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| Battle of Kolberg | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theEast Pomeranian Offensive,Eastern Front ofWorld War II | |||||||
 Kołobrzeg in 1945. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Germany |  Soviet Union(Primarily until 7 March)  Poland(From 8 March) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ferdinand Schörner | Stanislav Poplavsky | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8,000 – 15,000 personnel 18 tanks 1 armoured train 60 artillery pieces 2 heavy cruisers | 28,000+ personnel (From 12 March) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| KIA: unknown ~2,000 captured | 1,206 killed and missing 3,000 wounded | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Kolberg orBattle of Kołobrzeg (also, battle forFestung Kolberg) was the taking of the city ofKolberg, now the city ofKołobrzeg, inPomerania by thePolish Army andSoviet Army fromNazi German forces during theWorld War IIEast Pomeranian Offensive. Between 4 and 18 March 1945 there was majorurban fighting of theSoviet and Polish forces against the German army for the control over the city. The Germans succeeded in evacuating much of their military personnel and refugees from the city via sea before it was taken by the Poles on 18 March.
On 4 March 1945 Kolberg, a largeBaltic seaport in the Province of Pomerania, was designateda stronghold asFestung Kolberg. It was one of the key German positions in thePomeranian Wall, a vital link between Pomerania andPrussia. The German High Command planned to use the seaport to supply nearby German forces, and hoped that the stronghold would draw off Soviet forces from the main thrust towards Berlin.[1]
The SovietEast Pomeranian Offensive, commencing on 24 February 1945 managed to cut off and surround the city and its defenders (mostly from the GermanArmy Group Vistula). The first commander ofFestung Kolberg was an elderly officer, GeneralPaul Herrmann [de], but due to illness he was transferred in February to a less demanding post. The command was taken by ColonelGerhard Troschel. On 1 March the city was put under the command of a formerAfrika Korps officer, ColonelFritz Fullriede, after Troschel requested permission to surrender.[2]Joseph Goebbels requested the change in command to maintain public perception around the newly released filmKolberg.[3]
The German defence forces represented various formations from the Army Group 'Vistula,' some tasked with defending the fortress, others simply cut off in the Kolberg pocket. The most notable units included elements of theThird Panzer Army; the33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French) and the15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian). Estimates of the German defenders — including local militia and volunteers (Volkssturm) — range from 8,000 to 15,000, supported by some artillery (about 60 pieces), anarmored train and about 18 tanks and a dozen support vehicles of various types. The German units also received some air and sea support (including artillery fire frompocket battleshipsLützow andAdmiral Scheer).
The Soviet and Soviet-allied Polish forces attacking the city can be divided into two waves: one of units of theRed Army, from 4 to 7 March, and one of units of theFirst Polish Army (from the1st Belorussian Front), from 8 to 14 March, although some Soviet units took part in the combat after 8 March. The Soviet main units were the45th Tank Brigade (engaged from 4 to 7 March) and the272nd Rifle Division (6 to 9 March). The Polish units included:Polish 6th Infantry Division (from 7 March),Polish 3rd Infantry Division (from 9 March),Polish 4th Infantry Division (from 12 March), and various support units. The personnel of the Polish units numbered over 28,000.
The first attack was led on 4 March by the Soviet units of the1st Belorussian Front and2nd Belorussian Front; with first Soviet units entering the city around 0800, but was repulsed. On the same day, the nearby city ofKöslin (now Koszalin) fell and Soviets started to gather reinforcements to take Kolberg.
On 6 March the Soviet High Command decided to turn the siege of the city from the Soviet forces to its Polish allies. By 8 March the Soviets received reinforcements in the form of the units from thePolish People's Army, thePolish First Army under the command of Polish-born generalStanislaw Poplawski: the6th, the3rd Polish Infantry Division and support units. The Polish First Army was now tasked with taking the city; however their first attack was also repulsed. The German forces held stubbornly to the city, protecting the ongoing evacuation. Due to a lack of anti-tank weapons, Germandestroyers used their guns to support the defenders of Kolberg.
On 12 March a new assault was launched, withheavy tanks, additional artillery units and the4th Polish Infantry Division. The attack advanced but at the cost of very heavy casualties, and was broken off on 14 March. On 14 March, the Germans refused a Polish proposal to surrender.[4]
On 15 March the fighting resumed and the Germans received reinforcements fromSwinemünde (now Świnoujście) — theKell battalions. However, they failed to stop the Polish forces, which took the barracks, part of the railway station and the Salt Island.
By 16 March the Germans pulled back most of their forces and concentrated on the defense of the port. The destruction of thecollegiate church in Kolberg after heavy artillery shelling bykatyushas allowed the Polish troops to breach the inner city. Polish forces assaulted the railway station (defended by a Germanarmored train Panzerzug 72A, which was destroyed on 16 March), pharmaceutics factory and the horse riding arena.
On 17 March the Germans abandoned most of the defensive lines, leaving only a small number of troops to cover their retreat, and started to evacuate their main body of forces from the city. Polish forces took the railway station and reached the port, but most of the German troops managed to evacuate to Swinemünde (nowŚwinoujście). The last German stronghold was in the fort built near today's lighthouse on the coastline.
Over 80% of the city was destroyed in the heavy fighting. The battle was among the most intenseurban warfare the Polish army took part in. Polish casualties were estimated at 1,206 dead and missing,[4] and 3,000 wounded.[5]
On 18 March, the day the city fell, thePolish People's Army re-enactedPoland's Wedding to the Sea ceremony, which had been celebrated for the first time in 1920 by GeneralJózef Haller (there was also a lesser-known ceremony on 17 March).[6]
With the Soviet forces approaching in 1945, valuable equipment, most of the inhabitants, and tens of thousands of refugees from surrounding areas (about 70,000), as well as 40,000 German soldiers were evacuated from the besieged city byGerman naval forces inOperation Hannibal. Only about 2,000 soldiers were left on 17 March to cover the last sea transports.
In 1945, thePolish Film Chronicle made a short film about the battle.[7] In 1969, a movie was made in Poland,Jarzębina czerwona [pl], with the battle for the city as its background.[8] In 2005, a 25-minute Polish documentary film about the battle for the city was made.[9]
Less than two months before the battle, aGerman propaganda movie, filmed in the city in 1944 and covering the1807 siege of Kolberg, was released.
