Prelude to Berlin by Richard W. Harrison

Author:Richard W. Harrison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Second World War
ISBN: 9781912174560
Publisher: Helion and Company
Published: 2016-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

The Enemy

According to the front staff’s data, by the start of the second stage of the East Pomeranian operation the Second Belorussian Front’s forces were faced by the Germans’ Army Group Vistula, which included the German Second Army and part of the XVI SS Panzer Corps.

According to the front’s data, at this time the forces of the Germans’ Second Army occupied the following position.

Corps group “Rappard,” consisting of four regiments and 15 independent battalions, occupied defensive positions along the Nogat River from its mouth to Pickel, and then along the left bank of the Vistula River to Mewe.

The XXIII Army Corps, consisting of the 337th, 35th and 252nd infantry divisions, elements of the 83rd Infantry Division,3 and the 542nd Volkssturm Division, occupied defensive positions along the sector Mewe—Skurz—excluding Wda—Lubichowo.

The XXVII Army Corps, consisting of the 251st, 73rd and 227th infantry divisions occupied defensive positions along the line excluding Lubichowo—excluding Long—Karsin.

The VII Panzer Corps, consisting of the 4th and 7th panzer divisions and the 389th Infantry Division, was defending along the line excluding Karsin—excluding Rittel—Chojnice.

The XVIII Mountain Jaeger Corps, consisting of the 32nd Infantry Division, the 15th SS Infantry Division, the SS “Netherlands” Panzergrenadier Division’s 48th Regiment, and the “Jutland” Infantry Regiment, was defending along the line excluding Chojnice—Richnau— Bucholz—Preuss Friedland—Landeck.

The XVI SS Corps, consisting of the 12th Panzer Division and units of the “Werwalde” Infantry Division was defending along the line excluding Landeck—Lottin—Krangen.

The commander of the German Second Army had in reserve a field reserve brigade, which had been concentrated in the area of Danzig. Besides this, according to the front’s data, the German Second Army command had in reserve the 14th Panzer and 122nd Infantry divisions.

The front command assumed that the Germans were able to transfer up to five infantry divisions to the Second Belorussian Front’s offensive sector from their Courland group of forces. By 20 February, according to the front’s intelligence information, the Germans were already transferring the 93rd, 126th, 225th, and 290th infantry divisions from Group “Courland.”

According to the front’s data, the reinforcements that had been attached to the German Second Army by this time consisted of a brigade of assault guns, two high command special designation artillery regiments, six artillery battalions, two anti-tank battalions, and six anti-aircraft battalions.

The determination of the enemy’s disposition and strength operating opposite the Second Belorussian Front by the start of the second stage of the East Pomeranian operation was arrived at by the front staff with insufficient accuracy. The corrections that were made later on the basis of captured German General Staff documents confirmed to a great extent the front’s data as to the enemy’s dispositions, but did not fully correspond to the actual presence of German forces operating at this time opposite the front’s forces.

The 35th Infantry Division was missing from the XXIII Army Corps, and also included the “Lobach” Brigade and combat groups nos. 23 and 35. The XXVII Army Corps included, aside from the units already listed, units of the 31st Infantry Division and the 1st Screening Brigade.

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