Battle of Kolberg (1945)
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Battle of Kolberg | |
---|---|
Part of the ) | |
Result |
Polish victory
|
Soviet Union
(Primarily until 7 March)
(From 8 March)
18 tanks
1 armoured train
60 artillery pieces
2 heavy cruisers
(From 12 March)
~2,000 captured
1,206 killed and missing
The Battle of Kolberg or Battle of Kołobrzeg (also, battle for Festung Kolberg) was the taking of the city of Kolberg, now the city of
Background
On 4 March 1945 Kolberg, a large
The Soviet
Opposing forces
The German defence forces represented various formations from the Army Group 'Vistula,' some tasked with defending the fortress, others simply cut off in the Kolberg pocket. The most notable units included elements of the
The Soviet and Soviet-allied Polish forces attacking the city can be divided into two waves: one of units of the
Battle
The first attack was led on 4 March by the Soviet units of the 1st Belorussian Front and 2nd Belorussian Front; with first Soviet units entering the city around 0800, but was repulsed. On the same day, the nearby city of Köslin (now Koszalin) fell and Soviets started to gather reinforcements to take Kolberg.
On 6 March the Soviet High Command decided to turn the siege of the city from the Soviet forces to its Polish allies. By 8 March the Soviets received reinforcements in the form of the units from the
On 12 March a new assault was launched, with
On 15 March the fighting resumed and the Germans received reinforcements from Swinemünde (now Świnoujście) — the Kell battalions. However, they failed to stop the Polish forces, which took the barracks, part of the railway station and the Salt Island.
By 16 March the Germans pulled back most of their forces and concentrated on the defense of the port. The destruction of the
On 17 March the Germans abandoned most of the defensive lines, leaving only a smal l number of troops to cover their retreat, and started to evacuate their main body of forces from the city. Polish forces took the railway station and reached the port, but most of the German troops managed to evacuate to Swinemünde (now Świnoujście). The last German stronghold was in the fort built near today's lighthouse on the coastline.
Aftermath
Over 80% of the city was destroyed in the heavy fighting. The battle was among the most intense urban warfare the Polish army took part in. Polish casualties were estimated at 1,206 dead and missing, and 3,000 wounded.
On 18 March, the day the city fell, the
Evacuation
With the Soviet forces approaching in 1945, valuable equipment, most of the inhabitants, and tens of thousands of refugees from surrounding areas (about 70,000), as well as 40,000 German soldiers were evacuated from the besieged city by German naval forces in Operation Hannibal. Only about 2,000 soldiers were left on 17 March to cover the last sea transports.
In media
In 1945, Polish Film Chronicle made a short film about the battle.[2] In 1969, a movie was made in Poland, Jarzębina czerwona , with the battle for the city as its background.[3] In 2005, a 25-minute Polish documentary film about the battle for the city was made.[4]
Less than two months before the battle, a German propaganda movie, filmed in the city in 1944 and covering the siege of Kolberg of 1807, was released.
See also
- History of Pomerania (1933–1945)
- East Pomeranian Offensive
- Kolberg, a 1945 Nazi-produced film about the 1807 battle, released only some five weeks before the 1945 battle's beginning.
References
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- Festung Kolberg (in Polish)
External links
- Kołobrzeg marzec 1945 — jak dziś wygląda pole bitwy… (in Polish)
- Speech by Polish president on the 60th anniversary of the 45' Wedding to the Sea (in Polish)
Further reading
- Extensive bibliography (in Polish)