Baltic Sea Trial Association

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The Baltic Sea Trial Association (EVO) was an association of the Kriegsmarine formed from dozens of different sea ​​vessels for troop landings on the open coast .

Lineup

After Adolf Hitler had decided to attack the Soviet Union ( Operation Barbarossa ), the Navy built a ship formation for landings on the Soviet Baltic coast under the cover name Erprobungsverband Ostsee from March 1941. The EVO was assembled in Swinoujscie from personnel and vehicles from the Seelöwe company , the landing in England planned for September 1940, but not carried out. In fact, the Baltic Sea Trial Association also served to test new landing technology that had been developed for the Seelöwe company since the planning stage, but also for practicing landings on open coasts. In this respect it was also a test association for the temporarily postponed landing in England . But its real reason for existence was the use against the Soviet Union.

On June 22, 1941, the day of the attack on the USSR, the Baltic Sea Trial Association consisted of 4 freighters , 16 coasters , 5 heavy artillery carriers , 3 light artillery carriers , 9 steam tugs , 14 motor booms converted into makeshift landing craft , 12 barges , 24 motor boats and 9 fish loggers . On June 1, 1941, the army in Gotenhafen had set up a battalion (ferry battalion 128) with 21 sieve ferries and a large motorboat, which was placed under the EVO on June 26, 1941.

From April until the dissolution in December 1941, the sea ​​captain Johannes Rieve was head of the association.

commitment

At the beginning of July 1941, the Baltic Sea Trial Association, reinforced by the first five naval ferry boats , entered Libau , which had been conquered from land . When it was moved to Riga in mid-July 1941 and finally to Pernau in early September 1941, the unit was attacked several times by artillery, aircraft and smaller warships, but without suffering serious losses.

In mid-September 1941, the EVO landing units were distributed at the small Werder harbor area and in bays nearby for the conquest of Moon Island and the subsequent capture of the other Baltic islands ( Beowulf company ). The number of EVO naval ferries had meanwhile risen to 12 and the Army Pioneer Landing Company 777 with 13 pioneer landing boats was also subordinated to the Baltic Sea Trial Association. The army had also brought in 253 assault boats for the planned landings.

From September 8 to October 21, 1941, the Baltic Islands were conquered in several landing operations by the 61st Infantry Division and parts of the 217th Infantry Division landed by the Baltic Sea Trial Association .

resolution

After the conquest of the Baltic Islands, the test association was first moved back to Riga and then to Swinoujscie . The Soviet Baltic coast was largely in German hands, so that the association was no longer needed for military operations. A landing in England was also out of the question in the foreseeable future, as the Soviet Union had not been defeated in 1941 as planned, so that a restart of Operation Sea Lion for 1942 was out of the question. The Baltic Sea Trial Association was dissolved in December 1941. The 13th and 17th Landing Flotilla in the Marine-Fährprahm- Training Association Baltic Sea were formed from personnel and material of the association and served as training units for landing associations in Swinoujscie.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Randolf Kugler: Landings in Germany since 1900. Oberbaum-Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-926409-52-5 , p. 145.
  2. ↑ Randolf Kugler: The landings in Germany since 1900. Oberbaum-Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-926409-52-5 , pp. 145-146.
  3. ↑ Lawrence Paterson: Hitler's Forgotten Flotillas: Kriegsmarine Security Forces . Grub Street Publishers, 2018, ISBN 978-1-4738-8241-6 ( google.de [accessed November 2, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Nikolaj A. Piterskij: The Soviet fleet in World War II. Edited and commented on by Jürgen Rohwer on behalf of the Defense Research Working Group . Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg et al. 1966, p. 518.
  5. ↑ Randolf Kugler: Landings in Germany since 1900. Oberbaum-Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-926409-52-5 , pp. 149-53.
  6. ↑ Nikolaj A. Piterskij: The Soviet fleet in World War II. Edited and commented on by Jürgen Rohwer on behalf of the Defense Research Working Group. Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg et al. 1966, pp. 520-521.

literature

  • Randolf Kugler: Landings in Germany since 1900. Oberbaum-Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-926409-52-5 .