Minsk, Belarus: installations & Defenses, May 1943 – May 1944

Headquarters and Administration

In addition to being the Wehrmacht’s eastern headquarters, by September Minsk was also was home to headquarters for the Luftwaffe, SS, and the region’s civil administration.

The Wehrmacht headquarters occupied a block in the mostly destroyed city center. In October 1943 the headquarters was bustling place, with a security fence and vehicles parked outside (Graphic). Vehicles could also be seen in the vicinity of the and SS and Einsatzgruppe B headquarters, but security was not as evident. (Graphic). Coverage from May 1944 showed the Wehrmacht site had probably been vacated; the fence had been removed and activity had ceased.

The headquarters of Luftwaffe Luftflotte 6 is known to have relocated to Priluki, 13 km southwest of Minsk, between February and June 1944. The headquarters probably used a palace complex, which showed evidence of high activity on 23 February (Graphic). It is possible the Wehrmacht moved there as well.

Airfields

The Luftwaffe had three airfields in the vicinity of the city. Minsk Süd and Minsk Ost were located in the city; Minsk Machulishchi was 13 km to the south (see article on Minsk airfields).

Minsk Süd was the Luftwaffe’s main base and by September 1943 was the headquarters of Luftflotte 6 (formed from Luftwaffenkommando Ost). The number of aircraft at the field increased significantly between May and September. By 7 October the number aircraft had grown to 62, with groups that included: a transport Staffel with 20 Ju 52 and three He 111; at least one reconnaissance unit with two Fw 189 “Uhu” five Do 17, one Hs 126 and (probably) 10 Bf 109, and a courier unit with seven Fi 156 “Storch” (Graphic). In an attempt to protect Luftwaffe command elements, a bunker was constructed and blast walls were built around three buildings in the support area between May and September. Later coverage from 27 May 1944 showed 35 aircraft dispersed around the field and several new parking revetments. By 22 July 1944 the airfield had been abandoned and the facilities destroyed.

Minsk Ost was well used, but did not have a major support infrastructure. Multiple coverages show the field rarely had than five aircraft. However, as at Minsk Süd, additional parking revetments were added in 1944.

Minsk Machulishchi had a landing area and small support area; one aircraft was there in October 1943. It also featured an unfinished pre-war Soviet hard-surface runway. Two other runways at nearby Dubinskaya were likewise abandoned.

Barracks & Training Area

At least eight ground force installations and a large training area were identified in the city and its environs (Map). At least two of the barracks appeared to be large vehicle or maintenance depots (Map, Graphic).

Intelligence and Signals

Two Luftwaffe signals and Intelligence collection units were known to have arrived in Minsk in June 1943 (Map; see Facilities & installations section). One of these, an element of Luftnachrichten Funkhorch Abteilung Ost, a signals collection unit, was identified at a site 5 km southwest of Minsk Süd in February 1944 (Graphic). The site was not present in June 1943, but an Adcock high-frequency-direction finding (HF/DF) antenna was nearing completion nearby. It is unclear whether the antenna was associated with the intelligence site or was a navigation station for the airfields.

A signals unit, Luftgau Nachrichten Regiment 27, was reported to be in the Kolodishchi area northeast of the city in early 1944, but elements may have operated from Minsk Süd since at least September 1943, when a training site had been set up. By 28 May 1944, it did appear that the unit was at a barracks near Kolodishchi, which was near the city radio station (Map, Graphic).

POW Camp and Ghetto

A POW camp for Soviet Army prisoners, STALAG 352, was set up near Minsk in 1941. An annex known as the City Camp was located in the city (Map, Graphic; See Holocaust & POW Section). A much smaller camp was located in the vicinity of Minsk Ost Airfield (Graphic).

A ghetto for Jewish residents of the city was established at the same time (Graphic). The ghetto was reduced in size several times. An extermination camp was set up at Maly Trostenets southwest of the city (Graphic).

Defense of the City

Minsk fell to the Red Army on 4 July 1944. Analysis of imagery revealed that defensive preparations probably did not begin before April or May. Coverages from late May showed that a trench system with tank ditches and numerous still-unoccupied heavy weapons positions had been constructed around the city. Other defenses had been dug around the barracks at Kolodishchi.

Compared to German fortress cities, the trench system around Minsk was relatively thin. Air defenses were more in evidence in February 1944. By that time, an unoccupied site northeast of the city a had been occupied by several batteries (Graphic). By May a number of other sites had been constructed and occupied (Map).