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Samland offensive

April 12, 2024

The Samland offensive was a Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front in the final stages of World War II. It took place in Sambia (German: Samland); (Russian: земланд, romanized: Zemland).

Samland offensive
Part of Eastern Front of World War II
DateApril 13 – April 25, 1945
Location
Sambia, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad Oblast)
Result Soviet Victory
Belligerents
 Germany  Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Hans Gollnick
Dietrich von Saucken		 Hovhannes Bagramyan
Units involved
Army Detachment Samland
Armee Ostpreußen		 Zemland Group of Forces
Casualties and losses
Soviet claim: 80,000 KIA or POW Unknown

The East Prussian offensive, which commenced on January 13, 1945, had seen the Red Army 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.

Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky, 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).[1] 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.

German planning edit

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 Battle of Königsberg, Sambia had been defended by Army Detachment Samland under the command of General Hans Gollnick, 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.[2]

Deployments edit

Red Army edit

Wehrmacht edit

The offensive edit

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.[3] 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[4] 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.[3] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

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",[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

Aftermath edit

The Red Army claimed to have killed or taken prisoner 80,000 German troops during the operations in Sambia.[11]

The remnants of IX Corps resisted on the Frische Nehrung to the end of the war, though the corps staff was removed to Bornholm.

The headquarters of the Zemland Group of Forces later became the headquarters of the Baltic Military District on 9 July 1945.[12]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Duffy, p.203
  2. ^ Duffy, p.384
  3. ^ a b Bagramyan, p.576
  4. ^ Bagramyan, p.575
  5. ^ Schneider, p.91
  6. ^ Duffy, p.219
  7. ^ Maslov, p.178
  8. ^ Bagramyan, p.584
  9. ^ Bagramyan, p.586
  10. ^ Duffy, p.219 (who misidentifies Major-General Henke as Major Henke)
  11. ^ Bagramyan, p.588. This estimate seems high, but may include all prisoners taken on the Frische Nehrung.
  12. ^ V.I. Feskov et al 2004, Tomsk, p.8.

References edit

  • *Bagramyan, H. Thus we went to victory, Moscow, 1977. (in Russian) Russian: Баграмян И.X. Так шли мы к победе. – М.: Воениздат, 1977
  • *Duffy. C. Red Storm on the Reich, Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0-415-22829-9
  • *Krylov, N. Разгром земландской группировки противника, ВИЖ, 1972, 4.
  • *Maslov, A. Fallen Soviet Generals, Frank Cass, 1998, ISBN 978-0-7146-4346-5
  • *Schneider, W. Tigers in Combat, Stackpole, 2004, ISBN 0-8117-3171-5
  • "Kronborg, Ove C.: Et hjørne af en hærs sammenbrud - Den tyske 551. Grenaderdivisions fødsel, kampe og undergang i Litauen og Østpreussen 1944 – 45. (2013). Published by Forlaget Als - ISBN 978-87-996754-0-1

April 12, 2024
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The Samland offensive was a Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front in the final stages of World War II It took place in Sambia German Samland Russian zemland romanized Zemland Samland offensivePart of Eastern Front of World War IIDateApril 13 April 25 1945LocationSambia East Prussia now Kaliningrad Oblast ResultSoviet VictoryBelligerents Germany Soviet UnionCommanders and leadersHans GollnickDietrich von SauckenHovhannes BagramyanUnits involvedArmy Detachment SamlandArmee OstpreussenZemland Group of ForcesCasualties and lossesSoviet claim 80 000 KIA or POWUnknown The East Prussian offensive which commenced on January 13 1945 had seen the Red Army 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 Konigsberg in which they were besieged Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky 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 1 Bagramyan s forces initially laid siege to Konigsberg the city was eventually stormed on April 9 They were then given the task of overcoming the substantial German force still remaining in Sambia Contents 1 German planning 2 Deployments 2 1 Red Army 2 2 Wehrmacht 3 The offensive 4 Aftermath 5 Footnotes 6 ReferencesGerman planning editGerman 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 Battle of Konigsberg Sambia had been defended by Army Detachment Samland under the command of General Hans Gollnick who had tried to maintain a corridor between Konigsberg 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 2 Deployments editRed Army edit Samland Army Group General Hovhannes Bagramyan 2nd Guards Army Lieutenant General Porfiry Chanchibadze 11th Guards Army General Kuzma Galitsky 5th Army Colonel General Nikolay Krylov 49th Army Lieutenant General Ivan Grishin 43rd Army General Afanasy Beloborodov Wehrmacht edit Elements of Armee Ostpreussen General Dietrich von Saucken XXVI Corps General Gerhard Matzky remnants of 58th 1st and 21st Infantry Divisions 5th Panzer Division 28th Jager Division and 561st Volksgrenadier Division LV Corps Fortress Pillau Lieutenant General Kurt Chill remnants of 50th and 286th Infantry Divisions and 558th Volksgrenadier Division IX Corps General Rolf Wuthmann to April 20 then Lieutenant General Hermann Hohn remnants of 95th 93rd and 14th Infantry Divisions 551st Volksgrenadier Division and Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland Elements of Heavy Panzer Detachment 502 and Heavy Panzer Detachment 505The offensive editThe 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 3 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 4 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 3 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 5 By April 16 Soviet forces broke through near Fischhausen parts of XXVI Corps including the 5th Panzer and 28th Jager Divisions became cut off on the peninsula at Peyse and were lost 6 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 7 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 8 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 9 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 10 Aftermath editThe Red Army claimed to have killed or taken prisoner 80 000 German troops during the operations in Sambia 11 The remnants of IX Corps resisted on the Frische Nehrung to the end of the war though the corps staff was removed to Bornholm The headquarters of the Zemland Group of Forces later became the headquarters of the Baltic Military District on 9 July 1945 12 Footnotes edit Duffy p 203 Duffy p 384 a b Bagramyan p 576 Bagramyan p 575 Schneider p 91 Duffy p 219 Maslov p 178 Bagramyan p 584 Bagramyan p 586 Duffy p 219 who misidentifies Major General Henke as Major Henke Bagramyan p 588 This estimate seems high but may include all prisoners taken on the Frische Nehrung V I Feskov et al 2004 Tomsk p 8 References edit Bagramyan H Thus we went to victory Moscow 1977 in Russian Russian Bagramyan I X Tak shli my k pobede M Voenizdat 1977 Duffy C Red Storm on the Reich Routledge 2000 ISBN 978 0 415 22829 9 Krylov N Razgrom zemlandskoj gruppirovki protivnika VIZh 1972 4 Maslov A Fallen Soviet Generals Frank Cass 1998 ISBN 978 0 7146 4346 5 Schneider W Tigers in Combat Stackpole 2004 ISBN 0 8117 3171 5 Kronborg Ove C Et hjorne af en haers sammenbrud Den tyske 551 Grenaderdivisions fodsel kampe og undergang i Litauen og Ostpreussen 1944 45 2013 Published by Forlaget Als ISBN 978 87 996754 0 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Samland offensive amp oldid 1206403880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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