German strongholds during World War II ( “fortresses”) were the selected towns and cities so designated by Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 to resist the Allied offensives where the defenders were ordered to defend them at all costs. The doctrine of these strongholds evolved towards the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, when the German leadership had not yet accepted defeat, but had begun to realize that drastic measures were required to forestall inevitable offensives on the Reich. The first such stronghold became Stalingrad

Volgograd

Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...

 (Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...

).

Later on the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

, Warsaw

Vistula-Oder Offensive

The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...

, Budapest

Battle of Budapest

The Siege of Budapest centered on the Hungarian capital city of Budapest. It was fought towards the end of World War II in Europe, during the Soviet Budapest Offensive. The siege started when Budapest, defended by Hungarian and German troops, was first encircled on 29 December 1944 by the Red Army...

, Kolberg, Königsberg

Siege of Königsberg

Siege of Königsberg was a siege laid upon the city of Königsberg , one of the main strongholds of the Teutonic Knights, by the Prussians during the Great Prussian Uprising in 1262....

, Küstrin

Vistula-Oder Offensive

The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...

, Danzig

East Pomeranian Offensive

The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front...

 and Breslau

Battle of Breslau (1945)

The Battle of Breslau, also known as the Siege of Breslau, was a three month long siege of the city of Breslau in Lower Silesia, Germany , lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 February-6 May 1945, German troops in Breslau were besieged by the Soviet forces which encircled the city...

 were some of the large cities selected as strongholds whilst on the Western Front

Western Front (World War II)

The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...

 locations included the British island of Alderney

Alderney

Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...

.

The fate of the strongholds varied. Stalingrad, the first of the "fortresses" to fall is seen as a crucial turning point in the war, and one of the key battles which lead to German defeat. In several cases (Breslau and Alderney

Alderney

Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...

, for example) the fortresses were bypassed by the attackers and did not actually fall until long after they had been neutralised (though fighting in Breslau was sustained).

Location	Commandant	Besiegers	Date declared	Date surrendered	Information
Alderney Alderney Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...		Royal Navy Royal Navy The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...		16 May, 1945	Contained until after general German surrender
Boulogne	Ferdinand Heim Ferdinand Heim Ferdinand Heim was a World War II German general.-War service:Heim served as a junior artillery officer in the XIII Corps during the whole of the First World War After 1918 he remained in the much smaller army as a career officer, reaching the rank of Oberst in June 1939, just before the start of...	reinforced Canadian 3rd Division		22 September, 1944	Captured after five day operation. See Operation Wellhit Operation Wellhit Operation Wellhit was the World War II operation by the 3rd Canadian Division to take the fortified port of Boulogne in northern France. At first, the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade had hoped to take Boulogne as part of its advance up the coast...
Breslau	Karl Hanke Karl Hanke Karl August Hanke was an official of the National Socialist German Workers Party . He served as governor of Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945 and as the final Reichsführer-SS for a few days in 1945.- Early life :Hanke was born in Lauban in Silesia, on 24 August 1903, the son of a locomotive...	6th Soviet Army	25 July 1944	6 May 1945	See Siege of Breslau
Brest Brest, France Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...	Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke Hermann-Bernhard "Gerhard" Ramcke was a German general. He was a recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Swords, Oak Leaves, and Diamonds, one of only 27 people in the German military so decorated...	US Third Army		19 September, 1944	Captured after six week assault. See Battle for Brest Battle for Brest The Battle for Brest was one of the fiercest battles fought during Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout of Normandy which began on 27 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II....
Calais Calais Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....	Ludwig Schroeder	Canadian 3rd Division		1 October, 1944	See Operation Undergo Operation Undergo Operation Undergo was the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's operation to take the fortified French port of Calais in September, 1944. A subsidiary operation was executed to silence and capture the heavy batteries at Cap Gris Nez, which threatened the sea approaches to Boulogne...
Dieppe Dieppe, Seine-Maritime Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...		Canadian 2nd Division		1 September, 1944	Evacuated before receipt of relevant Fuehrer Order; liberated without opposition. See Operation Fusilade Operation Fusilade The World War II Operation Fusilade, was the planned set piece assault on the French port of Dieppe. In the event, the German occupiers, not having received orders to hold the town, had evacuated shortly before and the operation was largely cancelled...
Dunkirk	Friedrich Frisius Friedrich Frisius Friedrich Frisius was a German naval commander of World War II.-Life:...	1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade		8 May, 1945	Contained until general German surrender. See Siege of Dunkirk (1944)
Kolberg	Fritz Fullriede Fritz Fullriede Fritz Fullriede was a German officer, reaching the rank of Generalmajor by the end of World War II.Fullriede was born in Bremen and fought in the First World War. As a Freikorps member after the war, he fought against Polish rebels in the Silesian Uprisings. Fullriede lived in Africa from 1924 to...	1st Belorussian Front 1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...	November, 1944	14 March, 1945	See Battle of Kolberg (1945)
Konigsberg Königsberg Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...	Otto Lasch Otto Lasch Otto Lasch was a German general in the Wehrmacht.Otto Lasch was born in Pleß as son of the high master forrester of the Prince of Pless in Silesia. Lasch after graduation took part in World War I in the Jäger-Battalion „Fürst Bismarck“ Nr. 2 in Kulm . After 1918 he joined the police and in 1935...	3rd Belorussian Front 3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...		9 April 1945	See Battle of Konigsberg Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg , was one of the last operations of the East Prussian Offensive during World War II. In four days of violent urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Königsberg... .
Küstrin Küstrin Before 1945 Küstrin was a town in the former Prussian province of Brandenburg in Germany, situated on both sides of the Oder river...	Heinrich-Friedrich Reinefarth, Adolf Raegener Adolf Raegener Adolf Raegener was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery...	82nd Guards Rifle Division			A small number (<1,000) of the German garrison reached German lines after a breakout during the night of March 29/30 1945.
Le Havre Le Havre Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...	Eberhard Wildermuth	1st Canadian Army		12 September 1944	Captured after 48 hour assault. See Operation Astonia Operation Astonia Operation Astonia was a World War II battle fought from 10 September 1944 to 12 September 1944.The Allied objective of the operation was the capture of the German-held Channel port of Le Havre,France,coveted by the Allies to improve their supply system.The Allies hoped to find the port intact and... .
Posen Poznan Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...  (now Poznań)	Ernst Mattern until January 28, 1945, then Ernst Gonell	1st Belorussian Front 1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...			See Battle of Poznań (1945) Battle of Poznan (1945) The Battle of Poznań during World War II in 1945 was a massive assault by the Soviet Union's Red Army that had as its objective the elimination of the Nazi German garrison in the stronghold city of Poznań in occupied Poland... .
St Malo	Andreas von Aulock Andreas von Aulock Andreas Maria Karl von Aulock was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 79th Infantry Division. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...	US Third Army	19 January 1944	17 August 1944	Captured after two weeks
Warsaw Warsaw Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...			27 July, 1944	17 January, 1945	Captured in hours after withdrawal of German troops, in violation of Hitler's order to hold the "Fortress". See Festung Warschau Festung Warschau Festung Warschau was the name applied in German language to Warsaw when the city was defended, which happened under various constellations in the course of history, with and without involvement of German-speaking troops....

External links

• Festung Breslau/Fortress Wrocław