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Festung
''Festung'' is a generic German word for a fortress. Although it is not in common usage in English, it is used in a number of historical contexts involving German speakers: * For historical fortresses in Austria, Germany or Switzerland * As part of the reasoning given by the German Army ('' Heer'') for the slow progress of the Siege of Warsaw * For German WWII strongholds which were to be held at all costs, especially towards the end of the war: ** Alpine Fortress or ''Alpenfestung'' ** Atlantic wall or '' Festung Europa — a military propaganda term from the Second World War which referred to the areas of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany. ** Stalingrad (see Battle for Stalingrad) ** Warsaw ( Festung Warschau) see also the Warsaw Uprising ** Poznań ( Battle of Posen) ** Kolobrzeg ( Battle of Kolberg) ** Piła (Festung Schneidemühl) ** Wrocław ( Festung Breslau) ** Budapest (Battle of Budapest) ** Kaliningrad ( Festung Königsberg) * For entire countries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festung Warschau
In the German language, ''Festung Warschau'' ("Fortress Warsaw") is the term used to refer to a fortified and well-defended Warsaw. In the 20th century, the term was in use on three occasions during World War I and World War II. It was used when the Germans threw back the Russian advance in 1914, where Warsaw came within distance of the fighting in October. The term resurfaced during the September 1939 German invasion of Poland. Later in the second war, the term resurfaced between September 1944 and January 1945, when the retreating Germans tried to establish a defense in the city against the advancing Soviet Union. 1939 During the invasion of Poland in 1939 the German troops reached the outskirts of Warsaw on 9 September. The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) assumed that the unfortified city damaged by countless terror bombing raids would be taken by German motorized units without any resistance and issued a press and radio release stating that the capital of Poland was taken. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festung Königsberg
''Festung'' is a generic German word for a fortress. Although it is not in common usage in English, it is used in a number of historical contexts involving German speakers: * For historical fortresses in Austria, Germany or Switzerland * As part of the reasoning given by the German Army ('' Heer'') for the slow progress of the Siege of Warsaw * For German WWII strongholds which were to be held at all costs, especially towards the end of the war: ** Alpine Fortress or ''Alpenfestung'' ** Atlantic wall or '' Festung Europa — a military propaganda term from the Second World War which referred to the areas of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany. ** Stalingrad (see Battle for Stalingrad) ** Warsaw (Festung Warschau) see also the Warsaw Uprising ** Poznań ( Battle of Posen) ** Kolobrzeg ( Battle of Kolberg) ** Piła (Festung Schneidemühl) ** Wrocław ( Festung Breslau) ** Budapest (Battle of Budapest) ** Kaliningrad ( Festung Königsberg) * For entire countries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festung Breslau
The siege of Breslau, also known as the Battle of Breslau, was a three-month-long siege of the city of Breslau in Lower Silesia, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 February 1945 to 6 May 1945, German troops in Breslau were besieged by the Soviet forces which encircled the city as part of the Lower Silesian Offensive Operation. The German garrison's surrender on 6 May was followed by the surrender of all German forces two days after the battle. Background In August 1944, Adolf Hitler declared the city of Breslau to be a fortress (''Festung''), ordering that it must be defended at all costs. He named Karl Hanke (''Gauleiter'' of Silesia since 1941) to be the city's "Battle Commander" (''Kampfkommandant''). On 19 January 1945, the civilian population was forced to leave. Many thousands died in the bitter cold of the makeshift evacuation;HITLER'S FINAL FORTRESS - BRESLAU 1945 (2012) -- Richard Hargreaves many more arrived in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Poznań (1945)
The Battle of Poznań (Battle of Posen) during World War II in 1945 was an assault by the Soviet Union's Red Army that had as its objective the elimination of the Nazi German garrison in the stronghold city of Poznań (Posen) in occupied Poland. The defeat of the German garrison required a month-long reduction of fortified positions, urban combat, and a final assault on the city's citadel by the Red Army, complete with medieval touches. Background The city of Poznań (called ''Posen'' in German) lay in the western part of Poland which had been annexed by Nazi Germany following its invasion of Poland in 1939 and was the chief city of Reichsgau Wartheland. By 1945, the Red Army advances on the Eastern Front had driven the Germans out of eastern Poland as far as the Vistula River. The Red Army launched the Vistula–Oder offensive on 12 January 1945, inflicted a huge defeat on the defending German forces, and advanced rapidly into western Poland and eastern Germany. Certain citi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly from the Baltic Sea to the north and from the Sudeten Mountains to the south. , the official population of Wrocław is 672,929, with a total of 1.25 million residing in the metropolitan area, making it the third largest city in Poland. Wrocław is the historical capital of Silesia and Lower Silesia. Today, it is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The history of the city dates back over a thousand years; at various times, it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg monarchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia and Germany. Wrocław became part of Poland again in 1945 as part of the Recovered Territories, the result of extensive border changes and expulsions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German WWII Strongholds
German strongholds during World War II (german: Festung " fortresses") were towns and cities designated by Adolf Hitler as areas that were to be fortified and stocked with food and ammunition in order to hold out against Allied offensives. The fortress doctrine evolved towards the end of World War II, when the German leadership had not yet accepted defeat, but had begun to realize that drastic measures were required to forestall inevitable offensives on the ''Reich''. The first such stronghold was Stalingrad. Eastern Front Fortresses On the Eastern Front, Warsaw, Budapest, Kolberg, Königsberg, Küstrin, Danzig and Breslau were some of the large cities selected as strongholds. Western Front Fortresses On the Western Front, Hitler declared eleven major ports as fortresses on 19 January 1944: IJmuiden, the Hook of Holland, Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire and the Gironde estuary. In February and March 1944 thre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Kolberg (1945)
The Battle of Kolberg or Battle of Kołobrzeg (also, battle for Festung Kolberg) was the taking of the city of ''Kolberg'', now the city of Kołobrzeg, in Pomerania by the Soviet Army and its Polish allies from Nazi German forces during the World War II East Pomeranian Offensive. Between 4 and 18 March 1945 there was major urban fighting of the Soviet 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. Background In 4 March 1944 Kolberg, a large Baltic seaport in the Province of Pomerania, was designated a stronghold as ''Festung Kolberg''. It was one of the key German positions in the Pomeranian Wall, a vital link between Pomerania and Prussia. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festung Norwegen
{{Norway during World War II Festung Norwegen (Fortress Norway) was the German term for the heavy defence and fortification system of Norway during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany in World War II. Some, including ''Reichskommissar'' Josef Terboven, thought that these fortifications would serve effectively as a last perimeter of defense for the Third Reich in the event of Allied victory on the continent. This led to German troops being kept away from mainland Europe, which resulted in a quicker end to the war. Atlantic Wall Considered an essential part of the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion, the fortifications in Norway were primarily based around coastal artillery, but also included elements of anti-aircraft batteries, tank and infantry forces. There were as many as 400,000 German troops in Norway during the occupation, a large proportion of whom were dedicated to the defence of the Northern flank of the Atlantic wall. The scope of ''Festung Norwegen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticipated Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe from the United Kingdom, during World War II. The manning and operation of the Atlantic Wall was administratively overseen by the German Army, with some support from ''Luftwaffe'' ground forces. The ''Kriegsmarine'' (German Navy) maintained a separate coastal defence network, organised into a number of sea defence zones. Hitler ordered the construction of the fortifications in 1942 through his Führer Directive No. 40. More than half a million French workers were drafted to build it. The wall was frequently mentioned in Nazi propaganda, where its size and strength were usually exaggerated. The fortifications included colossal coastal guns, batteries, mortars, and artillery, and thousands o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's Fair (''Jarmark Świętojański''), traditional Saint Martin's croissants and a local dialect. Among its most important heritage sites are the Renaissance Old Town, Town Hall and Gothic Cathedral. Poznań is the fifth-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. As of 2021, the city's population is 529,410, while the Poznań metropolitan area (''Metropolia Poznań'') comprising Poznań County and several other communities is inhabited by over 1.1 million people. It is one of four historical capitals of medieval Poland and the ancient capital of the Greater Poland region, currently the administrative capital of the province called Greater Poland Voivodeship. Poznań is a center of trade, sports, education, technology a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festung Europa
Fortress Europe (german: Festung Europa) was a military propaganda term used by both sides of the Second World War which referred to the areas of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany, as opposed to the United Kingdom across the Channel. World War II defenses In British phraseology, Fortress Europe meant the battle honour accorded to Royal Air Force and Allied squadrons during the war, but to qualify, operations had to be made by aircraft based in Britain against targets in Germany, Italy and other parts of German-occupied Europe, in the period from the fall of France to the Normandy invasion. Simultaneously, the term Festung Europa was being used by Nazi propaganda, namely to refer to Hitler's and the Wehrmacht's plans to fortify the whole of occupied Europe, in order to prevent invasion from the British Isles' troops. These measures included the construction of the Atlantic wall, along with reorganization of the Luftwaffe for air defense. This use of the term ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle For Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later renamed to Volgograd) in Southern Russia. The battle was marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, with the battle epitomizing urban warfare. The Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle to take place during the Second World War and is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated 2 million total casualties. Today, the Battle of Stalingrad is universally regarded as the turning point in the European Theatre of war, as it forced the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (German High Command) to withdraw considerable military forces from other areas in occupied Europe to replace German losses on the Eastern Front, ending with the rout of the six field armies of Army G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
