German World War II fortresses

German fortresses during World War II (Template:Langx or Template:Lang, Template:Lit; called pockets by the Allies) were bridgeheads, cities, islands and towns designated by Adolf Hitler as areas that were to be fortified and stocked with food and ammunition in order to hold out against Allied offensives.

File:Atlantic Wall, Longues-sur-Mer (3).jpg

An Atlantic Wall bunker

The fortress doctrine evolved towards the end of World War II, when the German leadership had not yet accepted defeat, but had begun to realize that drastic measures were required to forestall inevitable Allied offensives. The first such stronghold was Stalingrad.Template:Sfn

File:Feste Plätze Ostfront 1944.png

Map of Template:Lang on the Eastern Front in 1944

On the Eastern Front, Warsaw, Budapest, Vilnius, Kolberg, Königsberg, Küstrin, Danzig and Breslau were some of the large cities selected as strongholds.

On the Western Front, Hitler declared eleven major ports as fortresses on 19 January 1944: IJmuiden, the Hook of Holland, Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire and the Gironde estuary. In February and March 1944 three more coastal areas were declared to be fortresses: the Channel Islands, Calais and La Rochelle.Template:Sfn

Fate of the fortresses

The fate of the fortress areas varied. Stalingrad, the first to fall, is seen as a crucial turning point in the war, and one of the key battles which led to German defeat. In several cases, Alderney, for example, the fortresses were bypassed by the attackers and did not fall, surrendering only after the unconditional surrender of Germany.

One fortress, Courland, would see guerrilla war being waged in the area after 1945 to the late 1950s by Latvian and Lithuanian partisans, with a few Germans who fought as Forest Brothers, with individual guerrillas remaining in hiding and evading capture into the 1980s.

Fortresses	Siege	Commander	Besiegers	Date declared	Date siege started	Date surrendered	Length of siege	Notes
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Belle Île, Groix and Lorient, French State, Military Administration in France	Lorient pocket	Template:Flagicon image Wilhelm FahrmbacherTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces 66th Infantry Division	19 January 1944	12 August 1944	10 May 1945	0,000,271 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Free State of Prussia, Gau Berlin, Greater German Reich	Battle in Berlin	Template:Flagicon image Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild → Hellmuth Reymann → Ernst Kaether → Template:Flagicon image Adolf Hitler → Template:Flagicon image Helmuth WeidlingTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image Soviet Armed Forces Workers' and Peasants' Red Army 1st Belorussian Front 1st Ukrainian Front Template:Flagicon image Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland First Polish Army	Template:Circa	23 April 1945 (encirclement of Berlin complete on 27 April 1945)	2 May 1945	0,000,009 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Called the Berlin Defense Area Operation Clausewitz
Template:Flagicon image Bobruysk, Army Group Rear Area Command	Bobruysk offensive	Template:Flagicon image Adolf HamannTemplate:POW	Template:Flagicon Soviet Armed Forces Red Army 1st Belorussian Front 65th Army	22 June 1944	27 June 1944	29 June 1944	0,000,002 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Babruysk
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Boulogne-sur-Mer, French State, Military Administration in France	Operation Wellhit	Template:Flagicon image Ferdinand HeimTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image UK Armed Forces Template:Flagicon image Royal Air Force No. 2 Group Template:Flagicon image Canadian Armed Forces First Canadian Army 3rd Division 8th Infantry Brigade 9th Infantry Brigade	17 September 1944	17 September 1944	22 September 1944	0,000,005 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Breslau, Province of Lower Silesia, Free State of Prussia, Gau Lower Silesia, Greater German Reich	Siege of Breslau	Template:Flagicon image Battle Commander Karl Hanke	Template:Flagicon image Soviet Armed Forces Template:Flagicon image Military Air Forces of the USSR 2nd Air Army 18th Air Army Red Army 1st Ukrainian Front 6th Army	25 July 1944	13 February 1945	6 May 1945	0,000,082 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Wrocław
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Brest, French State, Military Administration in France	Battle for Brest	Template:Flagicon image Hermann-Bernhard RamckeTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image UK Armed Forces Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces US Army Air Forces US Third Army VIII Corps 2nd Infantry Division 8th Infantry Division 29th Infantry Division 35th Engineer Combat Battalion 2nd Ranger Battalion 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion 5th Ranger Battalion 23rd Headquarters Special Troops 79th UK Armoured Division (elements) 6th Armored Division (elements)	7 August 1944	7 August 1944	19 September 1944	0,000,043 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Budapest, Government of National Unity, Kingdom of Hungary	Siege of Budapest	Template:Flagicon image Karl Pfeffer-WildenbruchTemplate:POW	Template:Flagicon image Romanian Armed Forces First Army 7th Army Corps Template:Flagicon image Soviet Armed Forces Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front 53rd Army 7th Guards Army 3rd Ukrainian Front (elements) 46th Army	1 December 1944	24 December 1944	13 February 1945	0,000,050 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Calais, French State, Military Administration in France	Operation Undergo	Template:Flagicon image Ludwig SchroederTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image UK Armed Forces Template:Flagicon image Royal Air Force Template:Flagicon image Royal Navy Template:Flagicon image Canadian Armed Forces First Army 3rd Division 7th Infantry Brigade 8th Infantry Brigade	February or March 1944	25 September 1944	30 September 1944	0,000,005 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Channel Islands	Resistance in the German-occupied Channel Islands	Template:Flagicon image Rudolf Graf von Schmettow → Friedrich HüffmeierTemplate:Surrendered	Allied Expeditionary Force Template:Flagicon image US Navy Template:Flagicon image US Army Template:Flagicon image Royal Navy	February or March 1944	2 September 1944	9 May 1945 (Guernsey and Jersey) 10 May 1945 (Sark) 16 May 1945 (Alderney) 23 May 1945 (Minquiers)	0,000,263 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Surrendered after the surrender of Germany
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Cherbourg, French State, Military Administration in France	Battle of Cherbourg	Template:Flagicon image Karl-Wilhelm von SchliebenTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces First Army VII Corps 9th Infantry Division 79th Infantry Division Ninth Army III Corps 4th Infantry Division	6 June 1944	22 June 1944	27 June 1944	0,000,005 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Courland, General District Latvia, Reichskommissariat Ostland, Army Group Rear Area Command	Courland Pocket	Template:Flagicon image Ferdinand Schörner → Lothar Rendulic → Walter Weiß → Rendulic → Heinrich von Vietinghoff → Rendulic → Carl HilpertTemplate:Surrendered		10 October 1944	31 July 1944 (encirclement of the pocket complete on 10 October 1944)	10 May 1945	0,000,283 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Surrendered after the surrender of Germany. See Army Group North and Army Group Courland.
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Crete, Hellenic State, Military Administration in Greece	Cretan resistance, Operation Albumen and Operation Mercury II	Template:Flagicon image Hans-Georg BenthackTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image UK Armed Forces Template:Flagicon image Royal Navy Template:Flagicon image Hellenic Army	4 October 1944	4 October 1944	12 May 1945	0,000,220 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Surrendered after the surrender of Germany, see Fortress Crete
Template:Flagicon image Crimea, Army Group Rear Area Command	Crimean offensive, Kerch–Eltigen operation and Battle of the Dnieper	Template:Flagicon image Erwin Jaenecke → Ferdinand Schörner → Erwin Jaenecke → Karl Allmendinger		8 April 1944	28 October 1943 (encirclement of Crimea complete on 2 November 1943)	12 May 1944	0,000,197 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Danzig, Danzig Region, Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, Greater German Reich	Siege of Danzig	Template:Flagicon image Dietrich von Saucken	Template:Flagicon image 2nd Belorussian Front Template:Flagicon image Polish rebels	7 March 1945	15 March 1945	30 March 1945	0,000,015 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Gdańsk
Template:Flagicon image Demyansk, Army Group Rear Area Command	Demyansk Pocket			22 February 1942	8 February 1942	20 May 1942	0,000,101 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Encircled during the Soviet winter counteroffensive, supplied by air until relieved in May 1942, and evacuated in February 1943.
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Dieppe, French State, Military Administration in France	N/A		N/A	Prior to 6 June 1944	N/A	1 September 1944	0,000,000 N/A	Evacuated and liberated without opposition. Also see Operation Fusilade and Operation Jubilee.
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Dunkirk, French State, Military Administration in France	Siege of Dunkirk	Template:Flagicon image Wolfgang von Kluge → Friedrich FrisiusTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image UK Armed Forces British Army 51st Division 154th Infantry Brigade 21st Army Group Template:Flagicon image 1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Template:Flagicon image Royal Navy 4th Special Service Brigade Template:Flagicon image Canadian Armed Forces Canadian Army 2nd Infantry Division	4 September 1944	15 September 1944	9 May 1945	0,000,236 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Surrendered after the surrender of Germany
Template:Flagicon image Gironde Estuary North, Military Administration in France	Operation Jupiter and Operation Venerable	Template:Flagicon image Hartwig Pohlmann → Hans MichahellesTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image French Liberation Army 10th Division 2nd Armored Division 23rd Infantry Division 50th Regiment 158th Regiment Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces 66th Infantry Division	19 January 1944	12 September 1944	30 April 1945	0,000,230 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Gironde Estuary South, Military Administration in France	Royan pocket	Template:Flagicon image Christian Sonntag → Otto PrahlTemplate:Surrendered		19 January 1944	12 September 1944	20 April 1945	0,000,220 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Hel Peninsula, Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, Free State of Prussia, Gau Danzig-West Prussia, Greater German Reich	Siege of Hel		Template:Flagicon image Soviet Armed Forces Red Army 2nd Belorussian Front 19th Army 2nd Shock Army Template:Flagicon image Soviet Navy Baltic Fleet	13 March 1945	30 March 1945	14 May 1945	0,000,045 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	See Hel Fortified Area
Template:Flagicon image Hook of Holland, Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories	N/A	Oberst FlinzerTemplate:Surrendered	N/A	19 January 1944	N/A	5 May 1945	0,000,000 N/A
Template:Flagicon image IJmuiden, Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories	N/A	Template:Flagicon image Colonel Stahmer → Hans HuttnerTemplate:Surrendered	N/A	19 January 1944	N/A	5 May 1945	0,000,000 N/A
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Île de Ré and La Rochelle, French State, Military Administration in France	Siege of La Rochelle	Template:Flagicon image Ernst SchirlitzTemplate:Surrendered		February or March 1944	12 September 1944	7 May 1945	0,000,232 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Kholm, Army Group Rear Area Command	Kholm Pocket			23 January 1942	23 January 1942	5 May 1942	0,000,102 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Encircled during the Soviet winter counteroffensive, relieved in May 1942 after prolonged defense
Template:Flagicon image Kolberg, Region of Köslin, Province of Pomerania, Gau Pomerania, Greater German Reich	Battle of Kolberg	Template:Flagicon image Fritz Fullriede	Template:Flagicon image Soviet Armed Forces Red Army 1st Belorussian Front 272nd Rifle Division 45th Tank Brigade Template:Flagicon image Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland First Polish Army 4th Infantry Division 3rd Infantry Division 6th Infantry Division	5 November 1944	4 March 1945	14 March 1945	0,000,010 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Kołobrzeg
Template:Flagicon image Königsberg, Region of Königsberg, East Prussia, Free State of Prussia, Gau East Prussia, Greater German Reich	Battle of Königsberg	Template:Flagicon image Otto LaschTemplate:POW	Template:Flagicon image Soviet Armed Forces Red Army 1st Baltic Front 3rd Belorussian Front	21 January 1945	26 January 1945 (encirclement of Königsberg complete on 29 January 1945)	9 April 1945	0,000,073 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Kaliningrad
Template:Flagicon image Küstrin, Königsberg Nm., Province of Brandenburg, Free State of Prussia, Gau March of Brandenburg, Greater German Reich	Siege of Küstrin	Template:Flagicon image Adolf Raegener → Template:Flagicon image Heinrich-Friedrich Reinefarth	Template:Flagicon image Soviet Armed Forces Red Army 1st Belorussian Front 82nd Guards Rifle Division	25 January 1945	31 January 1945	30 March 1945	0,000,058 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Kostrzyn nad Odrą. A small number (<1,000) of the German garrison reached German lines after a breakout during the night of 29/30 March 1945
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Le Havre, French State, Military Administration in France	Operation Astonia	Template:Flagicon image Eberhard WildermuthTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image UK Armed Forces Template:Flagicon image British Army I Corps 49th Infantry Division 51st Infantry Division 79th Armoured Division Template:Flagicon image Canadian Armed Forces Canadian Army 1st Armoured Carrier Regiment	7 September 1944	10 September 1944	12 September 1944	0,000,002 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Metz, French State, Military Administration in France	Battle of Metz	Template:Flagicon image Walter Krause → Template:Flagicon image Ernst Kemper → Template:Flagicon image Heinrich KittelTemplate:POW → Template:Flagicon image Werner MatzdorffTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces Third Army XX Corps 95th Infantry Division 5th Infantry Division	2 September 1944	27 September 1944	22 November 1944	0,000,056 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Orel, Army Group Rear Area Command	Operation Kutuzov			5 July 1943	12 July 1943	5 August 1943	0,000,024 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Posen, Posen Region, Reichsgau Wartheland, Greater German Reich	Battle of Posen	Template:Flagicon image Ernst Mattern → Ernst GonellTemplate:KIA	Template:Flagicon Soviet Armed Forces Red Army 1st Belorussian Front 1st Guards Tank Army 8th Guards Army Template:Flagicon image Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland	20 August 1944	24 January 1945	23 February 1945	0,000,030 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Poznań
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Saint-Malo, French State, Military Administration in France	Battle of Saint-Malo	Template:Flagicon image Andreas von AulockTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces Third Army Template:Flagicon image French Liberation Army Template:Flagicon image British Army	19 January 1944	4 August 1944	17 August 1944	0,000,013 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image Saint-Nazaire, French State, Military Administration in France	Saint-Nazaire pocket	Template:Flagicon image Maximilian Hünten → Hans Junck → Captain MathiesTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces 4th Armored Division 6th Armored Division 94th Infantry Division 66th Infantry Division Template:Flagicon image French Liberation Army French Forces of the Interior Snipers and Partisans 25th Infantry Division	8 August 1944	27 August 1944	11 May 1945	0,000,257 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Surrendered after the surrender of Germany
Template:Flagicon image Sevastopol, Army Group Rear Area Command	Crimean offensive			20 June 1942	5 May 1944	9 May 1944	0,000,004 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Smolensk, Army Group Rear Area Command	Smolensk operation			10 September 1943	7 August 1943	25 September 1943	0,000,049 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Stalingrad, Army Group Rear Area Command	Battle of Stalingrad	Template:Flagicon image Friedrich PaulusTemplate:Surrendered → Karl StreckerTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon Soviet Armed Forces Red Army Stalingrad Front 28th Army 51st Army 57th Army 62nd Army 64th Army Don Front 24th Army 65th Army 66th Army Southwestern Front 1st Guards Army 5th Tank Army 21st Army	24 September 1942	23 August 1942 (encirclement of Stalingrad complete on 22 November 1942 during Operation Uranus)	5 March 1943<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	0,000,194 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	Now called Volgograd. By 1 November 1942, 90% of Stalingrad was occupied by Axis forces. On 26 January 1943, during Operation Koltso, Axis forces in Stalingrad were cut into two pockets, with Karl Strecker in command of the northern pocket and Friedrich Paulus in command of the southern pocket.
Template:Flagicon image Template:Flagicon image French protectorate of Tunisia	Tunisian campaign	Template:Flagicon image Erwin Rommel → Gustav Fehn → Rommel → Hans-Jürgen von ArnimTemplate:Surrendered	Template:Flagicon image British Army Template:Flagicon image British Indian Army Template:Flagicon image Newfoundland Template:Flagicon image US Armed Forces Template:Flagicon image Free French Forces Template:Flagicon image New Zealand Defence Force Template:Flagicon image Hellenic Armed Forces	22 February 1943	9 November 1942 (encirclement of Tunisia complete on 12 February 1943)	13 May 1943	0,000,185 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days
Template:Flagicon image Warsaw, Warsaw District, General Government, Greater German Reich	Lublin–Brest offensive, Vistula–Oder offensive and Warsaw Uprising	Template:Flagicon image Hellmuth Eisenstuck → Ernst Mock	N/A	27 July 1944	1 August 1944	17 January 1945	0,000,169 Template:Age in years, months, weeks and days	On 16 January 1945, German troops withdrew from Warsaw and the next day the First Polish Army, 2nd Guards Tank Army and 3rd Shock Army entered the city. Also see Festung Warschau

See also

• Alpine Fortress
• Atlantic pockets
• Atlantic Wall
• Czechoslovak border fortifications
• Festung Norwegen
• Fortress Europe
• Maginot Line
• Molotov Line
• Stalin Line
• Valtellina Redoubt

References

• BBC article on Alderney
• Europe: A History, Template:ISBN, the history of Europe; page 1038
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Festung Breslau/Fortress Wrocław Template:Webarchive