throughout the Second World War (1939-1945), various military strategies were employed by the countries involved, from the action of the pilots kamikaze, which launched on American ships at the base of pearlharbor, even battles between tanks and dropping atomic bombs. One way or another, military actions almost always resulted in killings for both military and civilians. Among such actions were the sieges, among which the most famous were those of Leningrad and the one of Wroclaw. We will deal with the latter in this text.
THE city of breslau, or Wrocaw, is situated in the Lower Silesia region of Poland. With the invasion of Poland by the Nazis in 1939, many Polish cities became strategic points for the German army, especially against enemy military assaults that could come from the east, such as the Soviet.
Breslau constituted one of these strategic points, and Hitler even called it the “Fortress of Bresleau”. But unlike Warsaw and other Polish cities, Breslau was not the target of bombing by the Allied forces, but rather the pressure of the encirclement of the USSR Red Army.
Starting in 1944, the allied forces, commanded by the USA, England and the USSR, drew up a plan of attack against the main points of Nazi resistance in Europe. Action in Eastern Europe was entrusted to the Soviet Union and the Red Army. Breslau was one of the turning points. The Red Army began to besiege the city during the winter of 1945, as historian Norman Davies reports:
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“The Red Army closed the circle around the city, blocking all possible supply and reinforcement corridors, but made few vigorous attacks. Instead, he bombed Breslau incessantly, eliminating the defenders gradually through numerous successive assaults. Only a tenth remained when the capitulation finally took place on 8 May. By then, Hitler had already committed suicide, Berlin had fallen, and the Reich was just hours away from becoming extinct.”[1]
In addition to the deprivation of supplies that the entire siege caused, Breslau was permanently bombed by the Soviets and also succumbed to the harsh winter. The pressure of the siege only ceased with the surrender of its defenders on 8 May, as noted in the passage above by Norman Davies.
GRADES
[1] Davies, Norman. Europe at War (1939-1945). Lisbon: Editions 70, 2008. p 335.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FERNANDES, Claudio. "Siege of the Fortress of Breslau"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/cerco-fortaleza-breslau.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.