During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet troops went through the most severe school. In 1945, the army ended the war, which had gone very far from itself at the time of the beginning of the confrontation. The evolution of the Red Army manifested itself especially clearly in regard to assault operations. During the first winter of war, when Soviet troops carried out a major offensive near Moscow and a whole scattering of smaller operations, the attacks were often repelled by the Germans, based on rather primitive strongholds. The training and tactical training of many soldiers and officers was at a low level, so often even not very large and powerful defensive areas of the Wehrmacht withstood the blows of the Red Army. However, the situation gradually changed.
If the encircled Demyansk and Kholm were still held by the Germans and waited for a breakthrough from the outside, then in the 1942 campaign of the year, the small garrisons of the Burnt Gorodishche, Velikiye Luki, or Workers' Settlement No. 5 near Leningrad were defeated. The skills of the Red Army soldiers were constantly improved. In the middle of the war, special assault brigades appeared, the fighters of which are easily identified in photographs by their steel bibs. However, ordinary infantrymen and sappers also grew above themselves. Improved interaction with artillery and tanks, increased the independence of the shooters in the offensive. New problems awaited the Red Army from a completely different side. The catastrophic losses of the first years of the war and the pulling of people into the technical branches of the troops led to the fact that the rifle divisions began to decrease in number before our eyes.
In 1945, the army approached with rifle divisions of 5, and sometimes 4,000 soldiers and officers. Nevertheless, as we know, the campaign of 1945 went brilliantly: the remaining Wehrmacht forces were defeated in a series of fierce battles, Hitler committed suicide, lined up in a bunker, and the Third Reich capitulated. None of this would have been possible without a radically increased level of warfare skills at all levels, from the highest staffs to privates, sergeants and junior officers on the battlefield. A typical Wehrmacht technique in recent months has been the creation of festungs in key areas - fortresses designed for long-term all-round defense. For example, the siege of Breslau, the assault on Königsberg are widely known, but similar fortresses grew throughout Poland and Germany. Glogau, Kustrin, Schneidemuhl, Arnswalde, Kohlberg... The tactics of "corner posts", tested in the winter suburbs, the Nazis brought to their logical conclusion, now tens of thousands of people could deliberately immure in the environment. No one hoped for their salvation, the garrisons had to lay down their bones, if only to delay the Russians for an extra day and pull the extra corps of the Red Army from the front. The end of almost all festungs was the same: destruction as a result of a decisive assault. 
The Red Army demonstrated a real master class in defeating such strongholds during the assault on one of the largest festungs - Poznan.
Poznan - ancient and Big City with a rich history, but in 1945, of course, no one was interested in Renaissance monuments. For the war, exactly one fact mattered: this is the crossroads of major railways and highways. Highways go from there to Torun, Stettin, Breslau, Warsaw and, finally, through Frankfurt an der Oder - directly to Berlin. So already in 1944 it was obvious that they would fight desperately for the city. The Germans began to build fortifications with the tenacity of ants. Two anti-tank ditches stretched around the city, firing points were equipped everywhere, including concrete, artillery positions, minefields. The Nazis reanimated the fortifications of the end XIX century, supplementing them with armored caps. By the way, the date of construction should not be embarrassing: in 1941, built in XIX century forts Brest Fortress proved to be a tough nut to crack for artillery.
The real problem of Poznań as a fortress was only the garrison. At first, only two regular battalions, some artillery, as well as the local Volkssturm and an officer's school were located inside. True, more than 1600 officers and cadets of the school were an unpleasant enemy, but by themselves they were not enough to hold the fortress. However, detachments gradually accumulated in the city, including the Latvian battalion, the police, the SS battalion, moreover, very successfully for the Germans, by the beginning of the battles for the city, a train with self-propelled guns passed by rail. Anti-aircraft units were located in and around Poznan, and finally, one could expect that some units from the front would retreat inside - in a word, the garrison turned out to be motley, but quite numerous.
In January 1945, the Red Army launched one of its most impressive operations - the Vistula-Oder. The front of the German Army Group "A" collapsed, and the formations of the Red Army poured into the plains of central Poland in an unstoppable stream. The High Command of the Wehrmacht pumped reinforcements to the front, but these efforts resembled an attempt to stop a truck that was accelerating with live meat. At dusk on January 22, mechanized columns entered the approaches to Poznan - this was the 1st Guards Tank Army of Mikhail Katukov. Expensive intelligence of the army got a valuable prize: Lieutenant Colonel Flakke was captured, who reported a lot of valuable information about the fortification work around the fortress.
The head mechanized corps tried to break into the city on the move, but met organized resistance and withdrew. Then Katukov undertook a detour movement: steel snakes stretched out along the roads south and north of the city. At that time, Mikhail Efimovich still considered it possible to quickly capture Poznan, after all, how did it differ from all those cities that the 1st Panzer had cleared so far? On January 24, infantry approached the city: Chuikov's 8th Guards Army. This is not just a number: before turning into a guards army, she fought on the streets of Stalingrad. At this time, the 1st Panzer with fire and sword walked through the neighborhood, surrounding the festung. Due to bad weather and lack of fuel, German planes could not take off, so the attackers took the richest trophies at the airfields. According to Katukov, 700 aircraft were captured at once. Even if these data are overestimated (the capture of 150 aircraft), there is no doubt that the tanks proved to be an excellent means of air defense.
After that, Zhukov, who led the front, decided that the tanks near Poznan had nothing more to do, and sent Katukov's army further west. Chuikov with his army remained the main force around the city. Since no one removed other tasks from him, initially the fortress was besieged by meager forces - 4 rifle divisions, a total of about 20 thousand soldiers and officers. Two more soon joined. The estimate of the forces of the besieged ranges from 12 (obviously incomplete data) to more than 60 thousand people with several dozen tanks and assault guns. The classic Soviet estimate is about 60,000 soldiers and officers. Accurate calculations are extremely difficult: chaos reigned in the Reich, the remnants of the units defeated around were hastily retreating to Poznan (representatives of four previously defeated divisions were found inside), and "mobilization" in a voluntary-compulsory order was often carried out right on the streets, vacationers, cadets of the training air regiment, in a word, everyone who could hold a rifle. In any case, a big fish was caught in the net. At the first stage of the assault, the Russians had an advantage only in combat training (numerous anti-aircraft gunners, policemen and graying Volkssturmists were unimportant infantry) and in firepower. The Red Army could not save ammunition, there were enough artillery barrels. As a result, the very first operations were very successful: assault groups broke into the defenses of several forts. The guns fired at the embrasures drove the defenders inside the fortifications, and the sappers who approached under the cover of shelling undermined the fortifications. For this, a crude but effective method was used: fuel was poured through the ventilation into the bunkers, after which the "Molotov cocktail" flew down. The power of artillery support was simply unbelievable: in the assault detachments created on the fly, there could be more gunners than infantrymen, and shelling was carried out with all calibers, including 203-mm siege howitzers.
A quick breakthrough of the outer defense line seemed to lead to an instant capture of the entire city. The forts were now attacked not only from the front, but also from the rear. Due to the appearance Soviet troops inside Poznan, some detachments were cut off at the outskirts and surrendered or died trying to break through. The artillery, quite numerous at first, was almost completely captured. Chuikov sent an ultimatum demanding surrender: "Raise the white flags and march boldly in the direction of our troops." However, on February 1, a new commandant arrived in the city by air - Colonel Gonel, who was hastily promoted to general. The airfield functioned for some time, and the weather improved, so that the Germans were able to supply the besieged to some extent. Energetic and skilled, he managed to restore the morale of the garrison and quickly bent the flanks, creating a new center of resistance in the city center. Even the loss of the airfield and, as a result, the complete isolation of the fortress did not embarrass the new commander.
There were also changes on the Russian side of the barricade. An additional two brigades of heavy artillery and a division of special power - 28-cm mortars - arrived in Poznan. However, even with their support, the offensive continued slowly. The Germans relied on a developed system of shelters in the old fortifications. To approach the casemates, the attackers had to make their way through the ditches, the enemy suddenly began to fire on Soviet soldiers from embrasures that were not immediately discovered. The ditches were also fired from special embrasures. Some forts had to be taken by rolling heavy guns close to the windows under the cover of smoke and fire from smaller caliber guns. Others were taken surprisingly calmly and even casually. Sometimes the sappers managed to quietly penetrate the roofs of the casemates, after which, as usual, fuel oil was poured inside and set on fire (if possible, flamethrowers were also used), and then they mowed down the running out soldiers of the garrison. The Gestapo building was taken by sneaking to the first floor and dragging 175 kilograms of explosives.
The main tactical unit was the assault groups. Each included a rifle company (according to the 45th year, this is usually only 40-60 people), sappers, flamethrowers and chemists to set up smoke screens. Each group was given a flamethrower tank or self-propelled gun and a couple of guns as a decisive argument. The infantrymen were given supernumerary grenades to clear the casemates, and unofficially, the fighters, from the experience of battles, often accumulated additional grenades just in case, so that a soldier of an assault group could have a dozen of them. Captured faustpatrons, which were captured by many thousands in the city, were used as engineering ammunition. The sappers were loaded with entrenching tools, fascines to overcome the fortress ditches and ropes. A separate pride of the sappers were special charges for blinding firing points, handicraft stun bombs of 250 kg each.
Assault groups sequentially cleared houses, self-propelled guns punched holes in the walls, capture groups entered there, and tanks and guns worked in attics and identified firing points. Sometimes, for greater effect, individual rockets were fired at the facades. The guides were fixed with the help of German trophy tripods from machine guns. RSs broke through up to 80 cm of brick, and the ability to carry them on their hands made it possible to shoot directly from the windows. Often, Soviet soldiers deliberately tried to bring down the walls in order to fill up the loopholes in the basements and on the first floors. Where self-propelled guns could not pass or could not provide surprise, sappers punched holes in the walls. In the building, assault groups tried to immediately seize the upper floors in order to block the possibility of escaping from the house or, conversely, coming to his aid from outside. The doors were knocked out with prepared explosive charges, after which they destroyed everything that tried to resist with grenades and point-blank fire.
The streets were cleared with the help of tanks covering each other and the infantry, and the infantry covering the tanks. Contrary to popular stereotype, tanks on the streets with proper infantry support are a formidable force. Stories about schoolchildren who destroyed tanks with faustpatrons should not be embarrassing: for everyone who managed such a feat, there were dozens of less lucky ones, shot down by escort infantry, and even from the armored vehicles themselves. If necessary, the tanks moved along the edges of the street, creating a kind of armored corridor for the shooters, little vulnerable to fire.
As support, the Russians actively used the services of Polish volunteers. The Poles provided invaluable assistance as guides, local doctors worked in their specialty, and civilian volunteers were used with might and main to help sappers in building bridges, clearing roads and rubble. In a word, one cannot say that the inhabitants of Poznan were simply present at the liberation of their native city.
By February 17, only the Citadel, an old fortification in the center, offered resistance throughout the city. Six thousand soldiers settled there, and a railway went past the Citadel, which was necessary to supply the advancing troops west of Poznan. The last push was to be made by two rifle divisions, reinforced by an assault brigade and a huge amount of artillery. About 300 guns and mortars, including 47 203- and 280-mm monsters, not counting the unchanged Katyushas and self-propelled guns, were assembled on a breakthrough site a kilometer wide - a grandiose grouping for such a small area. Chuikov and his staff were located close to the battlefield in the theater building.
On February 18, this hammer was brought down on the Citadel. The power of the fortifications turned out to be such that even after three hours of continuous shelling, quite a lot of people and firepower survived inside. The infantry lay down, retreated ... and a new wave of fire fell on the fortress, sparing no shells. Then the second attack began. 
The sappers neutralized the firing points in the ditch with their makeshift and smoke. Until they came to their senses inside, explosives were dragged to the bunkers, and the ditch had already been overcome by the infantry. Tanks and self-propelled guns supported the shooters, sappers and flamethrowers with fire from the ramparts, because the bridge across the ditch was still under construction. On the night of February 23, ramps were finally thrown across the ditch, the ditch itself was partially filled up, bringing down the walls of the fort into it, and heavy tanks began to burst into the fortress, firing from heavy machine guns and 122-mm guns at the embrasures point blank. Around the same time, a flamethrower from assault brigade, every second at the risk of turning into a high-temperature torch, crept up to the wall of another fortification and from a distance of 10 meters fired a jet of flame into the embrasure of one of the redoubts. No one managed to jump out of the fortification, because a warehouse with faustpatrons began to explode inside. The building burned for more than a day. At this time, B-4 howitzers were pulled into the Citadel, which, covered with smoke, fired from direct fire with shells weighing a centner. 
By 4 o'clock in the morning, the Germans stopped thinking about anything other than saving lives, and began to surrender in droves. The commander of one of the assault groups, Major Litvinov, captured the head of this defense sector, General Mattern, with his headquarters. The commandant of Poznań, the fanatical General Gonell, committed suicide.
4887 soldiers and officers of the Red Army paid with their lives for the capture of the fortress. At this price, the garrison was completely destroyed, 17 thousand (according to other sources, even 23 thousand) people from its composition were captured, from 15 to 40 thousand were killed.
The assault on Poznań remained a relatively obscure operation. And meanwhile it major battle and an excellent demonstration of the style of the Red Army at the end of the war. For many other armies, the task of storming such a defensive area could simply become unsolvable, and the Red Army itself at the beginning of the war would hardly have coped with such a task. However, the level of technical equipment and skills of the modern war of Soviet soldiers of the last campaign of the Great Patriotic War were at the highest level. The operation was carried out masterfully, with the maximum use of their strengths. Despite the small number of infantry storming the city, the resistance of the garrison was broken by perfect tactics and a real sea of iron falling on the enemy: 5 thousand tons of artillery shells were fired at the fortress. Poznan held out for a month, but according to the results achieved and the ratio of losses, its assault can be safely called a brilliant operation. The 8th Guards Army went to the west. Ahead of her was a breakthrough of German positions on the Seelow Heights and the assault on Berlin.
POZNAN (Posen, Posnan), the main city of the Prussian province of the same name, a first-class fortress, at the confluence of the river. Bogdanki and Tsybina in Warta.
7 railway lines converge at Poznań: from Pleschen, Thorn, Danzig, Stetin, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and Breslau.
Poznan, protecting the main and richest city of the province, is located in the middle of the meridional section of the river. Varty (between Moshin and Obornik - at a distance of about 1 transition from both), commands this section and is fully provided from the south by the swamps of the Obra and the Obra canals, and from the northwestern bend of the Warta.
T. arr., Poznan is located in the center of a strong strategic position on the river. Warta, intercepting all direct routes from the Vistula region - from the middle Vistula to the middle Oder and at the same time commanding the routes leading to the crossings on the river. Netze and to the river. Oder - on Glogau.
In Poznan are located: the headquarters of the V Army Corps; 19th Infantry Brigade; 2nd Lower Silesian Infantry No. 47 (20th infantry brigade); Life Hussar No. 2 (10th cavalry brigade); 1st and 2nd divisions of the Poznan field artillery No. 20; 5th Fortress Artillery; 5th Cargo Battalion.
In Poznań, all the highest administration of the province is concentrated.
About 1/3 of the population is evangelical, 1/12 is Jewish and the rest is Catholic.
The foundation of Poznan is attributed to the middle of the VI century.
In 968, Poznan, under Prince Mstislav, was the capital of Poland, and under his successor Boleslav the Brave, it reached considerable power.
The unrest that ensued after the division of the children of Bolesław III, which subsequently continued due to the struggle of the aristocracy with the princes, led to the decline of Poland and, in particular, Poznan.
In 1703 Poznań fell into the hands of the Swedes.
In 1716 it was taken back by the Poles.
According to the second partition of Poland, Poznan went to Prussia, later became part of the Duchy of Warsaw, and in 1828 Poznan was again returned to Prussia.
From that year on, the Prussian government began to build a first-class fortress.
The strategic importance of the Poznań fortress lies in the fact that, being the central hub of the most important land communications between the Vistula and Oder valleys, on the one hand, and the coast and Silesia, on the other, it can serve as a place for concentrating a significant number of troops and for storing various materiel, which taken together will form a solid basis for the offensive.
Poznań has a strong strategic position on the river. Warte, crossing all paths from Warsaw to. The best ways: to Sluptsi (217 ver.), to Sluzhevo (245 ver.) and to Kalisz (291 ver.).
There is only one railway track - to Aleksandrovo and Thorn.
All 3 highways converge at Poznań. The crossing over the Warta near Poznań is provided with double. In addition, there are permanent crossings at Obornik and Shrimm.
These crossings give the troops of the defender the opportunity to own both banks of the Warta. The rugged terrain in front of and on the flanks of this position further strengthens it (the swampy upper reaches of the Varta River and the line of the Prosna River ensure this from a turn on the right). Poznań, making up secured for. concentration of the German army and a solid base for the invasion of the Kingdom of Poland - at the same time dominates the lines of operations of the advancing, leading from the border into inner regions Prussia.
When moving from the Lower Vistula to across Pomerania, the attacker will have Poznan on his flank, which will force him to leave a blockade corps here. During operations in Silesia, the attacker has on his flank the fortresses of Glogau and Breslau, which are supported by Posen, and, consequently, Posen will threaten the blockade corps left by the attacker to support himself from Glogau and Breslau.
Posen, moreover, can serve as a base for the entire coast between Stralsund and Danzig.
T. arr., Poznan, representing a vast fortified camp, serves not only as a material obstacle for the attacker, but also as a temporary shelter for the entire army of the defender, operating in the area of this fortress. This army, having control over the crossings over the Warta, will be able to operate under the cover of Poznań on both banks of the Warta, i.e. m. apply in the highest degree active defense.
All of the above indicates that Poznan should attract significant forces of the attacker and thereby distract from the main object of action.
Poznań is located in a basin. Heights surround it with a wide amphitheatre. For the defender, this disadvantage is only partially paralyzed by the system of advanced forts, since they, in turn, have to fight the enemy themselves. artillery, located at the commanding heights, -
Description of Poznań Fortress:
The Poznań fortification system consists of:
1) individual forts and intermediate verks;
2) buildings on the right bank of the Warta with internal fortifications;
3) werks of the left bank of the Warta and
4) Viniari citadel (north-western sector and 3 bastions from the old central fence). Defense length. line linking individual forts, 27th c. removed forts from the fortress fence from the 3rd to the 5th c.
In 1873, it was decided to build separate forts and increase the thickness of the ramparts of the fence (now the old one).
In 1883, the forts were completed and connected with the fortress fence and between themselves by highways.
The location of the forts is as follows.
On the right bank of the Warta.
1) Fort No. 1 Starolenka at 2.480 szh. from the city center and 300 szh. from Warta and north of Klein-Starolenka. It is located in an open area, shelling the Warta valley and railway to Kreutzburg.
The height of the fort's line of fire is 266 ft. Near the fort (in the 2nd century) there is a group of heights that commands the fort.
2) Fort No. 2 Zegrze at 2.085 szh. from the city, in the 1st c. south of the village of the same name. The fort occupies a commanding position in a completely open area.
Its fire is shelling the entire southeastern sector up to the Kobylyepol forests (4-5th century from the fort).
3) Fort No. 3 Johannemisle is located on the elevated right bank of the river. Tsybiny (between the Weisberg and Topole farmsteads) at 1.650 szh. from the city.
High Command - 324 ft.
Despite the significant command of the heights, the shelling is constrained everywhere, for an exceptionally small strip in the west, due to the forest space. The approaches to the fort are hampered from all sides by the Tsibino, its tributaries, marshy spaces and forests,
4) Fort No. 4 Glowno at 1.920 szh. from the city and 600 szh. northeast of the villages. Great.
High Command 292 ft.
The fort bombards Brombergskaya railroad, river valley Głowno, as well as the highway and the railway through Sbornik to Speydemühl.
Near the fort (3rd century) commanding heights (near the village of Yanikovo). The nearest approaches to the fort will be hampered by an artificial overflow of the river. Great.
5) Fort No. 5 Naramovitsa at 1.850 c. from the city and 300 szh. southwest of the manor of the same name. High Command - 328 ft.
The area nearby is open and the shelling is not constrained by anything.
In 2 1/2 in. from it there are commanding heights (p. Piatkovo).
6) Fort No. 6 Winiari at 300 c. west of the Nei-Viniary and 2.060 cf. from the city. Command - 334 ft.
The area around is completely open.
The fort bombards the entire northwestern sector, the railroad to Bellegarde and the highway to Obornik. At ss. Piatkovo and Suhilas - commanders of the heights,
7) fort number 7 is located between ss. Sytkovo (Berlin highway) and Pongovo (highway to Buk) at 2.200 szh. from the city. Command 325 ft.
There are 2 auxiliary batteries on the flanks. The area in front of the fort is open, except for the wooded and marshy Bogdanka valley. The fort bombards the Berlin Highway and the Stargard Railway.
In ver. 2 there are commanding heights.
8) Fort No. 8 Yunikovo at 2.390 szh. from the city and 550 szh. west of the manor.
Command 298 szh. Circular shelling is not constrained by anything.
There are no commanding heights nearby, the terrain is open, treeless and swampy.
9) Fort No. 9 Gurgin in 245 szh. from the city, 600 szh. south of the Gurgin.
High Command - 307 ft. The area is very swampy and completely open. The fort shells the railroad to Breslavl and the highway to Breslavl.
Between each 2 forts are located the same number of intermediate verki. Fortifications: No. 1 - A bombards the railway to Yarosh and the gap between the 1st and 2nd forts.
No. 2 - A is intended for shelling the gap between the river. Cibina and highway Poznań - Zegrze - Splavie.
No. 3 - A fires at the sector enclosed between the railroad. roads to Vromberg and Jarosh.
No. 4 - A Wolfsmülle, located at 1.610 fl. from the city.
His Heights Command - 254 ft. It shells the low valley of the lower reaches of the river. Warts, ahead of him the country is completely open. Near with. Chervonakh has commanding heights.
No. 5 - A Golentsin near the village. Golenits, at 2.150 cf. from the city.
Command - 328 ft. The area is open everywhere. The fort fires at the approaches to the neighboring forts (6 and 7) and the railway to Bellegarde.
No. 8 - A shells the railway to Opalenica;
No. 9 - A Dembsen, at 300 cf. south of the village of the same name and at 2.460 szh. from the city.
High Command 266 ft. There are no commanding heights in the neighborhood. The area is open everywhere.
He bombards both banks of the river. Warty and longitudinal railroad to Breslau.
In addition to forts and intermediate fortifications, there are separate batteries: adjacent, intermediate and auxiliary; the last of them are assigned to shelling such directions that are not fired upon by the fire of strong points and adjacent batteries.
Construction of forts and intermediate verks.
These buildings are all built in the same style. A separate fort was a fortification in the form of a 2-sided lunette with two flanks, with an obtuse outgoing angle and a closed gorge.
Then all the forts were rebuilt, and the fortifications were rebuilt, the garrison of the fort was 1-2 infantry companies.
Adjacent and intermediate batteries are armed differently: from 4 to 10 guns, depending on the purpose of the battery.
Garrisons of intermediate fortification - 1 infantry company.
The highways connecting the forts form around Poznan, on the left bank of the Warta - a wide semicircle, interrupted by the valley of the river. Bogdanki only between forts 6 and 7. On the right bank, the highway stretches only between forts 1 and 2.
In addition to this circular highway, there are also radial ones going from the forts to the fortress fence. From this review it can be seen that the forts are removed from the Poznan fortress by 3 1/4 -5 ver.
The mutual distance between the forts ranges from 1 1/4 to 3 1/4 ver., with the latter figure referring only to fort No. 3, where the removal of neighboring forts is justified by rugged terrain that makes a breakthrough difficult.
Removing the forts from the fence apparently cannot guarantee the fortress against bombardment accidents, since siege weapons can open fire from ver. 8, and therefore distant siege batteries can fit quite safely, since they will not be located closer than 3 ver. from an advanced werk or fort.
The line of forts, strong in itself, will be strengthened by the construction of separate intermediate batteries, etc., when the fortress is placed under martial law. All this taken together, in connection with the artificial flooding of the northeastern sector, should significantly complicate the conduct of approaches to the forts.
Fortifications on the right bank of the river. The Warta is a vast permanent crossing over the Warta (large lock, railway and city bridges), the reduit of which is the so-called. Cathedral fortification of the former central fence.
The central reduit of Fort Viniari is located at 200 f. behind the Leopold bastion. It represents a huge stone defensive barracks, in the form of a lunette with 3 faces, surrounded by a moat, 7 cm wide.
The length of the front face is about 80 cm.
In the middle of it is a stone caponier, and at the ends of the side faces there are semi-caponiers. Between the northern and side faces there are 2 high towers. The gorge wall is located in the form of an angle outgoing to the side of the city; on this corner is a horseshoe-shaped caponier. 2 barracks are adjacent to the faces of the wall, 44 cm long. each.
The internal area of the reduit accommodates at least 5 sq. m. szh. The northern front of the reduit has 2 glacis. The laying of the first of them - 50 szh. and stone counterscarp (ditch width 7 cm).
The ditch of the 2nd glacis (about 6 cm wide) is fired upon from the rear cremaler fronts adjoining the central reduit and linking it from the flanks. semi-fronts.
Reduit Command - 112 ft. The described central reduit is reported using stone open caponiers:
a) south-facing with a small lock; the length of the open caponier - 70 cm;
b) in the southeast - with a large lock across the river. Wart; caponier length - 110 cm.
Roads also lead to the aforementioned locks through the glacis from the caponier of the gorge wall of the reduit. The faces of the mentioned open caponiers have fractures at a right angle, in order to deliver them a defense in a southerly direction.
Reduit command at 22 ft. less than that of the main shaft of floor fronts. The cremaler fronts connecting the extreme ravelins with the central reduit (the length of the polygon is about 225 szh.) each represent 2 outgoing right angles, enclosing quad-angled separate redoubts flanking the ditch.
The internal space of the fort is about 60 sq. m. szh. (approximately 25 acres). Such spaciousness in connection with its strong profile and significant command over all other forts of the fortress fence and over the city - make this fort not only a strong, but also an independent fortress, which has a wide shelling over the area in front of the northern tip of the city.
The position of the Viniari citadel outside the main fence, over which she commanded, as if localizes the probable direction of attack on the left bank of the Warta, relegating it to the 2nd plan, and b. m., and destroying the value of other fortifications of this coast, in view of the fact that the fort m. b. taken, bypassing them, and with the capture of it, the named fortifications can hardly hold out, having the enemy in a dominant position on the flank or in the rear.
The garrison of the fortress - about 27 thousand hours and 1.350 guns.
November 30th, 2015 10:02 am
Many people associate Polish Poznań with the beautiful Old Town, the impressive Market Square or shopping in the wonderful Stary Bravor shopping center. Many more will remember the great industrial fairs and the huge university center here. I have already described this tourist Poznan a little.
But there is also a completely different Poznan - little known to a wide range of its guests. This Poznan of gloomy dungeons, ancient forts and traces of the cruel confrontations of mankind, in which this city took a direct part.
This spring, during our trip, we uncovered some of the darkest pages in the history of Poznań.
2.
This city from time immemorial stood on the border of two worlds. It is only 270 kilometers from Berlin and 300 kilometers from Warsaw. The Germans always wanted to turn their Posen into a reliable stronghold from any troubles from the east. The Poles, on the contrary, have always considered this city their own and looked apprehensively towards the west.
It just so happened that this city had all the strategic advantages of a defensive nature. The wide Warta River and many hills in the area were used as a natural defense against uninvited guests a thousand years ago, and 200 years ago they became the reason for the construction of powerful fortifications in the Poznań area.
In those days, Prussian generals were very wary of being in close proximity to Russian Empire, which recently defeated the Napoleonic army and included the so-called Kingdom of Poland in its possessions. First, not far from the very center, on a high hill, the Prussians erected the so-called Citadel - a large fortress, which the Poles also call Vinyary Fort. This powerful fortification occupied an area of 100 hectares and for a long time became main fortress Know.
3.
Since 1876, the Prussian military built nine forts around the city at a distance of 3-5 kilometers from the Citadel. After some time, they were strengthened by nine more auxiliary forts.
All of them were built according to similar schemes with brick moats, multi-level interiors and artillery bastions. Nevertheless, each of these structures was unique, with its own original engineering solutions. Each of the forts got its own name.
5.
At that time, the Poznań Fortress became one of the largest fortifications in Europe. True, at the beginning of the 20th century, some of them were demolished, as they clearly interfered with the development of the city. Nevertheless, in 1912 the Poznań garrison was 27,000 men and 1,350 guns.
During the First World War, the Poznań forts were never used. In 1918, the Poles, without any effort, captured all the fortifications of the city and the Polish army was already stationed here. In 1939, again, almost without resistance, Poznań came under the rule of Nazi Germany. Morally and strategically obsolete forts are used by the Germans for production and storage purposes, and the VII fort is the first in Poland concentration camp. Only by 1944 did the Germans suddenly remember the direct purpose of the forts and hastily begin to strengthen and re-equip them. Between the forts, they placed many fortified gun emplacements, anti-tank ditches and trenches, and in addition to these they adapted many of the brick buildings of the city itself for defense.
By direct order of Hitler, Poznan becomes the last outpost on the outskirts of the original German lands and almost the only chance to stop the rapid advance of the Red Army towards Berlin.
The assault on the city was entrusted to the hero Battle of Stalingrad General Vasily Chuikov.
About a hundred thousand soldiers of the Red Army took part in this battle for Poznan. The Germans also fought huge forces for the defense of the city - about 30 thousand regular army soldiers, 20 thousand Volkssturm militia and another 25 thousand SS men with policemen. By the way, the local Gauleiter Arthur Greiser tried to escape from the city, but was caught and demoted to a simple officer of the Volkssturm. Later, he fled again, took refuge somewhere in the Alps, was captured by the Americans and handed over to the Poles for trial. He was publicly hanged after the war in the same Poznan Citadel.
Well, the assault on the city lasted almost a month in January 1945. The experience of capturing local forts and fierce battles within the city was then used in the battles for Berlin and Koningsberg.
Despite the desperate resistance of the Germans, the Red Army learned to capture the forts rather quickly, but the battle with the Citadel dragged on for five days. But still, the artillery and the stubbornness of the Soviet soldiers decided the outcome of the battle not in favor of Germany.
The Germans also had their heroes! During the battle for Poznan, the commandant General Mattern was removed and General Konnelen took his place. He introduced the strictest discipline into the troops and executions for any offenses. But this could no longer help the German troops. Konnelen himself, in the end, before surrendering, shot himself right on the fascist banner, and the remnants of the garrison surrendered to the mercy of the winner.
This victory went to the Red Army at a high price. For 11 thousand Soviet soldiers, Poznan became a mass grave. No one especially considered casualties among the civilian population ...
To this day, most of the Poznan forts have been preserved in a relatively good condition. We decided to visit at least some of them. This turned out not to be easy to do. Most of the forts are now surrounded by fences and there is practically no chance to get inside.
14.
We started our walk from the 7th Fort Colomb. This is where the concentration camp was located. According to some information, which is already difficult to verify, 45 thousand prisoners passed through it. Of these, about 20 thousand were shot and tortured. For the most part, these were Polish soldiers, residents of Poznan and, of course, Jews.
15.
A museum has been organized here since 1979. We arrived here on the eve of Catholic Easter and could not get inside. From the outside, the fort looks well-preserved. It doesn't look big from the outside. It is hard to believe that about two and a half thousand prisoners were accommodated here at the same time, who were guarded by about 400 SS men. It is a known fact that only one person managed to escape from here - a certain Marion Schlegel.
16.
The next on our way was the IX Fort Bruneck.
17.
Its inner moats were converted into warehouses and garages after the war.
18.
It is said that there is still an abandoned park of police cars inside. We have not been able to personally verify this information. The central part of the fort was guarded by hefty Rottweilers unleashed.
19.
Walking around the fort, we found a loophole and climbed into the upper part of the fort, where artillery pieces were once placed. True, all the entrances to the inside were securely walled up, and the territory itself was turned into a trash can by the locals.
20.
The next object on our way was the I fort called Roder. Unfortunately, this fort was completely closed to the public. On its territory is now some kind of industrial production.
21.
We were already beginning to be a little disappointed in the results of our walk, but the next auxiliary fort, Ia Boen, finally gave us complete freedom of action.
22.
We were pleased with the safety of this fortification. It seemed that he was not particularly injured during the battle. Although in some places potholes from bullets and shells were visible, and traces of fire were also visible inside.
23.
Now it is difficult to say whether the Soviet soldiers used flamethrowers here to smoke out the Germans who had settled down, or a fire broke out here at a later time, but traces of soot and soot were visible everywhere.
24.
The drainage system of the fort was destroyed, so part of its underground communications were flooded.
25.
Nevertheless, we walked a lot through its underground multi-level labyrinths.
26.
Outwardly, it was clearly visible how the Germans were trying to strengthen this fort. A thick layer of concrete was laid on top.
27.
Many entrances are fortified, and most of the windows are walled up.
28.
There are few artifacts left in the fort itself. Almost all metal parts and wires were taken out of here by marauders long ago.
29.
But we did find something.
30.
For example, we paid attention to the powerful iron plates above the entrances with many holes. They apparently served to release powder gases.
31.
Some of the interior lighting remains.
32.
The wooden latches of the loopholes looked very interesting.
33.
Some entrances were covered with massive bars.
34.
Along long narrow corridors one could go to the side casemates, where even the supports for the guns were preserved.
35.
Wandering around this fort, we stumbled more than once on through holes in the floor. Here you should be careful!
36.
The map shows Fort Viniary, more precisely the Citadel City Park on the site of the central fort of the Poznań Fortress.
Poznań Fortress (Polish Twierdza Poznań, German Festung Posen) is a complex of fortifications built in the city of Poznan in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the third largest among such structures in Europe.The fortress includes a citadel in the city center and a ring of forts (18 forts) and auxiliary facilities with a diameter of 9.5 kilometers and a length of 30 kilometers.
The military fortification of Poznan was built on the initiative of General Karl Wilhelm Georg von Grolmann (1777-1843) who between 1815 and 1819 was the head of the Prussian General Staff, and then became the commander of the corps of the fifth army, located in the Grand Duchy of Poznan. The location of the city on the Prussian-Russian border was strategically important, and the danger threatening from Berlin (during the second partition of Poland in 1793, the city was captured by Prussia) gave impetus to the Polish freedom movement turn Poznan into a fortress. There were two reasons to build a fortress: it was necessary to provide their own protection, as well as Berlin against a possible attack from Warsaw, which at that time was in the hands of Russia. Despite official friendly relations, Prussia and Russia did not trust each other.
It is known that Berlin is located only 270 km from the city center of Poznan, and Warsaw - 300 km. Another advantage in the direction of Poznań was the Warta River and favorable terrain. The times of the construction of the Poznań fortress were truly tragic for the city. Its development was suspended for many years.
The fortress was an innovation in the architecture of its time. It was the first building of a direct defensive purpose, later known as the "new Prussian" system, developed by Leopold Brese.
The first step in the implementation of these plans was the relocation of two villages, Viniyari and Bonin, located on Viniyari Hill, towering above the city, i.e. right on the site where the fortress (Fort Viniyari) was subsequently erected. Construction work began on 23 June 1828 with the excavation of the planned ditches. Work moved extremely slowly, but everything was done with Prussian accuracy. Building material was delivered from brick factories located in Vilda, Ratai, Rzhpadek, Radoevo, Promnis and Zyabilkovo. All completed buildings were immediately armed and equipped with troops. On October 1, 1834, Frederick William III of Prussia placed Poznan in the II class of defensive structures.
In December 1834, a whole redoubt with barracks was put into operation, Kernwerk, which was located in the very center of the fort, designed by Major John Leopold Ludwig von Brese (1787-1878). General form The fortress was formed in 1842, but the fortress acquired its final silhouette as a result of work by prisoners of war in 1870. At that time, the most central element of the inner polygonal ring of fortifications surrounding the city (today it is the city center of Poznań) was used.
The fortress, built according to the new Prussian system, covered an area of about 100 hectares. The outer embankment with moats was built in the shape of a polygon. Kernverk consisted of three-story barracks with a plinth, with two observation towers with artillery loopholes behind the barracks. The fortress could be reached by two bridges: the main bridge for artillery and one bridge for infantry. From the south, the redoubt was protected by two locks: the Small Lock on the Wiersbak River and the Big Lock on the Warta River. They were able to raise the water level and create reservoirs on the outskirts of the fortress. The following forts were located at the ends of both locks: Wojciech Fort (Crooks Fort) on the Small Lock and Bridgehead (Rhone Fort) on the Big Lock. The entire fortress as a whole was surrounded by the main earth embankment, fortified on the north side by three bastions and four protruding ravelins, and on the south side, the barracks were protected from fire by four independent redoubts. The outer line of defense stretched for 3 kilometers. The fortress was surrounded by a dry moat 6-32 meters wide and 7 meters deep. The thickness of the walls of all buildings was 1.3-1.8 m. The whole complex was surrounded by the so-called "covered road" that led around the fortress along the hill.
In 1839, King Frederick William III agreed to build fortifications surrounding the left side of the city. They consisted of 6 bastions and 2 forts, interconnected by earthen fortifications, the construction of which was completed by 1860. During its existence, the fortress performed various functions. The Polish conspirators of the uprisings of 1846, 1848 and 1863 (including L. Mirowslavsky, V. Nigolevsky and V. Stefansky), and prisoners of war captured as a result of wars with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France ( 1870-71), which brought victory and glory to Prussia.
The rapid technological progress in the art of warfare occurred in the second half of the 19th century and contributed to the weakening of the influence of the fortress. As a result, in 1876-90, a new ring of fortifications was erected on the outskirts of the city. It was supposed to take on the role of the primary fortification. In 1902, Emperor William II agreed to demolish the fortifications on the outskirts on the left side of the city, excluding the fortress. His decision was hastened by the fact that at that time, this type of fortification was not very convenient from a military point of view, and the Emperor decided to remake Posen into a capital city.
During the First World War, Viniyari Fortress did not play any role in the hostilities. Captured without a fight by the rebels of the Greater Poland Uprising (December 19, 1918), it became the center of the formation of the First Greater Poland Military Regime, as well as the First and Second Telegraph Battalions. The capture of the fortress radio station was of great importance: now the rebels could easily communicate with Warsaw and other European capitals directly. During the interwar period, the fortress was the seat of the Polish Army and units such as the Seventh Telegraph Battalion, the Seventh Sanitary Battalion, the Twelfth Railway Battalion, the Seventh Administrative Battalion, the Seventh Cavalry Army and the Third Railway Army. Thanks to the efforts of the soldiers of the above-mentioned units, on July 21, 1923, a narrow-gauge railway 17.4 km long was launched, connecting the fortress with the training camp in Bidrusk. The fortress had a working transmitter of the local Polish radio station (since 1934), as well as a direction-finding station and an intercept station No. 4, controlled by the Eleventh part of the command headquarters of the Polish Army, which was very interested in electronic intelligence.
Following the capture of Poznan by the Wehrmacht (September 10, 1939), the fort began to be used as a place to keep prisoners of war - the very first were the Poles (among them Brigadier General Roman Abraham), then the Russians and the British were added. The southwestern part of the moat was used as an experimental ground for German weapons and for a military factory (N. Gedelski). The military importance of the fortress unexpectedly increased in 1944/45. It became the main defensive point for several thousand soldiers. After the fall of the fortress on February 23, 1945, as a result of a five-day siege, several thousand soldiers and officers of the Red Army and the defenders of Poznan (defenders of the Fortress) recruited by the Russians died here. It was the first, which later became a turning point, military episode in the history of the fortress. During the war, the redoubts with barracks were partially destroyed, other parts of the fortress survived almost untouched, no matter what.
After the Second World War, the city authorities decided to demolish the fort, which was done in 1950-58. Bricks were then used to build houses in Poznań (for example, the On Debek estate and the estate on Chocisiewski Street), as well as in Warsaw. Since 1962, the fortress has become a monument in honor of the Polish-Russian friendship and Brotherhood (today it is called the Park Fortress). In 1962, the remains of the fort's architecture were added to the State List. historical monuments. Currently, the fortress is conveniently located on the “green lungs” of the city, and presents a complex of military cemeteries, monuments, sculptures (such as the “Monument to the Unknown” by Magdalena Abakanowicz), the Bell of Peace and Friendship between Nations and two museums (Museum of the Armed Forces and Museum of the Poznań Army ), located in partially restored premises.
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