Stettin, also known as Szczecin, is the capital of the West Pomerania Voivodeship in Poland, the seventh largest city in Poland and the largest port city on the Baltic Sea. It is known as Szczecin in Polish and as Stettin in German.
Stettin has historically been ruled by Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Prussia and Germany. Since it is a port city, the artillery in the fortress is only used to deal with enemies from the sea.
When Batov's 65th Group Army launched a full-scale offensive, the artillery of the Stettin Fortress immediately began to intercept fire. However, since most of the fortress artillery was aimed at the sea, it had no effect on attacks from land.
Coupled with the Soviet bomber formations, which bombed the fortress indiscriminately, the artillery in the fortress became completely mute after firing for a while.
Without the obstruction of artillery fire, the troops of the 65th Army quickly rushed to the fortress.
Upon learning that the infantry, under the cover of tanks, had reached the outskirts of the fortress, Bartov immediately gave an order for the artillery to use horizontal fire to blast open the gate of the fortress.
As the order was issued, dozens of 122 mm caliber cannons deployed five to six hundred meters away from the fortress aimed their muzzles at the walls and gates of the fortress. In addition, there were more than a dozen Katyusha rocket launchers, also
The rear wheels were raised with steel rails, ready to bombard the walls and gates of the fortress together with cannons.
But before the attack began, Bartov wanted to defeat the enemy without a fight, so he sent a messenger into the fortress and sent a letter to the German division commander, asking him to lay down his weapons within two hours to attack the fortress otherwise the fortress would be attacked.
Temporarily launch a strong attack.
Defending the fortress is the Stettin Fortress Division, which belongs to the 32nd Infantry Division of the 3rd Armored Group Army. It was established on March 22, 1945. It has five fortress regiments and one fortress artillery regiment. It is the only armored division in the division.
Force, is a Panzer IV and a captured T-34 tank.
Knowing that the Soviet army had arrived at the outskirts of the fortress and was ready to attack the city, the fortress division commander couldn't help but panic. You must know that his troops had only been formed for a month, and their combat effectiveness was worrisome. They could not stop the wolves and tigers outside the fortress.
The Soviet army quickly asked their superiors for instructions if they could allow the troops to withdraw from the fortress by sea.
But what is regrettable is that the order given to him by his superiors is very simple. He must hold on to the Stettin Fortress with all his strength, fight to the last man, and shoot out the last bullet. He must not hand over the fortress to the Russians easily.
The German division commander who received such an order was completely disappointed. He could only tell Bartov's messenger through a translator: "Mr. Officer, please go back and tell General Bartov that although I do not want to be an enemy of your army, for the sake of the soldiers'
Honor, we must keep fighting."
Bartov received a reply from the messenger and knew that the defenders in the fortress would not surrender, so he ordered the artillery outside the fortress to fire. After opening a gap with artillery fire, he allowed armored troops and infantry to enter the fortress city.
The German command knew very well that it was impossible to block the Soviet attack with the troops in the Stettin Fortress. The fall of the fortress was only a matter of time. In order to extend the time that the fortress could hold on, he sent out the SS
The 27th Langemark Volunteer Grenadier Division and the 27th Walloni Grenadier Division went to reinforce the army in an attempt to disrupt Batov's offensive rhythm.
Among them, the 27th SS Division was responsible for rescuing the Stettin Fortress, while the 28th Division was responsible for blocking the advance of the 48th Army.
The 27th SS Division is a volunteer division composed of Belgians and Finns. It was rebuilt on the basis of the original Langemark Assault Brigade. Its total strength is only 4,000 people. It is a typical shelf division with no
What kind of combat effectiveness. After they arrived at the outskirts of the Stettin Fortress, they were immediately besieged by two infantry divisions and a tank brigade of the 65th Army. The battle lasted less than three hours, and the severely damaged Langemark Division hurriedly withdrew.
After leaving the battlefield, the remaining several hundred officers and soldiers fled to the Mecklenburg area and surrendered to the British army a few days later.
The 28th Division, which was ordered to launch a counterattack against the 48th Group Army, was also a shelf division. When it was formed, its total strength was only 3,500 people, which was only equivalent to a regiment of an ordinary national defense division.
When he learned that his division's mission was to block the 48th Army and find a way to drive it into the West Oder River, division commander Leon Degrelle couldn't help but smile bitterly. He knew very well what kind of enemy he was facing.
.Even the most elite SS divisions, the SS, the Imperial Division, the Totenkopf division and the Viking division, were not able to find a good outcome in the hands of Sokov. His Walloons were separated from the Viking division.
How could the Assault Brigade be Sokov's opponent?
In fact, as early as February, the 28th Division suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Soviet army. However, since the troops have not been replenished, the total strength at this moment is less than a thousand. In a contest with Sokov's 48th Group Army, it is simply an egg against a stone.
.Although he realized that there was no guarantee of victory in this battle, Leon Degrelle made a difficult decision after repeated thinking. He ordered the chief of staff to summon all the soldiers to attack them.
Teaching.
In less than ten minutes, the troops were assembled.
Leon Degrelle, who was standing in front of the queue, glanced at his men one by one and said: "Soldiers and officers, I have received an order from the headquarters to let our division attack the Russians.
The 48th Group Army. Even if I don’t mention the commander of this group, everyone should know that Sokov is a headache for our generals. Basically no one in the troops he faced has ever won a battle..."
When Leon Degrelle spoke, some soldiers in the queue whispered: "Let us, a thousand people, go against General Sokov's 100,000 people. Doesn't this mean that we are going to die?"
?”
"I heard that the Wehrmacht officers and soldiers captured by this unit were fine. If the SS officers and soldiers were captured, they would all be shot."
"Hell, I originally thought about surrendering if I couldn't fight. Since I have to shoot the SS, I can only fight until the last bullet."
Leon Degrelle heard the discussion in the queue, but he did not stop it. After finally quieting down in the queue, he continued: "Soldiers, officers, this time it may be us
In this last battle, I don’t want everyone to die in vain, so I will leave behind all civilian and logistics personnel and the wounded who cannot participate in the battle, and only take the remaining people to participate in this final battle.”
After saying this, Leon Degrelle ordered his chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, immediately select all civilian, logistical and wounded soldiers in the division who cannot participate in the battle, and arrange vehicles to send them to the rear.
"
Regarding the decision made by Leon Degrelle, the division chief of staff was surprised and said: "Your Excellency, division commander, our division now has less than a thousand people left. If so many more people are taken away, there will be even more people left."
How can we fight the Russians?"
"Chief of Staff, I have just said that this is the last battle of our division. I don't want more innocent lives to be sacrificed in vain." Leon Degrelle said to the Chief of Staff in a stern tone: "Stop dawdling.
Carry out our orders immediately."
In this way, after an hour of screening, all civilian and logistics personnel and more than a hundred seriously injured people were selected, and boarded the truck arranged by Leon Degrelle, heading west.
After the convoy disappeared from sight, Leon Degrelle turned to face the remaining officers and soldiers and said: "Soldiers, officers, the remaining personnel are all capable of fighting. Let us take up arms and fight the Russians.
, fight for the honor of our soldiers, fight to the last man, use up the last bullet, and never surrender to the Russians."
When the 3rd Infantry Division commanded by Kirillov advanced, the scout reported to him: "Comrade Division Commander, according to our reconnaissance, the 28th SS Division, also known as Walloni, is stationed in the front position.
Grenadier Division."
Hearing that there was an SS division ahead, Kirillov instinctively thought that this was a powerful enemy and quickly said to Miyakov: "Chief of Staff, order the leading regiment to stop advancing and wait for the following two infantry regiments and artillery regiments to arrive.
After that, he will launch an attack on the enemy." The reason why he did this was because the SS's combat effectiveness was so strong that he might not be able to win a one-on-one fight with the opponent. If the vanguard was allowed to advance rashly, it would be very difficult.
It is possible that the whole army will be annihilated.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the scout continued: "Comrade Division Commander, I haven't finished speaking yet. The 28th SS Division is nominally a division, but due to the heavy losses in the early battles, it is now generally
The number of troops is less than a thousand."
Kirillov's pupils contracted violently. He stared at the scouts for a while, and then asked: "Are you sure that their total strength is less than a thousand people?"
"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." The scout replied: "And before they entered the position, they also sent away a group of people. I'm afraid there are only a few hundred people left in the force now."
Regarding the scout's report, Kirillov couldn't believe it was true. He originally thought he was ready to compete with an SS division with tens of thousands of people, but only now did he know that the opponent only had a few hundred people.
It is equivalent to a reinforced battalion, and there are still six to seven thousand troops in our own army, which is ten times the strength of the opponent.
For the sake of safety, Kirillov ordered the communications troops to connect the phone to the army headquarters. He was going to report the matter to Sokov and hear what the other party planned.
When Sokov learned that Kirillov's 3rd Infantry Division encountered the German Walloni Grenadier Division, he couldn't help but gasp. He was worried that there would be a fierce battle next, and was about to ask Kirillov
When Love needed support, he heard the other party say: "Comrade Commander, according to the scout's report, the total strength of the 28th SS Division is only a few hundred people. However, I always feel that this report is a bit untrue.
.”
Hearing what Kirillov said, Sokov immediately remembered something. He remembered that in the last few months of the war, some of the troops that the German army had hastily formed were air divisions with only a few thousand people. Not only were they small in number, but they also had great combat effectiveness.
Not too bad. The final outcome of these troops was either annihilated by the Soviet army, or they fled to the Allied-controlled area and surrendered to the Allied forces. Thinking of this, Sokov said decisively: "General Kirillov, since the enemy
Our troops are weak, so you can attack boldly and confidently. In order to avoid complications, Lieutenant Colonel Victor's 122nd Infantry Brigade is nearby, and I will send him to support you."
"Great, this is really great." Even though there were only a few hundred people in the SS division ahead, Kirillov still did not dare to take it lightly. At this moment, he heard that Lieutenant Colonel Victor's 122nd Infantry Brigade was going to be sent.
He couldn't help but be overjoyed: "With the support of friendly forces, we will be able to completely eliminate this SS unit."
Victor received Sokov's order to rush to support Kirillov's 3rd Infantry Division and eliminate the 28th SS Division with only a few hundred people. He was suddenly as excited as chicken blood.
Get up: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured that our brigade can complete the task of destroying the enemy without the 3rd Infantry Division taking action."
"No." Sokov was worried that the other party would underestimate the enemy and said with a straight face: "I have already said that the mission of your brigade is to assist the 3rd Infantry Division in destroying the German 28th SS Division. All actions must be obeyed by Kirillov.
General's instructions, do you understand?"
Although Victor was very reluctant, since it was an order given by Sokov himself, he could only accept it bravely: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will obey your order. In the next battle,
, my troops will obey the command of General Kirillov."
When the Soviet army exchanged fire with the Varoni Division, Kirillov couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. The opponent's total strength was only a few hundred people, equivalent to a reinforced battalion, but the combat effectiveness they unleashed was not weaker than
A regiment. The attack launched by the leading regiment originally broke into the German position, but unexpectedly the German division commander personally arrived with a guard company, started a hand-to-hand battle with the Soviet army at the breach, and drove the commanders and fighters of the leading regiment away.
came out.
The leader of the vanguard regiment came to Kirillov and said with a face of shame: "I'm sorry, comrade division commander, I failed to complete your task, please punish me."
When the vanguard was fighting the German army, Kirillov watched the entire process through a telescope. He found that although the number of the German army was small, the officers and soldiers performed extremely bravely in the battle. Even if they were seriously injured, they completely lost their combat effectiveness.
In the past, German soldiers would also fire grenades and die together with the Soviet commanders and soldiers who rushed forward.
"It doesn't matter, Comrade Colonel." Kirillov raised his hand and patted the regiment commander on the shoulder, saying a Russian proverb: "Success has a hundred mothers, but failure has only one father. You take the troops to rest first.
Take a moment and reorganize the attack later. I believe your next attack will be successful."
Facing Kirillov's encouragement, the originally downcast regiment commander suddenly gained confidence. He looked up at Kirillov and said: "Comrade division commander, please rest assured. I will go back immediately to revitalize the troops. After the assembly is completed,
I will attack the enemy again. If I cannot take the enemy's position, I will come to see you with my head raised."