Siege of Breslau

Siege of Breslau
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II

German troops in Breslau on 2 February 1945
Date13 February – 6 May 1945 (2 months, and 24 days)
Location51°07′N 17°02′E / 51.117°N 17.033°E / 51.117; 17.033
Result

Soviet victory

  • Unconditional surrender of the city Breslau garrison on 6 May, followed by the unconditional surrender of all German forces two days after (see end of World War II in Europe)
Belligerents
 Soviet Union
German Empire National Committee for a Free Germany
 Germany
Commanders and leaders
6th Army: Festung Breslau:
Strength
Soviet Union 87,334
German Empire ≈ 80
Nazi Germany 50,000
Casualties and losses

31,604[1]

44,848 captured, including 6,678[1] - 12.000 hospitalised [4]

The siege of Breslau, also known as the Battle of Breslau, was a three-month-long siege of the city of Breslau in Lower Silesia, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 February 1945 to 6 May 1945, German troops in Breslau were besieged by the Soviet forces which encircled the city as part of the Lower Silesian Offensive Operation. The German garrison's surrender on 6 May was followed by the surrender of all German forces two days after the battle.

  1. ^ a b c d Isaev 2021, p. 185.
  2. ^ Andreas R. Hofmann: Die Nachkriegszeit in Schlesien. Böhlau, 2000. S. 18.
  3. ^ Andreas R. Hofmann: Die Nachkriegszeit in Schlesien. Böhlau, 2000. S. 18.
  4. ^ Andreas R. Hofmann: Die Nachkriegszeit in Schlesien. Böhlau, 2000. S. 18.
  5. ^ Soviet General Staff Official Order of Battle for 1 March 1945
  6. ^ Georg Tessin, Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939 - 1945, Vol. 14, pp. 24-25, Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1980