„Karas nesibaigia, kol nebus palaidotas paskutinis karys“ (Priekulės brolių kapinės)
1944 m. spalio 10 d. Kurša iškilo kaip atskiras ir savitas mūšio laukas. Buvo laikoma, kad apie 500 000 vokiečių karių buvo apsupti. Remiantis 1-ojo Baltijos fronto štabo pranešimais, norint visiškai išlaisvinti visą Baltijos pakrantę, prireikė tik „nedidelių pastangų“. Tačiau kovos Kuršoje tęsėsi dar septynis mėnesius ir Kurša tapo Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabaigos simboliu.
Per septynis mūšio mėnesius iki 1945 m. gegužės Vokietijos ginkluotosios pajėgos Kuržemėje neteko 154 108 žuvusių, sužeistų ir dingusių be žinios karių, o Raudonosios armijos nuostoliai buvo apie 400 000 žuvusių, sužeistų arba dingusių be žinios.
Didžiausias memorialas Raudonosios armijos karių kapams
Susijusi laiko juosta
Susijusios temos
Susijusios vietos
Priekule Memorial Ensemble of Warrior’s Cemetery
The Priekule Memorial Ensemble of Warrior’s Cemetery is on the Liepāja-Priekule-Skoda road and is the largest burial site of Soviet soldiers of World War II in the Baltics. More than 23,000 Soviet soldiers are buried here. Operation Priekule was one of the fiercest battles in Kurzeme Fortress that took place from October 1944 to 21 February 1945. The Battle of Priekule in February 1945 lasted seven days and nights without interruption and had a lot of casualties on both sides. Until Priekule Warrior’s Cemetery was transformed into a memorial, the last monument of the outstanding Latvian sculptor K. Zāle (1888-1942) was located here to commemorate the independence battles in Aloja. Between 1974 and 1984, the 8 ha Priekule Warrior’s Cemetery was transformed into a memorial ensemble dedicated to those who fell in World War II. It was designed by the sculptor P. Zaļkalne, architects A. Zoldners and E. Salguss, and the dendrologist A. Lasis.
The centre of the memorial holds a 12 m tall statue called the ‘Motherland’, and names of the fallen are engraved on granite slabs. Until Latvia regained its independence, the Victory Day was widely celebrated every year on May 9.
World War II battle sites in Krote
The last fortification lines of the army group "Kurzeme", which were held by the German troops until their surrender on 8 May 1945, are located on the banks of the Vārtāja River in the vicinity of Krotė.
The front line reached the banks of the Vārtāja in February 1945, although cages had been prepared on the important road from Priekule to the Ilmāja railway station before that. During the last phase of the fighting, units of the 87th Infantry Division of the 2nd Army Corps of the German 18th Army took up defensive positions at this location. In order to protect the road to the Liepāja - Saldus railway line, the 18th Army Reserve 14th Panzer Division was deployed in the vicinity of Berzkrog, with the 1st Battalion of the 36th Panzer Regiment armed with 28 Pzkpfw. V (Panther) tanks. At the end of the war, it was the only unit in the whole of Courland to be equipped with this type of fighting vehicle.
Today, Krotė houses the private collection of Maris Ūtēna and offers the opportunity to see German trenches and bunker sites in the forests along the Vārtāja River. There are camping, a fireplace, a small cottage and carp fishing.
Explosive objects are still present in the forests of Kurzeme!
