Late-War German Defensive Tactics at Courland

Let us look at a German tactical setup of an Infantry Regiment for the 2nd Battle

at the Courland Pocket, which took place in November 1944. In total the Soviets launched

6 separate offensives against the German forces trapped in the Courland pocket, Citino notes:

“The German force, […] , warded off all of them, a masterpiece in defensive positional

warfare against a powerful enemy, […].” So, when Germany finally capitulated in

May 1945 there were more than 200 000 German troops still in the pocket.

Geographically, Courland is located in western Latvia. In October 1944 the Red Army was able

to trap large parts of the Heeresgruppe Nord (Army Group North) in that region.

In total more than 30 German divisions were in the pocket. Although some were later evacuated by sea.

In total the German semi-official history counts 5 battles, whereas the 5th battle had 2 phases,

thus 6 different bars. The battles lasted from late October 1944 until mid-March 1945.

As mentioned, the Soviets failed several times to destroy the pocket,

one might argue it was due to attacks that were limited in their intensity,

something that seems to be underlined by the previous quote from Citino,

which I had shortened before: “The German force [trapped in Courland],

renamed Army Group Courland in January 1945, warded off [the Soviet offensives] all of them, a

masterpiece in defensive positional warfare against a powerful enemy, but in the end

these thirty divisions stayed right where the Red Army wanted them: in a self-imposed prison camp.”

Yet, the last part is in stark contrast to what Mawdsely points out:

“Noting the ‘exceptional importance of the most rapid liquidation’ of the Kurland pocket,

the Stavka in mid-October 1944 ordered Marshal Vasilevskii to carry this out

using the 1st and 2nd Baltic Army groups and massed artillery and air power.”

Of course, the initial plans might have changed later on. Main point is the battles are barely

covered, as always caution is advised. For the 2nd Battle the semi-official

Germany and the Second World War series notes the German losses with 13 667 men.

"Only by a narrow margin could the front be held, as can be seen from an entry in

the Army Group War Diary of November 24 [1944]: 'Headline about today: »It went well barely!«'."

So let us look at the report, it is from a German Infantry Division, sadly it is

not mentioned which one. It was likely one of the divisions from the 2nd Army-Corps,

since the report mentions the losses of Tigers. There were two heavy tank battalions in Courland.

Yet, one the 502nd was shipped out before the 2nd Battle. Yet, the 510th remained,

in November it was attached to the 2nd Army-Corps. The report is rated as “Geheim!” – “Secret”

and named “Erfahrungen aus der 2. Abwehrschlacht im Kurland“ literally „Experiences from the 2nd

Defensive Battle in Courland”. One copy of the report was sent to various divisions by the

2nd German Army, be aware that the 2nd Army was not located within the Courland pocket.

The command of the 2nd Army added the following note before the report:

"All the experiences made here are in complete accordance with the orders of the Army.

They are to be evaluated again for the forthcoming major battle."

Let us look at the German Defensive Setup, the page had the title: