The German military command, led by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, on May 7, 1945, signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of German Forces in the French city of Reims. The leader of the Soviet state, Joseph Stalin, insisted that the main act of surrender be signed in Berlin. On the night of May 8–9, such a document was signed, and hostilities were officially halted in Europe. But some military units of the Third Reich continued to resist in Europe after May 9, 1945. Such battles will be discussed in our small historical study.
1
Sudeten fighting
Significant, combat-ready military units of the Wehrmacht, which continued to resist after the surrender of the German army, remained in the mountainous region of Germany.
The combat-ready Nazi military formations controlled most of the southeast of Germany, as well as the territories of states neighboring Germany. At the village of Slivnitsa, on May 12, 1945, during the battle, the combined forces of the USSR and the USA forced the group to capitulate.
The battle of Slivnitsa was the last major battle to eliminate the Nazi military formations, which continued resistance.
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2
Czechoslovak Nazi enclave
The last major clash between Soviet troops and Germans outside the Soviet Union occurred on May 13, 1945 in the Czech Republic.
There remained a small area where large forces of the Nazis were concentrated. As a result of a lightning battle, the group was practically destroyed, and the survivors surrendered to the soldiers of the Red Army.
So, for Soviet soldiers and officers, the war ended in the European theater of operations.
3
Courland boiler
The Liepaja-Tukums line in the western part of Latvia concentrated large Nazi forces who refused to surrender after the end of the war.
The so-called Courland Cauldron was formed, which controlled the remains of Army Group North, surrounded on all sides by units of the Red Army.
As a result of the fighting on May 15, parts of the Courland boiler surrendered. Fighting with regular units of the Wehrmacht in the USSR ceased.
4
Polyanskaya battle
The last major military clash of the Allied forces with the Nazis took place near the Yugoslav town of Polyana. The remaining fascist forces of the Croatian army, Serbian evens and German military units concentrated in this area.
This group tried to break into Austria, but as a result of the battle on May 14-15, 1945 was abandoned and practically defeated. A significant contribution to the defeat of the group was made by the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army.
After the battle, 310 bodies of supporters of fascism were discovered on the battlefield. Among the allied forces and Yugoslav partisans, about 100 people were killed or wounded.
5
The elimination of the Cossack camp
During the war in 1943, military units consisting of Cossacks were formed as part of the Wehrmacht. They were called Kosakenlager, which literally translates into Russian as the Cossack camp.
At the end of the war, these Cossack units were blocked in northern Italy, but refused to capitulate. The Cossacks fiercely resisted the Allied forces, who several times tried to liquidate the boiler.
Only on May 18, 1945, the Cossacks surrendered to the British troops, and 24 thousand military and civilians were sent to the British Isles. Later, at the request of the government of the Soviet Union, prisoners were transferred to the USSR in the Austrian city of Linz.
6
Texel battles
There was a prison on this Dutch island, which contained captured Georgian military personnel who fought in the Wehrmacht, but were suspected of treason by the Nazis.
On April 5, 1945, prisoners of this Georgian battalion, Queen of Tamara, revolted against the Germans and captured part of the island. On the very first day, former Soviet and then German servicemen killed more than 400 German soldiers, and they cut their throats with a knife.
German troops landed on the island and fought fierce battles with the rebels. The Canadian landing on Texel defeated the German garrison on May 20, 1945. The rebels were arrested and later deported to the USSR.
German units surrendering without a fight
In addition to military units that conducted active hostilities against the Allies after May 9, 1945, there were those that surrendered without a fight.
7
Island capitulation
Almost simultaneously, during May 9–10, 1945, the German units on the European islands surrendered without a fight.
On the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes, the German units surrendered in the evening of May 9, without resisting the forces of the Anti-Hitler coalition.
On the Channel Islands on May 10 they laid down weapons of a part of the Wehrmacht as soon as the news of the surrender of Germany came to them.
8
Flensburg government
In the very north of Germany, at the end of the war, a military administration was created, which made attempts to manage the territories of the country that were not yet occupied by the allies. This administration went down in history under the name Flensburg government.
The government, headed by Karl Doenitz, was created the day after Hitler's suicide, and had sufficient resources to exercise power. At his disposal were large military units.
But they did not conduct active hostilities, and, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, surrendered on May 23 to American and British troops.
9
Svalbard island
The last official Wehrmacht soldiers to surrender are 9 German soldiers and one officer stuck on Svalbard. They were sent to the north back in August 1944 to put a meteorological station there.
They had a radio station, which ended their food on April 29, 1945, so that they did not know about the events in Europe, and continued to serve.
They were accidentally discovered by Norwegian sealers and reported to authorities. The German soldiers who arrived to arrest them were not resisting, and surrendered on September 4, 1945.
Summary
In conclusion, we note an interesting fact from another part of the world. Junior lieutenant of Japanese intelligence for 29 years continued to fight in the Philippine Islands after the Second World War ended. His name was Hiroo Onoda, and he surrendered to the authorities of the Philippines only on March 10, 1974. During “his war,” the Japanese killed 30 and injured 100 civilians and the military. Onoda died in 2014 at the age of 91.
TheBiggest editors will ask you to write in comments and other battles with the Nazis that took place in Europe after May 9, 1945, if we did not mention them.
Article author: Valery Skiba