Breslau Festung

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | 680 words | Copyright

Breslau Festung. Breslau, the chief city of Silesia, was designated a Festung, or fortress, by Hitler as the Red Army advanced on Berlin in early 1945. The bulk of the civilian population was forcibly evacuated by the Nazi authorities. The city was defended by 35,000 troops with no armour, little artillery, and a complement of civilian volunteers. The main Soviet offensive by-passed Breslau, though repeated attempts were made to take it by storm. Supplied by a makeshift airstrip and reinforced by two parachute battalions, the garrison held out until the day before Germany surrendered on 8 May. Large numbers of evacuees from Breslau were killed by the bombing of Dresden.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Breslau Festung." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Breslau Festung." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BreslauFestung.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Breslau Festung." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BreslauFestung.html

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