The Six Battles of Courland: Germany’s Final Stand in the Baltic - October 1944–May 1945

From mid-October 1944 until early May 1945, Army Group North—later rebranded Army Group Courland—was trapped in what is known as the Courland Pocket in western Latvia. In those final months of World War II, six major battles were fought as Soviet forces repeatedly attempted to eliminate the encircled German forces. Strategically marginal, yet ideologically significant, this episode stands as a Testament to Hitler’s fanaticism and the human cost of prolonged resistance.

Historian Antony Beevor captures the surreal persistence in that swamp of history: “In the Kurland pocket, tens of thousands of German soldiers fought on in a hopeless struggle, trapped between their own regime’s delusions and the Red Army’s vengeance” Beevor, 2002.

By autumn 1944, Soviet forces had launched the Baltic Offensive, severing Army Group North from East Prussia. Hitler refused to allow evacuation by sea, declaring Courland a “fortress.”

Historian David Glantz notes: “The Führer’s fixation on holding Courland condemned over 200,000 German troops to a futile defense, denying their redeployment to critical sectors such as East Prussia or Berlin” Glantz, 1998, The Battle for Leningrad.

The Six Battles

First Battle of Courland (15–22 October 1944)

Area: Tukums–Saldus sector.

Soviet 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Baltic Fronts attempted to breach the German lines and reach Liepāja.

German 16th and 18th Armies repelled the assault with heavy losses on both sides.

Second Battle of Courland (27 October–25 November 1944)

Area: Dobele–Saldus.

The Red Army launched renewed attacks to cut off Liepāja and compress the pocket.

German counterattacks, supported by armor and terrain advantage, held firm.

Soviet sources claimed progress, but “the Germans skillfully exploited the defensive potential of Kurland’s forests and rivers” Ziemke, 1968, Stalingrad to Berlin.

Third Battle of Courland (23–31 December 1944)

Area: Saldus–Liepāja.

Soviet forces sought a breakthrough before year’s end.

The attack failed amid fierce German resistance and winter conditions.

Fourth Battle of Courland (23–31 January 1945)

Area: Liepāja approaches.

The Soviets launched another offensive concurrent with the Vistula–Oder Offensive further south. Hitler again refused withdrawal. Historian William Shirer observed: “The German High Command remained shackled to Hitler’s fantasy of fortresses, turning Kurland into a prison camp for its own troops” Shirer, 1960, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Fifth Battle of Courland (12–19 February 1945)

Area: Northern front near Tukums.

Soviet attacks intensified, but the Germans—though increasingly strained—held defensive positions.

Sixth Battle of Courland (17–31 March 1945)

Area: Liepāja–Saldus.

The final Soviet attempt to annihilate Army Group Courland before the final push on Berlin.

The Germans repelled the attack, though with dwindling ammunition and manpower.

Historian Earl Ziemke remarks: “By March 1945, the Courland front was a bizarre echo of trench warfare, static lines hardened by futility”Ziemke, 1968.

Outcomes and Consequences

The German forces, though battered, remained intact through all six battles.

The Courland Pocket proved costly: "conservative estimates claim 160,948 killed, wounded, or sick among German forces, with 180,000 captured by May 8, 1945" (Military Wiki)

A post-war summary states: “Army Group North…held out until  8 May 1945, ... at this time the group still consisted of the remnants of some 31 divisions. … A total of about 203,000 troops of Army Group Courland began to be moved to Soviet prison camps … The majority of them never returned to Germany.” (Haupt, 1997)

German MG42 Team during the battles. (Picture: Bundesarchive: Bild 146-1978-062-11, Photo taken by Bachem, Fair Use: Non - Commercial)

Author: Jonathan Baynard

Reference List

Beevor, Antony. Berlin: The Downfall 1945. London: Viking, 2002.

Glantz, David M. The Battle for Leningrad, 1941–1944. University Press of Kansas, 1998.

Ziemke, Earl F. Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East. U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1968.

Shirer, William. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960.

Haupt, Werner. Army Group North: The Wehrmacht in Russia 1941–1945. Schiffer Publishing, 1997.

Wikipedia contributors. “Courland Pocket.” Wikipedia, 9 October 2025.

Wikipedia contributors. “Courland Pocket – casualties.” Military Wiki (Fandom). Military Wiki

Dyck, Ludwig Heinrich. “Life and Death Struggle for the Courland Bridgehead.” Ludwig H. Dyck’s Historical Writings, 2019. Ludwig H. Dyck's Historical Writings

Wearn, James. “WAR ZONE – Courland, Latvia.” Military-History.org, 30 July 2012.

military-history.org

“Remains of 145 Soviet soldiers unearthed in western Latvia.” LSM (Latvian Public Media), 24 April 2018. LSM

“Legenda Military Archaeology.” Wikipedia, 2025.