Battle of Kolberg ( 1945 ) The Battle of Kolberg or Battle of Kołobrzeg ( also , battle for Festung Kolberg ) was the taking of the city of Kołobrzeg , then the city of " Kolberg " in German Pomerania by the Soviet Army and its Polish allies from Nazi German forces during the World War II East Pomeranian Offensive . Between March 4 and March 18 , 1945 , there was major urban fighting of the Soviet and Polish forces against the German army for the control over the city . The Germans succeeded in evacuating much of their military personnel and refugees from the city via sea before it was taken by the Poles on March 18 . Background . In November 1944 Kolberg , a large Baltic seaport in the Province of Pomerania , was designated a stronghold as " Festung Kolberg " . It was one of the key German positions in the Pomeranian Wall , a vital link between Pomerania and Prussia . The German High Command planned to use the seaport to supply nearby German forces , and hoped that the stronghold would draw off Soviet forces from the main thrust towards Berlin . The Soviet East Pomeranian Offensive , commencing on February 24 , 1945 managed to cut off and surround the city and its defenders ( mostly from the German Army Group Vistula ) . The first commander of " Festung Kolberg " was an elderly officer , General Paul Hermann , but due to illness he was transferred in February to a less demanding post . The command was taken by Colonel Gerhard Troschel . After March 1 the city was under the command of a former " Afrika Korps " officer , Colonel Fritz Fullriede . Opposing forces . The German defence forces represented various formations from the Army Group ' Vistula , ' some tasked with defending the fortress , others simply cut off in the Kolberg pocket . The most notable units included elements of the Third Panzer Army ; the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne ( 1st French ) and the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS ( 1st Latvian ) . Estimates of the German defenders — including local militia and volunteers ( Volkssturm ) — range from 8 , 000 to 15 , 000 , supported by some artillery ( about 60 pieces ) , an armored train and about 18 tanks and a dozen support vehicles of various types . The German units also received some air and sea support ( including artillery fire from pocket battleship s " Lützow " and " Admiral Scheer " ) . The Soviet forces attacking the city can be divided into two waves : one of units of the Red Army ( March 4 to 7 ) and one of Soviet - controlled Polish units ( March 8 to 14 ) , although some Soviet units took part in the combat after March 8 . The Soviet main units were the 45th Tank Brigade ( engaged from March 4 to 7 ) and the 272nd Rifle Division ( March 6 to 9 ) . Polish units included elements of the Polish First Army ( from the 1st Belorussian Front ) : Polish 6th Infantry Division ( from March 7 ) ; Polish 3rd Infantry Division ( from March 9 ) ; Polish 4th Infantry Division ( from March 12 ) , and various support units . The personnel of the Polish units numbered over 28 , 000 . The battle . The first attack was led on March 4 by the Soviet units of the 1st Belorussian Front and 2nd Belorussian Front ; with first Soviet units entering the city around 0800 , but was repulsed . On the same day , the nearby city of Köslin ( now Koszalin ) fell and Soviets started to gather reinforcements to take Kolberg . On March 6 the Soviet High Command decided to turn the siege of the city from the Soviet forces to its Polish allies . By March 8 the Soviets received reinforcements in the form of the units from the Polish People ' s Army , the Polish First Army under Stanislav Poplavsky : the 6th , the 3rd Polish Infantry Division and support units . The Polish First Army was now tasked with taking the city ; however their first attack was also repulsed . The German forces held stubbornly to the city , protecting the ongoing evacuation . Due to a lack of anti - tank weapons , German battleship s used their guns to support the defenders of Kolberg . On March 12 a new assault was launched , with heavy tank s , additional artillery units and the 4th Polish Infantry Division . The attack advanced but at the cost of very heavy casualties , and was broken off on March 14 . The Germans refused a proposal to surrender . On March 15 the fighting resumed and the Germans received reinforcements from Swinemünde ( now Świnoujście ) — the " Kell " battalions . However , they failed to stop the Polish forces , which took the barracks , part of the railway station and the Salt Island . By March 16 the Germans pulled back most of their forces and concentrated on the defense of the port . The destruction of the collegiate church in Kolberg after heavy artillery shelling by katyusha s allowed the Polish troops to breach the inner city . Polish forces assaulted the railway station ( defended by a German armored train Panzerzug 72A , which was destroyed March 16 ) , pharmaceutics factory and the horse riding arena . On March 17 the Germans abandoned most of the defensive lines , leaving only a small amount of the troops to cover their retreat , and started to evacuate their main body of forces from the city . Polish forces took the railway station and reached the port , but most of the German troops managed to evacuate to Swinemünde . The last German stronghold was in the fort built near today ' s lighthouse . Aftermath . Over 80 % of the city was destroyed in the heavy fighting . The battle was among the most intense city fight s the Polish army took part in . Polish casualties were 1 , 206 dead and missing and 3 , 000 wounded . On March 18 , on the day the city fell , the Polish People ' s Army re - enacted " Poland ' s Wedding to the Sea " ceremony , which had been celebrated for the first time in 1920 by General Józef Haller ( there was also a lesser known ceremony on March 17 ) . Evacuation . With the Soviet forces approaching in 1945 , valuable equipment , most of the inhabitants , and tens of thousands of refugees from surrounding areas ( about 70 , 000 ) , as well as 40 , 000 German soldiers were evacuated from the besieged city by German naval forces in " Operation Hannibal " . Only about 2 , 000 soldiers were left on March 17 to cover the last sea transports . In media . In 1945 , Polish Film Chronicle made a short film about the battle . In 1969 a movie was made in Poland , " Jarzębina Czerwona " , with the battle for the city as its background . In 2005 , a 25 - minute Polish documentary film about the battle for the city was made .