The Battle of Leipzig: A high-stakes drama of the final German surrender in Leipzig

Between 18th – 20th of April, 1945, American forces laid siege to the mighty Völkerschlachtdenkmal (‘Monument to the Battle of the Nations’) in the south-east of Leipzig. 

This huge memorial had been turned into a literal fortress by the Leipzig Kampfkommandant Colonel von Poncet. Here, his force of 300 Wehrmacht, Volkssturm, and SS men, sheltered behind the granite walls of the monument from American artillery, whilst pouring return fire down onto the Americans via thin castle-like slits in the windows.

Every American assault to capture the building failed, and the thick stone walls meant the American artillery rounds literally bounced off the monument. To make things worse, 26 American soldiers and 2 French war correspondents were being held prisoner within the monument. This meant any further American assaults would surely put their lives at risk.

By the 20th of April, Von Poncet’s force at the Völkerschlachtdenkmal represented the last-remaining German pocket of resistance in Leipzig, meaning this final bastion *had* to be subdued before the Americans could declare victory in the city.

Subduing this garrison by force was out of the question, so the Americans instead turned to Hans L. Trefousse (2nd photo) – a German-born American intelligence officer – to negotiate the surrender of Von Poncet’s force.

The high-stake negotiations dragged on for hours, and would themselves see plenty of twists and turns before the end…but finally, in the early hours of April 20th, Von Poncet’s force surrendered (peacefully), and the Battle of Leipzig was finally over. 

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal, much like the rest of Leipzig, carried the scars of the battle.

Photo 3 shows the interior of the monument after the fighting, and my final photos show the scars of the fighting – still visible today.

To hear all about the dramatic stand-off at the Völkerschlachtdenkmal (and the inventive negotiation tactics deployed to deliver a peaceful resolution) check out episode 4.4 of the Europe At War podcast.

Photo sources: mdr (1), wikipedia (2), lvz (3).