Military History of Pillau. Baltic "reserve" on the spit Storming the Baltic spit

During the East Prussian operation, Soviet troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front reached the Frisch Gaff (Frisches Haff) Bay. At the same time, two large groups were cut off from the main forces of the German army from land: in the fortress city of Königsberg and on the Zemland Peninsula. In early April, Koenigsberg was taken by storm, and at the end of April, the Zemland group was liquidated - on April 25, its last stronghold, the fortress city and the Pillau naval base (now Baltiysk), were taken by storm.

Part of the Zemland grouping (the remnants of 5 defeated divisions, a total of up to 35,000 people) managed to cross from the Zemland Peninsula through the narrow Zeetif Strait to the long Frishe-Nerung spit and began to retreat along it in a southwestern direction. Since the enemy was actively evacuating his troops across the Baltic Sea from cut off groupings, there was a risk that such evacuated troops would enter the battle in the Berlin direction. In order to defeat the German grouping on the spit, it was decided to land an amphibious assault. The idea of ​​the operation was reduced to the simultaneous landing of two assault forces on the spit, on the western and eastern coasts. Their actions were supposed to cut the spit with counter strikes and force the grouping on the northern tip of the spit to capitulate, then continue the offensive in a southerly direction. The operation was being prepared by the forces of the Baltic Fleet and the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front since March 1945, the final decision to carry it out was made during the assault on Pillau.

The battle for the Frische-Nereng spit began even before the landing by breaking through to its northern tip: from 18:00 on April 25, 1945, the advance detachment of the 17th Guards Rifle Regiment, consisting of the regiment's scouts, the 7th rifle company of Senior Lieutenant S. Ya. Nekhaenko, a mortar platoon of junior lieutenant A. I. Suvorov, crews of heavy machine guns and 45-mm cannons on three American amphibious vehicles under the command of the commander of the 3rd rifle battalion of the guard, Major A. V. Dorofeev and his deputy for political affairs, senior lieutenant V N. Pankratova, under continuous enemy fire, crossed the Zeetif Strait, which connects the Baltic Sea with the Frisches-Haff Bay (now the Kaliningrad Bay) and landed on the Frische-Nerung Spit. .

From the southern coast of the bay, 36 field artillery guns of the 37th artillery brigade of the 43rd Army and 36 guns of the 150th artillery brigade of the 11th Guards Army were allocated for artillery support of the landing. The disadvantage was the small amount of ammunition (13 shots per gun).

Both landing detachments - the western one from the sea and the eastern one from the Frisch-Gaff (Frisches-Haff) Bay - after landing were to meet and come under the overall command of the commander of the eastern landing, Major General of the Coast Guard I. N. Kuzmichev, commander of the 260th Naval Brigade infantry of the Baltic Fleet. The operation was commanded by the commander of the Pillau Naval Base (the base was temporarily located in the city of Tapiau, now Gvardeysk), Rear Admiral N. E. Feldman. The general leadership was carried out by the commander of the Southwestern Marine Defense Region of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral N. I. Vinogradov. April 25, 1945 at 17 o'clock from the commander of the 11th Guards Army, General K. N. Galitsky, a combat order was received for a landing operation.

The Western landing party left the Palmniken (now Yantarny) area at 22:45 on April 25 and moved along the open sea to the landing area near the village of Waldhale on the spit. The composition of the forces of the detachment is a consolidated regiment (more than 600 people) of the 83rd Guards Rifle Division of the 11th Guards Army, General K. N. Galitsky, under the command of the deputy commander of the Guards Division, Colonel L. T. Bely. The commander of the landing force is the chief of staff of torpedo boats, Captain 2nd Rank G.P. Timchenko. The commander of the cover forces is the commander of the torpedo boat brigade, Captain 1st Rank A.V. Kuzmin. From the sea, the detachment's transition was covered by a division of marine armored boats of Captain 2nd Rank G.S. Gapkovsky. The minesweepers were commanded by Lieutenant Commander A. V. Dudin. In total, the detachment consisted of 21 torpedo boats and a minesweeper boat, of which 10 landed troops and 12 covered it from the sea. In order to ensure surprise, no artillery preparation was carried out on the landing site of the western detachment.

When approaching the landing site, the landing boats suddenly collided with six fast landing barges (HDB) of the enemy, who were going to Pillau, not knowing about his fall. In a short sea battle, one of our boats was damaged, but the crew put out the fire in the engine room and the boat remained afloat. Return fire was heavily damaged by one BDB, which sank in shallow water (the crew was taken prisoner), the rest hastily left the battlefield.

The situation of the landing of the sailors was saved due to the fact that the enemy grouping on the spit did not have a single command. While some parts of the Wehrmacht were fighting with the landing, others hastily fled past the battlefield to the south, where the main enemy forces had accumulated on the spit. The southern grouping of the enemy did not enter into battle with the landing force, hastily retreating even further. Hearing the roar of the battle of the guards of the 3rd battalion, and then by the morning of April 27, the Frische-Nerung was successfully pointed over a length of over 10 kilometers. Further, the spit had a width of less than a kilometer and was blocked by numerous lines of defense. Since the operation revealed an acute shortage of naval landing forces and artillery, as well as significant problems in the actions of the fleet and the organization of the actions of troops on the spit, the Soviet command abandoned the further offensive, limiting itself to blocking the spit from land and sea. The German troops that had accumulated on the spit did not attempt to break through, being subjected to continuous air strikes and constant shelling from the southern coast of the Frisch-Gaff Bay. At night, an insignificant part of the troops was taken out by sea. On May 9, 1945, the German troops on the spit (about 22 thousand people) capitulated.

In general, the operation ended in success, although it was replete with abrupt dramatic changes in the situation. In the eastern detachment of the landing force, 70 people were killed, 34 were missing, and 133 people were injured. The western detachment had 123 killed and 107 wounded. In general, the landing party lost 193 fighters dead, about 50 missing, 240 wounded. One torpedo boat was lost, 2 sailors died on the ships, 5 were seriously injured.

Enemy losses were much greater: Soviet literature indicates the number of 1,700 Germans killed in battle. 5,800 soldiers and officers were captured, and large trophies were taken: 3,513 rifles, 1,300 machine guns, 354 machine guns, 18 mortars, 30 guns, 13 tanks, 260 vehicles, 18 motorcycles, 11 warehouses, 12 self-propelled gun mounts.

Most of the landing participants were awarded orders and medals, 26 people were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, many years later another one was awarded the title

From the message of the Soviet Information Bureau. Operational summary forApril 18th:
“The troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front continued to fight to destroy the remnants of the German troops thrown back in the area of ​​the port of Pillau. In other sectors of the front, there are battles of local importance and the search for scouts.

7.1. SUCCESSES AND DEFEATS OF THE 2nd GUARDS ARMY

On the fifth day of the offensive, the 3rd Belorussian Front occupied most of Samland. Success accompanied the 2nd Guards Army. Its soldiers broke through three fortified lines, capturing two hundred and twenty-eight settlements and more than thirteen thousand Nazis. But our army's own forces were already bled dry, and the casualties amounted to about five thousand wounded and killed.

From the dossier:
2nd Guards Armywas deployed in the rear of the country inOctober 1942. Given that the Stavka set a rather strict deadline for the completion of the formation of the army, combat training, staffing and knocking together units were carried out at an accelerated pace. The army participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, defended the lines along the Mius River, liberated Ukraine and Crimea. As part of the 1st Baltic Front, she participated in the Siauliai and Memel offensive operations. ATDecember 1944was transferred to the 3rd Belorussian Front, in which she took part in the East Prussian operation.

Commander of the 2nd Guards Army, General P.G. Chanchibadze

When in the morning April 17 army commander general P.G. Chanchibadze gave the order to storm Pillau, it seemed to him: one more attack, a little more effort - and the city would be taken. However, there were disappointing reports from the front line. Summed up the infantry, diluted with untrained reinforcements. The commanders complained that after Königsberg it became much more difficult to raise the attacking chains; when firing even with one enemy machine gun, the soldiers lay down and demanded the help of artillery or aircraft in order to suppress the firing point. At the same time, the Germans fought in an organized manner, with fierceness, throwing into battle the remnants of defeated divisions, battle groups and Volkssturm - old men and teenagers - with faustpatrons - a formidable melee weapon.

Having lost 334 soldiers and officers in a day, the commander of the 2nd Guards Army stopped the offensive, reporting this to the Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky who knew P.G. Chanchibadze with summer 1941 when, as a regimental commander, Porfiry Georgievich managed to get out of the encirclement and save the regimental banner. Stalin highly appreciated the courage of his fellow countryman, appointed him commander of a division, then a corps and, finally, commander of an army.

The protracted assault on Pillau was hardly part of the commander's calculations.
3rd Belorussian Front and could cause displeasure in the Supreme. The whole world watched with bated breath as the three Soviet fronts were advancing on Berlin, and the reports of the Information Bureau were full of the names of the cities taken - closer and closer to the capital of Nazi Germany. At the same time, unimaginable chaos reigned on the highways leading to the American positions. They were crowded with tanks, self-propelled guns, vehicles of various purposes and types. One German division after another hastened to surrender. And, as an English war correspondent wrote, the flow of Wehrmacht soldiers was so great that it interfered with the movement of American troops and delayed the fighting.

Scheme of the offensive of the 3rd Belorussian Front on Samland

In this setting from Vasilevsky decisive action was required. And he had no choice but to bring fresh forces into the battle, instructing the army Chanchibadze defense of the Baltic coast. The 11th Guards Army, located north of Fischhausen, was moved forward, and its commander was given the task of taking Pillau in two days.

7.2. 11TH GUARDS ARMY - TO STORM PILLAU

Commander of the 11th Guards Army General of the Army Kuzma Nikitovich Galitsky

Having received a combat order, the generalK.N. Galician with a group of staff officers he arrived at the command post of the 2nd Guards Army in order to learn as much as possible about the enemy's defense and about the order of change of troops. However, there was no serious discussion. “The mood of the army leadership was too optimistic,” wrote K.N. Galician, not hiding his resentment towards his comrades-in-arms, who sincerely believed that the most difficult trials were over.

Command of the 11th Guards Army (from right to left): Major General of the Engineering Troops V.I. Zverev, lieutenant general of artillery P.S. Semenov, Lieutenant General I.I. Semenov, Colonel General K.N. Galitsky, major general of tank troops P.N. Kulikov,
Major General V.G. Guziy, Colonel D.F. Romanov, Colonel Yu.B. Ibatulin

From a report to the chief of staff of the 3rd Belorussian Front:
“The army is in the same area. By 12.00. received orders to begin preparations for the march. Officers are conducting reconnaissance. After lunch, parts of the rifle divisions began to march. There are no losses for 16.04.”

Road to Pillau

The soldiers were told that a long march was ahead. Where - no one knew, so many assumed that they would be thrown into the storming of Berlin. The entire road leading from Koenigsberg to Pillau was packed with columns of artillery, tanks and self-propelled guns, trucks and cars. “A major burst into this traffic jam with the emblem of an artilleryman and began to give orders to the drivers to take the right side of the road and let the armored car pass. The drivers were in no hurry to carry out this order, especially since it was almost impossible to maneuver the cars back or forward. Then the major began to shout: “I order you to clear the left side of the road! Let the front commander pass! - recalled the gunner "Katyusha" sergeant I.G. Bratchenko. - The drivers began to stir, began to slowly release the left side of the road. And now an armored car appeared, followed by a Jeep. In it sat the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky. On the shoulders is a cape, from under which field marshal's epaulettes were visible. He was in a cap. A plump, pleasant face. Vasilevsky slightly nodded his head, the armored car started off, and behind it the Jeep.

The infantry moved along the roadside, overcoming slush and impassability. The soldiers overtook military equipment, and then stopped and waited for the convoys, now and then shaking roadside sand out of their boots. Only officers were allowed to wear loose trousers. During a short halt, the best Moscow chefs who served in the Guards divisions prepared food. Despite a strict ban, alcohol, flour, butter, sugar, meat and chocolate were carried in boxes instead of ammunition. The soldiers drank milk with fresh bread, ate cheese.

Towards an endless line - on wagons, on foot with backpacks on their backs - were the inhabitants of Samland and separately from them, in striped jackets, former slaves. Jingling bowlers tied to their belts and shuffling heavily on the ground with unruly feet, soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht marched to the assembly points. Waiting in the back of a Studebaker for the traffic jam to clear N.T. Tishchenko I saw how cavalrymen appeared from somewhere, pushed back the guards and, having chopped up the captured Vlasovites, just as quickly disappeared around the bend.

On the Zemland Peninsula

As soon as it got dark, hundreds of multi-colored rockets flew into the air, illuminating the front line. Single shots were followed by a flurry of fire. This went on for over an hour. As it turned out, it was a spontaneous salute on the occasion of the capture of the city of Fischhausen.

All night in a drizzling rain, sometimes drowning knee-deep in mud, the divisions of the general Galitsky took their positions and by morning April 18th changed parts
2nd Guards Army. Exhausted by the difficult transition, the fighters fell asleep without touching breakfast, which was postponed to eleven o'clock in the afternoon.

It seemed that an attack on Pillau was out of the question. The artillery lagged behind, the infantry units stretched out on the march, and when the fog cleared, army intelligence reported that information about the enemy differed from those received
from the 2nd Guards Army. As it turned out later, the approaches to the first lines of trenches were covered by bunkers, two dozen guns and six "panthers" half dug into the ground. In addition, for every hundred meters of the land front there were up to 18-20 machine guns, the same number of machine gunners.

To reveal the enemy's batteries, "hearing scouts" were sitting in the trenches. Possessing an ear for music, they knew exactly the sound differences of German artillery. A balloon was also raised into the sky with observers who could not see the huge amount of weapons and equipment that was hidden under the green cover of the Pillau Peninsula.

“Are you settled? the general asked on the phone Galician corps commanders. - Very well. Study the enemy's defense. An assault is coming. At the first stage, with a "piston strike" along the sea coast and the coast of the bay, break through the enemy defenses, capture the city and fortress of Pillau and force the sea strait. At the second stage, together with the troops of the 43rd Army, capture the Frishe-Nerung spit.

The army commanders spent the whole day at the forefront, bit by bit, accumulating information about the Germans in detail and solving the problem of how to overcome the swampy, slightly more than two kilometers wide, flat isthmus, where, according to their calculations, each advancing regiment accounted for about four hundred meters of the front line, or one hundred and twenty meters per battalion, and only one meter per soldier. The neutral zone turned out to be so narrow that in some places the opponents literally looked into each other's eyes.

In the coming dusk Galician ordered to carry out reconnaissance in battle and take possession of the anti-tank ditch. In case of success, the commanders of the two corps were ready to bring the main forces into battle, and if the attack failed, at least to gain a foothold on the edge of the forest. When, after the “liquid” artillery preparation, the command was sounded: “For the Motherland, attack!” - rifle battalions, clinging to the broken line of the highway, stretched forward, not yet knowing that the entire land of the peninsula was shot down by German field and naval artillery; she unleashed a fiery flurry of two thousand mines and shells on the guards. Unable to quickly dig in, the infantrymen of the 18th Guards Rifle Division suffered heavy losses. The fourth part of the armored vehicles covering the infantry was hit and burned. Tankers hard survived the death of the senior lieutenant of the guard IN AND. Cheslavsky. Mortally wounded, he commanded a tank company as long as his fighting vehicle could move forward.

Promotion along the seashore turned out to be more successful. In a short hand-to-hand fight, the 31st Guards Rifle Division recaptured the rescue station from the Germans, capturing the soldiers of the 32nd German Infantry Division, one of the regiments of which was commanded by the great-grandson of the famous Chancellor Bismarck. As it turned out, the Germans knew about the "Russian" offensive and were preparing for it. Hitler's officers were in the trenches, opening fire on anyone who arbitrarily left the front line. The German command developed the following tactics: keep as few soldiers and officers as possible at the forefront, and concentrate them in the depths of the defense. A "special headquarters" worked in Pillau Wencke”, busy with the evacuation of soldiers who were not included in the formed units and subunits due to their low moral qualities.

The Vlasovites from the engineer-construction battalion of the Wehrmacht were also captured at the rescue station. Those who joined the “Russian liberation army” understood that they had betrayed their duty and oath, justifying themselves by the fact that Stalin and the Soviet authorities abandoned them, who were taken prisoner. These people still had a glimmer of hope to return home, and therefore, at the beginning of the battle, "Russian servicemen of the German army" went over to the side of the Soviet troops. But not everyone is lucky. In the army Galitsky Vlasovites were not favored, they were subjected to lynching right on the battlefield.

At night the general K.N. Galician stopped the attacks and withdrew the troops to their former positions. The plan failed “due to the unavailability of artillery”, which after the assault on Koenigsberg left most of the large-caliber shells in the rear and now suffered due to their absence. And since instead of one corps, as it turned out, all the corps would participate in the assault, they decided to take shells from neighboring armies, but they were unable to collect them in warehouses a hundred kilometers from the front line.

There was another reason why Galician rescheduled the next morning. It was necessary to "make a decisive turn in the mood of the personnel", get rid of "complacency, arrogance and hatred that took place among individual soldiers and officers." So, in one of the political reports it was noted that the new combat mission was unexpected for the regiment of "self-propelled gunners", who believed that the war had already ended for them.

7.3. BEGINNING OF THE OFFENSIVE ON PILLAU

After the report to the front commander Galician allowed not to throw army formations into battle on the move and thereby incur unjustified casualties. However, the new term for the readiness of the army for the offensive Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky installed hard - no later April twentieth.

"DuringApril 19and innight on 20.04corps commanders:
In connection with the ongoing shelling from the sea, to shelter personnel, for which purpose dig trenches, build dugouts and other shelters. Artillery commander to prevent the approach of enemy ships to the shore and the shooting of our battle formations.
Continue studying the enemy, his fire system, engineering structures. All unit commanders should be at their observation posts, being on the battlefield, and not in the deep rear. Organize meals for personnel three times a day with hot food. Select tents in the rear institutions and transfer them to combat units.
Prepare for one or two night attacks of a tank assault.

Foggy morning April 19 German infantry surrounded the positions of the 31st Guards Rifle Division. Because of the sudden attack, the guards faltered and began to retreat. Fighting off the advancing enemy, a group of fighters and commanders took cover in the headquarters dugout, which stood on the bank of the stream. A day later, the survivors, together with the seriously wounded deputy regiment commander, lieutenant colonel A.P. Lagunov, were able to get through to their own. The Germans learned from the prisoners that they were fighting with the 11th Guards Army.

Her commander Kuzma Nikitovich Galitsky throughout the war he saw in a dream a horse very similar to the one he rode back in the early thirties, when he served in the Moscow Proletarian Division. She had a white star on her forehead and slender legs in "white stockings". Galician joined the Red Army during the Civil War, he was not superstitious. But the dreams recurred over and over again. And every time, waking up, he experienced a surge of spiritual and vitality, knowing that the image of a horse is a symbol of good luck that has not left him since the first days of the war, which he began as the commander of the legendary Iron Samara-Ulyanovsk Red Banner Rifle Division on the Western Front, and later commanded a corps and an army.

Autumn 1943, leading the 1st Baltic Front, I.X. Bagramyan asked the Stavka to appoint as his successor to the 11th Guards Army precisely Galitsky, distinguished, in his opinion, by the firmness of his views, perseverance in achieving his goals, and the ability to quickly delve into the combat situation. The situation was rather delicate. Stalin wanted to transfer the army to the Hero of the Soviet Union NOT. Chibisov, who became a lieutenant general after the Finnish campaign, when Bagramyan was just a colonel. But the Supreme Commander nevertheless agreed with the proposal and sent Galitsky to a new place of work.

Army Galitsky distinguished by high combat capability, always advancing in the direction of the main attack. Unlike others, it had a stable composition: nine rifle divisions, consolidated into three corps, its own self-propelled and field artillery, anti-aircraft, sapper and other units.

For military merit, Colonel General Galician was awarded eleven military orders. For the successful leadership of troops in the assault on Koenigsberg, personal courage and courage April 19, 1945 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The start date of the operation was postponed, and A.V. Vasilevsky instructed an experienced general of the army I.X. Baghramyan be permanently at the command post
11th Guards Army, to eliminate possible mistakes and misses.
“I peered with interest at the stooped figure Kuzma Nikitovich, in his pale face, in the squint of bright eyes, expressing concentration and purposefulness, and did not see any special changes in him ... nor in appearance
(apart from the heavily thinned blond hair), nor in demeanor. He was, as usual, restrained, dry and self-confident, ”recalled I.X. Bagramyan.

From the combat order of the commander of the 11th Guards Army:
« 04/20/45— launch an offensive, regardless of the weather.
To establish the full readiness of the troops to7.00 20.04.45 .
Start of artillery preparation in8.20 20.04. 45.
The beginning of the attack of infantry and tanks -9.00 20.04.45.
On the readiness of the troops for the offensive, report personally to the commander in7.00 20.04.45. »

Throughout the night, the artillerymen dug in guns, laid communications and unloaded boxes of shells that were brought from the army's rear, remote for many tens of kilometers from the front line. During the operation, the automobile battalions "circled the globe nine times", saturating every piece of land on the distant approaches to Pillau to the limit with thousands of tons of ammunition and military equipment.

7.4. PILLAU DEFENSE LINES

Pillau Defense Lines - map

The very nature of the peninsula, covered on three sides by the sea, the strait and the bay, served as a natural line of defense. Fine-grained sands made it possible to quickly dig in and carry out earthworks. The dunes overgrown with bushes and trees were of little use for the movement of military equipment. High cliffs stretched along the sea coast. Besides, spring 1945 it turned out to be cold, with rain, low clouds and morning fogs that interfered with the actions of Soviet aviation.

Called "Kenigsberg in miniature", Pillau traced its history back to the ancient Prussian settlement, destroyed by the crusader knights back in the 13th century, however, they did a lot to breathe life into this once abandoned corner of Europe. Winter 1945 the city and harbor of Pillau were declared a fortress, the northern border of which ran along the defensive line "A" near the village of Tenkitten (now the village of Beregovoye), and the southwestern border was a few kilometers from the city along the Frishe-Nerung spit. In the area of ​​​​the fortress, declared a restricted zone, the commandant's office, the SS troops and the police set up a barrier cordon and carried out checks of all units, institutions, detained the retreating troops and soldiers and sent them to the headquarters Shulna, engaged in the formation of consolidated units. The headquarters of the Pillau fortress had the following tasks: “to defend your area from unexpected enemy attacks both from the sea and on land, to eliminate the activities of enemy paratrooper agents, block the possibility of landing parachute units, and also fight against espionage and acts of sabotage. The defense of the fortress to the last soldier is entrusted to the combat garrison.

AT March 1945 Hitler appointed commander of the 55th Army Corps
lieutenant general Chill commandant of the Pillau fortress. The telegram he received from the commander of the Northern Army Group said: “I hereby oblige you to hold this fortress to the last opportunity. In accordance with the order Hitler for number 11, you are responsible with your honor for the fulfillment of the task assigned to you. The release of you from this task - to hold the fortress of Pillau - can only follow through me, after obtaining consent from Hitler". The State Commissar of Defense of East Prussia appointed a Kreisleiter as his representative and representative of the National Socialist Party of the Pillau Fortress Mattes. It was necessary to organize the defense of the city and harbors in such a way as to protect them even with insignificant forces, repelling ground attacks and landings of Soviet troops. After the fall of the capital of East Prussia, the enemy’s defense was reduced to holding Pillau in order to have time to take out to the West a huge number of wounded, civilians, valuables and weapons, to forge parts
3rd Belorussian Front on the Pillau Peninsula, retaining in their hands the naval base necessary for the operations of the German fleet in the northeastern part of the Baltic Sea.

The front line of German defense, crossing the peninsula southwest of Fischhausen, included three main trenches, several rows of barbed wire, direct fire guns, tanks dug into the ground, rubble and an anti-tank ditch.

Actually, the defense of Pillau consisted of coastal anti-aircraft batteries and old forts. The system of impregnable frontiers relied on these barriers. The first of them is two continuous trenches connected by communications with four dozen infantry dugouts and shelters with wire fences and minefields and a deep ditch with cells and machine-gun platforms at a distance of fifteen meters from each other. So the ditch itself was the third trench at the same time. Behind him was artillery of all types and calibers: anti-tank, anti-aircraft, long-range, mortar batteries. Further, in the depths of the forest, a large number of dugouts, collapsible houses, warehouses and shelters for horses were erected.

In the narrowest part of the peninsula, on a hilly, treeless terrain, the second kilometer line of defense passed. Near the walls of the ancient knight's castle Lochstedt, a wide anti-tank ditch was dug with observation towers and trenches, behind which there were about one and a half hundred dugouts in the forest. Staff cars stood in open and well-camouflaged pits, for the transportation of which a railway line was built. The entire forest area was filled to capacity with warehouses, repair shops and mobile radio and power stations. All this was covered by a large minefield and artillery, standing on the "seven hills".

The third powerful line of defense near the village of Neuhäuser (now the village of Mechnikovo) consisted of three trenches and an anti-tank ditch surrounded by five minefields.

The next two lines of defense passed through the streets of the city, indented with a web of trenches and communications. Most of the stone buildings and outbuildings were prepared for firing: the walls of the first floors were reinforced, the windows were walled up, the attics were covered with earth, and shelters and warehouses were in the basements. Breaks were made and anti-tank guns were installed. On the upper floors, stairwells and attics of buildings, positions were created for machine gunners and snipers. The streets were blocked off by barricades of broken machinery, wagons, telegraph poles, and household goods. On both sides of the railway there were wooden gouges in five rows.

The citadel and forts of Pillau, although they were of old construction, could withstand high-yield projectiles. And if the Soviet generals had already seen such a fortification in Koenigsberg, then they knew nothing about the defense of the sea coast. Russian intelligence was interested in her even on the eve of the First World War, when agents of the naval department visited Pillau under the guise of tourists and businessmen. But only in the mid-30s of the 20th century did Soviet intelligence become aware of the construction of eight anti-aircraft coastal batteries with a caliber of 105-150 millimeters. Their forty-nine-kilogram shells pierced the armor of ships, tanks and aircraft. These were batteries mechanized with the latest technology: with armored doors, with two-meter walls and ceilings, which, in addition to radars and rangefinders, had their own underground facilities: repair shops, artillery cellars, an engine room, a switchboard, a radio room, a boiler room, a washbasin, a dining room, sleeping rooms for soldiers and separately for officers, spare water tanks, fuel storage, water supply, sewerage, ventilation, air heater. The batteries were masked with nets of artificial leaves and needles that did not fade from sunlight. Relying on the highway and railway, the enemy could maneuver forces, form and send new units into battle.

The small width of the Frische-Nerung spit allowed the enemy to create eight more lines of defense, located at a distance that excluded the shelling of Pillau. Each line consisted of one or two lines of trenches, equipped with rifle and machine-gun positions and covered with rubble. Up to 20 coastal and 12 anti-aircraft batteries were equipped on the spit, which could be used to fight Soviet tanks. Thus, the Neutif four-gun battery kept the area under fire, starting from Fischhausen, the entire Paise peninsula and up to Heiligenbeil.

Up to 50 artillery, mortar and rocket batteries with a total number of 306 barrels and about 90 tanks and assault guns fired at the Soviet troops. In addition, a large number of guns transported across Frisches Huff Bay were repaired in the Pillau workshops. Only the lack of shells did not allow the enemy to fully use all this firepower. Already in the post-war years, Soviet sappers discovered well-camouflaged underground warehouses with hundreds of thousands of shells, which, for various reasons, did not fall into the hands of German artillerymen. For the defense of Pillau, the Nazis also transferred a regiment of chemical mortars here. They were installed on special pedestals. However, in that situation, the command of the Wehrmacht did not dare to give an order for the use of chemical weapons.

German pillbox

The Germans, fearing a blockade, both by land and sea, created a three-month supply of food in Pillau. To do this, the commandant of the fortress had to requisition all the warehouses of the northern army group, the Zemland group of troops, aviation and fleet located in the city. In one of the hills on the outskirts of Pillau, special storage facilities were built, which later burned down during the assault, where they could enter by rail and immediately become unloaded
three or four wagons. The destruction of industrial enterprises and the dismantling of machine tools and other equipment were suspended.

In Pillau and on the Frische-Nerung spit, about 40 thousand soldiers and officers from the remnants of ten infantry divisions, a tank division, an anti-aircraft and motorized division "Grossdeutschland", other units, formations and battle groups. In the last months of the war, Admiral Dennits urged the sailors and officers of Pillau to do their duty and transferred up to three thousand people - everyone who could be dispensed with on ships - to the marines to form separate battalions attached to infantry divisions to "raise their combat capability." This entire grouping suffered significant losses in previous battles, but retained its combat stability, although it was noticeable that the "West Germans" fought with less tenacity in East Prussia.

Positions of the German coastal artillery

From a memorandum to the headquarters of the German grouping on the situation in Pillau:
“The appearance of military personnel is currently unacceptable
and does not inspire confidence in refugees. Soldiers and officers walk around the streets with women all day long. In places of parking of cars, in warehouses of property and in houses there is a mess and clutter. Air raids create chaos. The riders leave the carts in the street, and the frightened horses rush along the streets. Military personnel are the first to seize the opportunity to enter bomb shelters in the most rude way. In order to establish discipline and order, it is necessary, contrary to the desire of civil and party organizations, to divide Pillau into areas in which civilians and military persons would be separated.

AT April days 1945 a rumor spread through the German headquarters that Germany was about to receive "the support of a major power". It was caused by the death of the President of the United States Roosevelt, which awakened Hitler hope for a miracle like the one that once saved Frederick the Great from defeat in the Seven Years' War.

Despite the fire of Soviet artillery and air strikes, the pace of evacuation from Pillau increased. AT April days 1945 another 90,000 wounded soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and about 43,000 civilians were taken from here. Rescue was denied only to foreign workers and prisoners of war - they were shot by the SS on the Baltic coast. One of the last ships whose holds, decks, and superstructures were filled to the limit with refugees from Pillau was the Mars, a graceful hull that looked more like a yacht than a military hospital. His rooms were mahogany paneled and had ornate ceilings. The inhabitants of the Kaliningrad region are more familiar with the post-war life of the ship. He became famous as a scientific ocean vessel "Vityaz". And in 1994 after restoration work, an exposition of the Museum of the World Ocean was opened on it, which became one of the main attractions of the amber region.

April 25 marked the 65th anniversary of the capture of Pillau, the last stronghold of the Nazis in East Prussia.

Despite the fact that the last units of the German army surrendered to our troops only on May 8 - on the Frische-Nerung spit (today the Baltic Spit), April 25 is considered the end date of the East Prussian offensive operation. It was on this day that the last major stronghold of the Nazis fell - the well-fortified port of Pillau. Sergei Yakimov, director of the Historical and Art Museum, author of the book Chronicle of the Storming of Pillau, spoke about little-known episodes of those fierce battles.

Sergei Yakimov.

"KOENIGSBERG HOTELS"
If the armies of three fronts started the East Prussian operation in January 1945, then only one had to finish it - the 3rd Belorussian, which, after the death of General of the Army Chernyakhovsky, was commanded by Marshal Vasilevsky. The 1st Baltic Front was abolished by April, the 2nd Belorussian Front was rapidly advancing towards Berlin.
- Then our best forces went to Berlin, - says Sergei Yakimov. - The troops of the 3rd Belorussian practically did not receive reinforcements. The only additions were the so-called "Königsberg gifts".
This was the name given to prisoners of war released from German concentration camps, scattered throughout East Prussia. Thousands of Red Army soldiers, who were captured at the very beginning of the war, received freedom only at the end of it.
- These people looked at everything with square eyes. Naturally, they did not see the epaulettes on our soldiers and officers - they immediately imagined the White Guards, gold chasers; they didn't know what a machine gun was... These people joined the ranks of the troops completing the East Prussian operation. It is clear that their combat characteristics were far from ideal.
The Germans were also far from the same as in 1941, however, elite units participated in the defense of East Prussia. In particular, the divisions "Hermann Goering" and "Grossdeutschland" fought in the Heiligenbeil pocket.
- In the battles for Koenigsberg and Pillau, the best forces of the German army ended their journey, - says Sergey Yakimov.

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
It is not customary for us to advertise the fact that the first attempt to capture Pillau failed. They wanted to storm the port back in February, but the Germans delivered a preemptive strike.
- The troops of the 1st Baltic Front, commanded by General Bagramyan, received an order on February 20 to launch an offensive on Pillau, take this city, as well as Fishhausen (today - Primorsk). However, on February 19, the Germans went on the counteroffensive, threw back our troops and broke through the corridor between Königsberg and Pillau, which was surrounded at that time. They then managed to withdraw hundreds of thousands of civilians from Koenigsberg along it.
According to Sergei Yakimov, the German group was very strong at that time. Only near Heiligenbeil (now Mamonovo) there were then about 20 divisions of the 4th Army - however, they were already surrounded and subsequently largely destroyed.
“We failed to achieve a complete blockade of the German group in East Prussia,” the historian continues. - The Germans did not feel surrounded, they used the Baltic Sea to their full potential to supply their forces. Stalin did not allow the use of large ships in the Baltic, and torpedo boats could not fully fulfill the mission.

UNDERGROUND RAILWAY

Firing point between Pillau and Fischhausen, connected to other subways.

After the capture of Koenigsberg, the main efforts of the Red Army in East Prussia were aimed at capturing Pillau. But it was a tough nut to crack. The city was surrounded by three belts of anti-tank ditches, many pillboxes, bunkers, trenches. The whole area was well shot.
- Assistance was also provided by the German ships stationed in the roadstead - their artillery brought serious damage to our advancing units, - says Yakimov.
“But what about our overwhelming air supremacy?” - I ask the historian.
- Firstly, the weather was bad - clouds and fogs, so the use of aviation was limited. Secondly, we must not forget about the German air defense forces. About 30 anti-aircraft batteries were concentrated in the Pillau area. Moreover, the anti-aircraft gunners were real masters of their craft.
Another element of defense was ... an underground railway that connected Pillau and Fischhausen.
- I just recently discovered this data in the archive, in one of the reports of Soviet intelligence, dated December 1944. It is based on the interrogation of prisoners of war, - says Sergei Alexandrovich. - From the underground railway there were exits upward, to the casemates, where artillery and machine-gun positions were equipped. Ammunition was delivered by underground. Now the whole system is concreted.

AN ARMORED TRAIN THAT WALKED IN A CIRCLE
Armored trains were actively used in the East Prussian operation - the railway network in this territory was better developed 65 years ago than it is now. German locomotives gave our troops a lot of trouble. The last of them was destroyed just before the assault on Pillau in the area of ​​the current village of Shipovka.
- Our pilots have been hunting for this armored train for a long time, - says Sergey Yakimov. - He dangled along the circular route, which still exists today, connecting Kaliningrad, Zelenogradsk, Yantarny, Baltiysk. For a long time he was elusive, but closer to April 20 he was caught. On the 12th approach, they covered it with a bomb attack.

TROPHY TEAMS
An integral part of the offensive of the Red Army was the work of captured teams. It is clear that East Prussia was of great interest in terms of cultural, and not only cultural values, so special units followed immediately behind the combat units. And sometimes… in front of them.
- There was such a city - Shirvindt, not far from the border of the USSR, now this field is in the Krasnoznamensky district, - the historian continues. - So, ours took it without any problems. And that's why. Trophy teams - and these are carts, carts and once again carts - mistakenly entered Shirvindt, thinking that it had already been taken by our troops. It turned out that there were Germans. But the Nazis, seeing that Russian carts were entering the city, realized that it was a seam - if the carts were already going! - and retreated.
Enough trophy teams and on the outskirts of Pillau. Sometimes combat units had to clear their way with the help of tanks - push trucks off a narrow road into a ditch.
- The Germans took a huge amount of cultural property to Pillau, - Sergey Yakimov concludes. - The fate of most of them is still unknown.

BRUTAL FIGHTS
The battles for Pillau were very bloody and heavy. The Germans resisted with all their might - they had no other choice.
“There was no talk of any voluntary surrender,” says Yakimov. - I had to fight for every kilometer. Initially, the task of capturing Pillau was assigned to the 2nd Guards Army of General Chanchibadze. But its soldiers, apparently, lost the taste of war - after the capture of Königsberg, the army was on vacation in Kranz - and began to suffer defeat.
Then Vasilevsky threw on Pillau proven bison - fighters of the 11th Guards Army, Colonel-General Kuzma Galitsky, who on April 9 triumphantly captured Koenigsberg.
The 11th Army suffered heavy losses but was victorious. On April 25, the Pillau citadel, founded in the 17th century by the Swedish king Gustav Adolf from the bricks of the ancient order castles of Lochstedt and Balga, fell. At the same time, the headquarters of the German group was not captured - the officers somehow left. Sergei Yakimov suggests that through an underground tunnel to the Frishe-Nerung spit.
Such a case speaks of the fierceness of the battles for Pillau.
- After the capture of Königsberg, the 50th Army settled in the city, later transferred to the Far East for the war with Japan, - says Sergey Yakimov. - And a few days later, some revival began in Königsberg - hairdressers and shops opened. But after the capture of Pillau, the 11th Guards Army returned to Königsberg. Her fighters were so hardened by the losses at Pillau that draconian laws were introduced in Königsberg. All establishments, of course, closed.

BOOK OF MEMORY

Kaliningrad region

(vol. 21 pp. 207 - 212)

LANDING ON THE FRISCH-NERUNG SPIT

During the Great Patriotic War, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet landed 24 maritimelanding for various purposes. Two of them were planned and carried out at the final stage of the war, and the landing was not carried out on our territory, occupied by the enemy and on the land of the enemy, without sufficient reconnaissance of the area and engineering and navigation support niya. By April 1945, our army had sufficient combat experience, but it doesn’t happen in landings templates. Everyone develops in their own way. So it happened here, on the Frische-Nerung spit.

SITUATION IN THE SOUTHERN BALTIC

In late January - early February 1945, the troops of the 1st Baltic Front captured Memel (Klaipeda), the Curonian Lagoon and Curonian spit with the city of Krantz (Zelenogradsk),taken on February 4, 1945. On the Zemland floor at the island, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front went to the Frisch-Gaf Bay ( Frisches-Haff), took Elbingand cleared the southeast from the Nazis new coast of the bay, cutting off from the land a large East Prussian grouping of the enemy with the fortress cities of Königsberg and Pillau. In early March, the troops of the same front went to coast of the Baltic Sea near Közlin and Kolberg (territory of Poland), cutting off a large enemy Danzig grouping from land. On the Courland Peninsula there were heavy battles and for Libau and Vindava, in East Prussia - s a Königsberg and Heiligenbeil, in the Danzig waving - for Danzig and Gdynia, in Pomerania - Stettin and Swinemünde.

CREATING YOUUZMORE

The situation that developed in the spring of 1945 in the southern Baltic required the active participation KBF in the speedy defeat of the enemy in the south and beyond the western Baltic. For a clearer interaction actions of the fleet with ground forces, March 23 and in 1945 the South-Western Marine defensive area (YUZMOR) consisting of three naval bases:

1. Libavskaya , temporarily based on Shventoy (commander - counter- Admiral K. M. Kuznetsov);

2. Pillauskaya , from the time based in the city of Tapiau (Gvardeysk) on the river. Pregel (commander - Rear Admiral N. E. Feldman),

3. Kolbergskaya (commander - captain 1st rank E.V. Guskov), based in Kolberg and Swinemünde.

Vice Admiral N. I. Vinogradov was appointed commander of the YUZMOR.

This diverseassociations, except for the combat means of three military but-sea bases were also included:

• connection of torpedo boats,
• 2nd Minesweeper Brigade,
• Naval Railway Artillery Brigade,
• air defense brigade
• 260th Marine Brigade.

The composition of the forces was quite impressive, but a characteristic feature of this association was that all the formations and units that were part of it were already engaged in combat operations on previously assigned combat missions. YUZMOR did not have an organizational period of formation and cohesion, which subsequently led to some inconsistent actions of individual units and formations. However, during one night from March 23 to March 24, 1945, at the remote control post (VPU) of the commander of the KBF in Palanga, all organizational issues of the formation and interaction of the YUZMOR were resolved on the spot. When discussing the tasks at the TLU, the following were present: Commissar of the Navy Admiral of the Fleet N. G. KuzNetsov, Head of the General Staff of the Navy, Admiral S. G. Kuche ditch, commander of the KBF, Admiral V.F. Tributs.

DIFFICULT KILOMETERS OF WAR

The fighting in East Prussia was fierceny character. On the Zemland Peninsulathere was a large grouping of the enemy. Troops of the 3rd and2nd Belorussian Fronts resumed the offensive. On March 25, 1945, the city of Heiligenbeil (the city of Mamonovo) was taken and a powerful hejlsberg sco-Brandenburgenemy grouping. Without its defeat and destruction it was impossible tocount on unconditional success under Königsberhom. On March 28-30, our troops took Gdynia and Danzig, the maneuverable base of the light forces of the enemy fleet on the Hel Spit is cut off from land. On April 9, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front and which included the Zemland Group of Forces stormed the city and the fortress of Koenigs berg.By April 13, the troops of this front pushed the enemy on the Zemland Peninsula to the sea to the area Paise-Zimmerbude(p. Komsomolsky inthe line of the city of Svetly and the city of Svetly itself), cutting off the Paisa peninsula, and began to dump the NazisRussian troops in Frisches Huff Bay (Kaliningradgulf). On April 17, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front captured a powerful enemy resistance center - the city of Fishhausen (the city of Primorsk). Remains enemy groupings of more than 20 thousand people withdrew to the area of ​​​​the naval base and the fortress of Pillau (Baltiysk) and entrenched themselves on well-prepared defensive lines. Pillau was the last m stronghold of the enemy in East Prussia, andthe Nazis defended it with particular stubbornness. The capture of the city was entrusted to the troops of the 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front. For six days there were continuous fierce battles for this pestilence.sky fortress. By the end of April 25, the guards of the 11tharmies broke through all the fortified lines of defenseus, destroyed the main forces of the enemy and storm m took Pillau. Only the city citadel lingered for another day. Both sides suffered heavy losses in the battles. The Nazis tried to fix evacuation of her troops from Pillau by sea, but she was thwarted by armored boats and aircraft. At the enemy was left with one way out - to retreat along the Frishe-Nerung spit.

PREPARATION AND PLANNING OF THE LANDING

The sailors of YUZMOR were interested into solve the problem of capturing the naval base and the Pillau fortress with the blows of landing troops, so that the enemy, retreating, he did not manage to destroy the main base structures and the city itself. It was necessary d in order to be able to immediately organize the basing of our naval forces in it after the capture of Pillau. The commander of the KBF reported to the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, about his readiness to carry out a landing operation with the aim of capturing Pillau. At the command post of the 11th Guards Army in the town of Osterau (p. Osetrovo Zelenogradsky district) developed t There were plans for landing operations in two versions: directly to the city proposed by the fleet, during the assault, when it would be overcome (Children's resort), between Fischhausen and Pillau; second suggested by ARMY her, - from the sea and from the Frisches-Haff Bay to the northern part of the Frische-Nerung Spit, south of the airport airfield Neutif (n. Spit).

As subsequent events showed,dividing tactical foresight and delicacyThe second option justified itself and saved the lives of dozens of fighters and commanders of our army at the end of the war. Pillau was covered from the sea by up to 7 large surface ships of the Nazis, and they would shoot these small boats (torpedo boats and minesweepers), loaded with paratroopers along the waterline, even at the sea crossing. Alexander Mikhailovich patiently listened to all arguments of the commander of the YUZMOR, combat submariner-Severomorets Nikolai Ignatievich Vi Nogradov, and very delicately explained what I was eating at known about the readiness and desire of seafarers to fighting for Pillau, but ... recognized forested not to waste the strength of the sailors where the army can do well. It was accepted by the commander of the YUZMOR as a combat order. The only thing that has been achieved is united stifling consent is the landing of two tactical assault forces at the same time. Western salient l on torpedo boats and boat minesweepers from the riveraion of Palmniken (n. Yantarny). The composition of the landing forces - the regiment of the 83rd Guards. SD under the command of the deputy division commander Guards. Colonel L. G. Bely. Landing Force Commander - Head nickname of the headquarters of torpedo boats captain of the 2nd rank G.P. Timchenko. Cover Force Commander - ko mandir of the torpedo boat brigade captain 1st rank A. V. Kuzmin. The commander of the operation is the commander of the YUZMOR. Oriental de sant was planned to leave the Paise area - Zimmerbude. Determination of the beginning of the landing the operation was entrusted to the commander of the army Colonel General K. N. Galitsky.

EASTERN LANDING

Eastern landing, formed in the area Paise-Zimmerbude, had to, having crossed the bay, land on a spit in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe town of Mevenhaken, with the task of developing an offensive towards the troops of the 11th Guards. army, assisting them in mastery of the northern part of the spit. Both landings - western from the sea and eastern from Friches Bay X aff- after the landing, they were supposed to meet and come under the overall command of the commander of the eastern landing - Major General of the Coastal Service Ivan Nikolaevich Kuzmichev, commander of the 260th Marine Brigade KBF. Composition of the landing force - regiment 260th BMP, 487thseparate disciplinary battalion of the fleet (odb KBF), consolidated regiment of the 43rd Army in two echelons nah - on the river armored boats of Petrozavodsk Ivision and the longboats towed by them. The commander of the landing force is the commander of the Petrozavodsk division of armored boats, captain of the 2nd rank M.F. Krokhin. The commander of the Pillau Naval Base, Rear Admiral N. E. Feldman, was entrusted with the command of the operation, under the general supervision commander YUZMOR.

No one doubted that the paratroopers would fulfill their assigned task; this was not the Peterhof landing in the fall of 1941. What is the price of victory in this operation? Let's go to documents that have already been declassified.They were provided by the management of the CVMA (Gat rank) the working group of the book of Memory "Let's call by name" of the Kaliningrad region for uvekoof the soldiers of the Red Army and the RKKF who died a death brave in the last battles of the East Prussian strategic offensive operation. The morale and courage of the sailors was not to occupy, especially since 487 odb went into battle under commanda worthy and respected personnel in Commander Lieutenant Colonel Leibovich Oscar a Solomonovich. Many soldiers of this unit wanted to end the war on a positive note and return to their unit ahead of schedule.

The landing went:

· 676 people of the 1st composite regiment of the 260th BMP under the command of Colonel L.V. Dobrotin,

· 588 people of the 2nd composite regiment of the 43rd army under the command of Guards. lieutenant colonel Kozlov,

· landing control- 19 people.

A total of 1311 fighters and commanders.

De santa was given:

mortar and sapper company of the 43rd Army,

one 76 mm gun (ZIS-3) of the 71st Guards.cn.

The crossing was provided by 24 boats consisting of:

• 9 armored boats,
• 2 tugs,
• 6 longboats,
• 3 KTShch,
• 1 KM,
• 2 motorboats.

Artillery support for the landing was assigned to the chief of artillery of the 260th BMP, Lieutenant Colonel Vidyaev. The artillery consisted of 26 barrels:

• 4 X 45 mm guns,
• 2 X 76 mm (sample 1927),
• 2 X 76th (ZIS-3) guns,
• 23 X 82 mm mortar,
• 3 X 50mm mortar.

However, due to limited watercraft, only took on board:

• 1 X76 mm (ZIS-3) gun,
• 15 X 82 mm mortar,
• 3 X 50mm mortar.

The Army Artillery Airborne Support Group included:

• 36 field artillery pieces 37th art. brigades of the 43rd Army under the command of Colonel Mironov,
• 36 guns of the 150th artillery brigade of the 11th Guards. armies,

koto the eye was allocated for the artillery curtain of the advancing only 480 shells per brigade (according to 13 rounds per barrel), due to the limited amount of ammunition in warehouses. (So, until the end of the war, we were limited in everything ...)

TO BATTLE

April 25, 1945 at 17:00 was received combat order for a landing operation. First echelon of the eastern landing - 1st rifle a battalion of marines and 487 odb KBF - was put on river armored boats and longboats towed by them, and on the evening of April 25 left Paize to the area designated for landing by a detachment fromtwo wake columns. Commanded firstlanding echelon Colonel L.V. Dobrotin. In and the visibility in the bay was very poor, the night man interfered with accurate navigation along the coast objects, and compasses on river armored boats were primitive, and even without the definition of deviation. When turning an airborne detachment onto a combat course and rebuilding into a front line for landing the right column of the detachment went off course, the armored boats strongly deviated to the right and, having lost from sight of the left column, went to the Koenigsberg spitsea ​​canal to the area of ​​n. n. Kamstigal (n. Sevastopol), where they landed. Having not met the enemy, the paratroopers entered the canal. At dawn, the fog began to dissipate, and everyone realized the mistake. Having understood the situation, the marine the infantrymen quickly boarded the armored boats and went to the appointed place, connecting with the left column of the detachment, where the commander of the forces you cages of the first echelon of landing.

The set time for disembarkation was missed,but the army artillery support groupshe did not know this and for a while "Ch" struck at the front line of the enemy's defense. Facts took part in artillery preparation only artillery 37th art. brigades. 150th art brigadeher participation in the operation was reported only 30 minutes before the departure of the first echelon landing, and no one knew her call signs through the channels radio communications and location. The fire raid lasted only 20 minutes: 10 minutes along the front line, 10 minutes in the depth of defense. By releasing all 480 shells, the gunners curled up and started moving towards Königsberg, following the order commander of the 43rd army. When approaching the landing 1st detachment to the spit, the enemy regrouped, restored the destroyed firing points and met the attackers with dagger fire. Bro non-boats opened fire on the enemy from their guns and, evading maneuver, began to land.

At 4 hours 15 minutes on April 26, 1945, the landing with a fight, losing comrades-in-arms, went ashore2 hours later than scheduled and one kimeter south of the intended landing site.Western and eastern landings immediately meet Xia could not ... In the first throw of the attackers there were 487 odb. Dropping helmets and army body Greeks, sailors jumped into the water in peakless caps and pea coats, firing in short bursts for sure. Having come under heavy fire from the enemy, the first wave of penalty boxes was killed almost entirely. All coastal sand was littered with a shell mi and floating peakless caps on the water. Second I a wave of sailors met in hand-to-hand combat with the Nazis. In the course went knives and stocks. No one fired, so as not to hurt their own, the cries of "hurrah" were also not heard. In front of the parapet of the first trench of the Nazis there was a continuous rumble, the crackle of breaking weapons and obscenities ... The Germans could not stand the fury of the sailors, began to surrender and retreat. Leading a stubborn battle, the sailors rushed to the attack, expanding the breakthrough for the second echelon. Artillerymen showed miracles of courage. Dey's only fire support weapon was in the advanced orders of sailors until fired all the shells. It saved the day before the arrival of the second echelon of landing. How later e it turned out that the boats that delivered the landing force ammunitionthat one, unloaded it 5 km north of the combat area. Neither the landing commander nor the chief of artillery was informed about this.

Around 8 o'clock on April 26 on the same armored rach and longboats landed the second echelon eastfoot landing - 2nd marine infantry battalion infantry and the combined regiment of the 43rd Army. With the second echelon, the commander of the eastern landing, Major General I. N. Kuzmichev, landed. The second echelon reinforced the battle formations of its comrades cabbage soup. Lieutenant Colonel O. S. Leibovich was wounded, butdid not leave the battlefield. Armored boats after landing the second echelon provided fire assistance to the landing force, hitting firing points and manpower at enemy. By 10 o'clock east and west landing groups united and led the offensive to the northern end of the spit. baking sheets to was defeated by the oncoming actions of the landing and troops of the 11th Guards. army from the side of Pillau. Near At 13:00, the paratroopers met with units of the army, freeing a section of the spit about 10 km long. By the end of the day on April 26, all units of the amphibious assault withdrew from the Frische-Nerung spit for reorganization and training to carry out the following combat missions.

PAIN AND MEMORY

260th bmp and 478 odb KBF task, set for the landing operation, completed, although suffered significant losses at the end of the war. The success of the operation was overshadowed the death of many soldiers and brigade commanders, fought in the formation from the day of formation. The losses of the 1st Marine Regiment in the landing amounted to 153 people, the 2nd combined regiment of the 43rd Army - 87 people. Such is the fin l eastern landing and the last battle of sailors on the Zemland Peninsula:

All those who died in this battle were buried on April 27, 1945 in mass grave on the eastern slope of Mount Prokhladnaya near the Sea (Military) harbor of Pillau(Baltiysk, district of the 4th boiler house). On June 24, 1952, the remains of the sailors were exhumed and transferred to the military memorial alongst. Kirkines in the village of Sevastopol.

Eternal glory to the heroes!

FALSE

On a warm and sunny May day in 1945the marine corps unit was built in a clearing in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bFischhausen. The sailors stood in the ranks in dress uniform, the blue and white naval ensign fluttered in their heads. parade building. Ranked in tworanks of sailors stood out sharply against the background of the landshaft of the defeated city. Easy Balticthe wind ruffled the ribbons on caps and blue collars with three parallel stripes, brightly whitened on dark blue uniforms. Wide flared trousers, covering almost the entire shoes, were considered indispensablean attribute of naval gloss. tall, fit, many with military awards, the sailors aroused delight and admiration among those who poured out of all "skerries" and shelters for infantrymen and other land nyh specialists of all branches of the armed forces. Commanders with gold epaulettes, stripes on their sleeves, with orders and medals covered the table with a red tablecloth and began to wait for the high authorities.

Soon a trophy "jeep" drove up, from a heavy army general came out with two officers. The commander of the sailors' unit gave a report in accordance with the form. General, bypassing the system, greeted the sailors and congratulated them on the Victory.A loud "cheers" echoed through the neighborhood. Soldier The atas and officers of the ground forces fell silent and watched what was happening from a distance.

The officers who arrived with the army authorities laid out boxes with awards on the table. The general made a short speech, took the box and went up to the right flank. And then came the climax. “We don’t take Pyatakov,” said the tall right-flank chief foreman. The general was taken aback for a moment, as if he did not understand something, and intuitively took a step back. The clerk with the rest of the awards also backed away. The commander stood by and did not intervene in the situation.

The general approached the second, third ... "We do not take Pyatakov," - such was the answer of the entire naval system. Only then did this commander realize that there was nothing for him to do here, he fussed, waved his arms, gave some command ... but the formation did not move. Saying something threatening commander, he hastily left, taking the awards. The sailors dispersed and East Prussian the first peaceful twilight descended on the earth. Evening m the foot soldiers did not dare to approach the brothers, butin the morning of this naval unit in place was no longer there. The old captain, who remained with stuck field kitchen, told the fighters surrounding him that in the battalion, for landing on scythe, brought medals "For Courage" to everyone. Medal good, but when it is awarded to everyone, living and dead, the meaning and proud name of this award is lost. Sailors are a special people, death in battle was not terrible for them, but their honor is dearest of all.

From the CVMA documents:

Picture.April1945 of the year :YU. Neprintsev.Landing on the Frische-Nerung Spit .

On the night of April 26, 1945 year on the Frisch Spit - Nerung, near the German military- naval base Pillau, Marines and infantry troops landed, cutting off the retreat I am the troops of the enemy. The strong mastery of the paratroopers by a large bridgehead allowed the troops 3- th Belorussian Front, with the assistance of the fleet, successfully develop the offensive. Landing on the scythe Frische - Nerungwas one of the successful examples of the interaction of the army and navy.

(Information is specified according to the information provided by the working group of the book of memory of the Kaliningrad region according to the version of the trial layout of volume 21 dated February 18, 2008.)

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(C) Development of the project and design Budaeva A. V. When using information received from the site, a link to it is required.

From the message of the Soviet Information Bureau. Operational summary for25th of April:
"Troops of the 3rd BELARUSIAN Front25th of Aprilcaptured the last stronghold of the German defense on the Zemland Peninsula - a city and a fortress PILLAU — major port and naval base of the Germans on the Baltic Sea, and also occupied settlements LOCHSTEDT, NEUHEUSER, HIMMEL-REICH, PLANTAGE, KAMSTIGALL».

On Pillau street after the fight

13.1. FIGHTING ON THE STREETS OF PILLAU

Unable to withstand the night onslaught, the enemy withdrew to the outskirts of the city, but failed to gain a foothold there either. When the German soldiers did not get their usual ersatz coffee at dawn, it became clear to them that the rear services of the Wehrmacht had stopped their work, which meant that the hours of Pillau's defense were already numbered. In the morning mist, the naval commandant's company and the demolition team left the city. Leaving the Forward Harbor, their boat slowly passed along the burning bolter, on which stood thousands of German soldiers who had not yet lost hope of their salvation.

The boats of the Baltic Fleet were supposed to prevent them from leaving to the west.
With 9 to 25 April they made eight searches on the outskirts of Pillau. The results of the campaigns led to the conclusion that there were no large ships in the sentinel forces. And this consideration was taken into account in the preparation of the landing operation scheduled for that time, for which it was necessary to allocate three-quarters of all torpedo boats that were in service. Unfortunately, the boats could not go to sea from Kranz. In fact, this task was assigned to the division of the captain of the 2nd rank A.F. Krokhina who knew nothing about the minefields hidden under the mirror surface of the bay
Frisches Huff. As soon as the boats passed the coastal fortification with a white flag on a high flagpole, a huge water column rose from under the bottom of the BK-212. Seven sailors were killed, five more were injured, and the commander of the ship, who was bleeding, barely floated on the water. Another explosion smashed the stern of the lead boat "BK-102". The division commander who was on it ordered: “Everyone get out of the minefield in reverse in the wake column! Return to base Zimmerbude. The incident was immediately reported to the commander of the fleet, who canceled the operation off the coast of Pillau. Despite the failure that had befallen, the sailors were preparing for new tasks - for landing on the Frische-Nerung spit.

Fort Vostochny

As soon as at 10.00. the last volley of rocket artillery died down, the captain of the guard V.D. Kubanov shot from a rocket launcher raised his battalion to the attack. Pausing for a second or two in the trench, he saw a small hill on a completely bare area. The trench that ran along it stretched to the eastern outskirts of Pillau, from where a machine gun fired at our left from a double embrasure bunker, and on the right flank the Germans launched a counterattack. One of the companies, ahead of the neighbors, had already pulled ahead and was fighting for the second trench, where they could hear the roar, clang and firing of machine guns, desperate screams and swearing of opponents breaking each other. Before jumping into the trench, the battalion commander quickly thrust a captured parabellum into his bosom and stabbed the red-haired German who was standing with his back to him. Everywhere there was a fierce hand-to-hand combat, fleeting, like any close combat, where success depended not only on skillful actions, mutual assistance and composure, but also on physical effort and moral stress.

The way was open, and the guards battalion Kubanova broke into the Koenigsberg highway - the only straight, fairly wide street, almost along the entire length, stretched along the peninsula, covered with a network of trenches. In Pillau, there were more water barriers and narrow, crooked streets and alleys than in Koenigsberg, so rifle divisions were assigned offensive lines, rifle regiments - certain areas, battalions - city blocks, and assault groups - separate buildings. Both sides of the highway were bared by rifle and machine-gun fire from countless basement windows of stone buildings, turned by the Germans into a chain of embrasures. The distance to them was decent, and practically not a single grenade hit these window openings. Then Kubanov asked to roll out anti-tank guns for direct fire, leaving behind piles of burnt bricks.

All participants in the assault learned that the Red Army had closed the encirclement around Berlin. "Pillau will soon be ours!" the fighters said. Wounded Private of the 21st Guards Rifle Regiment Grigoriev tied a red star flag sewn by army tailors to the balcony of the first of the houses occupied by the guards.

The army, wedged into the city, split it into pieces. The northwestern outskirts were quickly, in one breath, captured by the 31st Guards Rifle Division. Climbing the slopes of sand dunes overgrown with thickets of sea buckthorn, the soldiers advanced along the seashore. The enemy clung to every fold of the terrain, to pillboxes and pillboxes scattered in the forest and on the coast. The battle at the shooting range was especially difficult - a deep ditch, from where the German infantry was knocked out by volleys of Katyushas. From the city stadium, German anti-aircraft gunners fired into a single row of guns from the ones placed, as in a parade. And the closer the division approached the strait, the more stubborn the resistance of the Germans became.

The pine and chestnut alleys of the city park, the favorite resting places of the townspeople who spent their free time at the cozy tables of the Plantage restaurant, were filled with abandoned trucks and cars, horse carts and military equipment in the April days of 1945. From behind the fallen trees that served as parapets, the gun barrels of tanks and cannons dug into the ground stretched, and in front of them the infantry trenches turned yellow. In the far corner of the park, a moat filled with water surrounded the horseshoe-shaped building of an ancient fort, the brick walls of which were cut through by numerous loopholes and embrasures. After unsuccessful attacks, one of the regiments of the division, hiding behind a high cliff, bypassed the fort. It was taken by the general's soldiers I.K. Shcherbina by the evening of the same day. With access to the strait, the encirclement of Pillau was completed, on the streets of which the battle went on all day.

On Pillau street after the fight

The enemy did not allow to break through to the city center, fighting for every house, street and quarter. It was impossible to take even a few steps without the explosion collapsing a corner of a building or an entire wall. In the military town of Himmelreich, where the soldiers of the Pillau garrison lived after the First World War, the German marines, communications and airfield service units defended themselves. In the brick barracks, the hospital, the bakery and the sports hall, the walls were strengthened, the windows were walled up and the roofs covered with a layer of sand. The soldiers of the guards rifle divisions could not raise their heads under the dagger fire of German snipers and machine gunners chained to the walls of houses.

Frontal attacks were not successful. Only after the heavy artillery made breaches in the barracks did the guards break in. By noon, when the fighting moved to the city cemetery, prisoners began to be brought to the military camp, of which there were especially many that day. Soldiers and commanders of the 84th Guards Rifle Division for about a day walked along a path that in peacetime an ordinary pedestrian would have overcome in half an hour. The enemy fired from everywhere: from the forts of the fortress, from the Frishe-Nerung spit, from the windows of stone houses, from warships stationed in the roadstead.

From the dossier:
84th Guards Rifle Divisionwas formed inJuly 1941in Moscow as the 4th division of the people's militia. Workers, engineers and employees of the capital distinguished themselves in battles so that some of them were transformed into a rifle division, and then into a guards division, having been awarded the honorary title"Karachaevskaya", awarding the Orders of the Red Banner and Suvorov II degree. During the war years, she participated in six offensive operations. Seven people from the division became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

At the railway station

On the railroad, the division captured trains with wounded Germans. Many of the wounded were in dugouts dug right next to the railroad tracks. When Karebin looked into one of them, from somewhere out of the depths, illuminated by bulbs from rechargeable batteries, a woman in a white coat appeared. She addressed him in pure Russian: “You have no right to come here, this is a hospital for the wounded. According to the convention of the League of Nations, they enjoy immunity." She was answered: "We will not touch the wounded, but let's see if there are any healthy Germans among them."

Senior Sergeant's Department V.P. Gordeeva lay down near the bunker, from where the German machine gunner was scribbling incessantly, and it seemed that there was no way to raise the soldiers, who were left almost without cartridges and hand grenades, to attack. Having crawled to the bunker, the former sailor of the Pinsk flotilla closed the embrasure with concrete slabs. In the next moment, he threw the last hand grenade through the opened door. Stunned by the unexpected attack, the German garrison surrendered. For this feat V.P. Gordeev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Lieutenant soldiers Chernysheva through yards and lanes they went to the back door of the building, knocked out the doors and windows with grenades and broke into the inside of the house. First of all, they seized the attic, through which it was possible to penetrate into other entrances. Under the cover of submachine gunners, the Roxists set fire to the upper floors in order to dislodge the Germans who had settled there. On command, the platoon ran for Chernyshev along the road, to the left and right of which there were warehouses, one of them was on fire. The soldiers stopped at a crossroads where three dead infantrymen were lying. "Sergeant! - shouted Chernyshev. I'm first, everyone follows me. And you are the last one. Shoot those who won't run." And while the German sniper chose a new target for himself, they managed to overcome the dangerous space. Making my way from house to house Chernyshev broke into the bunker with wounded German officers. Their faces were frozen in fear. Jackets with orders and medals hung on chairs.

Having posted guards, the infantrymen occupied the basement of a residential building. Night attacks exhausted the soldiers. After eating trophy foods and drinking schnapps, they fell asleep. Dozing Chernysheva the fighter woke up: "Comrade lieutenant, they ask you what regiment you are from." “Who is asking me?” "I'm asking you," replied the division commander's adjutant. “The command needs to know which units were the first to reach the shore of the strait.”

On this day, the 1st Air Army conducted 1,292 sorties, losing five of its crews. Almost touching the pointed roofs of houses, the pilots had difficulty choosing targets. From the air it was difficult to determine which quarters were still in enemy hands. Seeing that they were about to bomb the 23rd Guards Tank Brigade, the Chief of Staff of the Guards Battalion Senior Lieutenant A.I. Marusich ordered the radio operator to broadcast in plain text: "Red Star Falcons, there are Soviet troops under you, the Germans are at the crossing in such and such a square." The message had to be repeated by firing red rockets into the air. And only after that, the planes, having made a few more circles over the tankers, waved their wings and flew away to the Frische-Nerung spit.

On the station square, the Germans knocked out the crew of the "thirty-four". The wounded tankers were rescued by infantrymen who carried them to a safe place. Sergeant Nepomniachtchi caught a German battery in the gunsight. After the first shots, one of the guns flew into the air, and then another. Fascinated by the battle, he did not notice the enemy soldiers approaching from the flank. "Grenades to battle!" - commanded Nepomniachtchi and fired back from a machine gun until infantrymen came to his aid. Through the dense bands of gaps they are shouting "Hurrah!" rushed to storm the station, from where wires were pulled to the mined berths of the Inner Harbor. The explosion was prevented by one of the Soviet soldiers, who opened fire on German sappers.

To13.30. 25.04.
"31st Guards. sd. - captured the fort southeast of Plantage and is fighting for the nameless quarters 300 meters south.
1st Guards sd. - took possession of a group of sheds and a cemetery.
84th Guards. sd. - led stubborn street battles in the neighborhoods.
26th Guards sd. — cleared the center and the southern part of the city.
5th Guards sd. - captured a height of 27.8 and fought to destroy pockets of resistance on the cape southeast of Pillau.

13.2. RELEASE OF KAMSTIGALL AND THE RUSSIAN EMBANKMENT

The soldiers of the 26th Guards Rifle Division fought stubborn battles in the Shtille fort and residential areas adjacent to Rybnaya Harbor. To their left, the regiments of the 5th Guards Rifle Division were advancing. Overcoming sandy hills and orchards, they defeated the 277th German Grenadier Regiment, which defended the village of Kamstigall, already known in the 15th century as a place of residence for fishermen. On the eve of World War II, the families of sailors and foremen of the German Navy settled here. Major's Guard Battalion Zavyalova surrounded two German companies and forced them to surrender. Lieutenant soldiers Goncharova blocked and destroyed the garrisons of eight houses. The soldiers of this company - sergeant Borda with privates Pastukhov and Nikhovsky- in one of the houses, three machine-gun points with crews were destroyed. By evening, the Red Army soldiers broke into the Kamstigall coastal anti-aircraft battery and, having destroyed its garrison in hand-to-hand combat, went to the shore of the Koenigsberg Sea Canal, where, as far as the eye could see, towered the masts and hulls of burnt and sunken ships. Tanks passed along the piers of the Sea Harbor, shells and machine-gun bursts destroying the barricades of yachts, boats and boats with German soldiers. The garrison of the three-story bunker (a square with sides of 21 meters and a wall thickness of 2.5 meters) of the Stockhouse air defense was burned out by a flamethrower. These reinforced concrete "shelter houses" were built in 1944 in several German cities at once. There were only four in Berlin.

On the outskirts of the sea harbor

When parts of the division made their way to the Russian embankment, named after the soldiers of the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna- the builders of a stone dam to shelter sailing ships that came to Pillau, German tanks blocked the way for the infantrymen. Sergeant Gun Commander of the Guard V. Plaus rolled out the gun for direct fire and knocked out the first tank with five shots. The crew on their hands rolled the gun onto the dam and set fire to another car. The crew of the third tank surrendered. For your feat plaus was presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which he never received. The infantrymen captured submarines that did not have time to complete their repairs at the Shihau shipyard.

The ruins of Pillau after the battle

From the combat report of the chief of staff of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
To18.00 25.04 .
"31st Guards. sd. - fought for a grove and an unnamed height of 300 meters northwest of the fortress.
1st Guards sd. — is fighting for the fortress.
84th Guards. sd. - seized the railway station and continues the offensive to the south.
26th Guards sd. cleared the southern edge of the city center.
5th Guards sd. - fought in the area of ​​​​the shipyard and part of the forces clears individual buildings one kilometer to the south-west.