Defense of the Brest Fortress - a heroic 28-day defense of the Brest fortress by units of Soviet troops at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, from June 22 to July 20, 1941. Brest was in the direction of the main attack of the right (southern) wing of the German Army Group Center. The German command set the task of taking the fortress of Brest on the move of its 45th Infantry Division, reinforced with tanks, artillery and with the support of aviation.
Brest Fortress before the war
1939 - the city of Brest became part of the USSR. The Brest Fortress was built in the 19th century and was part of the defensive fortifications of the Russian Empire on its western borders, but in the 20th century it had already lost its military significance. At the start of the war, the Brest Fortress was mainly used to house garrisons of military personnel, as well as families of officers, a hospital and utility rooms. During Germany's treacherous attack on the Soviet Union, about 8 thousand servicemen and about 300 families of the command lived in the fortress. There were weapons and ammunition in the fortress, but their quantity was not calculated for military operations.
Storming the Brest Fortress
1941, June 22, morning - simultaneously with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the assault on the Brest Fortress began. The barracks and dwelling houses of officers were primarily subjected to powerful artillery fire and airstrikes. Despite the fact that virtually all of the officers were killed, the soldiers quickly managed to orient themselves and create a powerful defense. The factor of surprise did not work as the Germans had expected and the assault, which was scheduled to be completed by 12 noon, lasted for several days.
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Even before the start of the war, a decree was issued, according to which, in the event of an attack, servicemen must immediately leave the fortress itself and take positions along its perimeter, but only a few managed to do this - most of the soldiers remained in the fortress. The defenders of the fortress had a deliberately losing position, but even this fact did not allow them to surrender their positions and give the Nazis an opportunity to quickly capture Brest.
Defense of the Brest Fortress
The soldiers occupied the barracks and various buildings that were located along the perimeter of the citadel, for the most effective organization of the defense of the fortress. On June 22, eight attempts were made to capture the fortress from the German side, but they were repulsed, moreover, the Germans, contrary to all expectations, suffered significant losses. The Germans changed their tactics - instead of storming, they now decided to siege the Brest Fortress. The soldiers who broke through were recalled and placed around the perimeter of the fortress.
June 23, morning - the fortress was bombed, after which the Germans again went to the assault. Some of the German soldiers were able to break through, but were destroyed - the assault failed again, and the Germans were forced to return to siege tactics. Protracted battles began, which did not subside for several days, which greatly exhausted both armies.
On June 26, the Germans made several more attempts to capture the Brest Fortress. Several groups were able to break through. Only by the end of the month the Germans were able to capture most of the fortress. But the scattered and lost a single line of defense, the groups offered desperate resistance even when the fortress was captured by German troops.
The fall of the fortress
The fortress fell. Many Soviet soldiers were taken prisoner. On June 29, the eastern fort fell. But the defense of the Brest Fortress did not end there! From that moment on, she became unorganized. Soviet soldiers, hiding in the underground, fought the Germans every day. They managed the almost impossible. A small group of Soviet soldiers, 12 people, under the command of Major Gavrilov, resisted the Nazis until July 12. These heroes kept an entire German division in the area of the Brest Fortress for almost a month! But even after Major Gavrilov's detachment fell, battles did not stop in the fortress. According to the testimony of historians, the hotel centers of resistance existed until the beginning of August 1941.
Losses
The losses of the 45 German infantry division (according to German statistics) were 482 killed, including 48 officers, and more than 1000 wounded on June 30, 1941. The losses are quite significant, if we remember that in the same division in 1939, during the attack on Poland, there were 158 killed and 360 wounded.
To this indicator should probably be added the losses incurred by the Germans in individual skirmishes in July 1941. A significant part of the defenders of the fortress was captured, and about 2500 people were killed. True, the information provided, in German documents, about 7,000 prisoners in the Brest Fortress, apparently, includes not only military, but also civilians.