History is biased. Especially a lot of speculation is associated with the battles of the Great Patriotic War. The party leadership was interested in the fact that the information was presented in a light favorable for the country. Only today has the ideological veil partially subsided, which for many years hung on events such as the Courland Cauldron.
As part of the USSR
World War II affected every corner of the world. The war came as a surprise to the common people. But the top leadership not only knew about the changes that were coming, but even prepared for hostilities.
Dozens of documents can tell today that the authorities of the Union and Germany were in the know. One of them is the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which hid the true motives under the official name "non-aggression pact." It signed secret protocols by which Latvia fell under the influence of the USSR.
In October 1939, more than 20,000 Russian troops stood at the borders of this state. The following year, in June, Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov set his conditions for Latvia: the board should voluntarily give up its powers. The Soviet military should have suppressed attempts at resistance. To avoid bloodshed, the conditions were accepted. The new regime held “fair” elections with a single candidate for the People’s Diet.
On August 5, 1940, Latvia became part of the USSR. Among the territories that annexed was the region where the Courland Cauldron subsequently arose.
On the verge of war
Repression of those who defended the independence of the state followed. June 22, 1941 the Great Patriotic War began. Fascist invaders 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 War broke after the Battle of
Kursk. Since then, the strategic initiative has belonged to the Red Army.
In summer, the Union forces came to the Baltic states. The decisive stage of liberation began there. 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 North group, consisting of 16 and 18 armies, was cut off from the rest of the Center group. Thus, the first part was on the peninsula.
These events created the Courland Cauldron. A total of 400,000 Germans were trapped.
Capital as a trophy
The Nazis were sandwiched between two Soviet fronts. The line stretched two hundred kilometers from eastern Tukums to western Liepaja.
With great ambition, the Soviet leadership set to work. On October 10, 1944, the operation to liberate Riga began. It was attended by: 1st shock, 61st, 67th, 10th guard army. But the Germans fought back. Realizing that it was impossible to keep the city, they carried out an emergency evacuation and moved towards the sea. Three days later, the Soviet military occupied the east of the city. October 15, they entered its western part.
As soon as the opponents were finally cut off from the Center army, and the capital was recaptured, the commanders-in-chief gave the order to liquidate the enemy that occupied the peninsula. The Courland cauldron was supposed to be an easy and fast trophy with minimal losses.
The first attempts to eliminate
The leadership of the USSR began the offensive on October 16. However, the Germans fought. Fierce battles unfolded. Soviet troops remained in their positions and could not occupy new territories. The 1st shock army showed special courage. Her soldiers managed to achieve great results.
They managed to occupy the city of Kemeri and come under the walls of Tukums. In total, they covered about 40 km. Further, their movement was stopped by the enemy.
The Red Army dealt 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 could not help each other. But the Courland Cauldron did not fall. The battle, which began on the 27th, lasted until October 31, after which the offensive was suspended.
Failure Fundamentals - Internal Management
Over the next month, several more attempts were made to utilize the Nazis, but they successfully counterattacked. In addition, part of the equipment failed. Partially used ammunition. There were big losses among the soldiers, many dead and wounded.
In the twenties of December, the Soviet side resumed the attack. The landmark was the city of Liepaja.
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 action plan led to the prolonged blockade that the Courland boiler endured. The memoirs of the Germans, on the contrary, note that the Army "North" worked smoothly as a single organism. The commanders established a network of railways, which played a decisive role in the development of hostilities.
So, neighboring troops quickly reached the point where help was needed. Conversely, they could take out soldiers in a few hours if a threat was approaching. In addition, German territories were well fortified and could provide long-term resistance.
Excessive losses and strong rebuff
In the fall of 1944, there were 32 divisions and 1 brigade in the peninsula region. In addition to the Germans, Norwegians, Latvians, Dutch and Estonians fought on the side of fascist Germany . They were part of the SS reserve troops . And, although they were not well armed and did not undergo training, they took an active part in the battles.
By the end of the year, the number of troops, according to rough estimates, decreased by 40,000. These were the numbers who died in the Courland boiler in the first stage of the liquidation attempt. Over five hundred tanks were disabled.
The next, third offensive operation, began on January 23. Its purpose was the destruction of communication, which was carried out through the railway tracks. For seven days, unsuccessful battles were fought. Then the Red Army commanders decided to consolidate the occupied territories.
Recent attempts
A month later, the fourth wave of attack on the Courland Cauldron (1945) began. On February 20, a new task was defined. Its essence is to cross the Vartava River and cut off the Germans from the port of Liepaja.
During the heavy 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 suited by both material and human help.
The attack was stopped on February 28.
In March, the last large-scale attempt was made to oust the Germans. Certain groups of Soviet troops were successful, but were subsequently pushed back.
Losses of domestic troops amounted to more than 30,000 killed and 130,000 wounded people.
What the Germans fought for
The Courland Cauldron did not stop for a long time. The last battle of World War II in this region ended literally before the complete surrender of Germany. On May 9, 1945, half of the troops surrendered. The other part tried to hide hopelessly.
It is worth noting that they were not cornered. Behind the Nazis stood the Baltic Sea, free from the Soviet military.
The Germans had in their order two small, strategically not important ports - Liepaja and Ventspils. It was through the water that the fascists could unite with Germany. The military received ongoing support. They were regularly supplied with food, ammunition and medicine. Wounded were also transported.
Voluntary surrender
More and more people are interested in legends and myths of military history. The Courland Cauldron was not an important strategic territory that changed the course of history. He became a peculiar example of the weakness of the Soviet command in front of well-tuned enemy actions.
The formation of the Courland group (the North army had such a name since January 1945) was simply a mistake. These troops were supposed to leave Latvia in the autumn of 1944. But due to the slowness of General Sherner, the soldiers were cut off from the "Center" and moved back to the sea.
The proposal to take out the divisions to help Berlin came repeatedly. Under the walls of the Reich, children were sent who did not see the war, while on the Courland Peninsula thousands of soldiers defended a dozen small villages.
Despite the fact that Hitler was infuriated by one mention of the surrender of this territory, several divisions by sea were nevertheless delivered to Germany. But it was too late. The decrease in the number of enemies is the main reason for the offensive operations of the USSR. The enemy’s forces were significant, the strategy was adroit, so it is not known how the above-described events would end if not for the surrender of Berlin.