Social:German World War II strongholds

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German strongholds during World War II (German: Festung "fortresses") were towns and cities designated by Adolf Hitler as areas that were to be fortified and stocked with food and ammunition in order to hold out against Allied offensives.

The fortress doctrine evolved towards the end of World War II, when the German leadership had not yet accepted defeat, but had begun to realize that drastic measures were required to forestall inevitable offensives on the Reich. The first such stronghold was Stalingrad.[citation needed]

Eastern Front Fortresses

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

Western Front Fortresses

On the Western Front, Hitler declared eleven major ports as fortresses on 19 January 1944: IJmuiden, the Hook of Holland, Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire and the Gironde estuary. In February and March 1944 three more coastal areas were declared to be fortresses: the Channel Islands, Calais and La Rochelle.[1]

Fate of the Fortresses

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

Location Country Commandant Besiegers Date declared Date surrendered Notes
Alderney British Crown dependencies Lieutenant Colonel

Schwalm

Royal Navy 16 May 1945 Contained until after general German surrender
See German occupation of the Channel Islands
Berlin Germany Hellmuth Reymann,
Helmuth Weidling 		Soviet Red Army 8 May 1945 See Battle in Berlin
Boulogne France Ferdinand Heim reinforced Canadian 3rd Division 22 September 1944 Captured after a five-day operation. See Operation Wellhit
Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) Germany Karl Hanke Soviet 6th Army 25 July 1944 6 May 1945 See Siege of Breslau
Brest France Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke US Third Army 19 September 1944 Captured after six-week assault. See Battle for Brest
Budapest Hungary Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front 1 December 1944 13 February 1945 Captured after 102 day long assault. See Siege of Budapest
Calais France Ludwig Schroeder Canadian 3rd Division 1 October 1944 See Operation Undergo
Crete Greece Hans-Georg Benthack Royal Navy, Hellenic Army 8 May 1945 See Fortress Crete
Dieppe France Canadian 2nd Division 1 September 1944 Evacuated before receipt of the relevant Führer Order; liberated without opposition. See Operation Fusilade
Dunkirk France Friedrich Frisius 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade 8 May 1945 Contained until general German surrender. See Siege of Dunkirk (1944)
Kolberg Germany Fritz Fullriede Soviet 1st Belorussian Front November 1944 14 March 1945 See Battle of Kolberg (1945)
Königsberg East Prussia, Germany Otto Lasch Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front 9 April 1945 See Battle of Königsberg
Küstrin Germany Heinrich-Friedrich Reinefarth, Adolf Raegener Soviet 82nd Guards Rifle Division A small number (<1,000) of the German garrison reached German lines after a breakout during the night of March 29/30 1945
Le Havre France Eberhard Wildermuth First Canadian Army 12 September 1944 Captured after 48-hour assault. See Operation Astonia
Lorient France Wilhelm Fahrmbacher US 66th Infantry Division 19 January 1944 10 May 1945 Surrendered after the unconditional surrender of Germany
Posen (now Poznań) Poland Ernst Mattern until 28 January 1945, then Ernst Gonell Soviet 1st Belorussian Front 23 February 1945 See Battle of Poznań (1945)
Saint-Malo France Andreas von Aulock US Third Army 19 January 1944 17 August 1944 Captured after two weeks. See Battle of Saint-Malo.
Warsaw Poland Soviet Red Army 27 July 1944 17 January 1945 Captured hours after the withdrawal of German troops, in violation of Hitler's order to hold the "Fortress". See Festung Warschau

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Wilt 2004, p. 108.

References

  • BBC article on Alderney
  • Europe: A History, ISBN:0-06-097468-0, the history of Europe; page 1038
  • Wilt, Alan (2004). The Atlantic Wall 19441-1944: Hitler's Defenses for D-Day. Enigma Books. 

External links




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