View source for German World War II fortresses

{{Short description|Strategic areas for Germany in WWII}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2011}}

'''German fortresses during World War II''' ({{langx|de|Festungen}} or {{lang|de|Fester Platz}}, {{lit|fixed place}}; called [[Pocket (military)|pockets]] by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]])  were [[bridgehead]]s, [[cities]], [[island]]s and [[town]]s designated by [[Adolf Hitler]] as areas that were to be fortified and stocked with food and ammunition in order to hold out against Allied offensives. 
[[File:Atlantic_Wall,_Longues-sur-Mer_(3).jpg|thumb|right|An [[Atlantic Wall]] bunker]]
The [[fortress]] doctrine evolved towards the end of [[World War II]], when the German leadership had not yet accepted defeat, but had begun to realize that drastic measures were required to forestall inevitable Allied offensives.  The first such stronghold was [[Stalingrad]].{{sfn|Griess|2014|p=326}}
[[File:Feste Plätze Ostfront 1944.png|thumb|Map of {{lang|de|Feste Plätze}} on the Eastern Front in 1944]]
On the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], [[Battle of Warsaw (1945)|Warsaw]], [[Siege of Budapest|Budapest]], [[Vilnius offensive|Vilnius]], [[Battle of Kolberg (1945)|Kolberg]], [[Battle of Königsberg|Königsberg]], [[Küstrin]], [[Siege of Danzig (1945)|Danzig]] and [[Siege of Breslau|Breslau]] were some of the large cities selected as strongholds.

On the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]], Hitler declared eleven major ports as fortresses on 19 January 1944: [[IJmuiden]], the [[Hook of Holland]], [[Dunkirk]], [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], [[Le Havre]], [[Cherbourg]], [[Saint-Malo]], [[Brest, France|Brest]], [[Lorient]], [[Saint-Nazaire]] and the [[Gironde estuary]].  In February and March 1944 three more coastal areas were declared to be fortresses: the [[Channel Islands]], [[Calais]] and [[La Rochelle]].{{sfn|Wilt|2004|p=108}}

==Fate of the fortresses==

The fate of the fortress areas varied. Stalingrad, the first to fall, is seen as a crucial turning point in the war, and one of the key battles which led to German defeat. In several cases, [[Alderney]], for example, the fortresses were bypassed by the attackers and did not fall, surrendering only after the [[German Instrument of Surrender|unconditional surrender of Germany]].

One fortress, [[Courland]], would see [[Guerrilla war in the Baltic states|guerrilla war]] being waged in the area after 1945 to the late 1950s by [[Latvian partisans|Latvian]] and [[Lithuanian partisans]], with a few Germans who fought as Forest Brothers, with individual guerrillas remaining in hiding and evading capture into the 1980s.

{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable data-sort-type=number sticky-header"
!Fortresses
!Siege
!Commander
!Besiegers
!Date declared
!Date siege started
!Date surrendered
!Length of siege
!Notes
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Belle Île]], [[Groix]] and [[Lorient]], [[French State]], [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|Military Administration in France]]
| [[Lorient pocket]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Wilhelm Fahrmbacher]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} [[US Armed Forces]]
* [[66th Infantry Division (United States)|66th Infantry Division]]
|data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944
|data-sort-value="19440812" | 12 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19450510" | 10 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:271|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=8|day1=12|year1=1944|month2=05|day2=10|year2=1945}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Berlin (1934-1954).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Berlin]], [[Province of Brandenburg]], [[Free State of Prussia]], [[Gau Berlin]], [[Nazi Germany|Greater German Reich]]
|[[Battle in Berlin]]
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild]] → [[Hellmuth Reymann]] → [[Ernst Kaether]] → {{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Adolf Hitler]] → {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Helmuth Weidling]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} [[Soviet Armed Forces]]
* [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army]]
** [[1st Belorussian Front]]
** [[1st Ukrainian Front]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Poland (1927–1980).svg}} [[Polish People's Army|Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland]]
* [[First Polish Army (1944–1945)|First Polish Army]]
|data-sort-value="19450201" | {{Circa|Beginning of February 1945}}
|data-sort-value="19450423" | 23 April 1945 ([[encirclement]] of Berlin complete on 27 April 1945)
|data-sort-value="19450502" | 2 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:9|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=4|day1=23|year1=1945|month2=05|day2=2|year2=1945}}
|
* Called the ''Berlin Defense Area''
* [[Operation Clausewitz]]
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Bobruysk]], [[Army Group Rear Area Command]]
|[[Bobruysk offensive]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Adolf Hamann]]{{POW}}
|{{Flagicon|Soviet Union|1936}} Soviet Armed Forces
* Red Army
** 1st Belorussian Front
*** [[65th Army (Soviet Union)|65th Army]]
|data-sort-value="19440622" | 22 June 1944
|data-sort-value="19440627" | 27 June 1944
|data-sort-value="19440629" | 29 June 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:2|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=6|day1=27|year1=1944|month2=06|day2=29|year2=1944}}
| Now called Babruysk
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], French State, Military Administration in France
|[[Operation Wellhit]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Ferdinand Heim]]{{Surrendered}}
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} [[UK Armed Forces]]
* {{flagicon image|Air Force Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} [[Royal Air Force]]
** [[No. 2 Group RAF|No. 2 Group]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Canada (1921–1957).svg}} [[Canadian Armed Forces]]
* [[First Canadian Army]]
** [[3rd Canadian Division|3rd Division]]
*** [[8th Canadian Infantry Brigade|8th Infantry Brigade]]
*** [[9th Canadian Infantry Brigade|9th Infantry Brigade]]
|data-sort-value="19440917" | 17 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19440917" | 17 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19440922" | 22 September 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:5|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=17|year1=1944|month2=09|day2=22|year2=1944}}
| 
|-
|{{flagicon image|POL Wrocław flag.svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Breslau]], [[Province of Lower Silesia]], Free State of Prussia, [[Gau Lower Silesia]], Greater German Reich
|[[Siege of Breslau]]
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg}} Battle Commander [[Karl Hanke]]
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} Soviet Armed Forces
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Soviet Air Force.svg}} [[Soviet Air Forces|Military Air Forces of the USSR]]
** [[2nd Air Army]]
** [[18th Air Army]]
* Red Army
** 1st Ukrainian Front
*** [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th Army]]
|data-sort-value="19440725" | 25 July 1944
|data-sort-value="19450213" | 13 February 1945
|data-sort-value="19450506" | 6 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:82|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=2|day1=13|year1=1945|month2=05|day2=6|year2=1945}}
| Now called Wrocław
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Brest, France|Brest]], French State, Military Administration in France
| [[Battle for Brest]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} UK Armed Forces
{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} US Armed Forces
* [[US Army Air Forces]]
* [[US Third Army]]
** [[VIII Corps (United States)|VIII Corps]]
*** [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|2nd Infantry Division]]
*** [[8th Infantry Division (United States)|8th Infantry Division]]
*** [[29th Infantry Division (United States)|29th Infantry Division]]
*** [[35th Engineer Combat Battalion]]
*** [[2nd Ranger Battalion]]
*** [[644th Tank Destroyer Battalion]]
*** [[5th Ranger Battalion (United States)|5th Ranger Battalion]]
*** [[23rd Headquarters Special Troops (United States)|23rd Headquarters Special Troops]]
*** [[79th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|79th UK Armoured Division]] (elements)
*** [[6th Armored Division (United States)|6th Armored Division]] (elements)
|data-sort-value="19440807" | 7 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19440807" | 7 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19440919" | 19 September 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:43|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=8|day1=7|year1=1944|month2=09|day2=19|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946).svg}}  [[Budapest, Hungary|Budapest]], [[Government of National Unity (Hungary)|Government of National Unity]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Kingdom of Hungary]]
|[[Siege of Budapest]]
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg}} [[Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Romania.svg}}  [[Romanian Armed Forces]]
* [[First Army (Romania)|First Army]]
** [[7th Army Corps (Romania)|7th Army Corps]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} Soviet Armed Forces
* Red Army
** [[2nd Ukrainian Front]]
*** [[53rd Army (Soviet Union)|53rd Army]]
*** [[7th Guards Army]]
** [[3rd Ukrainian Front]] (elements)
*** [[46th Army]]
|data-sort-value="19441201" | 1 December 1944
|data-sort-value="19441224" | 24 December 1944
|data-sort-value="19450213" | 13 February 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:50|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=12|day1=24|year1=1944|month2=02|day2=13|year2=1945}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Calais]], French State, Military Administration in France
|[[Operation Undergo]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Ludwig Schroeder]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} UK Armed Forces
* {{flagicon image|Air Force Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} Royal Air Force
* {{flagicon image|Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} [[Royal Navy]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Canada (1921–1957).svg}} Canadian Armed Forces
* First Army
** 3rd Division
*** [[7th Canadian Infantry Brigade|7th Infantry Brigade]]
*** [[8th Canadian Infantry Brigade|8th Infantry Brigade]]
|data-sort-value="19440201" | February or March 1944
|data-sort-value="19440925" | 25 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19440930" | 30 September 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:5|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=25|year1=1944|month2=09|day2=30|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[German occupation of the Channel Islands|Channel Islands]]
|[[Resistance in the German-occupied Channel Islands]] 
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Rudolf Graf von Schmettow]] → [[Friedrich Hüffmeier]]{{Surrendered}}
| [[Allied Expeditionary Force]] 
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} [[US Navy]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} [[US Army]]
* {{flagicon image|Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} Royal Navy
|data-sort-value="19440201" | February or March 1944
|data-sort-value="19440902" | 2 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19450523" | 9 May 1945 ([[Guernsey]] and [[Jersey]])<br>10 May 1945 ([[Sark]])<br>16 May 1945 ([[Alderney]])<br> 23 May 1945 ([[Minquiers]])
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:263|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=2|year1=1944|month2=05|day2=23|year2=1945}}
| Surrendered after the surrender of Germany
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Cherbourg]], French State, Military Administration in France
| [[Battle of Cherbourg]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} US Armed Forces
* [[First Army (United States)|First Army]]
** VII Corps
*** [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]]
*** [[79th Infantry Division (United States)|79th Infantry Division]]
* [[Ninth Army (United States)|Ninth Army]]
** [[III Armored Corps|III Corps]]
***[[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Infantry Division]]
|data-sort-value="19440606" | 6 June 1944
|data-sort-value="19440622" | 22 June 1944
|data-sort-value="19440627" | 27 June 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:5|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=6|day1=22|year1=1944|month2=06|day2=27|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Courland]], [[Generalbezirk Lettland|General District Latvia]], [[Reichskommissariat Ostland]], [[Army Group Rear Area Command]]
| [[Courland Pocket]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Ferdinand Schörner]] → [[Lothar Rendulic]] → [[Walter Weiß]] → Rendulic → [[Heinrich von Vietinghoff]] →  Rendulic → [[Carl Hilpert]]{{Surrendered}}
|
|data-sort-value="19441010" | 10 October 1944
|data-sort-value="19440731" | 31 July 1944 ([[encirclement]] of the pocket complete on 10 October 1944)
|data-sort-value="19450510" | 10 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:283|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=7|day1=31|year1=1944|month2=05|day2=10|year2=1945}}
| Surrendered after the surrender of Germany. See [[Army Group North]] and [[Army Group Courland]].
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg}} [[Crete]], [[Hellenic State (1941–1944)|Hellenic State]], [[Military Administration in Greece]]
|[[Cretan resistance]], [[Operation Albumen]] and Operation Mercury II
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Hans-Georg Benthack]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} UK Armed Forces
* {{flagicon image|Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} Royal Navy
{{flagicon image|Hellenic Kingdom Flag 1935.svg}} [[Hellenic Army]]
|data-sort-value="19441004" | 4 October 1944
|data-sort-value="19441004" | 4 October 1944
|data-sort-value="19450512" | 12 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:220|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=10|day1=4|year1=1944|month2=05|day2=12|year2=1945}}
|Surrendered after the surrender of Germany, see [[Fortress Crete]]
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[German occupation of Crimea during World War II|Crimea]], Army Group Rear Area Command
|[[Crimean offensive]], [[Kerch–Eltigen operation]] and [[Battle of the Dnieper]]
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Erwin Jaenecke]] → Ferdinand Schörner → Erwin Jaenecke → [[Karl Allmendinger]]
|
|data-sort-value="19440408" | 8 April 1944
|data-sort-value="19431101" | 28 October 1943 ([[encirclement]] of Crimea complete on 2 November 1943)
|data-sort-value="19440512" | 12 May 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:197|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=10|day1=28|year1=1943|month2=05|day2=12|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Danzig]], [[Danzig (region)|Danzig Region]], [[Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia]], Greater German Reich
| [[Siege of Danzig (1945)|Siege of Danzig]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Dietrich von Saucken]]
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} [[2nd Belorussian Front]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Poland (1927–1980).svg}} [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish rebels]]
|data-sort-value="19450307" | 7 March 1945
|data-sort-value="19450315" | 15 March 1945
|data-sort-value="19450330" | 30 March 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:15|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=3|day1=15|year1=1945|month2=3|day2=30|year2=1945}}
|Now called Gdańsk
|-
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Demyansk]], Army Group Rear Area Command || [[Demyansk Pocket]] || || || data-sort-value="19420222" | 22 February 1942 || data-sort-value="19420208" | 8 February 1942 || data-sort-value="19420520" | 20 May 1942 || <span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:101|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=2|day1=8|year1=1942|month2=05|day2=20|year2=1942}} || Encircled during the Soviet winter counteroffensive, supplied by air until relieved in May 1942, and evacuated in February 1943.
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Dieppe]], French State, Military Administration in France
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|data-sort-value="19440605" | Prior to 6 June 1944
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|data-sort-value="19440901" | 1 September 1944
||<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:0|7|0}}}} </span>N/A
|Evacuated and liberated without opposition. Also see [[Operation Fusilade]] and [[Operation Jubilee]].
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Dunkirk]], French State, Military Administration in France
| [[Siege of Dunkirk (1944–1945)|Siege of Dunkirk]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Wolfgang von Kluge]] → [[Friedrich Frisius]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} UK Armed Forces
* British Army
** [[51st (Highland) Division|51st Division]]
** [[154th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|154th Infantry Brigade]]
** [[21st Army Group]]
*** {{flagicon image|Flag of the Czech Republic.svg}} [[1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade]]
* {{flagicon image|Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} Royal Navy
** [[4th Special Service Brigade]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Canada (1921–1957).svg}} Canadian Armed Forces
* Canadian Army
** [[2nd Canadian Infantry Division|2nd Infantry Division]]
|data-sort-value="19440904" | 4 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19440915" | 15 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19450509" | 9 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:236|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=15|year1=1944|month2=5|day2=9|year2=1945}}
| Surrendered after the surrender of Germany
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Royan pocket|Gironde Estuary North]], Military Administration in France
| [[Royan pocket|Operation Jupiter]] and [[Operation Vénérable|Operation Venerable]]
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Hartwig Pohlmann]] → [[Hans Michahelles]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[French Liberation Army]]
* [[10th Division (France)|10th Division]]
* [[2nd Armored Division (France)|2nd Armored Division]]
* [[23rd Infantry Division (France)|23rd Infantry Division]]
** [[50th Regiment (France)|50th Regiment]]
** [[158th Regiment (France)|158th Regiment]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} US Armed Forces
* [[66th Infantry Division (United States)|66th Infantry Division]]
|data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944
|data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19450430" | 30 April 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:230|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=12|year1=1944|month2=04|day2=30|year2=1945}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Royan pocket|Gironde Estuary South]], Military Administration in France
| [[Royan pocket]]
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Christian Sonntag]] → [[Otto Prahl]]{{Surrendered}}
|
|data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944
|data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19450420" | 20 April 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:220|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=12|year1=1944|month2=04|day2=20|year2=1945}}
|
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Hel Peninsula]], [[Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia]], Free State of Prussia, Gau Danzig-West Prussia, Greater German Reich
| [[Siege of Hel (1945)|Siege of Hel]]
| 
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} Soviet Armed Forces
* Red Army
** [[2nd Belorussian Front]]
*** [[19th Army (Soviet Union)|19th Army]]
*** [[2nd Shock Army]]
* {{flagicon image|Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1935–1950).svg}} [[Soviet Navy]]
** [[Baltic Fleet]]
|data-sort-value="19450313" | 13 March 1945
|data-sort-value="19450330" | 30 March 1945
|data-sort-value="19450514" | 14 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:45|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=3|day1=30|year1=1945|month2=05|day2=14|year2=1945}}
| See [[Hel Fortified Area]]
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg}} [[Hook of Holland]], [[Reichskommissariat Niederlande|Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories]]
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|[[Oberst Rudolf Flinzer|Oberst Flinzer]]{{Surrendered}}
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|data-sort-value="19450505" | 5 May 1945
||<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:0|7|0}}}} </span>N/A
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg}} [[IJmuiden]], Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg}} Colonel Stahmer → [[Hans Hüttner|Hans Huttner]]{{Surrendered}}
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|data-sort-value="19450505" | 5 May 1945
||<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:0|7|0}}}} </span>N/A
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Île de Ré]] and [[La Rochelle]], French State, Military Administration in France
|[[Allied siege of La Rochelle|Siege of La Rochelle]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Ernst Schirlitz]]{{Surrendered}}
|
|data-sort-value="19440201" | February or March 1944
|data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19450507" | 7 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:232|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=17|year1=1944|month2=05|day2=7|year2=1945}}
|
|-
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Kholm, Kholmsky District, Novgorod Oblast|Kholm]], Army Group Rear Area Command || [[Kholm Pocket]] || || || data-sort-value="19420123" | 23 January 1942 || data-sort-value="19420123" | 23 January 1942 || data-sort-value="19420505" | 5 May 1942 || <span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:102|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=1|day1=23|year1=1942|month2=05|day2=5|year2=1942}} || Encircled during the Soviet winter counteroffensive, relieved in May 1942 after prolonged defense
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Kolberg]], [[Köslin (region)|Region of Köslin]], [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]], [[Gau Pomerania]], Greater German Reich
| [[Battle of Kolberg (1945)|Battle of Kolberg]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Fritz Fullriede]]
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} Soviet Armed Forces
* Red Army
** 1st Belorussian Front
*** [[272nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|272nd Rifle Division]]
*** [[45th Tank Brigade (Soviet Union)|45th Tank Brigade]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Poland (1927–1980).svg}} Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland
* First Polish Army
** [[4th Infantry Division (Poland)|4th Infantry Division]]
** [[Polish 3rd Infantry Division (Traugutt)|3rd Infantry Division]]
** [[6th Infantry Division (Poland)|6th Infantry Division]]
|data-sort-value="19441105" | 5 November 1944
|data-sort-value="19450304" | 4 March 1945
|data-sort-value="19450314" | 14 March 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:10|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=3|day1=4|year1=1945|month2=03|day2=14|year2=1945}}
| Now called Kołobrzeg
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Königsberg]], [[Königsberg (region)|Region of Königsberg]], [[East Prussia]], Free State of Prussia, [[Gau East Prussia]], Greater German Reich
|[[Battle of Königsberg]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Otto Lasch]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} Soviet Armed Forces

* Red Army
** [[1st Baltic Front]]
** [[3rd Belorussian Front]]
|data-sort-value="19450121" | 21 January 1945
|data-sort-value="19450126" | 26 January 1945 (encirclement of Königsberg complete on 29 January 1945)
|data-sort-value="19450409" | 9 April 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:73|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=01|day1=26|year1=1945|month2=04|day2=09|year2=1945}}
| Now called [[Kaliningrad]]
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Küstrin]], [[Königsberg Nm. (district)|Königsberg Nm.]], [[Province of Brandenburg]], Free State of Prussia, [[Gau March of Brandenburg]], Greater German Reich
| [[Siege of Küstrin (1945)|Siege of Küstrin]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Adolf Raegener]] → {{flagicon image|Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg}} [[Heinz Reinefarth|Heinrich-Friedrich Reinefarth]]
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg}} Soviet Armed Forces
* Red Army
** 1st Belorussian Front
*** [[82nd Guards Rifle Division]]
|data-sort-value="19450125" | 25 January 1945
|data-sort-value="19450131" | 31 January 1945
|data-sort-value="19450330" | 30 March 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:58|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=1|day=31|year1=1945|month2=03|day2=30|year2=1945}}
|Now called Kostrzyn nad Odrą. A small number (<1,000) of the German garrison reached German lines after a breakout during the night of 29/30 March 1945
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Le Havre]], French State, Military Administration in France
| [[Operation Astonia]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Hermann-Eberhard Wildermuth|Eberhard Wildermuth]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} UK Armed Forces
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the British Army.svg}} British Army
** [[I Corps (United Kingdom)|I Corps]]
*** [[49th (West Riding) Infantry Division|49th Infantry Division]]
*** [[51st (Highland) Division|51st Infantry Division]]
*** [[79th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|79th Armoured Division]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Canada (1921–1957).svg}} Canadian Armed Forces
* Canadian Army
** [[1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment|1st Armoured Carrier Regiment]]
|data-sort-value="19440907" | 7 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19440910" | 10 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19440912" | 12 September 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:2|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=10|year1=1944|month2=09|day2=12|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Metz]], French State, Military Administration in France
| [[Battle of Metz]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} Walter Krause → {{flagicon image|Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg}} Ernst Kemper → {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Heinrich Kittel]]{{POW}} → {{flagicon image|Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg}} Werner Matzdorff{{Surrendered}}
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} US Armed Forces
* [[United States Army Central|Third Army]]
** [[XX Corps (United States)|XX Corps]]
** [[95th Infantry Division (United States)|95th Infantry Division]]
** [[5th Infantry Division (United States)|5th Infantry Division]]
|data-sort-value="19440902" | 2 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19440927" | 27 September 1944
|data-sort-value="19441122" | 22 November 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:56|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=27|year1=1944|month2=11|day2=22|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Oryol|Orel]], Army Group Rear Area Command
| [[Operation Kutuzov]]
|
|
|data-sort-value="19440705" | 5 July 1943
|data-sort-value="19430712" | 12 July 1943
|data-sort-value="19430805" | 5 August 1943
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:24|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=07|day1=12|year1=1943|month2=08|day2=05|year2=1943}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Poznań|Posen]], [[Posen (region)|Posen Region]], [[Reichsgau Wartheland]], Greater German Reich
|[[Battle of Poznań (1945)|Battle of Posen]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Ernst Mattern]] → [[Ernst Gonell]]{{KIA}}
|{{Flagicon|Soviet Union|1936}} Soviet Armed Forces
* Red Army
** [[1st Belorussian Front]]
*** [[1st Guards Tank Army]]
*** [[8th Guards Combined Arms Army|8th Guards Army]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Poland (1927–1980).svg}} Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland
|data-sort-value="19440820" | 20 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19450124" | 24 January 1945
|data-sort-value="19450223" | 23 February 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:30|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=01|day1=24|year1=1945|month2=02|day2=23|year2=1945}}
| Now called Poznań
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Saint-Malo]], French State, Military Administration in France
|[[Battle of Saint-Malo]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Andreas von Aulock]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} US Armed Forces
* [[United States Army Central|Third Army]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} French Liberation Army<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the British Army.svg}} British Army
|data-sort-value="19440119" | 19 January 1944
|data-sort-value="19440804" | 4 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19440817" | 17 August 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:13|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=4|year1=1944|month2=08|day2=17|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} [[Saint-Nazaire]], French State, Military Administration in France
| [[Saint-Nazaire pocket]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Maximilian Hünten]] → [[Hans Junck]] → Captain Mathies{{Surrendered}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} US Armed Forces
* [[4th Armored Division (United States)|4th Armored Division]]
* [[6th Armored Division (United States)|6th Armored Division]]
* [[94th Infantry Division (United States)|94th Infantry Division]]
* [[66th Infantry Division (United States)|66th Infantry Division]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of France.svg}} French Liberation Army
* [[French Forces of the Interior]]
* [[Francs-Tireurs et Partisans|Snipers and Partisans]]
* [[25th Infantry Division (France)|25th Infantry Division]]
|data-sort-value="19440808" | 8 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19440827" | 27 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19450511" | 11 May 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:257|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=27|year1=1944|month2=05|day2=11|year2=1945}}
| Surrendered after the surrender of Germany
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Sevastopol]], Army Group Rear Area Command
|[[Crimean offensive]]
| 
|
|data-sort-value="19440408" | 20 June 1942
|data-sort-value="19440505" | 5 May 1944
|data-sort-value="19440509" | 9 May 1944
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:4|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=05|day1=05|year1=1944|month2=05|day2=09|year2=1944}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Smolensk]], Army Group Rear Area Command
|[[Smolensk operation]]
| 
|
|data-sort-value="19430910" | 10 September 1943
|data-sort-value="19430807" | 7 August 1943
|data-sort-value="19430925" | 25 September 1943
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:49|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=07|year1=1943|month2=09|day2=25|year2=1943}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Stalingrad]], Army Group Rear Area Command
|[[Battle of Stalingrad]]
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Friedrich Paulus]]{{Surrendered}} → [[Karl Strecker]]{{Surrendered}}
|{{Flagicon|Soviet Union|1936}} Soviet Armed Forces
* Red Army
** [[Stalingrad Front]]
*** [[28th Army (Soviet Union)|28th Army]]
*** [[51st Army (Soviet Union)|51st Army]]
*** [[57th Army (Soviet Union)|57th Army]]
*** [[62nd Army (Soviet Union)|62nd Army]]
*** [[64th Army (Soviet Union)|64th Army]]
** [[Don Front]]
*** [[24th Army (Soviet Union)|24th Army]]
*** [[65th Army (Soviet Union)|65th Army]]
*** [[66th Army (Soviet Union)|66th Army]]
** [[Southwestern Front (Soviet Union)|Southwestern Front]]
*** [[1st Guards Army (Soviet Union)|1st Guards Army]]
*** [[5th Tank Army]]
*** [[21st Army (Soviet Union)|21st Army]]
|data-sort-value="19420924" | 24 September 1942
|data-sort-value="19420823" | 23 August 1942 (encirclement of Stalingrad complete on 22 November 1942 during [[Operation Uranus]])
|data-sort-value="19430305" | 5 March 1943<ref>{{cite book |last=Hellbeck |first=Jochen |title=Die Stalingrad-Protokolle |publisher=S. Fischer Verlag |year=2012 |page=276 |language=de}}</ref>
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:194|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=23|year1=1942|month2=03|day2=05|year2=1943}}
| Now called Volgograd. By 1 November 1942, 90% of Stalingrad was occupied by Axis forces. On 26 January 1943, during [[Operation Koltso]], Axis forces in Stalingrad were cut into two pockets, with Karl Strecker in command of the northern pocket and Friedrich Paulus in command of the southern pocket.
|-
|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} {{flagicon image|Flag of Tunisia with French canton.svg}} [[French protectorate of Tunisia]]
| [[Tunisian campaign]]
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Erwin Rommel]] → [[Gustav Fehn]] → Rommel → [[Hans-Jürgen von Arnim]]{{Surrendered}}
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the British Army.svg}} [[British Army]]
* {{flagicon image|Purported flag of the Royal Indian Army.svg}} [[British Indian Army]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Dominion of Newfoundland.svg}} [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg}} US Armed Forces<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of Free France (1940-1944).svg}} [[Free French Forces]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of New Zealand.svg}} [[New Zealand Defence Force]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Hellenic Kingdom Flag 1935.svg}} [[Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East|Hellenic Armed Forces]]
|data-sort-value="19430222" | 22 February 1943
|data-sort-value="19421109" | 9 November 1942 ([[encirclement]] of Tunisia complete on 12 February 1943)
|data-sort-value="19430513" | 13 May 1943
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:185|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=11|day1=9|year1=1942|month2=05|day2=13|year2=1943}}
|
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg}} [[Warsaw]], [[Warsaw District]], [[General Government]], Greater German Reich
| [[Lublin–Brest offensive]], [[Vistula–Oder offensive]] and [[Warsaw Uprising]] 
| {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} [[Hellmuth Eisenstuck]] → [[Ernst Mock]]
|data-sort-value="00000000" | N/A
|data-sort-value="19440727" | 27 July 1944
|data-sort-value="19440801" | 1 August 1944
|data-sort-value="19450117" | 17 January 1945
|<span style="display:none">{{formatnum:{{padleft:169|7|0}}}} </span>{{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=1|year1=1944|month2=01|day2=17|year2=1945}}
| On 16 January 1945, German troops withdrew from Warsaw and the next day the [[First Polish Army (1944–1945)|First Polish Army]], [[2nd Guards Tank Army]] and [[3rd Shock Army]] entered the city. Also see ''[[Festung Warschau]]''
|}

==See also==
* [[Alpine Fortress]]
* [[Atlantic pockets]]
* [[Atlantic Wall]]
* [[Czechoslovak border fortifications]]
* ''[[Festung Norwegen]]''
* [[Fortress Europe#World War II defenses|Fortress Europe]]
* [[Maginot Line]]
* [[Molotov Line]]
* [[Stalin Line]]
* [[Valtellina Redoubt]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040526144851/http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/about_guernsey/2003/10/festung_alderney.shtml BBC article on Alderney]
* [[Europe: A History]], {{ISBN|0-06-097468-0}}, the history of Europe; page 1038
* {{cite book|first=Alan|last=Wilt|title=The Atlantic Wall 19441-1944: Hitler's Defenses for D-Day|year=2004|publisher=Enigma Books}}
* {{cite book|first=Thomas|last=Griess|title=The Second World War: Europe and the Mediterranean|year=2014|publisher=Square One Publishers}}

==External links==
* [http://www.achtungpanzer.com/articles/bres.htm Festung Breslau/Fortress Wrocław] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326052016/http://www.achtungpanzer.com/articles/bres.htm |date=2009-03-26 }}

[[Category:20th-century fortifications|German]]
[[Category:Siege warfare]]
[[Category:German World War II defensive lines|Str]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of World War II]]