The Battle of Memel or the siege of Memel (german: Erste Kurlandschlacht) was a battle which took place on the
Eastern Front during World War II. The battle began when the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
launched its ''Memel offensive operation'' (russian: Мемельская наступательная операция) in late 1944. The offensive drove remaining
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
forces in the area that is now
Lithuania and
Latvia into a small bridgehead in
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...
(Memel) and its port, leading to a three-month siege of that position.
The bridgehead was finally crushed as part of a subsequent Soviet offensive, the
East Prussian offensive, in early 1945.
Prelude
The Soviet
Belorussian offensive of June–August 1944 (commonly known as
Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
) had seen the German
Army Group Centre nearly destroyed and driven from what is now
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, most of what is now
Lithuania and much of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. During August and September of that year, a series of German counter-offensives –
Operations Doppelkopf and Casar – succeeded in stalling the Soviet advance and maintaining the connection between the German Army Groups Centre and North; however, ''
Stavka'' made preparations for an attack by the
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. I ...
against the positions of the Third Panzer Army and thence towards
Memel, splitting the two Army Groups.
Soviet General Bagramyan planned to make his main attack in a 19 km sector to the west of
Šiauliai
Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County.
Names
Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...
. He concentrated up to half of his entire force in this area, using concealment techniques to ensure there was not a corresponding build-up of German forces, and attempting to convince the German command that the main axis of attack would be towards
Riga.
[Glantz, pp..434-5]
Deployments
Wehrmacht
*Various miscellaneous units of the Kriegsmarine.
*Northern wing of
Third Panzer Army (General
Erhard Raus
Erhard Raus (8 January 1889 – 3 April 1956) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded the 6th Panzer Division during the early years of the war on the Eastern Front before taking army and army group comm ...
)
**Remnants of the
551st Volksgrenadier Division The 551st Volksgrenadier Division () was a Volksgrenadier infantry division of the German Army during World War II, active from 1944 to 1945.
The division was established on 11 July 1944 at the Thorn military training area in West Prussia under t ...
**
XXVIII Corps (General
Hans Gollnick
__NOTOC__
Hans Gollnick (22 May 1892 – 15 February 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
At the beginning of World War II, Gollnick ...
) The corps was encircled in Memel bridgehead.
***
Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland
The Panzergrenadier Division " Großdeutschland", also commonly referred to simply as Großdeutschland or Großdeutschland Division, was an elite combat unit of the German Army (''Heer'') that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
Origin ...
(2 regiments)
***
7th Panzer Division (part)
***
58th Infantry Division
**
XL Panzer Corps (General
Sigfrid Henrici)
***
5th Panzer Division
***
548th Volksgrenadier Division
At the end of November Panzer-Grenadier-Division "GrossDeutschland" and 7th Panzer Division were withdrawn and replaced by:
*
95th Infantry Division
Red Army
*
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. I ...
(General
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan,; russian: Ива́н Христофо́рович Баграмя́н, link=no also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi Baghramyan; russian: Оване́с Хачату́рович Баграмя́н, link=no ( – 2 ...
)
**
5th Guards Tank Army
The 5th Guards Tank Army (Russian: 5-я гварде́йская та́нковая а́рмия) was a Soviet Guards armored formation which fought in many notable actions during World War II. The army was formed in February 1943. Until the afte ...
(General
Vasily Volsky)
**
43rd Army (Lieutenant-General
Afanasy Beloborodov
Afanasy Pavlantyevich Beloborodov (russian: Афанасий Павлантьевич Белобородов; – 1 September 1990) was general in the Red Army during the Second World War who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. ...
)
**
51st Army (Lieutenant-General
Yakov Kreizer
Yakov Grigorevich Kreizer (russian: Яков Григорьевич Крейзер; 4 November 1905, Voronezh – 29 November 1969, Moscow) was a Soviet field commander.
Before the war
Kreizer's Jewish parents were granted permission to l ...
)
**
4th Shock Army
The 4th Shock Army was a combined arms army of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II.
The Army was formed from the 27th Army on 25 December 1941 (1st formation) within the Northwestern Front. On 1 October 1942 it included the 249th, ...
(Lieutenant-General
Pyotr Malyshev)
**
6th Guards Army
The 6th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought against Nazi Germany during World War II under the command of General Ivan Chistyakov. The Army's chief of staff was General Valentin Antonovich Penkovskii.
The 6th Guards Army was ...
(Lieutenant-General
Ivan Chistyakov
Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov (; – 7 March 1979) was a Soviet Army colonel general and a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Chistyakov joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War and rose from ordinary soldier to junior commander. He served in Dage ...
)
*
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War.
The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...
**
39th Army (Lieutenant-General
Ivan Lyudnikov
Ivan Ilyich Lyudnikov, (russian: Иван Ильич Людников; Krivaya Kosa (Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire), – Moscow 22 April 1976) was a Soviet Army Colonel General and Hero of the Soviet Union.
Early life
Ivan Lyudnikov was b ...
)
The offensive
On 5 October, Bagramyan opened the offensive against Raus's Third Panzer Army on a sixty-mile front, concentrating his breakthrough force against the relatively weak
551st Grenadier Division.
[Mitcham, p.151] The latter collapsed on the first day, and a 16 km (10 mile) penetration was achieved; Bagramyan then committed Volsky's
5th Guards Tank Army
The 5th Guards Tank Army (Russian: 5-я гварде́йская та́нковая а́рмия) was a Soviet Guards armored formation which fought in many notable actions during World War II. The army was formed in February 1943. Until the afte ...
to the breach, aiming for the coast to the north of Memel. There was a general collapse of the Third Panzer Army's positions by 7 October, and a penetration further south by Beloborodov's 43rd Army. Within two days, it had reached the coast south of Memel, while Volsky had encircled the town from the north. In the south, the northern flank of Chernyakhovsky's
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War.
The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...
was advancing on
Tilsit
Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania.
Geography
So ...
. Third Panzer Army's headquarters were overrun by the 5th Guards Tank Army, and Raus and his staff had to fight their way into Memel.
[Glantz, p.440]
The neighbouring Army Group commander,
Ferdinand Schoerner, signalled on 9 October that he would mount an attack to relieve Memel if troops could be freed up by evacuating
Riga. A decision on this matter was delayed, but the ''
Kriegsmarine'' managed to withdraw much of the garrison and some civilians from the port in the meantime.
[Mitcham, p.152] The German XXVIII Corps under Gollnick held a defensive line around the town itself.
The success of the offensive in the northern sector encouraged the Soviet command to authorise the 3rd Belorussian Front to attempt to break through into the main area of East Prussia. This offensive, the
Gumbinnen Operation
The Gumbinnen Operation,Glantz, ''Failures of Historiography'' also known as the Goldap Operation (or Goldap-Gumbinnen Operation, russian: Гумбиннен-Гольдапская наступательная операция), was a Soviet Un ...
, ran into extremely strong German resistance and was halted within a few days.
The siege
The stalling of the Gumbinnen Operation meant that Soviet forces (mainly from the 43rd Army) settled down to a blockade of the German troops that had withdrawn into Memel. The German force, largely made up of elements from the
Großdeutschland and
58th Infantry Divisions and the
7th Panzer Division, was aided by heavily fortified tactical defences, artillery fire from ships (including the ''
Prinz Eugen'') in the
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
, and a tenuous connection with the remainder of East Prussia over the
Curonian Spit
The Curonian (Courish) Spit ( lt, Kuršių nerija; russian: Ку́ршская коса́ (Kurshskaya kosa); german: Kurische Nehrung, ; lv, Kuršu kāpas) is a long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Balti ...
.
The blockade, and defence, was maintained through November, December and much of January, during which period the remaining civilians who had fled into the town, and military wounded, were evacuated by sea. During this time, the Großdeutschland and 7th Panzer Divisions were withdrawn, having suffered heavy losses, and were replaced by the
95th Infantry Division, which arrived by sea.
The town was finally abandoned on 27 January 1945. The success of the Soviet
East Prussian offensive to the south made the position of the bridgehead untenable, and it was decided to withdraw the XXVIII Corps from the town into
Samland to assist in the defence there; the remaining troops of the 95th and 58th Infantry Divisions were evacuated to the Curonian Spit, where the 58th Division acted as a rearguard for the withdrawal.
[Most of the evacuated formations were later destroyed around ]Pillau
Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Ru ...
, with the 95th being cut off and destroyed at Palmnicken in mid-April. The last organized German units left at 4am on 28 January, Soviet units taking possession of the harbour a few hours later.
Aftermath
Memel, which had been part of
Lithuania only between 1923 and 1939 prior to being reincorporated into
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, was transferred to the
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...
under the Soviet administration. In 1947 it was formally renamed using the Lithuanian name,
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...
.
See also
*
1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania
The 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania was an oral ultimatum which Joachim von Ribbentrop, Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany, presented to Juozas Urbšys, Foreign Minister of Lithuania on 20 March 1939. The Germans demanded that Lithuania give ...
*
Operation Hannibal
Operation Hannibal was a German naval operation involving the evacuation by sea of German troops and civilians from the Courland Pocket, East Prussia, West Prussia and Pomerania from mid-January to May 1945 as the Red Army advanced during th ...
, the evacuation effort by the ''Kriegsmarine'' beginning January 1945
*
East Prussian Operation, Soviet offensive that finally eliminated the Memel pocket
*
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...
Footnotes
References
*
Glantz, D. ''Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War'', Routledge, 1989,
*
Further reading
Map of the Soviet Advance into East Prussia & Siege of Königsberg January 13 - May 9, 1945This shows clearly how Memel was already surrounded and besieged.
*
Raus, E. ''Panzer Operations'', Da Capo, 2005,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memel 1944
Conflicts in 1944
Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War
History of Klaipėda
1944 in Lithuania
Battles of World War II involving Germany
Military history of Lithuania during World War II
20th century in Klaipėda
1944 in Germany
1945 in Germany
1945 in Lithuania
January 1945 events in Europe