Battle of Königsberg

Part of the Eastern Front, East Prussian Offensive of World War II

Urban warfare during the Königsberg battle.

Date	Late January to 9 April 1945 Final assault 6 April – 9 April
Location	Königsberg, Germany (now: Kaliningrad, Russia)
Result	Soviet Victory

Belligerents

Germany

Soviet Union

Commanders and leaders

Otto Lasch (POW)

Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy

Konstantin Rokossovskiy

Strength

60,000–130,000, 4,000 artillery guns and mortars, 108 tanks and assault guns, 170 aircraft

137,000 (24,500 participated in active phase with rest supporting), 5,200 artillery guns and mortars, 528 tanks and SPG, 2174 aircraft

Casualties and losses

50,000 casualties
80,000 taken prisoner
According to Soviet information, the Germans lost 42,000 soldiers in combat and 92,000 were captured.

60,000 overall 3,700 casualties for the final assault

The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg Offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian Offensive during World War II. In four days of violent urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Königsberg – now Kaliningrad, Russia. The siege started in late January 1945 when the Soviets initially surrounded the city. There was heavy fighting for the overland connection between Königsberg and the port of Pillau, but by March 1945 Königsberg was hundreds of kilometres behind the main front line. The battle finished when the German garrison surrendered to the Soviets on 9 April after a three-day assault made their position untenable.

The East Prussian Offensive was planned by the Soviet Stavka to prevent flank attacks on the armies rushing towards Berlin. Indeed, East Prussia held numerous troops that could be used for this. During initial Stavka planning, Joseph Stalin ordered Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky to annihilate the Wehrmacht forces trapped there.

On 13 January 1945, almost 1,500,000 troops supported by several thousand tanks and aircraft of the 3rd Belorussian Front (11th Guards, 39th, 43rd, 50th, 1st Air, 3rd Air, 4th Air, and 15th Air Armies) entered East Prussia, which was transformed into a gigantic web of fortifications, defensive lines and minefields. At first, the offensive was almost a failure. Red Army troops only advanced 1.5 kilometers the first day, through only three defensive lines. In five days, taking heavy losses, Soviet troops advanced only 20 kilometers, but were still unable to break through German lines into the open.

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Wikipedia