February 1945

Eastern Front

Groups Samland and Lasch link up to rejoin Konigsberg with the Samland Peninsula. Civilian refugees begin flooding the road west to Pillau to escape the city. Russian arty and air strikes inflict a heavy price on the fleeing masses.

The 2nd Belorussian Front is exhausted after protracted fighting in East Prussia. After a month of continual battle there are barely 300 operational tanks left and many combat divisions are down to less than a thousand combat infantry.

The 1st Belorussian Front, in a similar state of disrepair as the 2nd, attacks the German on a 200-mile line in Pomerania, while its 8th Guards Army is embroiled in heavy fighting at Posen and Kustrin. Some 15,000 Germans continue to resist in Posen.

The defenders of Breslau attempt a counterattack but are repulsed by the 6th Army and pinned down in the southern park. The inexperienced Volkssturm suffer heavy losses under concentrated Russian fire.

There is heavy fighting in the Hron bridgehead as the 7th Guards Army is squeezed by the 1st SS Panzer Corps. Between Lakes Balaton and Venencei the 6th Army is active once again, attacking the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The German 8th Army though is attacked by the 46th Army near Esztergom.