Sealing Their Fate

As the Soviet offensive to secure the right flank of the drive on Berlin, a 50 kilometer gap still existed between two of the German divisions defending Pomerania. The Soviet 70th Army, which included the 1st Guards Tank Corps and the 96th Rifle Corps, was ordered to attack northward …

1945-02-15

WO20

As the Soviet offensive to secure the right flank of the drive on Berlin, a 50 kilometer gap still existed between two of the German divisions defending Pomerania. The Soviet 70th Army, which included the 1st Guards Tank Corps and the 96th Rifle Corps, was ordered to attack northward into the gap to exploit the situation. German 2. Armee commander Weiss was well aware of the gap but had only one mobile reserve available, Panzer-Division 7. SS-Grenadier-Division 15, a unit made up mainly of Latvians, was nearing the end of its strength and Weiss considered reinforcing it, but he decided instead to send Panzer-Division 7 to Konitz, behind the SS division to seal the gap. By opting to do so, he also sealed the fate of the Latvians. The spearhead of the Soviet attack into the Konitz gap, a strike force consisting of three assault guns with infantry support. The advanced through a thick woods toward the stream that lay across their line of advance and had a single bridge still intact. It was vital to take the bridge before it could be destroyed.

Chojnice, Poland

The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Soviet Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front (World War II). It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May. The Battle of Königsberg was a major part of the offensive, which ended in victory for the Red Army. The East Prussian offensive is known to German historians as the second East Prussian offensive. The first East Prussian offensive (also known as the Gumbinnen Operation), took place from 16–27 October 1944, and was carried out by the 3rd Belorussian Front under General I.D. Chernyakhovsky as part of the Memel offensive[5] of the 1st Baltic Front. The Soviet forces took heavy casualties while penetrating 30–60 km (19–37 mi) into east-northern part of Poland, and the offensive was postponed until greater reserves could be gathered.

Russian

German

Scenario Type = Standard