Defense of Brest Fortress

This article is about a 1941 battle between Germany and of the 1939 German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact the territhe USSR. For Polish-German battle of 1939, see Battle tory around Brest as well as 52% of the then Poland was
of Brze Litewski.
assigned to the Soviet Union.[8] Thus, in the summer of
1941, the Germans had to capture the fortress yet again this time from the Soviets.
The defence of Brest Fortress took place 2229 June
1941. It was one of the rst battles of Operation Bar- The Germans planned to seize Brest and the Brest
barossa. The Brest Fortress was defended by the Red Fortress which was located in the path of Army Group
Army against the Wehrmacht, held out longer than ex- Centre during the rst hours of Operation Barbarossa.
pected and, after the Second World War had nished, be- The fortress and the city controlled the crossings over the
came a symbol of Soviet resistance. In 1965 the fortress Bug River, as well as the WarsawMoscow railway and
received the title of Hero Fortress for the 1941 defense. highway.

Background

2 Opposing forces
The garrison in the fortress comprised approximately
9,000 Soviet soldiers, including regular soldiers, border guards and NKVD operatives.[9] The Soviet soldiers
belonged to elements of the 6th and 42nd Rie Divisions, under General Ivan Lazarenko and Colonel Mikhail
Popsuy-Shapko respectively,[10] the 17th Frontier Guards
Detachment of the NKVD Border Troops and various
smaller units (including the hospital garrison and a medical unit) inside the fortress.[8] There were also 300 families of the servicemen inside the fortress as well.
The initial defense plan allowed for 12 hours to secure the
area[11] in face of the 45th Infantry Division (Austrian)[8]
(about 17,000 strong) as well as parts of the artillery of
the 31st, 34th Infantry Divisions and 2nd Panzer Group
under Heinz Guderian (in total, about 20,000 men).[3]

3 The siege
The fortress had no warning when the Axis invaded on
22 June 1941, and became the site of the rst major
ghting between Soviet forces and the Wehrmacht. From
the rst minutes of the invasion, Brest and Brest Fortress
were shelled[12] by the German Wehrmacht. The initial
artillery re took the unprepared fortress by surprise, inicting heavy material and personnel casualties.[13] Fierce
battles were fought at the border, in the town of Brest
and in the fortress itself. The rst German assault on
the fortress took place half an hour after the bombardment started; the surprised Soviet defenders were unable to form a solid front and instead defended isolated strongpointsthe most important of which was the
fortress itself. Some managed to escape the fortress; most

The map from the secret appendix to the Molotov-Ribbentrop

Pact showing the new German-Soviet border after September
1939; the town of Brest can be seen as located on next to the
border.

The area around the nineteenth-century Brest Fortress

was the site of the 1939 Battle of Brze Litewski, when
German forces captured it from Poland during the Polish
September Campaign. However, according to the terms
1

THE SIEGE

the wounded, reloaded the machine-gun discs and belts

with cartridges and even took up ries to help defend the
fortress. Children brought ammunition and food supplies
from half-destroyed supply depots, scavenged weapons
and watched enemy movements.[11]
Schlieper wrote in his detailed report that:
Chaplain Rudolf Gschpf wrote:
On 24 June, with Germans having taken parts of the
fortress, some Soviet troops were able to link up and coordinate their actions under the command of Major Ivan
Zubachyov; his second in command was political commissar Yem Fomin.[1] On 26 June small Soviet forces
tried to break out from the siege but were unsuccessful
the layout of the Brest Fortress in June 1941. 1. Kobrin Fortiand sustained heavy casualties. Probably the same day
cation, 2. Volynskoye Fortication, 3. Terespol Fortication
Zubachyov and Fomin were captured.[18] Zubachyov was
sent to a POW camp in Hammelburg where he died along
were trapped inside by the encircling German forces. De- with several million of his countrymen; Yem Fomin was
[19]
spite having the advantage of surprise, the subsequent at- executed on spot for being a commissar and a Jew.
tempt by the Germans to take the fortress with infantry
quickly stalled with high losses: about 281 Wehrmacht
soldiers died the rst day in the ghting for the fortress.[14]
Heavy ghting continued two more days. In the evening
of June 24, 1941, some 368 Germans were dead and 45,000 Red Army soldiers in captivity.[15]
On June 25 and June 26, 1941, local ghting continued
mainly in the citadel. Till the evening of June 26, 1941,
most of the northern Kobrin fortication, except the East
Fort, was captured.[15]
Regarding the ghting around East Fort, the commander
of the 45th Infantry Division, General Fritz Schlieper,
wrote to the High Command in his detailed report:
Once the East Fort could not be taken by infantry the Luftwae bombed it twice on June 29 and forced its approximately 360 defenders to surrender.[16]

German soldiers in the Citadel in June 1941

R.Gschpf wrote:

Copy of the inscription found inside the citadel: I'm dying, but I
won't surrender! Farewell Motherland

Although the Soviet soldiers in the opening hours of the

battle were stunned by the surprise attack, outnumbered,
short of supplies, and cut o from the outside world,
many of them held out much longer than the Germans
expected. The Germans deployed various powerful guns,
rocket mortars 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 and resorted to
ame throwers. The civilians inside the fortress tended

The 45th divisional after-action report on the ghting for

the fortress and the city of Brest of June 30, 1941 related: The Division took 7,000 prisoners, including 100
ocers. German losses were 482 killed, including 32
ocers, and over 1,000 wounded. The magnitude of
these losses can be weighed by the fact that total German
losses on the Eastern Front up to 30 June 1941 amounted
to 8,886 killed. The ghting at Brest therefore accounted
for over 5 percent of all German fatalities.[20] After eight
days of erce ghting the Germans had captured the
whole fortress. But the strategic objectives - control over
the Panzerrollbahn I, i.e. the road to Moscow, the important railway line, and the bridges over the Bug river were accomplished the very rst day of the war. Because
of the high German losses the German High Command
demanded General Fritz Schlieper to present a detailed
report regarding combat at Brest 2229 June 1941. It
was made on July 8, 1941.[21] A copy was found in the
archive of the 45th Infantry Division, that was captured

3
by the Red Army by Livny, Russia in March 1942.[21]
Some individual soldiers and even small groups of Red
Army soldiers kept hiding in the fortress after the fall of
the Eastern Fort. During the last days, some of remaining
defenders made inscriptions on the walls. One of them
said:
It is said that Major Pyotr Gavrilov, one of the best known
defenders of Brest (later decorated for it as Hero of the
Soviet Union) was captured only on 23 July.[19][22]
Some authors claim that isolated defenders were being
rooted out by Germans as late as in August when Hitler
and Mussolini visited the fortress with heavy security to
protect them from remaining defenders. The only documentary proof of resistance after June 29, 1941, is a
report that states a shoot-out on July 23, 1941, with the
subsequent capture of a Soviet Oberleutnant the next
day.[23]

In popular culture

The events surrounding the defense of Brest Fortress were

dramatized in the 1957 lm Immortal Garrison and again
in a 2010 lm, Fortress of War.

[5] Christian Ganzer: German and Soviet Losses as an Indicator of the Length and Intensity of the Battle for the Brest
Fortress (1941). In: The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Volume 27, Issue 3, p. 449-466., here p. 458-459.
[6] Christian Ganzer: Remembering and Forgetting: Hero
Veneration in the Brest Fortress. In: Siobhan Doucette,
Andrej Dynko, Ales Pashkevich (ed.): Returning to Europe. Belarus. Past and Future. Warsaw 2011, p. 138145; here p. 139.
[7] Christian Ganzer: German and Soviet Losses as an Indicator of the Length and Intensity of the Battle for the Brest
Fortress (1941). In: The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Volume 27, Issue 3, p. 449-466., here p. 463.
[8] Robert Kirchubel, Operation Barbarossa 1941 (3): Army
Group Center, Osprey Publishing, 2007, ISBN 1-84603107-9, Google Print, p.44
[9] Christian Ganzer, Alena Pakovi: Heldentum, Tragik,
Khnheit. Das Museum der Verteidigung der Brester
Festung. In: Osteuropa 12/2010, pp. 81-96; here p. 82.
The claim, up to 50% of them had left the fortress before complete encirclement by the Germans never could
be proven, but still is to be found also in Western literature - e.g. Evan Mawdsley, Thunder in the East. The
Nazi-Soviet War, 1941-1945, Oxford University Press,
2007, ISBN 978-0-340-61392-4, p. 63.

Soviet writer Boris Vasilyev wrote a novel named His [10] .. , .. , .. ,

.. , " .
name is not in the list ( ) about

a soldier named Nikolai Pluzhnikov who defended the
- 1941 ., ,
Brest Fotress in 1941. At the end of the novel, when
- ,
Pluzhnikov was captured by the German troops and was
, 1963, LCCN 68-50853,
interrogated, he simply replied I am a Russian soldier
and died due to exhaustion from months of ghting. Vasi- [11] (English) The defence of the Brest Fortress (Belarusian)

lyevs novel was dramatized in the 1995 lm I, a Russian
soldier ( ) directed by Andrey Ma[12] Many of the Soviet survivors of the ghtings wrote after
lyukov.
the war, that the fortress was bombed by German planes.

References

[1] Constantine Pleshakov, Stalins Folly: The Tragic First Ten

Days of World War II on the Eastern Front, Houghton
Miin Books, 2005, ISBN 0-618-36701-2, Google Print,
p.243
[2] Pleshakov notes (p. 242): With the exception of Gavrilov
[commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment], all the commanders of the troops were self-appointed. On the morning of 22 June, rank ceased to matter, and whoever was
able to issue a sane order and persuade others to carry it
out was acknowledged as a leader.

Due to the simultaneous artillery re, this was not possible. Only two air raids took place on June 29, 1941,
but then only the East Fort on the northern island of
the fortress was bombed. See Christian Ganzer: Remembering and Forgetting: Hero Veneration in the Brest
Fortress. In: Siobhan Doucette, Andrej Dynko, Ales
Pashkevich (ed.): Returning to Europe. Belarus. Past and
Future. Warsaw 2011, p. 138-145; here p. 141.
[13] Constantine Pleshakov, Stalins Folly: The Tragic First Ten
Days of World War II on the Eastern Front, Houghton
Miin Books, 2005, ISBN 0-618-36701-2, Google Print,
p.108

[3] Georey Roberts, Stalins Wars: From World War to Cold

War, 1939-1953 , ISBN 0-300-11204-1, Yale University
Press, 2006, Google Print, p.87

[14] Christian Ganzer: Remembering and Forgetting: Hero

Veneration in the Brest Fortress. In: Siobhan Doucette,
Andrej Dynko, Ales Pashkevich (ed.): Returning to Europe. Belarus. Past and Future. Warsaw 2011, p. 138145; here p. 138.

[4] Christian Ganzer: Remembering and Forgetting: Hero

Veneration in the Brest Fortress. In: Siobhan Doucette,
Andrej Dynko, Ales Pashkevich (ed.): Returning to Europe. Belarus. Past and Future. Warsaw 2011, p. 138145; here p. 141.

[15] Christian Ganzer: Remembering and Forgetting: Hero

Veneration in the Brest Fortress. In: Siobhan Doucette,
Andrej Dynko, Ales Pashkevich (ed.): Returning to Europe. Belarus. Past and Future. Warsaw 2011, p. 138145; here p. 139.

[16] Christian Ganzer, Alena Pakovi: Heldentum, Tragik,

Khnheit. Das Museum der Verteidigung der Brester
Festung. In: Osteuropa 12/2010, pp. 81-96; here p. 83
[17] Gschpf, Rudolf Mein Weg mit der 45. InfanterieDivision Oberstereichischer Landesverlag, 1955
[18] According to the POW registration card in the online
archive www.obd-memorial.ru.
[19] Constantine Pleshakov, Stalins Folly: The Tragic First Ten
Days of World War II on the Eastern Front, Houghton
Miin Books, 2005, ISBN 0-618-36701-2, Google Print,
p.245
[20] Jason Pipes, 45.Infanterie-Division, Feldgrau.com - research on the German armed forces 1918-1945
[21] ,
(in Russian)
(Frontline Illustration) #5 2008 Moscow
[22] Henry Sakaida, Heroes of the Soviet Union 1941-45, Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-769-7, Google
Print, p.48
[23] Christian Ganzer, Alena Pakovi: Heldentum, Tragik,
Khnheit. Das Museum der Verteidigung der Brester
Festung. In: Osteuropa 12/2010, pp. 81-96; here p. 83.

Further reading
Aliev, Rostislav & Britton, Stuart, The Siege of
Brest 1941: A Legend of Red Army Resistance on
the Eastern Front, Pen & Sword, October 2013.
Ganzer, Christian: German and Soviet Losses as an
Indicator of the Length and Intensity of the Battle
for the Brest Fortress (1941). In: The Journal of
Slavic Military Studies, Volume 27, Issue 3, p. 449466.
Ganzer, Christian; Pakovi, Alena: Heldentum,
Tragik, Khnheit. Das Museum der Verteidigung
der Brester Festung. In: Osteuropa 12/2010, pp.
8196.
Christian Ganzer: Remembering and Forgetting:
Hero Veneration in the Brest Fortress. In: Siobhan
Doucette, Andrej Dynko, Ales Pashkevich (ed.):
Returning to Europe. Belarus. Past and Future.
Warsaw 2011, p. 138-14.
Ganzer, Christian: Czy legendarna twierdza jest
legend? Oborona twierdzy brzeskiej w 1941 r.
w wietle niemeckich i austriackich dokumentw
archiwalnych. In: Wsplne czy osobne? Miesca pamici narodw Europy Wschodniej. Biaystok/Krakw 2011, S. 37-47.
Moschansky, I. & V. Parshin, THE TRAGEDY OF
BREST 1941, Military Chronicle 2007 Paperback
(Russian text but English summary and captions)

EXTERNAL LINKS

7 External links
Soviet Citadel of Brest-Litovsk is Captured Jun
1941, Combat footage. German Wartime Newsreel
(Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr.565)
(Russian)
(Russian) (English version
available)
(Russian)
World War II aerial photo

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Defense of Brest Fortress Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Brest_Fortress?oldid=661065118 Contributors: Yogi555,

Mackensen, Altenmann, Halibutt, Wwoods, Piotrus, Irpen, Klemen Kocjancic, KNewman, Zscout370, Vecrumba, Rjwilmsi, Czalex, Russavia, Bleakcomb, Tony1, Capt Jim, SmackBot, Roger Davies, Xx236, Bolonium, Tymek, Andrwsc, Cydebot, Gatoclass, Sa.vakilian,
Buistr, Wandalstouring, PottersWood, JAnDbot, Magioladitis, Dodo19~enwiki, Buckshot06, The Anomebot2, NAHID, Sm8900, Tgeairn,
Hodja Nasreddin, Colchicum, Boothferry, MisterBee1966, Esp rus2, Hugo999, VolkovBot, TXiKiBoT, Hello71, Lightmouse, Newzild,
Sq178pv, DerBorg, XLinkBot, Marshmallowbunnywabbit, Addbot, Alandeus, Milks Favorite Bot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Fraggle81,
Ajh1492, AnomieBOT, Citation bot, Jun Kayama, Af1523, Non-Dairy Creamer, StoneProphet, Outback the koala, MastiBot, DocYako,
Gaius Octavius Princeps, Markpackuk, Sourcelat0r, Ryan.opel, ZroBot, AManWithNoPlan, EkoGraf, Morgan Hauser, Aarp65, VinculumMan, Catlemur, Frietjes, Corusant, Helpful Pixie Bot, MarkMysoe, BG19bot, Hamish59, ProudIrishAspie, Christian Ganzer, Komandante97, EyeTruth, ArmbrustBot, Horysheetman, Basilhayoo, Jss199 and Anonymous: 32

8.2

Images

File:BF_plan.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/BF_plan.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:

Own work Original artist: Yogi555
File:Brest_last_days_smirnov.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/Brest_last_days_smirnov.jpg License: Fair
use Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Eastern_Front_1941-06_to_1941-09.png Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Eastern_Front_
1941-06_to_1941-09.png License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Gdr
File:Flag_of_German_Reich_(19351945).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Flag_of_German_
Reich_%281935%E2%80%931945%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Fornax
File:Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(19201945).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Flag_of_the_NSDAP_
%281920%E2%80%931945%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Original PNG version created by de:Benutzer:Kookaburra
with the name "Bild:Flag Germany 1933.png in de.wikipedia; uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons by User:Guanaco, later converted to
SVG by User:Rotemliss and later modied by other Wikimedia Commons people. Original artist: ?
File:Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1923-1955).svg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Flag_of_the_
Soviet_Union_%281923-1955%29.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: created by rotemliss from Image:Flag of
the Soviet Union.svg.
File:I'm_dying,_but_do_not_give_up!_Farewell_to_Motherland.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/
b5/I%27m_dying%2C_but_do_not_give_up%21_Farewell_to_Motherland.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original
artist: (User:Stauffenberg)
File:Mapa_2_paktu_Ribbentrop-Mootow.gif Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Mapa_2_paktu_
Ribbentrop-Mo%C5%82otow.gif License: Public domain Contributors: This photo of the document was made in 1946 by the defence of
von Ribbentrop and Hermann Gring in the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. Original artist: Unknown

8.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0