1. Battle Of Konigsberg
Some of the most miserable tales of the whole war emerged during the apocalyptic invasion and evacuation of East Prussia, considerably exacerbated by German ideological stubbornness and incompetence. There are still raging debates in academia to this day about whether the crimes of the Soviets against the German civilians were exaggerated Nazi propaganda or shameful past sins that have been swept under the rug in order to mould an epic black-and-white narrative of good versus evil. Konigsberg, the capital of the region and spiritual and cultural heart of the German presence in the Baltic, was placed under siege in January 1945. Conditions within the isolated city rapidly became wretched, with civilians either risking starvation, the mercies of the Red Army or daring to cross the frozen ice across the Vistula Lagoon in the hope of finding some form of salvation. But the city was certainly not small and helpless: it was garrisoned by tens of thousands of hardened troops and fortified with an intricate series of defensive lines and bunkers. For this reason, the Soviets postponed a direct assault until April, building up their men and equipment before engaging in the last stand of East Prussia, which thereafter would be wiped from the face of history for its aggressive militaristic imperialism. On the first day of 6 April, after initial success the Soviets encountered fierce resistance at some of the forts; in the south, one delayed them for almost the entire day with its thick walls and moat, withstanding artillery bombardment until specialist troops breached the walls with explosives. In a dark parallel to Brest, another fort on the north side provided such strong resistance that it was simply bypassed and left for others to deal with. The next day, another fort had to be weakened with smoke screens and flamethrowers before it was successfully invaded, resulting in brutal melee combat until the remainder of the garrison surrendered. Elsewhere, a railway station once again provided a frenetic battleground as every carriage was exploited by attacker and defender alike. The third day saw a breakout attempt by German troops, who were unceremoniously stopped and torn apart by Ilyushin Il-2 aircraft whilst bombers and artillery pounded the city centre. Coordinated resistance rapidly disintegrated and the city surrendered the next day. Four-fifths of the entire city was destroyed. As per an earlier agreement, the city and its surrounding territory was taken by the USSR, renamed Kaliningrad and ethnically cleansed, the inhabitants replaced mostly by Russians and other Soviet nationalities. And so our list ends with the doom of Prussia. Im rather passionate about this subject and would like to see an overdone genre have some fresh air. Hopefully youve been dually entertained and informed by this little wish list. Youre now free to praise or pick apart my choices; random or rote, obscure or overdone? You decide.