Advance to Königsberg October 1944–April 1945

The Red Army’s Baltic Offensive, which began in the autumn of 1944, focussed on pushing German Army Group North out of Russia and the Baltic countries, which it had occupied since the German invasion in 1941. Continuing the momentum in the Soviet Union’s favour all along the eastern front, the Red Army’s Leningrad and Baltic Fronts managed to trap Army Group North on the Courland Peninsula after the small corridor between Army Groups North and Centre was broken. Hitler refused requests for evacuation by his generals and renamed the cornered force Army Group Courland. Around 200,000 German troops were trapped and subjected to repeated Soviet attacks throughout the winter and spring until the final German surrender. Following on from the Baltic Offensive, the Red Army launched the East Prussian Offensive on 13 January 1945 and soon trapped a sizeable force of German troops in the city of Königsberg, which eventually surrendered on 9 April 1945.