Russen kommen!

The Russians are coming!

The battle of Poznań took place between January 24th and February 23rd 1945. Before the war, Poznań - renamed Posen by the Germans - was the westernmost large city in Poland and one of few remaining urban centers on the Soviets' way to Berlin. The Red Army intended to encircle the city, filled with large 19th century fortifications, which, although obsolete in face of modern warfare (artillery, armoured support and air power) were still a formidable obstacle.

The central point of German defence was the Fort Winiary (pron. viniary, an old word for vineyards), commonly known as the Poznan Citadel. After weeks of vicious urban fighting for every building, the Soviet finally made their way to the fortress and began a massive artillery and aerial bombardment, ment to break the Germans' will to fight as much as to crack the old fort's walls open for assault teams, which then cleared the remaining pockets of resistance with submachine guns, explosives and flame throwers.

Although many of the Citadel's building survived the battle (even if damaged), the decision was made  to destroy Fort Winiary, seen a symbol of Prussian dominance over Poznań during the partition of Poland (1795-1918) and the Nazi occupation. Moreover, the fortress became a precious source of building materials, needed in the devastated country: some sources estimate that up to 20 thousand bricks were shipped from Fort Winiary to Warsaw to aid in Polish capital's reconstruction. All that remains of the Poznan Citadel now is a large park, where only a couple of ruins remind of its bloody past. The most visible ones house the Museum of Armament, other are usually hidden deep under the ground.

Since 2012, an annual historical reenactement "Battle of Poznan 1945" is held on the Citadel, to commemorate the end of hostilities that saw widespread destruction in the city.