Capture of Koenigsberg 1945. Capture of Koenigsberg
Operation plan
The defeat of the Heilsberg grouping and the reduction of the front line allowed the Soviet command to regroup forces in the Königsberg direction as soon as possible. In mid-March, the 50th Army of Ozerov was transferred to the Koenigsberg direction, by March 25 - the 2nd Guards Army of Chanchibadze, in early April - the 5th Army of Krylov. Castling required only 3-5 night marches. As it turned out after the capture of Koenigsberg, the German command did not expect that the Red Army would so quickly create a strike force to storm the fortress.
On March 20, Soviet troops received instructions "to break through the Koenigsberg fortified area and storm the city of Koenigsberg." Assault detachments and assault groups were placed at the basis of the battle formations of units during the breakthrough of enemy defenses and, especially for urban battles. Assault detachments were created on the basis of rifle battalions, and assault groups - rifle companies with appropriate reinforcement.
The directive of March 30 presented a specific plan for the Koenigsberg operation and the tasks of each army. The start of the offensive was scheduled for the morning of April 5, 1945 (then postponed to April 6). The command of the 3rd Belorussian Front decided to launch simultaneous attacks on the city from the north and south in converging directions, encircle and destroy the enemy garrison. The main forces were concentrated in order to deliver powerful strikes on narrow sections of the front. On the Zemland direction, they decided to launch an auxiliary strike in the western direction in order to divert part of the enemy grouping from Königsberg.
The 43rd army of Beloborodov and the right flank of the 50th army of Ozerov attacked the city from the northwest and north; The 11th Guards Army of Galitsky advanced from the south. The 39th army of Lyudnikov delivered an auxiliary strike to the north in a southerly direction and was supposed to go to Frisches-Haff Bay, cutting off the communications of the Königsberg garrison with the rest of the forces of the Zemland task force. The 2nd Guards Army of Chanchibadze and the 5th Army of Krylov delivered auxiliary strikes in the Zemland direction, on Norgau and Bludau.
Thus, Königsberg was to be taken by three armies - the 43rd, 50th and 11th Guards armies. On the third day of the operation, the 43rd army of Beloborodov, together with the right flank of the 50th army of Ozerov, was to capture the entire northern part of the city to the Pregel River. The 50th army of Ozerov also had to solve the problem of capturing the northeastern part of the fortress. On the third day of the operation, the 11th Army of Galitsky was to capture the southern part of Koenigsberg, reach the Pregel River and be ready to force the river to help clear the northern bank.
The artillery commander, Colonel-General N. M. Khlebnikov, was instructed a few days before the decisive assault to begin processing enemy positions with heavy artillery. Soviet artillery of large caliber was supposed to destroy the most important defensive structures of the enemy (forts, pillboxes, bunkers, shelters, etc.), as well as conduct counter-battery combat, striking at German artillery. During the preparatory period, Soviet aviation was supposed to cover the concentration and deployment of armies, prevent the approach of reserves to Königsberg, take part in the destruction of long-term enemy defenses and the suppression of German artillery, and support the attacking troops during the assault. The 3rd Air Army of Nikolai Papivin received the task of supporting the offensive of the 5th and 39th Armies, the 1st Air Army of Timofey Khryukin - the 43rd, 50th and 11th Guards Armies.
Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky (left) and his deputy General of the Army I. Kh. Bagramyan clarify the plan for the assault on Koenigsberg
On April 2, Vasilevsky held a military conference. In general, the operation plan was approved. Five days were allotted for the Koenigsberg operation. On the first day, the armies of the 3rd Belorussian Front were supposed to break through the external fortifications of the Germans, and in the following days to complete the defeat of the Königsberg garrison. After the capture of Königsberg, our troops were to develop an offensive to the northwest and finish off the Zemland group.
In order to strengthen the air power of the strike, front-line aviation was reinforced with two corps of the 4th and 15th air armies (2nd Belorussian and Leningrad fronts) and aviation of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The 18th Air Army of heavy bombers (former long-range aviation) took part in the operation. The French fighter regiment "Normandy - Neman" also took part in the operation. Naval aviation received the task of inflicting massive strikes on the port of Pillau and transports, both in the Königsberg Canal and on the approaches to Pillau, in order to prevent the evacuation of the German group by sea. In total, the aviation grouping of the front was reinforced to 2,500 aircraft (about 65% were bombers and attack aircraft). The general command of the air forces in the Koenigsberg operation was carried out by the commander of the Red Army Air Force, Chief Marshal of Aviation A. A. Novikov.
The Soviet grouping in the Königsberg area consisted of about 137 thousand soldiers and officers, up to 5 thousand guns and mortars, 538 tanks and self-propelled guns. In manpower and artillery, the advantage over the enemy was insignificant - 1.1 and 1.3 times. Only in armored vehicles did it have a significant superiority - 5 times.
German vehicles on Mitteltragheim street in Königsberg after the assault. StuG III assault guns on the right and left, JgdPz IV tank destroyer in the background
Abandoned German 105-mm howitzer le.F.H.18 / 40 in position in Königsberg
Abandoned in Königsberg German technology. In the foreground - 150-mm howitzer sFH 18
Koenigsberg, one of the fortifications
Storm preparation
Preparations were made for the assault on Koenigsberg throughout March. Assault squads and assault groups were formed. At the headquarters of the Zemland group, a model of the city was made with the terrain, defensive structures and buildings in order to work out the issues of interaction with the commanders of divisions, regiments and battalions. Before the start of the operation, all officers, up to platoon commanders, were given a plan of the city with a single numbering of quarters and the most important buildings. This greatly facilitated the management of troops during the assault.
A lot of work was done to prepare artillery for the assault on Königsberg. We worked out in detail and carefully the procedure for using artillery for direct fire and the use of assault guns. Artillery battalions of large and special power with a caliber from 203 to 305 mm were to take part in the operation. Before the start of the operation, the artillery of the front smashed the enemy defenses for four days, concentrating its efforts on the destruction of permanent structures (forts, pillboxes, dugouts, the most durable buildings, etc.).
In the period from April 1 to April 4, the battle formations of the Soviet armies were condensed. In the north, in the direction of the main attack of the 43rd and 50th armies of Beloborodov and Ozerov, 15 rifle divisions were concentrated on a 10-kilometer breakthrough. The artillery density in the northern sector was increased to 220 guns and mortars per 1 km of the front, the density of armored vehicles to 23 tanks and self-propelled guns per 1 km. In the south, on the 8.5-kilometer section of the breakthrough, 9 rifle divisions were ready to strike. The artillery density in the northern sector was increased to 177 guns and mortars, the density of tanks and self-propelled guns - 23 vehicles. The 39th Army, which delivered an auxiliary strike on an 8-kilometer sector, had 139 guns and mortars per 1 km of the front, 14 tanks and self-propelled guns per 1 km of the front.
To support the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, the Soviet Headquarters instructed to use the forces of the Baltic Fleet. For this purpose, a detachment of river armored boats was transferred by rail to the Pregel River in the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Tapiau from Oranienbaum. At the end of March, in the area of Gutenfeld station (10 km southeast of Koenigsberg), artillery of the 404th railway artillery battalion of the Baltic Fleet was deployed. The railway artillery division was supposed to interfere with the movement of German ships along the Königsberg Canal, as well as strike at ships, port facilities, piers and the railway junction.
In order to concentrate the efforts of the fleet and organize closer interaction with ground forces at the end of March, the Southwestern Naval Defense Region was created under the command of Rear Admiral N. I. Vinogradov. It included the Lyubavskaya, Pilausskaya, and later the Kolberg naval bases. The Baltic Fleet was supposed to disrupt enemy communications, including with the help of aviation. In addition, they began to prepare an amphibious assault for landing in the rear of the Zemland group.
The positions of the German air defense troops after the bombing. On the right is the sound pickup
Königsberg, destroyed German artillery battery
Operation start. Breakthrough of enemy defense
At dawn on April 6, Vasilevsky ordered the offensive to begin at 12 o'clock. At 9 o'clock artillery and aviation preparation began. Commander of the 11th guards army Kuzma Galitsky recalled: “The earth trembled from the roar of the cannonade. Enemy positions along the entire front of the breakthrough were covered by a solid wall of shell explosions. The city was covered in thick smoke, dust and fire. ... Through the brown veil one could see how our heavy shells were demolishing earthen coverings from the fortifications, how pieces of logs and concrete, stones, warped parts of military equipment flew into the air. Katyusha shells roared over our heads.
For a long time the roofs of the old forts were covered with a significant layer of earth and even overgrown with young forest. From a distance they looked like small hills overgrown with forest. However, with skillful actions, the Soviet artillerymen cut off this layer of earth and reached the brick or concrete vaults. The dumped earth and trees quite often blocked the view of the Germans and closed the embrasures. Artillery preparation continued until 12:00. In the offensive zone of the 11th Guards Army, 09:00. 20 minutes. a long-range army group hit the German batteries, and from 9 o'clock. 50 min. until 11 o'clock. 20 minutes. struck at the identified firing positions of the enemy. At the same time, the Katyushas crushed the active German mortar batteries and strongholds in the nearest depth. From 11 o'clock. until 11 o'clock. 20 minutes. guns, set on direct fire, shot targets at the front line of the enemy. After that until 12 noon. all artillery of the army struck to a depth of 2 km. Mortars focused on suppressing enemy manpower. Divisional and corps artillery was concentrated on the destruction of fire weapons and strongholds, the artillery of the army group conducted counter-battery combat. At the end of the artillery preparation, all means hit the front line.
Due to unfavorable weather, Soviet aviation was unable to fulfill its tasks - instead of the planned 4 thousand sorties, only about 1 thousand sorties were made. Therefore, attack aircraft could not support the attack of infantry and tanks. Artillery had to take over part of the tasks of aviation. Until 13 o'clock. aviation operated in small groups, significantly increasing activity only in the afternoon.
At 11 o'clock. 55 min. "Katyushas" dealt the last blow to the main strongholds of the enemy. Even in the course of artillery preparation, the Soviet advanced units got close to the front line of the enemy. Under the cover of artillery fire, some units attacked the stunned Germans and began to seize the advanced trenches. At 12 o'clock the Soviet troops went to storm the positions of the enemy. The first to go were assault detachments with the support of tanks; they were created in all rifle divisions. The divisional and corps artillery, and the artillery of the army group shifted their fire deep into the enemy defenses and continued to conduct counter-battery combat. The guns that were in the combat formations of the infantry were brought to direct fire, and they smashed the positions of the enemy.
The awakened German troops offered stubborn resistance, fired heavily and counterattacked. A good example of the fierce fighting for Koenigsberg is the offensive of the 11th Guards Army. In the offensive zone of the 11th Guards Army, the powerful 69th German Infantry Division was defended, reinforced by three regiments of other divisions (in fact, it was another division) and a significant number of separate battalions, including the militia, workers, construction, fortress, special and police units. In this area, the Germans had about 40 thousand people, more than 700 guns and mortars, 42 tanks and self-propelled guns. The German defense in the southern sector was strengthened by 4 powerful forts (No. 12 Eulenburg, No. 11 Denhoff, No. 10 Konitz and No. 8 King Friedrich I), 58 long-term firing points (bunkers and bunkers) and 5 strongholds from solid buildings.
The 11th Guards Army of Galitsky brought all three corps to the first line - the 36th, 16th and 8th Guards Rifle Corps. Galitsky's army dealt the main blow with formations of the 16th Guards Rifle Corps in cooperation with the shock groups of the 8th and 36th Guards Rifle Corps. Each guards rifle corps fielded two rifle divisions in the first echelon and one in the second. The commander of the 8th Guards Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General M.N. Zavadovsky, delivered the main blow with the left flank along the Awaiden-Rosenau line. The corps commander singled out the 26th and 83rd guards divisions to the first echelon, the 5th guards rifle division was located in the second echelon. The right flank of the corps was covered by an army reserve regiment, army junior lieutenant courses and a combined cavalry regiment of mounted scouts. The commander of the 16th Guards Rifle Corps, Major General S.S. Guryev, aimed troops at Ponart. He sent the 1st and 31st divisions to the first echelon, the 11th division was in the second. The commander of the 36th Guards Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General P.K. Koshevoy, struck with the right flank of the corps in the direction of Prappeln and Kalgen. In the first echelon were the 84th and 16th divisions, in the second - the 18th division. The left flank of the corps near Frisches Huff Bay was covered by a flamethrower battalion and a company of cadets.
Parts of the 26th, 1st and 31st Guards Rifle Divisions of the 11th Guards Army, operating in the main direction, captured the second trench of the enemy with the first blow (the Soviet troops took the first position of the fortress and Fort No. 9 "Ponart" back in January). Guardsmen of the 84th division also broke into enemy positions. The 83rd and 16th Guards Rifle Divisions advancing on the flanks were less successful. They had to break through strong defenses in the area of German forts No. 8 and 10.
So in the zone of the 8th Guards Rifle Corps, the 83rd Division fought a hard battle for Fort No. 10. The Soviet guards were able to get close to the fort at 150-200 m, but they could not move further, the strong fire of the fort and its supporting units interfered. The division commander, Major General A. G. Maslov, left one regiment to block the fort, and the other two regiments, hiding behind a smoke screen, moved on and broke into Avaiden. Maslov brought assault groups into battle, and they began to knock the Germans out of the buildings. As a result of an hour-long battle, our troops occupied the southern part of Avaiden and broke through to the northern outskirts. The 26th division of the 8th corps also advanced successfully, supported by the tanks of the 23rd tank brigade and three batteries of the 260th heavy self-propelled artillery regiment.
The 1st Guards Rifle Division of the 16th Guards Rifle Corps, reinforced with tanks and self-propelled guns, by 2 p.m. went to Ponart. Our troops went to storm this suburb of Koenigsberg. The Germans fiercely resisted, using the guns left after the artillery preparation and dug into the ground tanks and assault guns. Our troops lost several tanks. The 31st Guards Rifle Division, which was also advancing on Ponart, broke into the second line of enemy trenches. However, then the offensive of the Soviet troops stopped. As it turned out after the capture of the capital East Prussia, the German command expected in this direction main blow 11th Guards Army and with special attention was engaged in the defense of the Ponart direction. Disguised anti-tank guns and tanks dug into the ground caused serious damage to our troops. The trenches south of Ponart were occupied by a specially formed battalion of an officer's school. The fighting was extremely fierce and turned into hand-to-hand combat. Only at 4 p.m. The 31st division broke through the enemy defenses and joined the battle for Ponart.
The Guardsmen of the 36th Corps also had a hard time. The Germans repulsed the first attacks. Then using the success of the neighboring 31st division, the 84th guards division with the 338th heavy self-propelled artillery regiment, at 13:00. broke through German defense and began to advance towards Prappeln. However, the left-flank regiment was stopped by Fort No. 8. And the remaining forces of the division could not take Prappeln. The division stopped, launched an artillery strike on the village, but it did not reach the target, since the divisional guns could not reach the concrete and stone cellars. More powerful weapons were needed. The front command ordered to regroup forces, blockade the fort with 1-2 battalions, and move the main forces to Prappeln. Army artillery was given the task of suppressing the fortifications of Prappeln with large caliber guns.
By 15 o'clock. the regrouping of units of the 84th Guards Division was completed. The artillery strike of the army artillery led to a positive effect. The guards quickly took the southern part of the village. Then the offensive stopped somewhat, as the German command transferred two militia battalions and several assault guns to this direction. However, the Germans were successfully pushed back, capturing house after house.
Street fight in Koenigsberg
Broken enemy equipment on the streets of Koenigsberg
Thus, by 15-16 hours. Galitsky's army broke through the first position of the enemy, advancing 3 km in the direction of the main attack. The intermediate line of defense of the Germans was also broken through. On the flanks, Soviet troops advanced 1.5 km. Now the army began to storm the second position of the enemy, which passed along the outskirts of the city and relied on buildings adapted for all-round defense.
The critical moment of the operation has arrived. The Germans brought into battle all the nearest tactical reserves and began to transfer reserves from the city, trying to stabilize the front. The guards corps fought stubborn battles in the area of Prappeln and Ponart. Almost all rifle regiments have already used the second echelons, and some of the last reserves. It took an effort to finally turn the tide in their favor. Then the army command decided to throw divisions of the second echelon of corps into battle, although initially they were not planned to enter the battle on the first day of the operation. However, it was not practical to keep them in reserve. At 14 o'clock. began to push forward the 18th and 5th Guards Divisions.
In the afternoon, the clouds began to dissipate, and Soviet aviation stepped up their operations. Attack aircraft of the 1st Guards Air Division under the command of the Hero of the Soviet Union, General S. D. Prutkov and the 182nd Attack Air Division, General V. I. Shevchenko, under the cover of fighters of the 240th Fighter Air Division of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Aviation G. V. Zimin, inflicted powerful attacks on enemy positions. "Ily" operated at a minimum height. The "Black Death", as the Germans called the Il-2, destroyed manpower and equipment, crushed the firing positions of enemy troops. Attempts by individual German fighters to thwart the attack of the Soviet attack aviation were repulsed by our fighters. Air strikes on enemy positions accelerated the movement of the Soviet guards. So after our attack aircraft suppressed enemy positions south of Rosenau, the troops of the 26th Guards Division took the southern part of Rosenau.
Parts of the 1st and 5th divisions fought heavy battles in the area of the railway depot and the railway. The German troops counterattacked and even pressed our troops in places, regaining part of the previously lost positions. The 31st division fought fierce battles for Ponart. The Germans turned the stone houses into citadels and, with the support of artillery and assault guns, actively resisted. The streets were blocked by barricades, the approaches to them were covered by minefields and barbed wire. Literally every house was stormed. Some of the houses had to be demolished by artillery fire. The Germans repulsed three division attacks. Only in the evening did the guards advance somewhat, but they could not build on the success, the division had exhausted its reserves. At 19:00, the division went on a new attack. Assault detachments were active, which successively took house after house. Heavy self-propelled guns were of great help, the shells of which pierced houses through and through. By 22 o'clock. The 31st division captured the southern outskirts of Ponart.
The 18th Guards Rifle Division of the 36th Corps (Second Echelon Division) stormed Prappeln. The Germans stubbornly resisted, and only in the evening the division captured the southwestern part of Prappeln. The 84th Division made little progress. Fort No. 8 was completely surrounded. The 16th Guards Rifle Division took Kalgen by the end of the day.
Results of the first day of the offensive
By the end of the day, the 11th Guards Army advanced 4 km, broke through the first enemy position on a 9-kilometer section, an intermediate defensive line on a 5-kilometer section, and reached the second position in the direction of the main attack. Soviet troops occupied the junction line northeast of Fort No. 10 - the railway depot - southern part Ponart - Prappeln - Kalgen - Warten. The threat of dismemberment of the enemy grouping, which was defending south of the Pregel River, was created. 43 quarters of the suburbs and the city itself were cleared of the Germans. On the whole, the task of the first day of the offensive was completed. True, the flanks of the army lagged behind.
In other directions, Soviet troops also successfully advanced. The 39th army of Lyudnikov wedged into the enemy defenses for 4 kilometers, intercepting railway Koenigsberg - Pillau. Parts of the 43rd Army of Beloborodov broke through the first position of the enemy, took Fort No. 5 and surrounded Fort No. 5a, drove the Nazis out of Charlottenburg and the village southwest of it. The 43rd Army was the first to break into Koenigsberg and cleared the 20th quarter from the Germans. Only 8 kilometers remained between the troops of the 43rd and 11th Guards Army. The troops of Ozerov's 50th Army also broke through the enemy's first line of defense, advanced 2 km, took Fort No. 4 and occupied 40 blocks of the city. The 2nd Guards and 5th Armies remained in place.
The German command, in order to avoid the encirclement of the Königsberg garrison and fend off the blow of the 39th Army, brought the 5th Panzer Division into battle. In addition, additional troops began to be transferred from the Zemland Peninsula to the Königsberg area. The commandant of Koenigsberg, Otto von Lyash, apparently believed that the main threat to the city came from the 43rd and 50th armies, which were rushing to the center of the capital of East Prussia. From the south, the city center was covered by the Pregel River. In addition, the Germans feared the encirclement of Koenigsberg, trying to fend off the offensive of the 39th Army. In the southern direction, the defense was strengthened by several reserve battalions, and they also tried to keep forts No. 8 and 10, which held back the flanks of the 11th Guards Army and hastily created new fortifications in the path of Galitsky's army.
Assault on Koenigsberg
The world was entering 1945. The outcome of World War II was predetermined. But Nazi Germany resisted. Resisted with the despair of the doomed. Warsaw had already been liberated, the Soviet troops were moving irresistibly to the west. Berlin lay ahead. His assault became a reality. And it is not by chance that some of our military leaders developed a plan - to gather forces into one fist and fall with all their might on the capital of Nazi Germany.
But far-sighted strategists, and first of all, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, did not forget about the right and left flanks of the Berlin direction, where a significant number of enemy troops were located. Their actions could be the most unexpected. After the war, such fears were confirmed. The German command really had an intention - in the event of the formation of a "Berlin ledge", a two-sided simultaneous flank attack would cut its base. So, in the territory of East Prussia, the Zemland Peninsula and adjacent territories there was an army group, numbering a total of about forty divisions. Leaving them in the rear was extremely dangerous.
That is why the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command made a decision with the forces of the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts, commanded by the talented commanders Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky and General of the Army I.D. Chernyakhovsky. With the help of the troops of the 1st Baltic Front, led by General of the Army I.Kh. Bagramyan, cut off these troops from the main German forces, dismember them, press them to the sea and destroy them.
The main attack on Koenigsberg, turned into a military fortress, was assigned to the 3rd Belorussian Front. And the 2nd Belorussian Front was supposed to operate west of Koenigsberg and defeat the German troops stationed there. Both fronts had large forces. One and a half million fighters, twenty thousand guns and mortars, three thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts were ready to strike. Two air armies, the 1st and 3rd, supported the ground forces. They had three thousand aircraft. Thus, in the East Prussian direction and in northern Poland, our troops outnumbered the enemy in manpower by 2.8 times, in artillery - by 3.4, in tanks - by 4.7 and in aircraft - by 5.8 times.
Nevertheless, a very difficult task had to be solved. Before the Soviet troops lay Germany, whose territory was turned into a continuous defensive zone. Countless pillboxes, bunkers, trenches, anti-tank ditches and gouges, other engineering structures, made with German thoroughness, seemed capable of stopping any army. Any, but not Soviet, hardened in the crucible of almost four years of battle with the fascist aggressor.
Having reached the German border, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front delayed their offensive. Comprehensive and detailed preparations for the East Prussian operation began. The armies were preparing for a breakthrough. Ground and air reconnaissance was carried out around the clock, the artillerymen determined the objects that were to be struck. The maximum effect with a minimum number of victims - this rule has become the main one for every officer and general. Unfortunately, it was not assimilated immediately and paid at a very high price.
Looking through binoculars at the German land lying in front of them, our soldiers experienced a keen feeling. It was from here at dawn on June 22, 1941 that the fascist hordes rushed to our country, here was one of the bridgeheads of aggression. And now it has come - this hour of retribution for the many thousands of destroyed cities and villages, for the deaths of millions and millions of Soviet people.
The morning of January 13, 1945 came. Cold, cloudy. When it dawned, thousands of guns hit on a large stretch of the front. And soon tanks and infantry went on the attack. The assault on the East Prussian stronghold began.
But the main obstacle was not enemy resistance. From the Baltic Sea, the wind drove a thick fog. He hid enemy firing points from observation, tanks lost their bearings, aviation and artillery could not provide effective assistance to the advancing infantry. But it was no longer possible to stop, delay the actions of the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front. For on the entire front from the Baltic to Budapest, a gigantic strategic offensive unfolded that day. And the East Prussian operation was an integral part of it.
Only three lines of trenches were captured on the first day by our troops, only one and a half kilometers, and even then not everywhere, the attackers managed to advance. The Germans threw more and more reserves into battle, including tanks. Our tank units, equipped with new models of heavy armored vehicles, entered the battle with them. In five days of fierce fighting, our troops traveled twenty kilometers, but they never managed to enter the operational space. Behind the fortieth line of trenches, the forty-first immediately began, and so on. The lines of defense stretched all the way to Koenigsberg. A day after the start of the offensive, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front deployed fighting and the 2nd Belorussian Front, which also met stubborn resistance from the enemy. But all the efforts of the German troops to contain the pressure of the Soviet army were in vain. Gumbinnen was taken by storm, Insterburg fell on January 22. Our troops entered the streets of other German cities. And soon the divisions of the 2nd Belorussian Front came to the coast of the Frisches-Haff Bay. No, military successes were not easy for us. The number of infantry divisions was reduced to two to three thousand people, which was less than the composition of the pre-war regiment. Heavy losses were suffered by the tankers, who were paving the way for the infantry. The whole country was hard pressed by the death on February 18 on the battlefield of the commander of the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, General of the Army I. D. Chernyakhovsky. The people have lost one of their most talented and young commanders. Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky was appointed the new commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. He was to, commanding the combined troops of the two Belorussian fronts and the joined 1st Baltic Front, complete operations in East Prussia.
The enemy defended himself with ever-increasing tenacity. He managed to detain our units for some time in the zone of the Heilsberg fortified area, where the defense was held by a powerful enemy grouping of several divisions, using nine hundred reinforced concrete houses. On February 19, having replenished the Zemland task force with troops from the Courland grouping, the enemy launched two counter strikes at the same time - one from Koenigsberg, the second from the Zemland Peninsula. After three days of fierce fighting, the Nazis managed to somewhat push our troops back and create a corridor connecting the Koenigsberg grouping with the Zemland one. That's when the need for a unified command arose. The Stavka subsequently made a fully justified decision to transfer all Soviet troops operating on the territory of East Prussia to the 3rd Belorussian Front.
And then the day came when our units reached the outer defensive lines of Koenigsberg, located fifteen kilometers from the city outskirts. But it was impossible to storm the city on the move; comprehensive, thorough, deeply thought-out preparation was required. Having surrounded the seemingly impregnable fortress, the capital of East Prussia, our troops stopped. It was necessary to replenish the combat strength of units and formations, to accumulate the necessary amount of ammunition, and most importantly, to carry out thorough reconnaissance.
The losses of the Soviet troops were tangible, we were dealing with a strong and experienced enemy. Its power is already evidenced by the fact that in the fierce battles to defeat the Heilsberg grouping in two weeks, 93 thousand were destroyed and more than 46 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were taken prisoner. Captured and destroyed 605 tanks, 1441 guns, shot down 128 aircraft. But an even more severe test lay ahead.
Final preparations for the assault
They stood opposite each other, perfectly aware that a decisive battle was near and inevitable. By the beginning of April, in the area of Königsberg and the Zemland Peninsula, the German operational group Zemland continued to defend itself, consisting of eleven divisions, one brigade and several infantry regiments, as well as Volkssturm battalions.
The Koenigsberg garrison directly included five infantry divisions, fortress and security units, numbering over 130 thousand soldiers, up to four thousand guns, more than a hundred tanks and assault guns. Air support was provided by 170 aircraft.
But the Nazis pinned their main hope not on the number of soldiers and guns, but on those fortifications that had been created for centuries, repeatedly rebuilt and modernized. The defense of the city consisted of three lines encircling Koenigsberg in a ring. The first lane was based on 15 fortress forts 7-8 kilometers from the city limits. The second defensive line went along the outskirts of the city. The third, consisting of fortress forts, ravelins, reinforced concrete structures of a new construction and stone buildings equipped with loopholes, occupied most city and its centre. The streets were blocked by anti-tank ditches and gouges, barricades, trenches. Almost all the forts had the shape of a pentagon, surrounded by a moat with water, the depth of the moats reached seven meters. Reinforced concrete and earthen coverings of caponiers withstood the impact of 300-millimeter cannon shells and heavy air bombs. Fortress artillery was hidden in the casemates of the forts and was brought to the surface during the battle. The forts had their own power plants installed in the underground floors, large stocks of ammunition and food, which allowed them to fight for a long time in conditions of complete encirclement. The garrisons of the forts numbered from three hundred to five hundred soldiers and officers. If we take into account the tens of thousands of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines laid in the way of the attackers, then one can imagine how difficult the task was for the troops storming Koenigsberg to solve.
The main task facing the command of the 3rd Belorussian Front was to take the city, reducing the number of victims to the limit. As you know, the advancing always bear more losses. Death is always scary. But it is especially bitter at the very end of the war, when a feeling of imminent victory penetrated the soldiers' hearts. That is why Marshal Vasilevsky paid special attention to intelligence. He understood that it was impossible to storm an unfamiliar city blindfolded, that not all soldiers and officers of his armies had the experience of street fighting, when the windows of almost every building become fire-breathing embrasures. Aviation continuously bombed enemy fortifications. But planes that did not drop bombs also flew over Koenigsberg. They had a different task, these planes made aerial photographs of the city. This was how a detailed map was created, reflecting in every detail the outlines of Koenigsberg, which, under the attacks of the Allied aircraft, largely changed its appearance. The center of the city suffered especially in the fall of 1944 from the carpet bombing of the Anglo-American aviation. So the commanders of divisions, regiments and even battalions received maps of those urban areas where they were to fight.
But that was not all. At the headquarters of the front, on the basis of aerial photographs, craftsmen created a model of the entire Koenigsberg with its streets, nooks and crannies, fortresses, pillboxes, and individual houses. Day and night in this toy city, not at all children's games were played by the commanders of units and formations. There was a search for the best options for the assault. To attack blindly meant dooming thousands and thousands of soldiers' lives to death. The talent of a military leader is measured by the maximum reduction in losses.
To carry out the operation of storming Koenigsberg, the 43rd Army under the command of General A.P. Beloborodov and the 50th Army under the command of General F.P. Ozerov were involved, which attacked from the north. From the south, the 11th Guards Army of General K. N. Galitsky went to storm the city. The 39th Army was entrusted with the task of preventing German troops stationed in the area of the cities of Pillau (Baltiysk) and Fishhausen (Primorsk) from coming to the aid of the Koenigsberg garrison. To influence the enemy from the air, three air armies were allocated, which included about 2,500 aircraft. The general leadership of aviation operations was carried out by the commander of the Air Forces of the USSR, Chief Marshal of Aviation A. A. Novikov.
And yet, the decisive role in the storming of the city was assigned to artillery of all calibers, including super-high-power guns, which had not previously been used in the theater of operations due to their inactivity. Artillery was supposed to demoralize the enemy, crush his resistance, destroy his long-term defensive structures. By the beginning of the assault, the front had five thousand guns.
Within a month, the artillery of the reserve of the Supreme High Command arrived at the positions. Eight batteries of the 1st Guards Naval Railway Artillery Brigade were delivered along specially laid tracks. For heavy guns, special concrete platforms were built. In the directions of the main strikes and breakthrough areas, an extraordinary density of artillery barrels was created. So, in the zone of the forthcoming offensive of the units of the 43rd Army, 258 guns and mortars were concentrated on a kilometer of the front. A large role was assigned to the Guards mortars - the famous Katyushas.
Day and night there was a thorough preparation for the assault on the city and the fortress of Koenigsberg. Assault groups were formed with strength from a company to an infantry battalion. The group was given a sapper platoon, two or three guns, two or three tanks, flamethrowers and mortars. Our soldiers successfully used faustpatrons captured from the enemy in large numbers. The artillerymen had to move along with the foot soldiers, clearing the way for them to advance. Subsequently, the assault confirmed the effectiveness of such small but mobile groups.
There was also intense study. Everyone studied: experienced soldiers, platoon and company commanders, generals hardened in many battles. At one of the meetings, the commander of the front, Marshal Vasilevsky, said: “The accumulated experience, no matter how great it is, is not enough today. Any mistake, any mistake of the commander is an unjustified death of soldiers.
The time for the assault was approaching. The offensive was originally scheduled for 5 April. But thick clouds, rainy weather and fog coming from the sea forced the assault to be postponed for a day. On March 31, a meeting of the military councils of all the armies blockading Koenigsberg was held, where the directive of the front commander to storm the fortress was announced. It defined specific, clear tasks facing the commanders of armies, military branches and other military leaders.
Artillery was the first to enter the battle four days before the assault. On April 2, the barrels of heavy guns roared. The walls of fortress forts and pillboxes shuddered from the explosions of large-caliber shells. They did not strike blindly, each battery, each gun had its own, already adjusted target.
Much attention was paid to the interaction of all branches of the armed forces, the timely provision of their ammunition, communications. In all divisions, political workers held conversations with the fighters, talked about the city that they were to storm, about the significance of taking this citadel. It was in the units that the text of the oath of the guardsmen was born, under which tens of thousands of soldiers and officers going to storm put their signatures. They vowed not to spare their lives in this one of the last battles with fascism.
Starting from April 2, three times a day, through the loudspeakers from the forward positions and on the radio, transmissions were made in German addressed to the troops of the besieged garrison. They gave reports on military operations on the fronts, reported on the decisions of the Yalta Conference of the Allied Heads of State, read a letter from fifty German generals opposing the fascist regime, calling for an end to senseless resistance. Thousands of leaflets were dropped on the city, artillerymen sent propaganda shells stuffed with leaflets.
Extremely important and dangerous work was carried out by a detachment of German anti-fascists, which was headed by Oberleutnant Hermann Rench, authorized by the National Committee for Free Germany. His assistant Lieutenant Peter and his comrades managed to penetrate Koenigsberg and withdraw almost completely one of the companies of the 561st Grenadier Division from there.
Until the very beginning of the assault, no one knew a single minute of rest. Tired to the point of exhaustion, the sappers built ladders, assault bridges and other devices. The soldiers included in the tank landings learned to jump on moving vehicles and dismount at low speed, studied signals with tank crews for interaction in battle. Miners got acquainted with new models of German mines filled with liquid explosives. Everyone learned the art of assault.
In the trenches, in the places of concentration of troops preparing for the assault, sheets with the text of the oath of the guards were passed from hand to hand. Thousands, tens of thousands of signatures of soldiers were sworn under the oath of allegiance to the Fatherland, to their people. The soldiers gave their word to spare no effort, and if necessary, life in this one of the last battles with fascism. They knew that a difficult test awaited them. By the evening of April 5, preparations for the assault were fully completed. The next morning was a decisive battle.
Dawn came slowly. The night did not seem to want to give up its place to him. This was facilitated by dense clouds hanging over the city, and never-ending fog. The minutes dragged on painfully long.
All night, from the direction of the city, quiet explosions were heard. This was done by the 213th and 314th divisions of light night bombers, Major General V.S. Molokov and Colonel P.M. Petrov. What was the small Po-2 car like? As a matter of fact, this is not a combat, but a training aircraft. Made of wood and fabric, it was completely defenseless against fighters, and it only took 200 kilograms of bombs on board. But when the night sky is silent, with the engines turned off, as if the bats, these machines arose, then the strength of their combat and psychological impact on the enemy it was difficult to overestimate.
And at nine o'clock in the morning on April 6, 1945, an ever-increasing roar broke the silence from the south side of the city. All the artillery of the 11th Guards Army of General Galitsky spoke up. The sky was crossed out by the tracks of rockets of guards mortars. Heavy artillery fell on the well-explored and targeted fortifications. At ten o'clock in the morning the guns and mortars of the 43rd, 50th and 39th armies advancing from the north opened fire. Five thousand guns literally broke into the enemy defenses. Bad weather and thick smoke from shell explosions, which covered the city, limited the actions of aviation. This smoke screen also interfered with the gunners.
Nevertheless, at exactly twelve o'clock in the afternoon, assault groups, supported by tanks and self-propelled guns, rushed to attack enemy positions.
The 31st Guards Rifle Division, which was part of the 11th Army, looked like a twisted spring. An hour before her attack, all artillery fire was transferred to close positions. The suppression of firing points in the trenches was carried out. And when the battalions went on the assault, thirty minutes later the division commander received a report about the capture of the first line of trenches. The gunners moved their fire into the depths of the enemy's defenses.
every major building. With anti-tank grenades, assault groups knocked out the doors of houses, fought for landings, separate rooms, and met with enemy soldiers hand-to-hand. It was difficult to single out those who performed feats and those who did not. From the first minutes of the assault, heroism became massive. Senior Sergeant Telebaev was the first to attack and the first to break into the enemy trench. He killed six Nazis with a machine gun, and captured three. The sergeant himself was wounded, but refused to leave the battlefield and continued to fight. By thirteen o'clock the regiments of the division approached the second line of defense, but met stubborn resistance from the enemy, who had brought up reserves. The attack faltered. And then the regiments of the second echelon were forced to join the battle. Assault groups dragged guns on their hands. They literally bit into the enemy's defenses. Only three hours later, our soldiers broke into the second line of enemy defense.
To the left of the 31st Division, the 84th Guards Division acted just as decisively. Going on the attack after artillery preparation, she immediately took possession of the enemy's first line of defense. Dozens of soldiers were taken prisoner, a large number of weapons were captured. The relatively weak resistance of the enemy in the first hours of the assault was explained by the fact that a significant part of the enemy's manpower was destroyed and demoralized by heavy artillery fire. Most of the surviving soldiers withdrew to an intermediate line near the suburban village of Spandinen.
Fort No. 8, named after King Frederick the First, stood in the way of the attackers. It was a powerful defensive structure. Built half a century ago, the fort has been repeatedly modernized and strengthened. Thick walls reliably protected the garrison from mounted fire, the territory adjacent to the fort was shot through by fortress guns and machine guns. Around the entire perimeter, the fort was surrounded by a moat filled with water, ten meters wide and seven meters deep. The water surface of the moat with its steep stone banks was shot through with dagger fire by machine guns hidden in embrasures. The commander of the 84th division, General I.K.
If the problem with the factory was solved successfully, then the storming of the fort required great efforts. He was bombarded again and again by aircraft, fired at by heavy guns. But as soon as our battalions approached the fortress, they were met by strong artillery and machine-gun fire. Escort guns, firing direct fire, could not cause significant damage to the enemy. And only by eighteen hours did the soldiers reach the defensive moat. The fighters saw flashes of exploding shells and flares reflected in the black water. It turned out to be impossible to suppress enemy machine-gun fire from caponiers. And yet, by midnight, the fort was not only completely blocked, but the sappers managed, having overcome the moat, to lay boxes of explosives near the walls of the fort.
This is how the first day of the assault on Koenigsberg went from the south side - that part of the city where the Baltic region of Kaliningrad is located today.
The main blow was inflicted on the northern part of Koenigsberg. Just like in other areas, intensive artillery preparation was carried out here four days before the assault. From here, powerful bombing strikes were carried out from field airfields against fortified enemy targets. The northern group united the troops of the 50th, 43rd and 39th armies.
Today, from the highway leading to Svetlogorsk, one can see a two-story house standing on a hillock at the fork in the road. The command post was located here, from where Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky, his deputy General of the Army I. Kh. Bagramyan and other military leaders led the assault on Koenigsberg. On April 6, just before dawn, Vasilevsky and Bagramyan arrived here. Phones rang incessantly, corps and division commanders reported on the readiness of the troops for the assault.
At nine o'clock in the morning from the opposite side of Koenigsberg came the rumble of guns. It was the artillery of the 11th army that spoke, the southern ones entered the bon. And soon more than a thousand guns of the northern grouping brought down the full power of their fire on the city. At noon, the infantry went into battle. Success was immediate. The shooters took possession of the first, and then the second line of trenches. An hour later, the commander of the 54th Corps, General A.S. Ksenofontov, reported that the assault detachment of Captain Tokmakov had reached and surrounded Fort No. 5 Charlottenburg, which was considered one of the most powerful strongholds of the enemy. Today, a memorial complex has been built there, and, probably, few Kaliningraders and guests of the city have not visited this place.
Surrounding a heavily fortified fort is far from everything. Taking it is much more difficult. Then the only right decision was made. The assault groups left the fort in their rear, while they themselves continued to advance on the city suburb of Charlottenburg (Lermontovsky village of the Central District). The fort was blocked by units of the 806th regiment of the second line. A unit of sappers was also brought up here, self-propelled artillery mounts approached.
Shortly after the start of the assault, a tragedy nearly occurred. The main command post was covered by a salvo from the enemy artillery battalion. Army General I. Kh. Bagramyan was slightly wounded, and General A. P. Beloborodov received a shell shock. A few minutes later, Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky returned from the front line. Instead of condolences, he scolded the generals: jeeps stood openly in the yard. It was they who unmasked the command post. Two of the officers who were at the command post were killed.
By the end of the day, the 235th division of General Lutskevich completely cleared Charlottenburg. Divisions of General Lopatin's 13th Guards Corps were successfully advancing in the center. The hardest part was on the right flank. Parts of the 39th Army, aimed at the Koenigsberg-Fischhausen (Primorsk) corridor, advanced very slowly.
The 5th Panzer and other divisions of the enemy's Zemland group more than once launched a counterattack, trying to prevent the complete encirclement of Koenigsberg. In battle, suffering significant losses, literally every meter had to be taken.
Bad weather interfered with air operations on the first day of the assault. The bombers were practically inactive. The attacking units were supported by IL-2 attack aircraft, performing the task of direct infantry escort. Air strikes were provided by aircraft controllers. They were in the combat formations of the advancing units, having mobile radio stations at their disposal. The main targets of attack aircraft were firing points, artillery positions, tanks and infantry of the enemy. It was only in the second half of the first day of the assault that the clouds cleared up somewhat, which made it possible to lift more aircraft into the air. Enemy aircraft offered no serious resistance. There have only been a few air combat and even then it was a chance meeting. Hitler's pilots simply could not evade them.
As night approached, the fighting in the city weakened. Unfortunately, the tasks assigned to the troops were not fully completed. The advance of the attacking units ranged from two to four kilometers. But the main thing was done: the enemy defenses were hacked, the enemy suffered heavy material damage, and communication between his units and command posts was disrupted. What is very important - the enemy, feeling the full power of the attackers, realized that it was impossible to defend the city, that the encircled garrison was doomed to defeat. Soldiers and officers, including seniors, began to voluntarily surrender to our troops.
Bon did not subside all night. True, they were of a sporadic nature, were not as massive as in the daytime. The enemy used the night hours to build new fortifications, restore broken communications, and pull up reserves to the first lines of defense. Conducted a night regrouping of troops and our formations. The second day of the assault was to be decisive.
Hot battles unfolded along the entire line of contact between the troops even before dawn. The enemy made a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the battle. The last reserves and hastily assembled Volkssturm detachments were thrown into the counterattack. But all this turned out to be futile.
If the first day of the assault could be called the day of artillery, then the second truly became the day of aviation. The weather improved and the sun shone through the clouds. On April 7, for the first time in daylight conditions, long-range bomber aircraft were used. The bombers of the 1st and 3rd air armies, carefully covered by fighters over the battlefield, received an unhindered opportunity to bomb enemy positions. The enemy airfields were completely blocked. In just one hour, 516 bombers dropped their deadly cargo on Koenigsberg. On April 7, our aviation made 4,700 sorties and dropped more than a thousand tons of bombs on enemy positions. It seemed that dawn would never come that day. For the night twilight was replaced by darkness created by smoke from exploding bombs and shells, burning buildings. The aviation that entered the battle finally predetermined the outcome of the battle in our favor.
Yet the enemy resisted fiercely. Only on the site of the 90th Rifle Corps of the 43rd Army advancing from the north, they launched fourteen major counterattacks in a day. One by one, the garrisons of the forts capitulated and stopped resisting. It was already mentioned above that our troops, advancing from the south side, blocked Fort No. 8 on the first day of the assault. The garrison, hiding behind thick walls, continued to resist. Shooting at the loopholes and direct-fire gun salvos did not give any results. At night, high-explosive flamethrowers were delivered to the fort. To overcome the moat, the commander of the assaulting battalion, Major Romanov, chose that section of the fortress that was most easily affected by flamethrowers. At dawn on April 7, smoke bombs were thrown into the ditch, and a shaft of fire erupted by flamethrowers forced the defenders to take refuge in the interior. One of the companies on the prepared assault ladders quickly descended from the sheer wall into the water and entered the gentle opposite bank. Hidden by smoke, the soldiers quickly climbed onto the roof of the fort and rushed into the gaps formed from direct hits of heavy bombs and shells. Hand-to-hand combat began in the dark passages and caponiers of the fortress. The enemy was forced to weaken the outer defenses, which allowed another company to cross the ditch. Under the cover of machine-gun fire, our soldiers crawled up to the embrasures of the lower floor of the fort and began to throw grenades at them. Unable to withstand a simultaneous blow from different sides, the garrison capitulated. The commandant of the fort, several officers and more than a hundred soldiers surrendered. 250 enemy soldiers in this battle were destroyed. The battalion captured ten guns, warehouses with a monthly supply of food, ammunition, fuel for the power plant.
On the second day of the assault, the troops of the 11th Guards Army advancing from the south completely liberated the urban area of Ponart (Baltic Region) and reached the banks of the Pregel River, which cuts Koenigsberg into two parts. Drawbridges were blown up water surface the river was shot through at any point, but nevertheless, our troops had to overcome this water barrier.
And behind the back of the advancing troops, a hot battle was still in full swing. The Nazis turned the massive building of the main station and a large railway junction into a powerful stronghold. All stone buildings here were prepared for defense. The enemy launched frequent counterattacks from the area of the main railway station. The 95th and 97th regiments went to storm the hub, our tanks and self-propelled guns crawled right along the railway tracks. Guns and rocket-propelled mortars had to be additionally brought into this battle area. Literally every building had to be stormed. Even passenger trains that did not have time to move away from the platform were turned into firing points. Freight wagons were used in a similar way. Nevertheless, by eighteen o'clock the troops of the 31st division actually took possession of the station and approached the enemy's third line of defense, covering the central part of the city.
But our troops also suffered heavy losses. The 11th division, the last reserve of the corps, came to the aid of the 31st division. Fighting continued around the still surviving forts. During the assault on the powerful Juditgen fort, Senior Lieutenant A. A. Kosmodemyansky, the brother of the legendary Zoya, distinguished himself. His self-propelled gun smashed the gates of the main entrance and, together with the assault groups of majors Zenov and Nikolenko, broke into the courtyard of the fort, after which the garrison capitulated. More than three hundred enemy soldiers and officers surrendered here, twenty-one guns were captured. This time, the losses of the attackers are reduced to a minimum. The ultimatums that our troops presented to the garrisons of the forts before the assault began became more and more effective.
But stubborn resistance continued to be provided by Fort No. 5 "Charlottenburg", which was already in the rear of our troops. Even a 280-millimeter gun, which hit him with direct fire, could not break the stubbornness of the besieged. Then guns of smaller calibers spoke, which opened aimed fire at the embrasures of the fort. So it was possible to drive the garrison into the underground floors. Covered by heavy fire, the sapper platoon of Lieutenant I.P. Sidorov crossed the water moat with great difficulty and losses, which laid several hundred kilograms of explosives under the walls of the fort. Its explosion formed large gaps, into which the assault detachment of Senior Lieutenant Babushkin broke into. But it was still not possible to complete the capture of the fort on the move. It was a deadly fight where no one asked for mercy. Only in hand-to-hand combat, our paratroopers exterminated more than two hundred Nazis, and took about a hundred soldiers and officers prisoner. The battle lasted all night and ended only on the morning of April 8. Fifteen Soviet soldiers for heroism during the capture of Fort No. 5 were awarded the highest award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The heroism of the Soviet soldiers was massive and unparalleled. The fame of the young Komsomol organizer of the battalion, junior lieutenant Andrey Yanalov, passed even before his death. Not by lectures and conversations, but by personal example, he convinced his comrades in arms. In one of the battles, Yanalov personally destroyed more than twenty Nazis, including two officers. In his last battle, Andrei suppressed the fire of two machine guns with grenades. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the street where the young officer died bears his name today. There are thousands of such examples of heroism.
The second day of the assault was decisive. In a number of places, the third and last line of enemy defense was broken through. 140 quarters and several urban settlements were taken with battle for this day. The surrender of enemy soldiers and officers became massive.
The futility of further resistance was understood not only by those in trenches and pillboxes. At night, at the end of the day, the commander of the Koenigsberg garrison, General of Infantry Otto Lyash, contacted Hitler's headquarters and asked for permission to surrender the city to Soviet troops. A categorical order followed - to fight to the last soldier.
And victory was close. The soldiers of the 16th Guards Rifle Division, who had broken through from the south to Pregel, had already seen outbreaks on the opposite bank of the river. Warriors of the 43rd Army, advancing from the north side, were fighting there. Between the steel pincers there was only central part cities. The hours of the city and the fortress of Koenigsberg were numbered.
The third and penultimate day of the assault can best be described in one word - agony.
Even at night, the Nazi elite made a desperate attempt to break out of the destroyed, burning city and make their way to Pillau, from where individual ships left for Hamburg. In courtyard one of the city forts was concentrated several heavy tanks "tiger" and assault guns "Ferdinand", armored personnel carriers. In addition to the carriages, they housed officials of the fascist leadership of East Prussia, who took the most important documents. In the darkness of the night, the gates swung open and, with a roar of engines, a steel column burst out of the fort. But she was also doomed. The further the tanks moved along the streets lit by the fire of burning buildings, the fewer of them remained. In an hour it was all over.
At night, the guards of the corps of General P.K. Koshevoy crossed Pregel under enemy fire. The assault detachments of the 46th Guards Regiment and the mortars of Captain Kireev from the division of General Pronin were the first to cross to the northern coast. By morning, the entire 16th Guards Rifle Division had already overcome the water barrier. With a swift attack, she took possession of the car-building plant. And at 2:30 pm, in the area of the current Pobeda cinema, the division joined up with units of the 43rd Army, which was advancing from the north. The ring is closed.
In an effort to avoid senseless casualties, Marshal Vasilevsky turned to the encircled enemy troops with a proposal to lay down their arms. But in response to this, another attempt was made to break the encirclement and escape to Pillau. To support this operation, the Zemland group of Germans carried out a counter attack. But, apart from new thousands of dead, she brought nothing to the enemy.
During these hours, when the spring air was literally saturated with the smell of an imminent victory, our heroes continued to die. In the center of Koenigsberg, the Pregel River was to be crossed by formations of the 8th Guards Rifle Corps. But this required a foothold on the opposite northern bank of the river. A handful of guards managed to cross. Here are their names: Veshkin, Gorobets, Lazarev, Tkachenko, Shayderevsky and Shindrat. Here are their nationalities: Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Jewish. A battalion of fascists was thrown against them, but the heroes did not retreat, they took their last Stand. When our units broke through to the place of the bloody battle, the heroes had already died. And nearby were dozens of Nazis. One of the paratroopers held a piece of paper in his fist, on which he managed to write: “Guards fought here and died for the Motherland, for brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. They fought, but did not surrender to the enemy. Farewell!" So six paratroopers, children of four Soviet peoples, died. They all had one great Motherland.
On April 8, Soviet air strikes reached their maximum strength. The combat work of the pilots began before dawn and did not stop after dark. In the morning, attack aircraft and day bombers took off. Some of them smashed the enemy in Koenigsberg itself, the other - the infantry and tanks of the groups located to the west of the city. And three six "silts", led by Major Korovin, covered the crossing of units of the 16th division to the northern bank of the Pregel.
The command of the garrison of the fortress had one hope - help from outside to withdraw the remnants of the troops from Koenigsberg. The commander of the 4th German Army, General F. Müller, again began to pull up forces west of Koenigsberg to deliver a deblocking strike. To frustrate this plan of the enemy and was instructed to aviation. For operations against the German troops concentrated west of the city, the main forces of the 3rd and 18th air armies were involved. The strikes of the bombers alternated with the strikes of the "silts" and fighters, performing the functions of attack aircraft. All day west of Koenigsberg there was an unceasing roar from bomb explosions. On April 8, almost 3,000 sorties were made against the enemy's deblocking grouping and more than 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped. Unable to withstand such a blow, the group began to retreat to Pillau. April 8 Soviet pilots destroyed 51 aircraft, essentially completely depriving the garrison of aviation.
By the end of the third day of the assault, our troops occupied over three hundred city blocks. The enemy had more than an illusory hope of holding out for some time in the center of the city, where the ruins of the Royal Castle, destroyed in the autumn by Anglo-American air raids, towered. Lyash's underground command post was located two hundred meters from the castle.
The operational summary of the Supreme High Command for April 8 states that during the day of fierce fighting, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, advancing on Koenigsberg from the north-west, broke through the outer perimeter of the fortress positions and occupied the urban areas: Juditten, Lavsken, Ratshof, Amalienau , Palfe. The troops of the front, advancing on the city from the south, occupied the urban areas: Schoenflis, Speichersdorf, Ponart, Nasser Garten, Kontinen, the main station, the Port of Koenigsberg, having crossed the Pregel River, occupied the urban area of Kosee, where they joined up with the troops advancing on Koenigsberg from the north west.
Thus, the troops of the front completed the encirclement of a significant group of enemy troops defending the city and the fortress of Konigsberg.
During the day of the battle, the troops of the front captured over 15,000 German soldiers and officers.
The last night of the besieged fortress was coming. Not tactical plans, but rather the despair of the Nazis were dictated by attempts to regroup their troops, to create new firing positions.
Later, in his memoirs, General Lyash will tell that the staff officers often could not find the necessary units in order to convey the orders of the commandant, because the city became unrecognizable.
Darkness did not come that evening. The streets were lit by the fire of burning buildings. The sky shone from the glow of the burning city. General Lyash admitted that the penultimate day of the assault was the most difficult and tragic for the encircled group. Soldiers and officers became more and more aware of the complete futility of further resistance. But the more desperate was the resistance of the Nazis, fanatically devoted to Hitler. They doomed to senseless death not only themselves, not only their soldiers, but also civilians who had taken refuge in the basements of houses.
And now it has come - the last day of the assault on Koenigsberg. The enemy did not capitulate, and every minute continued to take the lives of our soldiers. It was impossible to delay the completion of the operation. In the morning, as in the first hours of the assault, all five thousand guns began to fire. At the same time, 1,500 aircraft began bombing the fortress. After such a powerful blow, the infantry again moved forward.
Actually, a single, harmonious defense of the Nazis no longer existed. There were numerous pockets of resistance, only in the city center they had over forty thousand soldiers and officers, a lot of military equipment. Nevertheless, the Germans began to surrender whole units. From the basements, from the destroyed houses, soldiers came out with white rags in their hands. On many faces lay the seal of some kind of detachment, indifference to what was happening around, to one's own fate. They were morally broken people, not yet able to fully comprehend what had happened. But there were also many fanatics. History has preserved such an episode. A large column of surrendered German soldiers slowly moved along the street. She was accompanied by only two of our submachine gunners. Suddenly, a German machine gun hit the prisoners from the window of the house. And then, giving the command to go to bed, two Soviet soldiers but entered the battle, defending their recent enemies who laid down their arms. The machine gunner was destroyed, but our already middle-aged soldier, who had walked the roads of war for four years, did not rise from the ground. German soldiers carried his body in their arms.
The ring of encirclement was shrinking towards the center and shot through with gun and mortar fire. Morale among the troops, especially in the Volkssturm battalions, fell more and more. However, the SS and police regiments continued their desperate resistance, hoping for help from the 4th German Army.
At 2 pm, the commandant of the fortress, General of Infantry Otto Lyash, held a meeting. One question was discussed - what to do next? Some formation commanders, including Lyash himself, considered further resistance useless. At the same time, senior officials of the Nazi party leadership, as well as representatives of the SS and police units, insisted on continuing the resistance to the last soldier, as Hitler demanded. Due to disagreements, no definite decision was made, and the fighting continued. As it became known from the memoirs of Lyash in his book “So Koenigsberg fell”, the head of the East Prussian security service. Boehme, having learned about the position of Lyash, removed him from command with his power. But this decision was not carried out, because there were no generals in the fortress who wished to take over the leadership of the doomed troops. And then Boehme himself died while crossing the Pregel. Thus, Lyash continued to command the troops.
Soon after the meeting, Lyash began to act independently. At about 18 o'clock on the site of the 27th Guards rifle regiment Colonel G. Hefker crossed the front line with an interpreter, Sonderführer Jaskovsky. They were delivered to the command post of the 11th Guards Rifle Division. But here there was a hitch. It turned out that the powers given to Hefker were signed not by General Lyash, who sent him, but by Hefker himself. There was a fear - not a provocation. But Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky decided to take a chance. Parliamentarians were sent to Lyash's headquarters with the text of an ultimatum on unconditional surrender - the chief of staff of the 11th division, Lieutenant Colonel P. G. Yanovsky, captains A. E. Fedorko and V. M. Shpigalnik, who acted as an interpreter.
This is how retired Major General P. G. Yanovsky later recalled his trip to Lyash's bunker. Only 30 minutes were allocated to the parliamentarians for the entire preparation. This was due to the desire for a speedy cessation of hostilities and the approaching twilight. The parliamentarians put their clothes in order as best they could, left their personal documents and weapons. Yanovsky admitted that he was somewhat confused, because he had not been able to carry out such tasks, and there were no official instructions on the actions of parliamentarians. In addition, the task was set not only to give Lyash an ultimatum, but to capture him himself. But an order is an order, it had to be carried out.
At nineteen o'clock, our truce envoys, accompanied by the German interpreter Jaskovsky, set out on the road. Colonel Hefker was left at our headquarters.
The distance from the division headquarters to the location of the German command was small, no more than one and a half kilometers, but it took about two hours to overcome it. A terrible impression was made by the destroyed and burning city, the streets and lanes of which are blocked by powerful barricades and engineering barriers, broken equipment. Uncleaned corpses lay between the cars. The firing subsided somewhat. It was our artillery that stopped firing, the planes stopped flying.
The hitch occurred as soon as the parliamentarians were in the area where the German troops were located. It turned out that Yaskovsky did not know the way to Lyash's headquarters, he had to go in search of a guide. This turned out to be Lieutenant Colonel B. Kerwin. Thanks to his help, the parliamentarians managed to go all the way unharmed. They were stopped three times by the Nazis and even tried to use weapons. The German officers accompanying the group had to resolutely come to the defense of the truce. In the underground bunker where the command post of General Lyash was located, Lieutenant Colonel Yanovsky and his comrades were met by the chief of staff of the encircled group, Colonel von Suskind. He was given one copy of the ultimatum. A few minutes later Lyash entered the room. He carefully read the document and briefly replied that he agreed with its requirements. Then he added that he was taking this step in order to save the lives of one hundred thousand residents who remained in the city. It was clear to the parliamentarians that not only concern for the civilian population, but the real threat of destruction of the Nazi troops in the encirclement forced the decision to surrender.
Here it is appropriate to cite two statements made by General Lyache. On April 4, in his radio address to the troops and the population of Koenigsberg, he said: “In order to count on any success in the assault, the Russians will have to draw up a huge number of troops. Thank God, they are practically unable to do this. And on the night of April 9-10, already in captivity, the general admitted: “This is incredible! Supernatural! We have become deaf and blind from your fire. We almost went crazy. No one can stand this…”
This is how Lieutenant Colonel Yanovsky recalls the further development of events. “After Lyash agreed to surrender, we went to his office and at about 21:30 began negotiations on the practical implementation of the decision. Lyash and his entourage expected that we would capture them and deliver them safely to the headquarters of the Soviet troops. My comrades and I could not agree with this, since the troops left to their own devices were fraught with the danger of conducting, although scattered, but associated with losses, hostilities. There was no one to consult with, and we took the initiative into our own hands. They determined the procedure for the surrender of German troops, where to lay down light weapons, how to stop the resistance of all troops and everywhere, how to bring the decision of the commandant to the headquarters of units and formations, and even how to ensure the safety of himself and the officers of the defense headquarters.
I demanded that Lyash write a written order to the subordinate troops and deliver them to the units as soon as possible with the messenger liaison officers. At first, Lyash, under various pretexts, tried to refuse such a step. And when the order was nevertheless written, it was signed only by the chief of staff, Colonel Zuskind. We had to demand that the commandant himself put his signature. By the way, during the negotiations at the headquarters, telephone calls were heard, the commanders of the units asked what they should do. Headquarters officers gave them verbal orders to cease fire and surrender without waiting for a written order. The commanders did just that.
During the negotiations, such an event also occurred. A group of armed SS men approached Lyash's bunker, led by the head of one of the departments of the Nazi Party Chancellery in Konigsberg, Lieutenant Colonel Fndler. These fascist fanatics were burning with the desire to break off the negotiations, to shoot the truce deputies and Lyash himself. But the bunker guard pushed the Nazis back, and we continued to work. This episode excited the German command more than us, who knew what they were doing and what the consequences could be. The bitter fate of our parliamentarians in Budapest, who were killed by Hitlerite fanatics, was known. Moreover, I allowed the prisoners to carry personal weapons before crossing the front line. Isn't it a paradox - we, unarmed parliamentarians, were leading armed captives.
At the headquarters of the group, it was decided to leave the head of the operational department to monitor the implementation of the order of the commandant. Our parliamentarians and prisoners crossed the front line again in the sector of the 27th Infantry Regiment. The parliamentarians, together with the prisoners, reached the headquarters of the division at about one in the morning. There, joyful comrades informed them that an hour ago at 2400 on April 9, Moscow saluted the valiant troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, which had captured the city and fortress of Konigsberg, with twenty-four artillery volleys from three hundred and twenty-four guns. In his order, the Supreme Commander thanked the participants in the assault. Subsequently, all of them were awarded the medal "For the Capture of Koenigsberg".
The surrender of German troops took place all night and all the next day. People in civilian clothes approached our soldiers with words of gratitude. These are the ones who were hijacked from different countries into fascist captivity and is now freed by Soviet troops.
Conclusion
The assault on Koenigsberg is not just one of the brightest episodes of the Great Patriotic War. It is something more that makes us think seriously about the many problems of today.
Yes, of course, this is a beautiful, talentedly conceived and masterfully executed large-scale military operation. Everything, from the beginning of hostilities in the territory of East Prussia to the capture of the naval fortress of Pillau, to the victorious liberation of this region from the Nazi troops. No matter how we remember it today, when we all have witnessed the high price paid in the war for the mediocrity of military leadership of individual high-ranking military officials.
Of course, in a short chronicle story about the assault on Koenigsberg, many important pages of the battle are missing, they are covered in more detail in other publications devoted to this battle. Separately, we can and should talk about the railway troops, which ensured the uninterrupted supply of ammunition, food, and other necessary materials going to the assault. It was they who, in the shortest possible time, laid, altered and put into operation 552 kilometers of railway tracks, built 64 bridges. A successful assault on Koenigsberg would not have been possible without the selfless military labor of engineering and sapper troops. The role of the Baltic Fleet in the assault on Koenigsberg and Pillau is invaluable. Ships and submarines cut the enemy's sea communications, and naval aviation directly participated in the assault, supporting ground forces.
We must not forget that the French pilots of the Normandie-Neman regiment, which completed their combat career on this land, carried out wing-to-wing strikes against Koenigsberg with our aviators. I would like to mention those who made their invisible contribution to the events that took place. This is a group of German anti-fascists - soldiers, officers and generals from the Free Germany Committee, who, through loud-speaking radio installations advanced to the front lines of the attackers, appealed to their compatriots with an appeal not to support the fascist regime. And some of the anti-fascists, knowing full well what this threatened, again put on military uniforms and walked across the front line to the besieged Koenigsberg in order to carry the word of truth about the war unleashed by the Nazis to the enemy trenches.
But, most importantly, the assault on Koenigsberg once again proved the great power of patriotism. Approach the mass graves, and by the names of the dead you will see that the victory was forged by the sons of all the peoples of the Soviet Union, who never called their homeland “this country”. Touching their feat teaches us to love our country, to be proud of its glorious history. And the attempts made by individual circles to change the results of the Second World War, to downplay the role of the Soviet people in it, who won great victory over the aggressor who saved the world from the fascist plague.
Among the awards established during the Great Patriotic War, there is only one, which is dedicated to the capture or liberation of not a foreign capital, but the capture of a fortified city. We are talking about the medal "For the Capture of Königsberg", which was awarded to 760,000 people.
The capture of Koenigsberg is one of the brightest pages in the history of the final stage of the Great Patriotic War. The Nazi command repeatedly declared the impregnability of the capital of East Prussia.
Captured German soldiers and officers at the Royal Gate of Königsberg. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
The leadership of the Third Reich assigned a special role to this region in the defense of Germany. East Prussia for centuries became the scene of fierce battles, as a result of which a considerable number of powerful fortresses were built on its territory.
With the approach of the Red Army to the borders of Germany, hasty work began on the reconstruction of old fortresses in order to create a system of powerful fortifications in the region, which were supposed to stop the advancing Soviet troops.
The Germans hoped for a repeat of the events of the First World War, when in August 1914 the Russian 2nd Army was surrounded and defeated in East Prussia, and the rest of the Russian troops were forced to retreat.
The inevitability of the assault predetermined the stubbornness of the Germans
The East Prussian offensive operation of the Red Army, which began in January 1945, was indeed difficult, involving heavy losses, but by the beginning of spring it became obvious that the Nazis had failed to keep the Soviet troops.
The Red Army pressed the enemy more and more to the sea. The German forces were divided into several groups, which were liquidated one after another.
At the end of February, fierce battles unfolded in the region of the Zemland Peninsula, where a large Wehrmacht group was concentrated. Soviet troops tried to cut off the Zemland grouping from Königsberg itself.
But a powerful German counterattack made it possible to disrupt the Soviet offensive and maintain contact between the grouping on the Zemland Peninsula and the capital of East Prussia.
This luck of the Wehrmacht actually predetermined the fate of Koenigsberg. Until that moment, the Soviet command considered the possibility complete isolation cities until the end of the war (something similar happened with the Courland group of the Wehrmacht), however, the potential danger posed by the Zemland group and Koenigsberg forced the Red Army to seriously take up the elimination of this center of resistance.
Bastion city
Back in the summer of 1944, an event occurred that subsequently complicated the capture of Königsberg by the Red Army. On the night of August 26-27 and on the night of August 29-30, 1944, the special 5th group of the British Air Force launched two powerful air strikes on the capital of East Prussia. The blow fell not on fortifications and military installations, but on residential areas and the historical center, which were badly destroyed. After that, the mood of the inhabitants of Königsberg to resist to the end was significantly strengthened.
An already powerful fortress, Königsberg was strengthened even more with the approach of the front.
Field-type fortifications were erected in the fortress and on the approaches to it. The outer contour and the first position had two or three trenches with communication passages and shelters for personnel. 6-8 km east of the fortress, they merged into one defensive line (six - seven trenches with numerous communication passages throughout the 15-kilometer section). At this position, there were 15 old forts with artillery pieces, machine guns and flamethrowers, connected by a single fire system. Each fort was prepared for all-round defense and was actually a fortress with a garrison of 250-300 people. Between the forts there were 60 pillboxes and bunkers. On the outskirts of the city passed the second position, which included stone buildings, barricades, reinforced concrete firing points.
The third line of defense encircled the central part of the city, having fortifications of the old construction. The cellars of large brick buildings were connected by underground passages, and their ventilation windows were adapted for loopholes.
The fortress had large underground warehouses and arsenals, as well as underground factories that produced military products. In a word, all conditions for a long-term defense were created in Königsberg.
Destroyed after the fighting bridge in Königsberg. Photo: RIA Novosti
Russian answer
The fortress was defended by Wehrmacht and Volkssturm units with a total number, according to various estimates, from 100 to 130 thousand people, who were armed with about 4,000 thousand guns and mortars, more than 100 tanks and 170 aircraft.
It is interesting that the Nazi command, inspiring its soldiers, appealed to ... the Soviet experience. “The Russians, relying on the weak land fortifications of Sevastopol, defended the city for 250 days. The soldiers of the Fuhrer are obliged to hold out for the same amount of time on the powerful fortifications of Königsberg! ”, Nazi propagandists exclaimed.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky. Photo: RIA Novosti
The Soviet side found something to answer - on the eve of the assault on Koenigsberg, the phrase was heard through radio installations in German: "We defended Sevastopol for 250 days, and liberated it in four ..."
The task of taking Koenigsberg was entrusted 3rd Belorussian Front Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky, who took command of the front after the death of February 18 Army General Ivan Chernyakhovsky.
For the assault on Königsberg, a group of troops numbering more than 106 thousand people, 5200 guns and mortars, 538 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 2174 aircraft was concentrated.
Appointed commandant of Königsberg in January 1945 German general Otto von Lyash was sure that Koenigsberg was able to hold back the onslaught of Soviet troops for months. Almost the entire local male population was mobilized for the defense of the city, its streets were full of posters “We will defend Koenigsberg!”.
Plan of Marshal Vasilevsky
The idea of Marshal Vasilevsky was to cut through the forces of the garrison with powerful blows from the north and south in converging directions and take the city by storm. Highly important role artillery was assigned - more than half of the guns concentrated near Königsberg were heavy guns, as well as guns of large and special power - with a caliber from 203 to 305 mm. Bomber aircraft also had to subject the enemy defenses to incessant strikes.
To storm the fortifications, 26 assault detachments and 104 assault groups were created - both from the rifle units and from the engineering troops - ten engineer-sapper brigades, three assault engineer-sapper brigades, two motorized engineering brigades and one pontoon brigade.
In addition, chemical troops participated in the assault - 7 separate flamethrower battalions, a company of high-explosive flamethrowers and 5 individual companies backpack flamethrowers. These units were divided into assault squads and assault groups.
First of all, those who had street fighting experience behind them, in particular participants in the Battle of Stalingrad, were attracted to the assault groups.
Parts of the Soviet Army in the German city of Koenigsberg. 1945 Photo: RIA Novosti
Artillery units began shelling the fortress on April 2, but on April 6, 1945, hell broke out for Königsberg. Soviet artillery brought down an avalanche of fire on the fortress, sweeping away the enemy fortifications. Around noon, the assault units launched an offensive. According to the plan, the main body bypassed the forts, which were blocked by rifle battalions or companies, supported by self-propelled guns that suppressed enemy fire, sappers using demolition charges, and flamethrowers.
The Germans fought desperately, clinging to their positions, but by the end of the day, the Soviet units managed to move forward and cut the Königsberg-Pillau railway.
Lieutenant Sidorov's method
On the night of April 7, the Nazi command made an attempt to regroup forces in order to push the Soviet units back.
That night, the epicenter of the battle was at the forts of Charlottenburg and Lindorf. The assault units had a particularly hard time near Charlottenburg - its walls could not even penetrate 246-kilogram shells.
And then the sappers said their weighty word. Engineer platoon commander of the 175th separate engineer battalion Lieutenant Ivan Sidorov, taking advantage of the fact that the garrison defending the fort took refuge on the lower floors, managed to get close to the walls of Charlottenburg. Together with the soldiers of his platoon, Sidorov built a special charge from Soviet explosives and captured mines, the explosion of which formed a breach in the wall of impregnable Charlottenburg. Several dozens of Nazis died from the explosion, and the assault detachment that burst through the gap inside in hand-to-hand combat finally crushed the resistance of the fort's defenders.
The "Sidorov Method" was immediately applied to other forts of Koenigsberg, as a result of which they began to pass into the hands of the Soviet troops one by one.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 19, 1945, Lieutenant Ivan Sidorov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
Little brother's feat
The decisive day of the assault was April 7th. After the fall of Charlottenburg, the Germans launched a series of counterattacks in an attempt to turn the tide. All available reserves were thrown into battle.
Despite this, by evening, units of the Red Army advanced another 3-4 kilometers, occupying 130 blocks. The northwestern part of the city came under the control of the Soviet troops.
Many Germans began to realize that the battle was lost. Paying no more attention to the orders of the command, the German soldiers began to surrender.
The advancing assault detachments occupied the port, the station, a number of important industrial facilities and finally cut off Koenigsberg from the Nazi group on the Zemland Peninsula.
In the battles for Koenigsberg he distinguished himself younger brother of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Alexander. A battery of self-propelled artillery mounts ISU-152 under the command of senior lieutenant Kosmodemyansky broke through the wall of one of the forts with their fire. The self-propelled gunners, along with the infantry, burst inside and forced the garrison of the fort, consisting of 350 people, to capitulate. 9 tanks, 200 vehicles and a fuel depot were captured. For this feat, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Kosmodemyansky was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The high rank was awarded to him, but, alas, posthumously - on April 13, Alexander Kosmodemyansky died in battle. He was 19 years old...
Death sentence and 25 years in the camps
On April 8, the Germans were driven back to the city center. Marshal Vasilevsky turned to the commandant of Koenigsberg with a proposal to surrender.
However, Otto von Lyash rejected this proposal. On the night of April 9, the Nazi units made an attempt to break out of Koenigsberg, but failed. In the morning, the offensive of the Soviet troops resumed.
There were fewer and fewer people willing to continue fighting from the German side. Tens of thousands of peaceful Germans who remained in the basements of houses wanted one thing - for this nightmare to end.
After the war, General von Lyash wrote in his book: “Towards the end, more and more information began to come in that the soldiers who had taken refuge with the inhabitants in the basements were losing the will to resist. Here and there, desperate women tried to snatch weapons from the soldiers and hang a white flag from the windows to put an end to the horrors of war.
By the evening of April 9, the north-west, west and south of Königsberg were in the hands of the Soviet troops, the Germans continued to hold positions in the center and partly in the east of the city. At 21:30 Otto von Lyash received a new ultimatum from the Soviet command. After hesitating, the commandant of Koenigsberg gave the order to end the resistance.
On April 10, a red flag was raised over the tower of the Don, one of the last centers of Nazi resistance.
Otto von Lyash hesitated not in vain - after the news of the fall of Königsberg was received in Berlin, repressions fell upon his relatives. His wife and daughters were thrown into prison, the son-in-law, who commanded the battalion, was recalled from the front and handed over to the Gestapo. Hitler himself was sentenced to death in absentia.
However, for von Lyash, who was in Soviet captivity, this sentence meant nothing. But the verdict of the Soviet court, which found Otto von Lyash guilty of war crimes, mattered - the general received 25 years in the camps, of which he served ten in the camp near Vorkuta.
After that, he was allowed to return to the FRG, where he wrote memoirs about his own heroism and the atrocities of the Red Army - a fairly typical case for the defeated Nazi commanders.
Salute of the highest category
The operation to take Koenigsberg was carried out in a matter of days with minimal losses. According to the headquarters of the 3rd Belorussian Front, from April 1 to April 10, 1945, 3,506 people were killed, 215 were missing, and 13,177 were wounded.
The losses of the defenders, according to various sources, ranged from 34 to 42 thousand killed. According to the Sovinformburo, 92,000 German soldiers and officers were taken prisoner, however, according to many historians, this number included up to 20,000 Nazis captured earlier, and more than 70,000 German soldiers and officers were captured directly during the assault on Koenigsberg.
The capture of Koenigsberg was marked in Moscow with a salute of the highest category - 324 guns fired 24 artillery salvos. In addition to the establishment of the medal "For the capture of Königsberg", which, as already mentioned, was awarded to 760,000 people, 216 soldiers and officers of the Red Army for the assault on Königsberg were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 98 military units were named "Königsberg".
The German history of the capital of East Prussia came to an end - Königsberg after the war became Soviet city, which in 1946 was renamed Kaliningrad. The warlike Prussian spirit was finally crushed.
The Insterburg-Koenigsberg offensive operation was part of the campaign. The German command took all possible measures to prepare for prolonged resistance in siege conditions. In Koenigsberg there were numerous warehouses and arsenals, underground factories operated.
Features of the German defensive system
The invaders created three rings of resistance. The first was located 6-8 km from the center of Koenigsberg. It included trenches, an anti-tank ditch, barbed wire, and there were 15 forts built back in 1882. Each of them had garrisons for 200-500 people. with 12-15 guns. The second ring passed through the outskirts of Koenigsberg. Stone structures, barricades, firing points on minefields and firing points were located here. The third ring passed in the center of the city. It included 9 bastions, ravelins and towers built in the 17th century and rebuilt in 1843-1873. Koenigsberg itself belongs to the cities of mixed planning. Its central part was built as early as 1525. Its structure is characterized as radial-circular. On the northern outskirts, a parallel layout prevailed, and on the southern outskirts - an arbitrary one. Accordingly, the German defense device in different parts cities were carried out in different ways. The forts, which were located 6-8 km from the center, were located at a distance of no more than 4 km from each other. Fire communication was organized between them and trenches were equipped. In some areas there was a continuous anti-tank ditch. Its width was 6-10 km, and its depth was about three meters.
Additional protection
Along the ring street in close proximity to the city center, the inner belt of defense included full-profile trenches and 24 earthen forts. The latter were connected to each other by anti-tank ditches, which were half filled with water. The outer and inner defense belts were separated by two intermediate rings. In each of them there were 1-2 lines of trenches, bunkers, pillboxes, which in some areas were covered by minefields and barbed wire.
firing points
The basis of internal defense was formed from strong points. They contacted each other with crossfire and were covered by sufficiently powerful anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacles. Key strongholds were equipped at the intersection of streets in stone structures, the most durable and adapted for defense. The gaps formed between the strongholds were covered with barricades, gouges, blockages. A variety of materials were used for their construction. Several points that had fire links with each other formed defensive nodes. They, in turn, were grouped into lines. The organization of the fire system was carried out by adapting the structures to deliver dagger machine-gun and cannon strikes. Artillery installations and heavy machine guns were located mainly on the lower floors, mortars, grenade launchers and machine gunners - on the upper floors.
balance of power
The Koenigsberg operation of 1945 took place with the participation of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts under the command of K.K. Rokossovsky and I.D. Chernyakhovsky, the 43rd Army of the 1st Baltic Front, led by the Soviet Army, provided support from the sea The Baltic Fleet under the leadership of Admiral V.F. Tributs. In total, 15 combined-arms, 1 tank armies, 5 mechanized and tank corps, 2 air armies participated in the hostilities. In January 1945, Koenigsberg was defended by a group of units "Center" (since 26.01 - "North"). The command was carried out by Colonel-General G. Reinhardt (since 26.01 - L. Rendulich). Resistance from the German side was provided by 2 field and 1 tank armies, 1 - air fleet.
command plan
The Koenigsberg operation, in short, meant cutting off the East Prussian group from the rest. Then it was planned to push it to the sea and destroy it. For this Soviet army was supposed to strike simultaneously from the south and north in converging directions. As conceived by the command, a strike on Pillau was also planned.
Insterburg-Koenigsberg operation
Active operations of the Soviet troops began on January 13. The 3rd Belorussian Front broke the stubborn resistance of the Germans, broke through the defenses on 18.01 north of Numbinnen. The troops advanced inland by 20-30 km. The 2nd Belorussian Front went on the offensive on 14.01. After a tense battle, the troops managed to break through the defenses and develop a swift offensive. At the same time, the 28th and 5th armies completed their breakthrough. On January 19, the 39th and 43rd armies captured Tilsit. During the battle, the enemy grouping was encircled on January 19-22. On the night of January 22, Soviet troops launched an assault on Interburg. The city was taken by morning. On January 26, the troops reached the Baltic Sea north of Elibing. The key forces of the Germans were divided into separate groups. Part of the 2nd Army managed to transfer across the Vistula to Pomerania. The destruction of the enemy forces pushed back to the sea was assigned to the units of the 3rd Belorussian Front, assisted by the 4th Army of the 2nd Front. The rest of the forces were to carry out the Koenigsberg operation (photos of some moments of the battle are presented in the article). The second stage of the military campaign began on 13 March.
Koenigsberg operation: the course of the operation
By March 29, Soviet troops destroyed the Heilsberg group. On April 6, the assault on Koenigsberg began. Parts of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the command of Vasilevsky participated in the battle. They were assisted by the Baltic Fleet. The Königsberg offensive operation was complicated by the presence of three defense rings. Before the start of the assault, the large-caliber artillery of the ships and the front fired on the city and defensive fortifications for 4 days, thereby destroying the long-term enemy structures. The Koenigsberg operation itself began on April 6. The Germans offered stubborn resistance. But by the end of the day, the 39th Army managed to penetrate several kilometers into the enemy defenses. The troops cut the Konigsberg-Pillau railway line. At this time, the 50th, 43rd and 11th Guards. armies broke through the first defensive ring. They managed to come close to the walls of the city. Parts of the 43rd Army were the first to break into the fortress. 2 days after a stubborn battle, the Soviet troops managed to take over the railway junction and the port, many industrial and military facilities. The first task that the Koenigsberg operation was supposed to solve was to cut off the garrison from the forces located on the Zemland Peninsula.
The specifics of hostilities
When planning the stages of the Koenigsberg operation, the Soviet command first determined the starting line for the attack, where infantry and firepower were secretly introduced. Then the battle order was formed, after which the tank units were pulled up. Direct-guided guns were installed at firing positions, passages were organized in obstacles. After that, tasks were determined for rifle units, artillery and tanks, and constant interaction of army units was organized. After a short but rather thorough preparation, direct-guided guns, on a signal, opened fire from the spot on the detected firing points, walls and windows of houses, embrasures to destroy them. The outskirts were subjected to decisive attacks by assault detachments. They moved swiftly towards the outermost structures. After a grenade attack, the buildings were captured. Having broken through to the outskirts, the assault squads advanced deep into the city. Troops infiltrated through parks, lanes, gardens, yards, etc. Having taken possession of individual quarters and structures, the subunits immediately brought them into a defensive state. Stone structures were strengthened. Constructions on the outskirts facing the enemy were especially carefully prepared. In the quarters occupied by Soviet troops, strong points were equipped, all-round defense was created, commandants responsible for holding the points were appointed. During the first few days of the assault, military aviation carried out almost 14 thousand sorties, dropping about 3.5 thousand tons of bombs on the troops.
German surrender
On April 8, the Soviet command sent parliamentarians to the fortress with a proposal to lay down their arms. However, the enemy refused, continuing to resist. By the morning of April 9, several units of the garrison made attempts to withdraw to the west. But the actions of the 43rd Army frustrated these plans. As a result, the enemy was never able to escape from the city. From the Zemland Peninsula, part of the 5th tank division tried to attack. However, this counter strike was also unsuccessful. Massed attacks of Soviet aviation and artillery began on the surviving German defense nodes. Units of the 11th Guards. armies struck at the Germans who resisted in the city center. As a result, on April 9, the garrison was forced to lay down their arms.
results
The Koenigsberg operation made it possible to liberate strategically important cities. The main units of the East Prussian German group were destroyed. After the battle, forces remained on the Zemland Peninsula. However, this group was soon liquidated. According to Soviet documents, about 94 thousand fascists were captured, about 42 thousand were killed. Soviet units captured more than 2 thousand guns, more than 1600 mortars, 128 aircraft. According to the analysis of the situation conducted by G. Kretinin, in the total mass of prisoners there were about 25-30 thousand civilians who ended up in collection points. In this regard, the historian indicates a figure of 70.5 thousand German troops captured after the end of the fighting. The Koenigsberg operation was marked by fireworks in Moscow. Of the 324 guns, 24 volleys were fired. In addition, the country's leadership established a medal, and 98 units of the army received the name "Kenigsberg". According to Soviet documents, losses in the Soviet troops amounted to 3,700 killed. G. Kretinin notes that the entire operation was organized and carried out "not by numbers, but by skill."
Conclusion
During the East Prussian campaign, Soviet soldiers showed great skill and exceptional heroism. They managed to overcome several powerful defensive rings, stubbornly and fiercely defended by the enemy. The victory in the operation was achieved due to fairly long battles. As a result, Soviet troops managed to occupy the northern territories of Poland.
Gennady Viktorovich Kretinin graduated from the Kaliningrad Higher Military Engineering School and the Military Engineering Academy. Doctor of Historical Sciences, Candidate of Military Sciences, Professor of the Baltic federal university them. I. Kant, full member of the Academy of Military Sciences, Academy military history, Head of the Baltic Regional Information and Analytical Center RISS (Kaliningrad).
He deals with the problems of the Baltic region, aspects of relations between Russia and the EU in relation to the Kaliningrad region, and regional history. He has more than two hundred publications, including in Germany, Poland and Lithuania.
About the number of those who fought and the losses on both sides
ATIn 1945, East Prussian became one of the largest strategic operations of the Red Army against Nazi Germany. It began on January 13, 1945 and ended, according to official data, on April 25, 1945. 1 . The grouping of Soviet troops participating in it consisted of formations of the 2nd Belorussian, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic Fronts with the support of the Baltic Fleet and aviation.
East Prussia was of major political and strategic importance for Germany, so the Nazis concentrated significant forces there. Using defensive lines and positions prepared in advance, the enemy troops put up stubborn resistance to the advancing units of the Red Army, as a result of which the hostilities took on a protracted character.
As part of this strategic offensive operation The Soviet command planned, organized and carried out a number of front-line operations 2 that ultimately led to the defeat of the main enemy forces and the liberation of East Prussia from the Nazi troops. Each of these operations had its own purpose and solved a specific problem. Undoubtedly, in military-historical terms, any of them is of interest to researchers. However, until now, it is precisely around the Königsberg offensive operation (storming of Königsberg) that ideological battles do not stop, the leitmotif of which is the idea that has been established in domestic and foreign literature about significant losses of troops on both sides and casualties among the civilian population of the fortress city. They allegedly give grounds to accuse the Soviet command of bringing down a powerful grouping of troops on a weak German garrison, which, in addition to military tasks, was supposed to protect a large civilian population 3 .
In the minds of Russians, the assault on Koenigsberg remains a symbol of the mass heroism of Soviet soldiers, a victory that cost many victims. Meanwhile, for a number of reasons, it is quite difficult to restore the true picture of the events of the first decade of April 1945 in the Königsberg area. Conflicting data from the Soviet Information Bureau and German sources on the number of friendly and enemy troops, estimates of the number of civilians remaining in the city for a long time were not checked and not commented on, despite the fact that free treatment of them was possible on both sides. Over time, these data became "generally accepted" among historians, depending on their position.
In open sources, the total figures for the losses of Soviet troops in the operations of World War II appeared only at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries. Judging by these data, human losses in the East Prussian strategic offensive operation of 1945 amounted to 584,778 people, of which 126,464 were irretrievable 4 . However, data on losses in army and front-line operations are still extremely rare, which creates the basis for various insinuations, biased conclusions and generalizations both in foreign and domestic publications.
An even more difficult task faced German researchers, participants and witnesses of the events of April 6–9, 1945, since Königsberg was under siege and documentary sources simply did not survive. German publications on the topic under study are based solely on the memoirs of city residents and military personnel, often corrected by later authors.
Military garrison of Königsberg. Number of local residents
AT the first generalized data on the number of German troops defending Koenigsberg was presented by Colonel A. Vasiliev, head of the department for the use of war experience of the operational directorate of the headquarters of the 3rd Belorussian Front. In September 1945, he reported that "on the front of the armies" prepared for the assault on the city, the German command concentrated the 548th, 561st, 367th and 69th infantry divisions, the 2nd fortress and 75th security regiments - a total of 23,300 personal composition, 425 artillery pieces, 16 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS). In addition, according to him, "in front of the front of the armies" were German regiments and reinforcement battalions with a total strength of approximately 20 thousand people, 220 guns, 25 tanks and self-propelled guns. The 1st Infantry Division (6.1 thousand people, 124 guns, 8 tanks and self-propelled guns) was in the reserve of the German command, and units from the 61st Infantry Division (3.5 thousand people, 60 guns). In this way, in combatants parts the enemy had 52.7 thousand personnel with 819 guns, 49 tanks and self-propelled guns.
In addition to them, special and rear units, as well as Volkssturm units, were deployed in the fortress. The prisoners reported that among the defenders there were many drafted from military factories, Air Force servicemen, automobile units, artillerymen and military sailors. These non-combatants parts also took part in the fighting. A. Vasiliev clarifies: “In total, in the Königsberg garrison, together with the rear units, as it turned out later, there were more than 130 thousand people.” In fact, the last figure was a tracing-paper from the operational report of the Sovinformburo for April 10, which also reported that the Germans during the assault on Königsberg lost up to 42 thousand people killed, and more than 92 thousand soldiers and officers surrendered.
Soviet historiography unequivocally accepted the report of the Soviet Information Bureau on faith, and indicated figures included in almost all official publications, memoirs and research.
It should be noted that A. Vasiliev prepared a section of the report using the data of his intelligence and combat reports of the troops. Naturally, these data needed to be clarified, including with the use of German sources. However, the documents of the German command, as already mentioned, were not preserved, and by that time it was already poorly oriented in the situation. Polls of prisoners of war were processed later, although to date they have not yet become the subject of careful study. Soviet data military intelligence, of course, were not completely accurate. But be that as it may, on the eve of the assault, the Soviet command was firmly convinced that the encircled group of Germans numbered about 60 thousand people.
A different situation developed in German historiography. The commandant of Königsberg, General of Infantry Otto von Lyash, during interrogation called the number of the German garrison - "more than 100 thousand." Moreover, I repeated this figure twice (“The total number of troops subordinate to me, together with the Volkssturm and police units, was more than 100 thousand people” and a little later: “We lost the entire 100 thousandth army near Königsberg. There were up to 30 thousand people wounded, killed too there were many").
Later, after returning from Soviet captivity, in which he spent about 10 years, O. Lyash began to write memoirs, using the memoirs of German generals and officers, eyewitness accounts. His book “So Koenigsberg Fell” has no documentary basis, does not contain analytical conclusions and generalizations, but is replete with emotions. In it, the former commandant of the fortress speaks of a 35,000-strong garrison.
The figures given in his memoirs are highly questionable. For example, talking about the preparation of the city for defense, O. Lyash writes: “How many infantry battalions, machine-gun and anti-tank companies formed the headquarters of Wurdig during the siege of Königsberg, I can no longer say, because the data is lost. According to my calculations, about 30 thousand people were sent to the front through the headquarters for the formation of troops ... "
However, there were actually many more different formations. For example, Fritz Haase, a resident of Königsberg, who was detained at the location of the 50th Army in the Kvednau 5 area, during interrogation on March 16, 1945, said that party committees were involved in the formation of Volkssturm battalions. Back in February, the party committee "Pregel" formed a battalion V-92 6 . Battalions of up to 400 people each had 3-4 companies. O. Lyash mentions 8 Volkssturm battalions, but, judging by the numbering, there were much more of them.
So, according to O. Lyash, there were 30 thousand soldiers and officers in the newly formed German units during the siege of Koenigsberg. In addition to them, a significant number of German troops were at the forefront, defending the city. It is necessary to take into account the replenishment of the garrison from external sources, which was carried out by the German command right up to the assault itself. So, in December 1944, a marching battalion of 300 people was formed in Horn (Austria), which in February 1945 took up positions in the area of the Palmburg bridge. Apparently, according to Lyash's memoirs, the figure of "35 thousand servicemen" who made up the Königsberg garrison in March-April 1945 is clearly not accurate, but other German researchers accepted it on faith.
Meanwhile, during the assault on Koenigsberg, it became clear to the Soviet command that the size of the German group exceeded the calculated one. This became clear from the reports of the headquarters of the armies about the losses of the enemy. Judging by these reports, information about the losses of friendly and enemy troops was provided to a higher authority at the end of the day, at the end of the operation, or for a particular period upon request. During the fighting in East Prussia, the reporting system was supplemented by ten-day loss reports, which could contain clarifications for each day, for several days, etc.
For example, the head of the operational department of the operational directorate of the headquarters of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Colonel Berlin, presented to his chief data on enemy losses in the period from April 1 to April 10 along the entire front line: 96,479 people were captured, 61,023 were killed. At the same time, he also compiled a certificate about enemy losses only in the Königsberg area for the period from April 6 to April 9, specifying that these data are preliminary. In accordance with this certificate, 696 prisoners were taken in the front line of the 39th Army, and 32,000 Germans were killed; in the front line of the 43rd Army - 16,000 and 7,500, respectively; in band 50 - 6625 and 6200; 11th Guards Army - 22 885 and 7720. On the certificate, the total losses of the Germans are marked with a red pencil without a signature: soldiers and officers - 70 826, guns - 1721, mortars - 580, tanks and self-propelled guns - 114, etc.
Naturally, the data for a decade looked more impressive and did not contradict the truth: at that time, the fighting took place mainly in the Königsberg area. These data formed the basis of the information presented to the Headquarters immediately after the assault on the fortress.
It should be noted that as of April 6, 1945, after previous battles, there were already 19,146 prisoners in the front-line network. During the reporting period, another 1396 Germans were taken prisoner by other armies and various units. If we add up these and other data, we get an amount very close to the report of the Sovinformburo of April 10 - 91,088 people. By the way, on one of the documents at the bottom left, such a calculation was made in pencil. Apparently, the front command was already trying to figure out the numbers.
By and large, on April 6–10 and even on April 11, all or almost all German military personnel and the bulk of the civilian population who were in the city were captured and detained in Königsberg. In practice, a kind of census of the conditional population of the city was carried out as of April 10, 1945.
However, according to German data, which some domestic experts agree with, there were from 90 to 130 thousand civilians in Königsberg before the assault, which allegedly confirms the fact that many tens of thousands of civilians died during the assault.
It is worth paying attention to the spread in the data - from 90 to 130 thousand. The difference in indicators reaches almost 50%, and this suggests that information can be arbitrary or distorted for a specific purpose. Indeed, the information of the commandant of the fortress O. Lyash looks at least strange. The civil and military authorities of the city, right up to the very assault, managed to maintain a system for providing the population with food, albeit at greatly reduced rates. This makes it possible to determine quite accurately (at least with a much smaller error than 50%) the total number of civilians remaining in the city at the time of the assault. The commandant of the fortress, of course, could not help but know their number.
In German historiography, Jürgen Thorwald was one of the first to indicate the figure of 130 thousand civilians back in 1950 (though without reference to the source). However, he himself attributed it to the end of January 1945. Taking into account the mass exodus of the population from the city in February-March through the corridors formed during the fighting along both banks and along the ice of Frisches Huff Bay, by the time of the assault, the number of civilians in the city should have been significantly reduced. This was confirmed by the taken German "tongues", which reported that "there are few people left in the city", and in some areas it is "almost completely evicted" 7 .
Immediately after the end of the fighting, the military authorities of the 3rd Belorussian Front began to count the number of the German population remaining in the city. On April 26, 1945, 23,247 German citizens were registered by military authorities in Königsberg. On May 1, their number amounted to 22,838 people, on May 6 - 26,559. The order of numbers practically corresponds to the above data of Colonel Kolesnikov.
It is very difficult to determine and, apparently, it will no longer be possible, the number of those who died during the assault from the German side (military personnel and civilians). It would be possible to establish it at least approximately by burials. However, the fighting in East Prussia continued throughout April and the first decade of May 1945, and the maximum that the regular funeral teams of divisions and armies in the depths of the Zemland Peninsula could do during this time was to bury the Red Army soldiers who fell in Königsberg.
After the assault, only military commandant's offices remained in the city, due to their small number, they were not able to carry out mass graves. The military commandant of Koenigsberg, Major General M. Smirnov, decided to involve German prisoners of war and the local population in this. In daily reports to the head of the rear of the front, he reflected the dynamics of registration of the population of Königsberg and the burial places of the dead Germans, without taking into account their social status (the reports indicated: "Germans", "corpses of soldiers and officers").
In total, as of May 4, 1945, 33,778 dead Germans were buried. Given that the townspeople were in shelters during the assault, and those who participated in the battles were under fire, it is logical to assume that the Wehrmacht and Volkssturm soldiers made up the bulk of the dead.
On the number and losses of Soviet troops
L In the summer of 1945, Colonel Vasiliev, analyzing the preparations and assault on Königsberg, without reference to sources, cited “approximate”, as he wrote, data on the number of armies advancing on Königsberg: the 39th Army - 34,400 personnel, the 43rd Army - 36,590, right flank of the 50th Army (two rifle corps and one rifle division) - 28,296, 11th Guards Army (without one rifle division) - 38,014 people. According to him, the number of Soviet troops near Königsberg before the storming of the city was 137,250 people (although Vasiliev is not accurate in his calculations, in fact - 137,300). Subsequently, this figure became a textbook. It was brought by I. Bagramyan and K. Galitsky, it is reported in official publications.
The study of archival documents made it possible to estimate the real number of troops participating in the assault on Koenigsberg, and it turned out to be significantly lower than according to Colonel Vasiliev's data - 106.6 thousand people 8 .
Already in the course of hostilities, it was decided to change the organizational structure of rifle divisions. The fact is that the rifle divisions of the 3rd Belorussian Front, formed according to the state 04 / 550-578, entered East Prussia, according to which they were supposed to have 9543 personnel, 12 122-mm howitzers, 14 76-mm and 36 45mm cannons, 21 120mm and 83 82mm mortars, other weapons. However, in protracted battles, the divisions suffered heavy losses, which did not have time to be replenished at the expense of marching units. The reports of the army commanders reported that the number of rifle divisions often did not exceed 3 thousand people, which means that they actually could not carry out the combat missions assigned to them, which, when planning the operation, were determined based on full-fledged formations and according to the established operational-tactical standards ( the width of the offensive zone, the breakthrough area, the depth of the offensive, etc.).
In mid-February 1945, the headquarters of the 3rd Belorussian Front changed the staff structure of rifle divisions. The army headquarters were instructed to switch to new organization schemes, which made it possible to have 3-3.5 thousand personnel in rifle divisions. Guards armies, of course, had divisions of a more complete composition.
In connection with the new staffing structure, the divisions were adjusted not only to the standards for conducting combat operations, but also to the nature of the weapons. Taking into account the previous experience of fighting in East Prussia against the enemy defending in field shelters and permanent fortifications, and foreseeing battles in large settlements, the front command tried to increase the relative firepower of the division, primarily due to artillery pieces of a larger caliber.
The new staff of the rifle division of the "front" type not only increased the reliability of its management, but also significantly increased its combat capabilities, which was not slow to affect the effectiveness of military operations, especially during the assault on Königsberg.
It is necessary to pay tribute to the commands of the front and the armies, which, under difficult conditions, managed to fully equip the armies according to the new staffing table and carry out the necessary training of soldiers, officers and generals for the operation.
When analyzing the number of Soviet troops participating in the assault on Koenigsberg, it is necessary to pay attention to the term, which was used for the first time in the historiography of the East Prussian operation by Colonel A. Vasiliev, which requires a separate comment.
Naturally, not all of the 106,000-strong group of Soviet troops took a direct part in the assault. The fortified lines and positions of the enemy were overcome by specially trained subunits: assault groups and assault detachments, which were based on rifle companies from active fighters. There were 9,000-10,000 of them in each army. According to TsAMO and the "Journal of Combat Operations of the Front Troops for April 1945" (see note 8), the total number of active fighters was 24,473.
In this way, in direct assault Königsberg participated divisions, on numbers much inferior defending. Of course, with the support of the forces and means of all types of troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front. The relatively small number of attackers predetermined the relatively small losses of the Red Army.
In general, the question of the size of the losses of the Soviet troops in the battles for Königsberg remains open to this day. Attempts have been made to answer it, but not entirely successful. For example, the official catalog "The History of Wars of the 20th Century in Monuments to Their Participants" contains information about Soviet soldiers, who fell in battle and were buried in mass graves on the territory of today's Kaliningrad - a total of 5597 people. However, it should be noted that in the post-war period, burials were enlarged and memorials were reconstructed, during which participants in the East Prussian operation who died outside Königsberg were reburied in mass graves in Kaliningrad. Therefore, the available information does not provide an accurate answer to the question posed.
An attempt was made to calculate the losses of Soviet troops during the assault on Königsberg, using indirect evidence. So, S.A. Golchikov in the book "Battlefield - Prussia" (Kaliningrad, 2005) there were figures of 9230 dead and 34,230 wounded, that is, a total of 43,460 people.
An even more incredible figure is given by V. Beshanov, who claims that “own ( then there is Soviet troops. - G.To.) losses in Königsberg are known only approximately - more than 50 thousand people were killed and wounded.
The fact that Soviet military science did not publish the figures of the losses of the Red Army in the operations of World War II for the entire post-war period allowed not only foreign, but also domestic historians to talk about the victory "due to the human resource." And this opinion has become widespread. Finnish journalist Anna-Leni Lauren wrote quite recently: “Moscow managed to survive only thanks to a few competent generals and practically unlimited human resources ... The Soviet leadership sent millions of soldiers to the front as “cannon fodder” - without training, without enough weapons, ammunition and decent uniforms.
Indeed, during the war years, Soviet troops not only won victories, but also suffered bitter defeats. However, they learned to fight. The operation of the 3rd Belorussian Front to capture Königsberg has every right to be classified as one of those operations in which losses managed flatten to minimum, although the city had to be stormed, prepared in advance for defense.
Data on the losses of the armies that took Koenigsberg were submitted daily, and after the end of the operation - in total. As a rule, operational information included columns on the dead (irretrievable losses), wounded (sanitary losses) and the total. In particular, according to reports from the armies, the losses for April 6 were: in the 43rd Army - 197 killed and 720 wounded; in the 50th Army - 258 killed and 705 wounded; in the 11th Guards Army - 307 killed and 1452 wounded. In total, during the first day of fighting for Königsberg, the armies lost 762 people killed and 2877 wounded.
But most often, loss data were presented by decades. They were recorded in the final report of the headquarters of the 3rd Belorussian Front, and it is they that can be considered the price for the capture of Königsberg, since its assault lasted from April 6 to April 9, and on other days of the decade, for obvious reasons, there were practically no active hostilities. From April 1 to April 10, 1945, 3,506 people were killed, 215 were missing, and 13,177 were wounded.
The word "Königsberg" forever inseparably merged the joy of a well-deserved, hard-won victory and the tragedy of the civilian population of the city, which was under siege. However, for a long time, the lack of real data on the participants, military losses and civilian casualties gave reason to belittle the achievements of Soviet military art, talent and organizational skills. Soviet military leaders, courage and heroism of officers and soldiers of the Red Army. On the other hand, the same lack of information made it possible to extol the actions of the defenders of the city, primarily its military leadership, which supposedly defended the civilian population to the last.
Without going into an analysis of the course of the assault, it should be noted that the actions of the German troops, especially on April 6–7, were indeed organized and courageous, one might even say heroic. And it's only natural since they protected mine a city with a truly fateful history.
Our study showed that as a result of the assault on Koenigsberg, Soviet troops captured 70.5 thousand people. After the assault, 33.8 thousand of the fallen were buried, a significant part of which were soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht. Thus, the number of the defensive grouping of Königsberg reached 100 thousand. In addition, 23–28 thousand civilians remained in the defeated city, which means that before the assault there were a total of about 130 thousand military personnel and civilians in the city. These figures coincide with the statement of General O. Lyash during interrogation after a fleeting defeat. It turns out that the commandant still knew the true number of besieged by April 6, 1945?
However, upon returning from Soviet captivity, he “forgot” about his own testimony and, in his memoirs about how Königsberg “fell”, he cited other data (90 thousand people and 30 thousand military personnel), which were later adopted by the German military historians, and also got on the pages of the works of some Soviet and Russian authors.
Ideological influence, excessive secrecy of sources of information, their inaccessibility to researchers led to the formation of the Soviet public, and then Russian historians stable ideas about the extremely difficult and bloody assault on Königsberg, taken in the end due to the absolute advantage of the Soviet troops in military equipment and weapons. Of course, they also talk about the talent of commanders, but no special studies were carried out on the leadership of troops during the preparation and implementation of the operation.
All this really was - and a bloody assault, and technical and combat superiority, and the talent of commanders. But let's compare: in October 1944 - January 1945, in the battles for the small East Prussian town of Pilkallen (now the village of Dobrovolsk, Kaliningrad Region), according to incomplete data, about 5 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers died (the search and perpetuation of the dead continues). And during the assault on Koenigsberg - a much larger operation - 3721, including the missing.
It is necessary to pay tribute to the command of the 3rd Belorussian Front, the organizational skills and military skills of the chiefs of staff, generals and officers. The purposeful work of the Soviet military command in preparing troops for the assault, planning and organizing the interaction of all types and branches of the troops made it possible to avoid heavy losses in the ranks of the attackers. In conditions when two large groupings of troops (each at least 100 thousand people) met each other in a limited space, with the massive use of all means of destruction, irretrievable losses of 3-4 thousand are actually considered small.
The short duration, success and relatively low losses suffered by the Soviet troops in the Königsberg operation against the enemy blocked in a heavily fortified defensive area indicate that it was carried out in accordance with one of the principles of Suvorov science - to win not by numbers, but by skill.
Notes
1 The latest research suggests that the East Prussian operation ended on May 8, 1945 (see: Cretinin G. On the periodisation of the battle for East Prussia in 1944–1945 // Baltic region. 2010. No. 2 (4). Kaliningrad: I.Kant State Univ. Press, 2010. P. 91–98).
2 In the modern interpretation, the historical periodization of the East Prussian operation (in the zone of the 3rd Belorussian Front) includes the Insterburg-Königsberg (January 13 - February 10, 1945), Koenigsberg (April 6-9) and Zemland (April 13-25) operations. It should be borne in mind that the list of front-line operations of the 3rd Belorussian Front immediately after the end of the war included the defeat of the enemy's Heilsberg grouping and the capture of the Frische-Nerung spit.
3 See, for example: Gause F. Koenigsberg in Prussia: The history of a European city / Per. W. Herdt, N. Kondrad. Recklinghausen: Bitter, 1994, pp. 255–257; Lyash O. So Koenigsberg fell: Memoirs of the commandant of the Koenigsberg fortress / Per. with him. M.: Akvo-Ink, 1991); Glinsky G., Wurster P. Koenigsberg: Conigsberg–Konigsberg–Kaliningrad: Past and Present: Sat. Art. Berlin; Bonn: Westkreuz-Verlag, 1996; and etc.
4 See, for example: Russia and the USSR in the wars of the twentieth century: Losses of the Armed Forces: Stat. research / Under the total. ed. G.F. Krivosheev. M.: OLMA-Press, 2001. S. 304.
5 Kvednau - now Severnaya Gora, Kaliningrad region.
6 The Roman numeral denoted the number of the party committee, and the Arabic numeral denoted the serial number of the battalion.
7 TsAMO. F. 405. Op. 9769. D. 461. L. 104, 120; and etc.
8 Information on the staffing of rifle companies of the Zemland Group of Forces as of April 1, 1945 // TsAMO. F. 241. Op. 2593. D. 709 (Directives to the troops of the Zemland group of forces to defeat the Koenigsberg garrison of the enemy, blocking and capturing the city of Koenigsberg). L. 35. See also: Journal of combat operations of the front troops for April 1945 // Ibid. D. 686. L. 225.