunits, defended on the spit. They were supported by about 15 tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 40 batteries of field, coastal and anti-aircraft artillery.
Due to the narrowness of the spit, Soviet troops advanced with the forces of 1-2 divisions, regularly replacing them with fresh ones. During April 26, the troops of the 8th Guards Corps and landing detachments captured the northern coast of the Frische-Nerung Spit, surrounded part of the German group, capturing about 4,500 people. However, the Germans continued to actively resist, taking advantage of the convenience of the terrain. The German defense, as well as on the Pilaus Peninsula, had to literally "gnaw through". Separate units of the enemy's defense continued to resist for some time even in our rear. They were surrounded, and they were in no hurry to storm, in most cases the Germans surrendered after a certain period of time.
The German command, still hoping for a "miracle", continued to demand to fight to the death. Heavy fighting continued for several more days. The 11th Guards Army fought heavy offensive battles for five days and advanced about 40 km along the Frische-Nerung Spit. After that, units of the 11th Guards Army were replaced by the troops of the 48th Army. The battles to destroy the German grouping on the Frische-Nerung spit and at the mouth of the Vistula (where up to 50 thousand Nazis were located) continued until May 8, when the remnants of the German army (about 30 thousand people) finally capitulated.
Soldiers of the Moscow Proletarian Division are firing at the enemy on the Frisch Nerung spit. 1945 g.
An artillery crew of the 11th Guards Army is fighting on the Frisch Nerung spit
Soviet soldiers-guards on the Frisch Nerung Bay after the defeat of the enemy. April 1945
Outcomes
During the fighting on the Zemland Peninsula, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front destroyed about 50 thousand German soldiers and officers, and took about 30 thousand prisoners. On the Pillau Peninsula and the Frische-Nerung spit, only from April 20 to 30, the remnants of 5 infantry divisions were destroyed, 7 divisions (including the tank and motorized) were defeated, not counting individual and special units and subunits. About 1,750 guns and mortars, about 5,000 machine guns, about 100 aircraft, more than 300 depots with various military equipment, etc., were captured as trophies. With the capture of Pillau, the Baltic Fleet received a first-class naval base. The freed armies of the 3rd Belorussian Front could participate in the final battles of the Great Patriotic War.
East Prussia was completely liberated from the Nazis. The victory of the Red Army in East Prussia was of great moral and military-strategic importance. Soviet troops captured Konigsberg - the second most important military-political, historical center of Germany. With the loss of East Prussia, the Third Reich lost one of its most important economic regions. Germany lost the most important base of the German Navy and Air Force. The Soviet Baltic Fleet improved its position and basing conditions, receiving such first-class bases, ports and harbors such as Königsberg, Pillau, Elbing, Brandenburg, Krantz, Rauschen and Rosenberg. After the war, Pillau will become the main base of the Baltic Fleet.
German troops suffered a heavy defeat: more than 25 divisions were destroyed, 12 divisions were defeated, losing 50-75% of manpower and equipment. German troops lost about 500 thousand people (of which 220 thousand were taken prisoner). The militias (Volkssturm), the police, the Todt organization, the Hitler Youth Service of Imperial Communications (their number was quite comparable with the Wehrmacht - about 500-700 thousand people) suffered high losses. The exact figure of the losses of the German militia and militarized organizations is unknown. The losses of the 3rd Belorussian Front in the East Prussian operation - more than 584 thousand people (of which more than 126 thousand were killed).
The battle in East Prussia lasted three and a half months (105 days). During the first stage, the powerful defense of the enemy was torn and the East Prussian grouping was dismembered into three parts: the Heilsberg, Konigsberg and Zemland groupings. Then the Red Army consistently crushed large pockets of enemy resistance: the destruction of the Heilsberg grouping, the assault on Koenigsberg and the defeat of the Zemland group.
The Soviet Army avenged the Imperial Russian Army, which in 1914 suffered a heavy defeat in the forests and swamps of East Prussia. Historical retribution has come to pass. After the end of the war, the city of Königsberg and the surrounding areas forever became part of Russia-USSR. Koenigsberg became Kaliningrad. Part of East Prussia was nobly transferred to Poland. Unfortunately, the modern Polish authorities have already forgotten about the benefits of Moscow towards the Polish people.
Soviet soldiers on the shores of the Baltic Sea. East Prussia
Soviet soldiers raise a toast to victory. Koenigsberg. May 1945
