The Frankfurt/Oder Fortress Division was a "

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

" division of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

(''Heer'') during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, active during the last months of the war in 1945. The city of

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

controlled one of the major crossings across the

Oder river The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

by which Soviet forces advancing from the east could reach Berlin. The division was established in January 1945 to fortify the area and defend the city, in response to Soviet advances during the Vistula–Oder Offensive, which had brought attacking forces up to the eastern bank of the Oder. It contained four "Fortress Grenadier" regiments, composed of a mixture of

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

battalions and improvised "alarm" units, together with supporting artillery, engineer, and anti-tank units. The division held its positions during February, March and April, while Soviet forces refitted and prepared to begin the spring offensive. On 16 April, a major attack was launched on the Oder line, and the division saw heavy fighting before being bypassed and besieged in Frankfurt.

Order of battle

*1st Fortress Grenadier Regiment (2 battalions + artillery battalion) *2nd Fortress Grenadier Regiment (2 battalions) *3rd Fortress Grenadier Regiment (2 battalions) *4th Fortress Grenadier Regiment (2 battalions) *1449th Fortress Infantry Battalion *84th Fortress Machine Gun Battalion *829th Fortress Machine Gun BattalionPossibly a Flak battalion *59th Recruit and Training Artillery Battalion *1325th Fortress Artillery Battalion *1326th Fortress Artillery Battalion *3157th Fortress Artillery Battalion *952nd Pioneer Sperr Battalion *XXVI Fortress Panzerjäger Detachment

Notes

References

* {{Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht German World War II divisions Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945