Western Front

The Siege of Küstrin, February & March 1945

The siege of the fortress at Küstrin (Kostrzyn, Poland) in February and March 1945 opened the way for the Red Army's assault on Berlin. Dating from 1535, the fortress lay at the confluence of the Oder and Warta rivers and later, the Vorflut canal. The main part of the town, the Neustadt, was on the east bank of the Warta. Imagery coverage of Küstrin and its defenses from 20 February and 18 March was available to show the fortress defenses relatively early in the siege to a time just after an attempt to relieve the garrison had failed.

aerial photo of The Fortress at Küstrin on 20 February 1945

When imaged by the Luftwaffe on 20 February, Küstrin was already isolated by enemy bridgeheads to the north and south, but was still connected to Berlin by a narrow corridor. The fortress and its citadel were defended by rings of defensive trenching and at least three heavy weapons positions (Graphics). Some vehicles could be seen near one of the weapons sites, while others --possibly civilian wagons--appeared to be heading toward the eastern gate. A small group of railcars was noted near the artillery barracks on the west bank of the Oder; these were no longer present on 18 March, suggesting that the town had been supplied by rail.

The fortresses’ outer defenses, only eight kilometers north of the citadel, ran between the village of Alt Drewitz and the Küstrin Neustadt and included positions around a cellulose plant, hospital and another army barracks (Graphic). Artillery impacts could be seen north of the line and a building was on fire. Another defensive point with heavy weapons positions was at an intersection one kilometer to the south (Graphic).

Evidence of fighting could also be seen along the Soviet bridgehead northwest of the citadel on the west bank of the Oder (Graphic). Fresh artillery impacts and personnel tracks were observed around a group of houses north of Alt- and Neu Blyen. More impacts were seen east of the river in the vicinity of Alt Drewitz.

Finally, a USAAF sortie that imaged the fortress on 18 March showed significant damage to buildings (Graphic). Additional trenching had been added around and inside the citadel and weapons positions remained occupied.