The last combat in The Reich - on 15 May 1945,in Au, close to Bregenz/Austria in a mountain forest area a high-ranking French officer actually wanted to hunt game with the help of a local forester and Moroccan soldiers, but got involved with some Wehrmacht soldiers and an SS Lieutenant carrying weapons! Looking through the binocular and to his surprise, no game, but men in uniform using their weapons against the French troops.One French soldier was killed by a hand grenade. Several Germans were killed in the following fights. Two were executed, one of them saluted with "Heil Hitler. All were buried in Au. On the grave stone engraved in German roughly translated:They all died in May 1945 in Au doing their duty as soldiers do.” Strange! Stefan.
Hi Stefan - I'm not sure in the title of the thread whether you are asking a question or not? However, from my understanding the last combat in Europe took place on the Dutch island of Texel between Georgians who were serving in the German Army and German forces. This fighting did not end until May 20, 1945.
Georgian Insurrection on Texel ("The Russian War") Aerial of the Island of Texel situated just off the NW coast of Holland. Texel was in a sense a 'Red on Red' fight, which ended on 20 May 1945 by the Canadian occupation of the Island. It was an insurrection by the Georgian 882nd Infantry Battalion Königin Tamara (Queen Tamar), made up of 800 Georgians and 400 Germans. These were Red Army soldiers from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic captured on the Eastern front. They had been given a choice: the captured soldiers could choose either to remain in the POW camps, which would have meant abuse, starvation and very possible death, or to serve the Germans and be allowed a degree of freedom. The battalion was formed of men who chose the latter option. On the night of 5-6 April 1945 the Georgians rose up and gained control of nearly the entire island. Approximately four hundred German soldiers were killed in the initial uprising, almost all while sleeping in the quarters they shared with Georgians, who used knives and bayonets. Others were shot and killed while standing guard or walking the roads of the island in groups or individually that night and the following day. Members of the Dutch resistance participated and assisted the Georgians. However, the rebellion hinged on an expected Allied landing which did not occur. Furthermore, the Georgians failed to secure the naval coastal batteries on the southern and northern end of the island; the crews of these artillery installations were the only Germans still alive on the island. The battle on Texel. The blocked lines indicate the area occupied by the Georgians at the given dates. Unfortunately the two batteries (Noord- and Zuid Batterie) on the Island remained in German hands. This enabled German reinforcements to enter the Island by way of Den Helder on the Dutch mainland and crush the rebellion. (Courtesy Opstand van de Georgiërs - Wikipedia) A counterattack was ordered and the intact artillery batteries on the island began firing at sites where rebels were suspected to be. Approximately 2 000 riflemen of the 163rd Marine-Schützenregiment were deployed from the Dutch mainland. Over the next five weeks they re-took the island; fighting was particularly heavy at Eierland and around the lighthouse on the northern tip of the Island. The German troops then combed the length of the island for any remaining Georgian soldiers, while the Dutch inhabitants sought to hide them. The German commander of the 882nd battalion, Major Klaus Breitner, stated long after the war that the uprising was "treachery, nothing else"; the Germans - even at this late stage of the war - reacted ruthlessly, the captured mutineers were ordered to dig their own graves, remove their German uniforms, and were shot. The bloodshed lasted beyond the German surrender in the Netherlands on 5 May 1945 and even beyond Germany's general surrender on 8 May 1945. The fighting continued until Canadian troops arrived 20 May 1945 to enforce the German surrender, and disarmed the remaining German troops. During the rebellion, 565 Georgians, at least 812 Germans became casualties. 120 Dutch residents were killed in the battle; 89 of them perished in a German bombardment of Den Burg on 6 April. The destruction was enormous; dozens of farms went up in flames. 228 Georgians survived by hiding from the German troops in coastal minefields, or were concealed by brave Texel farmers. They were later handed over to the Soviet authorities and faced an uncertain future. The Georgian insurrection in Holland is sometimes remembered as the "Russen Oorlog" (the Russian War). The lighthouse at the Eierlandse Gat, where the last Georgians were cornered by the German troops (Photo courtesy Opstand van de Georgiërs - Wikipedia) The Georgians are still honored and commemorated by the Dutch. Monument at the Georgian military cemetery on Texel (courtesy: inyucho - Georgian Cemetery)
I saw there is a recent new book out about the Texel uprising - "Night of the Bayonets: The Texel Uprising and Hitler's Revenge, April-May 1945" Just to add to Stolpi's information, I took the photo below a couple of years ago. It is a monument to commemorate Goergians who were executed in the dunes at De Mok after being captured (about 70 here - others were executed elsewhere on the island). Ten Dutchmen who the Germans believed had helped in the uprising were also murdered here. This demonstrates how nasty the battle on Texel was, with no quarter given. A word of warning - if you ever go to Texel don't drive to this monument as it is at the gates of a Dutch marine base. I got a good telling off from the security guard! He made me turn around, park up several hundred meters away and walk to it.
