Army Group Courland Army Group Courland ( ) was a German Army Group on the Eastern Front which was created from remnants of the Army Group North , isolated in the Courland Peninsula by the advancing Soviet Army forces during the 1944 Baltic Offensive of the Second World War . The army group remained isolated until the end of World War II in Europe . All units of the Army Group were ordered to surrender by the capitulated Wehrmacht command on 8 May 1945 . At the time agreed for all German armed forces to end hostilities ( see the German Instrument of Surrender , 1945 ) , the Sixteenth and Eighteenth armies of Army Group Courland , commanded by General ( of Infantry ) Carl Hilpert , ended hostilities at 23 : 00 on 8 May 1945 surrendering to Leonid Govorov commander of the Leningrad Front . By the evening of 9 May 1945 189 , 000 German troops , including 42 officers in the rank of general , in the Courland Pocket had surrendered . History . Naming . The aggregation of troops that became named Army Group Courland was created when the Red Army reached the Baltic Sea near the Memel river on Tuesday , 10 October 1944 . As a result , what was then known as Army Group North was cut off in Latvia from the rest of the German Army , and was to stay cut off for the remainder of the war . Approximately 200 , 000 German troops in 26 divisions were in what was to become known as the Courland Pocket . Army Group Courland remained in existence until the end of the war in Europe . Army Group Courland was created on 25 January 1945 , when German dictator Adolf Hitler renamed Army Group North , Army Group Center , and Army Group A . Hitler ' s name changes meant that Army Group North became Army Group Courland ( " Heeresgruppe Kurland " ) , Army Group Center became Army Group North ( " Heeresgruppe Nord " ) and Army Group A became Army Group Center ( " Heeresgruppe Mitte ) " . Isolation . Army Group Courland consisted of the German Sixteenth Army and the German Eighteenth Army . The two armies had been sent to Courland partly to protect training grounds for the remaining Nazi U - boat forces . Bypassed by the main Soviet thrusts , Army Group Courland remained relatively intact . Even towards the end of the war , the army was able to field between twenty - four to thirty - one divisions , with the exact number of divisions depending on how many of the associated or understrength divisions are counted . Even so , with its back to the Baltic Sea , it also remained largely cut off from re - supply , and was unable to break out or evacuate . Army Group Courland fought six major battles in the Courland Pocket between 15 October 1944 , and 4 April 1945 . The dates for the six battles were as follows : On 7 May 1945 , German Head of State ( " Staatsoberhaupt " ) and President ( " Reichspräsident " ) Karl Dönitz ordered Colonel - General Carl Hilpert , to surrender Army Group Courland . Hilpert was the army group ' s last commander - in - chief . Hilpert surrendered himself , his personal staff , and three divisions of the XXXVIII Corps to Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Govorov . Hilpert sent the following message to his troops : " To all ranks ! Marshall Govorod ( sic ) has agreed to a cease - fire beginning at 14 : 00 hours on 8 May . Troops to be informed immediately . White flags to be displayed . Commander expects loyal implemenation of order , on which the fate of all Courland troops depends . " On 8 May , a General Rauser ( Chief of Logistics of the Army Group ) succeeded in obtaining better surrender terms from the Soviets . On 9 May , the Soviet commission in Peilei started to interrogate the captive staff of Army Group Courland . The Soviets began a general round - up of all remaining German troops in the Courland Pocket . By end of the 11 May the troops of the Lenigrad Front had secured the Courland peninsula , reaching the coast of the Riga Bay and the Baltic Sea . From 9 May to 12 May 140 , 408 men and non - commissioned officers , 5 , 083 officers and 28 generals in the Courland Pocket , surrendered . The equipment captured in the same period consisted of 75 aircraft ; 307 tanks and self - propelled guns ; 1 , 427 guns ; 557 mortars ; 3 , 879 machineguns ; 52 , 887 rifles and submachine - guns ; 219 armored personnel carriers ; 310 radio stations ; 4 , 281 motor vehicles ; 240 tractors , 3 , 442 carts loaded with military cargoes , 14 , 056 horses . On 23 May , the Soviet round - up of the German troops in the Courland Pocket was completed . A total of about 180 , 000 German troops were taken into captivity . Captive German officers were turned over to the NKVD . The bulk of the captives were taken to camps in Valdai Hills . Aftermath . After the surrender , some elements of Army Group Courland briefly attempted to reform itself as a Freikorps . This was an act reminiscent of similar actions taken at the end of World War I , but atypical for the end of World War II . The formation of a Freikorps was prevented by the Soviets , who were obviously unwilling to allow such an action by a beaten foe . In addition , the Soviets did not intend for Germans to remain settled in the Courland area after the war . After the surrender , a number of German , Estonian and , Latvian soldiers evaded Soviet capture . Many of these ex - soldiers joined the Forest Brothers resistance organization , Estonian , Latvian , and Lithuanian nationalist partisans and German soldiers of the Heer and Waffen - SS who waged guerrilla warfare against the Soviets to gain independence for the Soviet - occupied Baltic states .