GBG Member Paul Burton has proposed a tour to Poznan in Poland for 1- 3 April 2011. Poznan or Posen as it was called under German occupation was on the strategic highway to Berlin for the Red Army. In February 1945 Soviet Forces had to take the city if they were to progress towards their final objective Berlin in the 'Great Patriotic War'. Commonly known to the West as the Second World War. Hitler designated the city as a 'Festung' Fortress city to be defended at all costs.
The Prussian fortifications of the old town were to be reduced by artillery bombardment and the assault of two Soviet Tank Armies. A month of savage street fighting finally ended on the 23rd February 1945 when the Red Army overcame the German garrison. By then 90% of the old town had been destroyed. 10,000 Soviet soldiers and 6,000 German soldiers had been killed.
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