Attack On East Prussia
The Red Army's East Prussian Operation commenced on 13 January 1945 with the objective of rolling up the substantial Geman defences in East Prussia and cutting off the provincial capital of Königsberg. The Soviet forces were opposed by the German Army Group Centre, including the Fourth Army, under the command of General Friedrich Hossbach. While the 3rd Belorussian Front initially met strong resistance, the outnumbered German forces soon began to suffer serious ammunition shortages. Colonel-General Reinhardt, commander of Army Group Centre, warned of the seriousness of the situation as early as 19 January, but was not permitted to make a phased withdrawal.
Read more about this topic: Heiligenbeil Pocket
Famous quotes containing the words attack on, attack, east and/or prussia:
“It is well worth the efforts of a lifetime to have attained knowledge which justifies an attack on the root of all evil—viz. the deadly atheism which asserts that because forms of evil have always existed in society, therefore they must always exist; and that the attainment of a high ideal is a hopeless chimera.”
—Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910)
“We attack not only to hurt someone, to defeat him, but perhaps also simply to become conscious of our own strength.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Everybody ought to have a lower East Side in their life.”
—Irving Berlin (1888–1989)
“It is reported here that the King of Prussia has gone mad and has been locked up. There would be nothing bad about that: at least that might of his would no longer be a menace, and you could breathe freely for a while. I much prefer madmen who are locked up to those who are not.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)