The Kurland pot - legends and myths

History is biased. Especially a lot of conjecture is connected with the battles of the Great Patriotic War. The party leadership was interested in ensuring that the information was presented in a favorable light for the country. Only today, the ideological veil that partially hung on events such as the Kurland cauldron partially fell down.

In the USSR

World War II affected every corner of the world. The war was a surprise for the common people. But the top management not only knew about the changes that were approaching, but even prepared for military operations.

Dozens of documents can be told today about the fact that the authorities of the Union and Germany were in the know. One of them is the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, which concealed the true motives under the official name of the "non-aggression treaty". It signed secret protocols, according to which Latvia fell under the influence of the USSR.

In October 1939, at the borders of this state, there were more than 20,000 Russian soldiers. The following year, in June, Molotov, the Foreign Affairs Commissioner, set Latvia's conditions: the government should voluntarily give up its powers. The Soviet military had to suppress attempts at resistance. To avoid bloodshed, the conditions were accepted. The new regime held "fair" elections with a single candidate to the People's Saeima.

On August 5, 1940, Latvia became part of the USSR. Among the territories that were added, there was also a region where the Kurland cauldron later emerged.

On the threshold of war

There followed repression of those who defended the independence of the state. June 22, 1941 began the Great Patriotic War. The fascist invaders also came to these lands. By mid-July the whole republic was occupied. The country remained under the leadership of the new enemy until the summer of 1944.

The course of the Second World broke after the Battle of the Kursk Bulge. Since then, the strategic initiative belonged to the Red Army men.

In summer the Union troops came to the Baltics. There the decisive stage of liberation began. The western part of Latvia remained occupied until October. The Reds made their way to the Baltic Sea and stopped near the Lithuanian city of Palanga. The German group "North", consisting of 16 and 18 armies, was cut off from the rest of the group "Center". Thus, the first part was on the peninsula.

These events created the Kurland cauldron. In total, 400,000 Germans were trapped.

Capital as a trophy

The Nazis were squeezed between the two Soviet fronts. The line stretched for two hundred kilometers from the eastern Tukums to the western Liepaja.

With great ambitions, the Soviet leadership got down to business. On October 10, 1944, an operation was launched to liberate Riga. The following took part in it: 1st shock, 61st, 67th, 10th Guards Army. But the Germans rebuffed. Realizing that it was impossible to keep the city, they carried out an urgent evacuation and moved towards the sea. Three days later, the Soviet military occupied the east of the city. On October 15, they entered its western part.

As soon as the opponents were finally cut off from the Army "Center", and the capital was won, the commanders-in-chief gave the order to liquidate the enemy who occupied the peninsula. The Kurland cauldron was to become an easy and fast trophy with minimal losses.

The first attempts at liquidation

The leadership of the USSR launched an offensive operation on October 16. However, the Germans fought. Fierce fighting unfolded. Soviet troops remained in their positions and could not occupy new territories. Special courage was shown by the 1st Shock Army. Her soldiers were able to achieve great results.

They managed to occupy the city of Kemeri and go under the walls of Tukums. In general, they passed about 40 km. Then their movement was stopped by the enemy.

The Red Army struck a new blow on October 27. This time the leadership did not want to completely destroy the enemy. The main task was to break through his defenses and break up the army into small groups that would not be able to help each other. But the "Kurland Kettle" did not fall. The battle, which began on the 27th, continued until October 31, after which the offensive was suspended.

The foundation of failure is the inner guidance

During the following month, several attempts were made to utilize the Hitlerites, but they successfully counterattacked. In addition, some of the equipment failed. Partly used ammunition. There were great losses among soldiers, many dead and wounded.

In the twenties of December, the Soviet side resumed the attack. The city of Liepaja was the benchmark.

The main reason for delaying the liberation of the peninsula was the poor leadership of the Red Army marshals. The terrible communication and non-compliance with one plan of action led to a prolonged blockade, which the Kurland boiler sustained. The memoirs of the Germans, on the contrary, note that the army "North" worked together as a single organism. The commanders established a grid of railways, which played a decisive role in the development of military operations.

So, the neighboring troops quickly reached the point where they needed help. And vice versa, they could take soldiers out in a few hours if a threat loomed. In addition, the German territories were well fortified and could have sustained resistance.

Excessive losses and strong repulse

In the fall of 1944, there were 32 divisions and one brigade in the region of the peninsula. In addition to the Germans on the side of Nazi Germany, the Norwegians, Latvians, Dutch and Estonians fought. They were part of the SS reserve troops. And, although they were not well-armed and did not receive training, they took an active part in the fighting.

By the end of the year, the strength of the army, according to rough estimates, was reduced by 40,000. It was these figures that killed the Kurland Kettle in the first phase of the attempted liquidation. More than five hundred tanks were put out of action.

The next, the third offensive operation, began on January 23. Its goal was the destruction of communication, which was carried out through the railway tracks. For seven days unsuccessful battles were fought. Then the commanders of the Red Army decided to consolidate the captured territories.

Recent attempts

A month later, the fourth wave of attack on the Kurland cauldron (1945) began. On February 20, a new task was defined. Its essence is to go to the river Vartava and cut off the Germans from the port of Liepaja.

During the difficult operation, the front line was broken, and Soviet soldiers occupied another 2 km of enemy territory. The Red Army was sorely lacking large-caliber weapons. But, on the other side of the front, the Germans were constantly approached by both material and human help.

The attack was halted on 28 February.

In March, the last large-scale attempt was made to dislodge the Germans. Certain groups of Soviet troops achieved success, but were later pushed back.

Losses of domestic troops amounted to more than 30,000 killed and 130,000 wounded people.

What the Germans fought for

For a long time the Kurland cauldron did not abate. The last battle of the Great Patriotic War in this region ended literally before the complete surrender of Germany. On May 9, 1945, half the army surrendered. The other part tried to hide hopelessly.

It is worth noting that they were not cornered. Behind the backs of the Hitlerites stood the Baltic Sea, free from the Soviet military.

The Germans had in their order two small, strategically unimportant ports - Liepaja and Ventspils. It was through the water spaces that the fascists could unite with Germany. The military received constant support. They were regularly provided with food, ammunition and medicines. Transportation of the wounded was also carried out.

Voluntary surrender

More and more people are interested in the legends and myths of military history. The Kurland cauldron was not an important strategic territory, which changed the course of history. He became a kind of example of the weakness of the Soviet command in front of the perfectly tuned actions of the enemy.

The formation of the Kurland group (which was the name of the army "North" from January 1945) was simply a mistake. These troops were to leave Latvia in the fall of 1944. But because of the slowness of General Scherner, the soldiers were cut off from the "Center" and moved back to the sea.

The proposal to take the division to Berlin's aid came repeatedly. Under the walls of the Reich, children were sent who did not see the war, while on the Kurland peninsula thousands of soldiers defended a dozen small townships.

Despite the fact that Hitler infuriated one mention of the surrender of this territory, still several divisions by sea were delivered to Germany. But it was already late. Reducing the size of the enemy is the main reason for the offensive operations of the USSR. The enemy's forces were significant, the strategy is dexterous, so it is not known what would have ended the events described above, had it not been for the capitulation of Berlin.