In July 1944 the Soviets launched their largest offensive on the Eastern Front to date, crushing an entire German Army Group. The Soviet armies advanced to the old German border in the northern part of the front. They then attacked the Germans in the area of Memel, gaining ground.
This success convinced the Soviet command that the advance into East Prussia was feasible against the disintegrating German forces. But things didn't turn out exactly like that. Soviet forces, having confined the Germans to a narrow strip of land at Memel, turned further south , spearheaded by the 3rd Belorussian Front under the experienced general Ivan Cherniakovsky.
The 3rd Belorussian Front had the 11th Guards Army and the 5th, 28th, 31st and 39th Armies.
Exactly opposite these forces stood the German 4th Army under General Friedrich Hosbach, also an experienced officer.
Holding a front of 350 km, it had seven infantry divisions, two security divisions, sent to the front line due to lack of men, six "people's grenadier" divisions, two "brigades" of assault guns (each corresponding to a tank brigade) and the Group "Hannibal" police battle, (reduced infantry regiment). The left flank of the 4th Army was supported by the 3rd Panzer Army, while the 2nd Army was deployed south of it, in the area of the Manchurian lakes.
Essentially the burden of the struggle, at least in the first phase of the battle, was carried by the XXVI Army Corps (SS), under General Gerhard Matsky, with the 1st Infantry Division (MP), the 390th Security Division (MA) and the 549th Popular Grenadier Division (MLGr) and the XXVII SS, under General Helmut Pries, further south, with the 131st and 170th MP and the 547th MLGr. Reserves of these SS were, respectively, the 279th and 276th Assault Artillery "Brigades".
The spearhead of the XXVI SS was the Prussian 1st MP . This division held the northern edge of the 4th Army's front between the towns of Schlossberg and Shirwind, on a front of 28 km. Its commander, Lieutenant General Hans Sitting had just been promoted and would command a division-level formation for the first time. The 1st MP was to bear the brunt of the initial Soviet strike.
Hosbach's forces were later reinforced with the 103rd Panzer Brigade (TPa), the Führer Grenadier Brigade, the Panzer Division 'Herman Goering' (MPa 'Herman Goering') and the 5th Panzer Division (MPa).> The last two divisions were detached from the 3rd Panzer Army.
Battlefield and blueprints
The northern part of East Prussia is not the most ideal terrain for large-scale military operations. It is crossed by many small rivers which, at the time of the Second World War, made the ground marshy and inaccessible, to the region of the Masurian lakes, from which most of these rivers went. The most important of these rivers are Pisa and Romide, to the east, and Angerap, to the west.
The Pisa and Romide rivers joined at the height of the city of Gubinen. From there Romide continued to roll to the city of Insterburg, east of which he joined Angerap. To the northeast, in the town of Sirvid, flowed the small river Inzter. To the west of Sirvid was the town of Schlossberg and to the southwest of it the towns of Eidkau and Ebenronde. South of Ebenronde, over a stretch of several kilometers, stretched an impassable stretch of marshy ground, reaching to the banks of the Pisa River.
Key crossings on the Romide River further west were at Grosswaltersdorf and Daken. To the south-east of Daken lay the so-called "Romide scrubland", an area inaccessible even to pedestrians.
Between the scrubland and the town of Goldup , southwest, there was terrain passable and suitable for the movement of large military formations. To the west, on the river Angerap, the main crossing was at the height of the village of Nemerzdorf, while at the confluence of the Pisa and Romide the main crossing point was at the village of Gubinen.
The Soviet administration was sure that after the terrible losses the Germans had suffered during Operation Bagration, they would not be able to seriously challenge the territory of the Baltic countries and even that of East Prussia. The "liberation" of the Baltic countries was important for the Soviets as they considered their lands as their national territory.
The case of East Prussia was different and involved the invasion of the territories of the Nazi beast for the first time . The Soviets felt that attacking this area would ensure a quick success with a large morale impact. Thus it was decided to attack East Prussia with the aim of advancing along the Gubinen-Inzterburg-Königsberg axis.
For the Germans things were simpler. They could only defend for as long as possible, knowing that their opponent possessed overwhelming numerical superiority. With this exact rationale, the forces of the 4th German Army had tried to organize the occupied territory as best as possible, as a counterweight to this enemy superiority. However, due to the lack of material and men, the organization of the territory had not progressed as the German administration would wish.
In the critical sector of the 1st MP, despite the availability of two engineer battalions, when the Soviet attack began, the German defensive position could not be described as fully organized . And the position held by the 1st MP was indeed critical as the shortest route to Gubinen and Königsberg passed from there.
If the Soviet forces broke the position of the 1st MP they could cut off the forces of the 3rd Panzer Army, advancing to its link with the 4th Army. On October 14th, Hosbach, having information of the impending attack ordered his forces to man their main defensive position, abandoning their advanced positions which they could not defend and which, anyway, were to be pulverized by Soviet artillery.
Red flood
At 04:00 on the morning of October 16, 1944, the storm that Hossbach had been waiting for broke. For two hours, thousands of shells and rockets hit the German positions, digging them out. However, thanks to the preliminary work that had been done, with the construction of reinforced bunkers and false fighting positions and cannons, the effects of the Soviet preparation were mitigated.
In the sector of the 1st MP, where the organization of the terrain had not been completed, the losses of the German forces were significant. In many places, hastily constructed amphibious buildings were destroyed and telephone communications were interrupted, due to the cutting of telephone cables. Immediately after this deluge of fire and iron the Soviet forces rushed out.
Opposite the 1st MP was the entire Soviet 28th Army. South of it the 11th Guards Army was deployed and further south the 31st Army. Czerniakovski's aim was to attack in three times, starting from north to south, disintegrating the German front.
The Soviets charged furiously against the overextended position of the 1st MP, supported by tanks. However, they faced the heroic, literally, resistance of the Prussians of this division and were forced to stop.
After a fierce fight they were repulsed, although they were outnumbered by at least 4:1 against their German opponents, as in the attack against the 1st MP Cherniakovsky threw five rifle divisions, two tank brigades and an assault regiment.
The Soviets repeated their attack and gradually forced the defenders to retreat, slightly, defending the ground step by step, without, however, succeeding in breaking the lines of the 1st MP.
Further south, the situation did not develop as favorably for the Germans. The 549th MLGR and the 390th Security Division (MA) were unable to withstand the pressure of the Soviet 11th Guards Army. The "People's Grenadiers", a creation of Himmler, did not have sufficient training to stand up to the Soviet paver. And the 390th MA had an orderly strength smaller than the regiment.
The 276th Assault Rifle Brigade
But behind these two divisions was kept as a reserve the 276th Assault Rifle Brigade, under Captain Friedrich Stick. Stick's unit had suffered no casualties from the Soviet preparatory bombardment, as it was well covered and camouflaged. Soon, however, as fugitive foot soldiers appeared at the Brigade's rallying points, Stick realized that the situation was not going well at all.
Stick, a veteran of the Eastern Front, was not the type of officer to lose morale easily. Thus he managed to contain and reorganize part of the retreating infantry and integrate them into his force. Immediately after that he decided to advance and face the advancing Soviet phalanxes.
Stick and the StuG III assault guns he commanded moved cautiously east, with the reorganized infantry following. After about 1 km they found themselves in front of a field of maize. Stick, experienced as he was, saw the possibility of a trap. He immediately ordered, “Explosive projectiles. Target corn field. Fire!".
The 75mm shells left the barrels of the assault guns with a clatter and exploded among the corn. At the first explosion the Germans saw shadows in khaki uniforms trying to escape. They were Soviet groups of tank hunters ambushed in the field.
"As soon as we started we couldn't believe our eyes. Hundreds of Russians were hiding there waiting to kill us when we entered the cornfield. But now the Russians were retreating running. They started attacking us. We responded with explosive projectiles. Captain Stick ordered us. Forward colleagues. We entered the cornfield and flattened everything under our crawlers. The infantry also did their part. There was no mercy," reported one of Stick's men.
Stick continued to pursue the Soviets for another 3 km. Fearing engagement with superior enemy forces, he decided it was better to keep his force alive than to execute a glorious but disastrous advance. Thus he stopped in the positions he had occupied and developed his forces defensively, having, however, restored the cohesion of the front in the sector of the 549th Brigade.
Czernikowski continues
At first light on October 17Cherniakovski, despite the initial failure, decided to continue the attack. Hosbach, for his part, reinforced the 1st MP with Captain Hope's 279th Assault Rifle Brigade . The 1st MP after the heroic defense of the previous one, had retreated slightly and had organized the small town of Shirvid as a support point. The anti-tank battalion of the 1st MP was fortified there, which had 12 Hetzer tank hunters and six towed 75mm RAK 40 anti-tank guns.
The Soviets, unable to take control of the town, attempted to overrun it from the North and the South. From the north their forces were spearheaded by a T-34 tank brigade . However, the Soviet attack was drowned in blood, with the German anti-tanks breaking through.
Exasperated, the commander of the Soviet 28th Army, General Luchinsky, ordered his 27th Rifle Division, reinforced by the 113th Tank Brigade, to capture the town at all costs. The Soviets attacked again, but the Germans again defended by all means.
Only after fierce house-to-house fighting and with very heavy losses did the Soviets manage to capture the ruins of the town. The 1st MP retreated but still did not break up, supported by the 279th Assault Rifle Brigade, whose commander was killed.
This unit was deployed between Cervid and Schlossberg, supporting the retreat of the 1st MP. There the Germans again put up a strong defense and stopped the Soviets again. However, further south, in the sector of the 579th Infantry Division, the Soviet 11th Guards Army managed to advance to a depth of 15 km despite the Germans' attempt to intercept them. The Germans retreated to Eidkau, but, after fierce street fighting, the men of General Galitsky's 11th Guards Army captured its ruins.
Fortunately for the Germans there were reinforcements available, Hosbach's last, to be exact, reserve in this sector. High command had assigned Hosbach the 103rd Infantry Division, under the command of then-Colonel Werner Mummert, who was later to command the "Muchenberg" Division, in April 1945, in Berlin.
The 103rd Infantry Division was, however, a brigade in name only. It had only one tank battalion, the 2103, equipped with three panther tanks and, according to some sources, a Jagdpanther tank hunter. He also held the 2013 Panzer Grenadier Battalion and the 2013 Engineer Assault Company. The brigade was organically assigned to the German XXVII SS, but actually operated within the command boundaries of the XXVI SS.
Mummert's intervention saved the day. This experienced commander, despite the overwhelming superiority of his opponents, managed to use his forces in the best possible way, managing to intercept the advance of the 11th Guards Army, to the great surprise of General Galitsky, in front of the village of Ebenronde...
The Soviets continued the attacks, causing a massacre in the village of Nemerzdorf. But finally they admitted their defeat.