German fortresses (German: "Festungen"; called pockets by the Allies) during World War II were bridgeheads, cities, islands and towns designated by Adolf Hitler as areas that were to be fortified and stocked with food and ammunition in order to hold out against Allied offensives. The fortress doctrine evolved towards the end of World War II, when the German leadership had not yet accepted defeat, but had begun to realize that drastic measures were required to forestall inevitable offensives on the Reich. The first such stronghold was Stalingrad.
On the Eastern Front, Warsaw, Budapest, Kolberg, Königsberg, Küstrin, Danzig and Breslau were some of the large cities selected as strongholds.
On the Western Front, Hitler declared eleven major ports as fortresses on 19 January 1944: IJmuiden, the Hook of Holland, Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire and the Gironde estuary. In February and March 1944 three more coastal areas were declared to be fortresses: the Channel Islands, Calais and La Rochelle.
The fate of the fortress areas varied. Stalingrad, the first to fall, is seen as a crucial turning point in the war, and one of the key battles which led to German defeat. In several cases, Alderney, for example, the fortresses were bypassed by the attackers and did not fall, surrendering only after the unconditional surrender of Germany. One fortress, Fortress Courland, would see guerrilla war being waged in the area from 1945 to 1960s by Lithuanian partisans and a few Germans who fought as Forest Brothers, with individual guerrillas remaining in hiding and evaded capture into the 1980s.
| Fortresses | Siege | Commander | Besiegers | Date declared | Date siege started | Date surrendered | Length of siege | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Île, Groix and Lorient, French State, Military Administration in France | Lorient pocket | Wilhelm Fahrmbacher | United States Armed Forces | data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944 | data-sort-value="19440812" | 12 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19450510" | 10 May 1945 | ||||
| Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Free State of Prussia, Gau Berlin, Greater German Reich | Battle in Berlin | Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild → Hellmuth Reymann → Ernst Kaether → Adolf Hitler → Helmuth Weidling | Soviet Armed Forces | data-sort-value="19450201" | data-sort-value="19450423" | 23 April 1945 (encirclement of Berlin complete on 27 April 1945) | data-sort-value="19450502" | 2 May 1945 | Called the Berlin Defense Area. | ||||
| Bobruysk, Army Group Rear Area Command | Bobruysk offensive | Adolf Hamann | Soviet Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440622" | 22 June 1944 | data-sort-value="19440627" | 27 June 1944 | data-sort-value="19440629" | 29 June 1944 | Now called Babruysk. | |||
| Boulogne-sur-Mer, French State, Military Administration in France | Operation Wellhit | Ferdinand Heim | British Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440917" | 17 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19440917" | 17 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19440922" | 22 September 1944 | ||||
| Breslau, Province of Lower Silesia, Free State of Prussia, Gau Lower Silesia, Greater German Reich | Siege of Breslau | Battle Commander Karl Hanke | Soviet Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440725" | 25 July 1944 | data-sort-value="19450213" | 13 February 1945 | data-sort-value="19450506" | 6 May 1945 | Now called Wrocław. | |||
| Brest, French State, Military Administration in France | Battle for Brest | Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke | British Armed Forces United States Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440807" | 7 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19440807" | 7 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19440919" | 19 September 1944 | ||||
| Budapest, Government of National Unity, Kingdom of Hungary | Siege of Budapest | Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch | Romanian Armed Forces
Soviet Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19441201" | 1 December 1944 | data-sort-value="19441224" | 24 December 1944 | data-sort-value="19450213" | 13 February 1945 | ||||
| Calais, French State, Military Administration in France | Operation Undergo | Ludwig Schroeder | British Armed Forces
Canadian Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440201" | February or March 1944 | data-sort-value="19440925" | 25 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19440930" | 30 September 1944 | ||||
| Channel Islands | Rudolf Graf von Schmettow → Friedrich Hüffmeier | Allied Expeditionary Force | data-sort-value="19440201" | February or March 1944 | data-sort-value="19440902" | 2 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19450523" | 9 May 1945 (Guernsey and Jersey) 10 May 1945 (Sark) 16 May 1945 (Alderney) 23 May 1945 (Minquiers) | Surrendered after the surrender of the Greater German Reich. | ||||
| Cherbourg, French State, Military Administration in France | Battle of Cherbourg | Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben | United States Armed Forces | data-sort-value="19440606" | 6 June 1944 | data-sort-value="19440622" | 22 June 1944 | data-sort-value="19440627" | 27 June 1944 | ||||
| Courland Pocket, General District Latvia, Reichskommissariat Ostland, Army Group Rear Area Command | Courland Pocket | Ferdinand Schörner → Lothar Rendulic → Walter Weiß → Lothar Rendulic → Heinrich von Vietinghoff → Lothar Rendulic → Carl Hilpert | data-sort-value="19441010" | 10 October 1944 | data-sort-value="19440731" | 31 July 1944 (encirclement of the Courland Pocket complete on 10 October 1944) | data-sort-value="19450510" | 10 May 1945 | Surrendered after the surrender of the Greater German Reich. See Army Group North and Army Group Courland. | ||||
| Crete, Hellenic State, Military Administration in Greece | Cretan resistance, Operation Albumen and Operation Mercury II | Hans-Georg Benthack | British Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19441004" | 4 October 1944 | data-sort-value="19441004" | 4 October 1944 | data-sort-value="19450512" | 12 May 1945 | Surrendered after the surrender of the Greater German Reich. See Fortress Crete. | |||
| Crimea, Army Group Rear Area Command | Crimean offensive, Kerch–Eltigen operation and Battle of the Dnieper | Erwin Jaenecke → Ferdinand Schörner → Erwin Jaenecke → Karl Allmendinger | data-sort-value="19440408" | 8 April 1944 | data-sort-value="19431101" | 28 October 1943 (encirclement of Crimea complete on 2 November 1943) | data-sort-value="19440512" | 12 May 1944 | |||||
| Danzig, Danzig Region, Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, Greater German Reich | Siege of Danzig | Dietrich von Saucken | 2nd Belorussian Front Polish rebels | data-sort-value="19450307" | 7 March 1945 | data-sort-value="19450315" | 15 March 1945 | data-sort-value="19450330" | 30 March 1945 | Now called Gdańsk. | |||
| Demyansk, Army Group Rear Area Command | data-sort-value="19420222" | 22 February 1942 | data-sort-value="19420208" | 8 February 1942 | data-sort-value="19420520" | 20 May 1942 | Encircled during the Soviet winter counteroffensive, supplied by air until relieved in May 1942, and evacuated in February 1943. | ||||||
| Dieppe, French State, Military Administration in France | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="19440605" | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="19440901" | 1 September 1944 | N/A | Evacuated and liberated without opposition. Also see Operation Fusilade and Operation Jubilee. | ||
| Dunkirk, French State, Military Administration in France | Siege of Dunkirk | Wolfgang von Kluge → Friedrich Frisius | British Armed Forces
Canadian Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440904" | 4 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19440915" | 15 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19450509" | 9 May 1945 | Surrendered after the surrender of the Greater German Reich. | |||
| Gironde Estuary North, Military Administration in France | Operation Jupiter and Operation Venerable | Hartwig Pohlmann → Hans Michahelles | French Liberation Army
United States Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944 | data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19450430" | 30 April 1945 | ||||
| Gironde Estuary South, Military Administration in France | Royan pocket | Christian Sonntag → Otto Prahl | data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944 | data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19450420" | 20 April 1945 | |||||
| Hook of Holland, Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | Oberst Flinzer | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944 | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="19450505" | 5 May 1945 | N/A | |
| Ijmuiden, Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | Colonel Stahmer → Hans Huttner | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944 | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="19450505" | 5 May 1945 | N/A | |
| Île de Ré and La Rochelle, French State, Military Administration in France | Siege of La Rochelle | Ernst Schirlitz | data-sort-value="19440201" | February or March 1944 | data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19450507" | 7 May 1945 | |||||
| Kholm, Army Group Rear Area Command | data-sort-value="19420123" | 23 January 1942 | data-sort-value="19420123" | 23 January 1942 | data-sort-value="19420505" | 5 May 1942 | Encircled during the Soviet winter counteroffensive, relieved in May 1942 after prolonged defense. | ||||||
| Kolberg, Region of Köslin, Province of Pomerania, Gau Pomerania, Greater German Reich | Battle of Kolberg | Fritz Fullriede | Soviet Armed Forces
Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland
| data-sort-value="19441105" | 5 November 1944 | data-sort-value="19450304" | 4 March 1945 | data-sort-value="19450314" | 14 March 1945 | Now called Kołobrzeg. | |||
| Königsberg, Region of Königsberg, East Prussia, Free State of Prussia, Gau East Prussia, Greater German Reich | Battle of Königsberg | Otto Lasch | Workers' and Peasants' Red Army | data-sort-value="19450121" | 21 January 1945 | data-sort-value="19450126" | 26 January 1945 (encirclement of Königsberg complete on 29 January 1945) | data-sort-value="19450409" | 9 April 1945 | Now called Kaliningrad. | |||
| Küstrin, Königsberg Nm., province of Brandenburg, Free State of Prussia, Gau March of Brandenburg, Greater German Reich | Siege of Küstrin | Adolf Raegener → Heinrich-Friedrich Reinefarth | Soviet Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19450125" | 25 January 1945 | data-sort-value="19450131" | 31 January 1945 | data-sort-value="19450330" | 30 March 1945 | Now called Kostrzyn nad Odrą. A small number (<1,000) of the German garrison reached German lines after a breakout during the night of March 29/30 1945 | |||
| Le Havre, French State, Military Administration in France | Operation Astonia | Eberhard Wildermuth | British Armed Forces
Canadian Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19440907" | 7 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19440910" | 10 September 1944 | data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944 | ||||
| Orel, Army Group Rear Area Command | Operation Kutuzov | data-sort-value="19440705" | 5 July 1943 | data-sort-value="19430712" | 12 July 1943 | data-sort-value="19430805" | 5 August 1943 | ||||||
| Posen, Posen Region, Reichsgau Wartheland, Greater German Reich | Battle of Posen | Ernst Mattern → Ernst Gonell | Soviet Armed Forces
Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland | data-sort-value="19440820" | 20 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19450124" | 24 January 1945 | data-sort-value="19450223" | 23 February 1945 | Now called Poznań. | |||
| Saint-Malo, French State, Military Administration in France | Battle of Saint-Malo | Andreas von Aulock | United States Armed Forces
French Liberation Army | data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944 | data-sort-value="19440804" | 4 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19440817" | 17 August 1944 | ||||
| Saint-Nazaire, French State, Military Administration in France | Saint-Nazaire pocket | Maximilian Hünten → Hans Junck → Captain Mathies | United States Armed Forces
French Liberation Army | data-sort-value="19440808" | 8 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19440827" | 27 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19450511" | 11 May 1945 | Surrendered after the surrender of the Greater German Reich. | |||
| Sevastopol, Army Group Rear Area Command | Crimean offensive | data-sort-value="19440408" | 20 June 1942 | data-sort-value="19440505" | 5 May 1944 | data-sort-value="19440509" | 9 May 1944 | ||||||
| Smolensk, Army Group Rear Area Command | Smolensk operation | data-sort-value="19430910" | 10 September 1943 | data-sort-value="19430807" | 7 August 1943 | data-sort-value="19430925" | 25 September 1943 | ||||||
| Stalingrad, Army Group Rear Area Command | Battle of Stalingrad | Friedrich Paulus → Karl Strecker | Soviet Armed Forces
| data-sort-value="19420924" | 24 September 1942 | data-sort-value="19420910" | 10 September 1942 (encirclement of Stalingrad complete on 22 November 1942 during Operation Uranus) | data-sort-value="19430301" | 1 March 1943 | Now called Volgograd. By 1 November 1942, 90% of Stalingrad was occupied by Axis forces. On 26 January 1943, during Operation Koltso, Axis forces in Stalingrad were cut into two pockets, with Karl Strecker in command of the northern pocket and Friedrich Paulus in command of the southern pocket. | |||
| French protectorate of Tunisia | Tunisian campaign | Erwin Rommel → Gustav Fehn → Erwin Rommel → Hans-Jürgen von Arnim | British Army
United States Armed Forces | data-sort-value="19430222" | 22 February 1943 | data-sort-value="19421109" | 9 November 1942 (encirclement of Tunisia complete on 12 February 1943) | data-sort-value="19430513" | 13 May 1943 | ||||
| Warsaw, Warsaw District, General Government, Greater German Reich | Hellmuth Eisenstuck → Ernst Mock | data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A | data-sort-value="19440727" | 27 July 1944 | data-sort-value="19440801" | 1 August 1944 | data-sort-value="19450117" | 17 January 1945 | On 16 January 1945, German troops withdrew from Warsaw and the next day the First Polish Army, 2nd Guards Tank Army and 3rd Shock Army entered the city. Also see Festung Warschau | |||