Battle of Annaberg: Difference between revisions
m Removed category "Holy Roman Empire" (using HotCat) |
m moved Battle of Annaberg to Battle of Saint Anne's Mountain over redirect: rv move - let's use English names, use talk and RM if you disagree |
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Revision as of 00:51, 2 August 2008
| Battle of Saint Anne's Mountain | |||||||
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| Part of Silesian Uprisings | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Polish insurgents |
 Weimar Republic's Freikorps | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ritter von Beckh | |||||||
Battle of Annaberg (German: Annaberg Schlacht, Polish: Bitwa w rejonie Gory sw. Anny), which took place between May 21-26, 1921, was the biggest battle of the Silesian Uprisings[1], fought for the strategic hill of Annaberg O.S. (since 1945 Góra Świętej Anny), located southeast of Oppeln (Opole) in Weimar Germany. After it had been occupied by irregular Polish units in the Third Silesian Uprising, German Freikorps managed to drive the Poles from the hill.
Prelude
On April 30, 1921, Polish-Silesian officials, with Wojciech Korfanty, upon finding that Germany would be granted most of the plebiscite area, decided to start the Third Uprising [2]. On May 2, sabotage acts of the Polish Wawelberg Group units under Konrad Wawelberg severed all connections between Upper Silesia and Germany.
On May 3, at 3 a.m., the Poles started the offensive, and in the following days they pushed the Germans westwards, reaching the line of the Oder river and capturing on May 4, the 400-meter high strategic hill of Annaberg.
It took around two weeks for the Germans to prepare the counter offensive. In the meantime, their units were strenghtened with the arrival of Freikorps Oberland unit from Bavaria. Its soldiers, numbered at 1,650, were experienced veterans of World War One, under major Ritter von Beckh. Among members of the Oberland were notable figures of the future Nazi Germany, including Sepp Dietrich (who distinguished himself during the battle) [3], Rudolf Hoess, Edmund Heines, as well as Beppo Römer and Peter von Heydebreck. Also, there were several students-volunteers from the Bavarian town of Erlangen [4].
Battle
Annaberg, with the monastery located on top of the hill, was regarded as a religious symbol for German Silesians [5]. Its strategic significance was also enormous, as from its peak, the whole valley of the Oder could be dominated, German commanders - generals Karl Hofer and Franz Karl von Hulsen, decided to use three battalions of the Bavarian Oberland, which were transported to Krappitz, on the 19/20 May 1921.
The attack began on May 21, at dawn[6] and it was led by the Oberland Freikorps and Silesian (Selbstschutzes Oberschlesien) battalions, which divided themselves into two columns to form the left and right wings. The Germans launched it from a hill, located north to the Saint Anne’s Mountain and it was aimed at destroying regiment of Polish Silesian insurgents from Pless (Pszczyna), under Franciszek Rataj. After seven hours of heavy combat, the Germans managed to force the Poles to withdraw [7] and then concentrated their attack on the neigboring regiment of Polish volunteers from Katowice, under Walenty Fojkis, as well as Polish-Silesian battalions from Strzelce Opolskie and Toszek, known as Group Bogdan. Among Polish forces defending the mountain, there also were coal miners from Ferdinand coal mine in Katowice as well as workers from Katowice's suburb of Bogucice [8]. Altogether, Polish forces fighting in the area of Saint Anne's Mountain created Group East [9].
Under German pressure, the Poles, after heavy hand to hand combat, withdrew east. Subsequent Polish counterattack was repelled and the success of the Freikorps was widely described in Germany, as it was regarded as the first German victory since November 1918[10]
On May 23, the Poles, after regrouping and strengthening their forces with a battalion from Hindenburg O.S. (Zabrze) under Pawel Cyms, initiated a strong counterattack, but it was again repulsed by the German artillery, with great losses on both sides. Heavy fighting took place in neighboring villages, such as Lesnica, Lichynia, Krasowa, Dolna, Olszowa and Klucz.
Aftermath
On May 25, the Selbstschutz, under pressure from Berlin which threatened the Freikorps with serious penalties[11], decided to initiate peace talks. On the next day, general command of Polish forces ordered their units to cease fighting. Some additional skirmishes took place in early June, on the 4th of that month, the Germans once again managed to defeat the Poles.
Finally in early July, Allied troops entered the area and separated both fighting sides. Both Poles and Germans disengaged and retreated, and the disputed territory of Upper Silesia was later divided between the two cuntries, with Poland receiving eastern one-third of the area, even though the majority vote was for Germany. Annaberg itself remained part of Germany until 1945, when it was transferred to Poland and renamed.
References
- ^ Góra Św. Anny: Europe's biggest amphitheatre
- ^ History of the Silesian Uprisings
- ^ Correlli Barnet, Hitler’s Generals, page 412
- ^ Gary C. Fouse, Erlangen. An American's history of a German Town, page 135
- ^ Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32
- ^ Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32
- ^ Life of Walenty Fojkis, one of commandants of Polish forces
- ^ Katowice today and yesterday
- ^ Opole - our city
- ^ Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32
- ^ Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32