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July 1944

Special Forces Operations in July 1944

July 1944
Salvage Operation U-250
Rota Osobogo Naznacheniya
On July 30th, 1944, U-250, a German submarine, sinks the Soviet submarine chaser MO-105 in the Gulf of Finland with a torpedo. In response, the Soviet Navy dispatches submarine chasers to search for the U-boat. The MO-103, under the command of SLt Aleksander P. Kolenko, detects U-250 with sonar and attacks it with depth charges.

The U-boat sinks, but the captain, Kapitänleutnant Werner-Karl Schmidt, and five other crew members in the control room manage to escape.

The Russians are eager to salvage the sunken U-boat, which lay at a depth of 27 meters. Despite German and Finnish attempts to prevent the salvage, including attacks by coastal artillery and torpedo boats, the Rota Osobogo Naznacheniya successfully raises U-250 on September 14th, 1944. The submarine is towed to Kronstadt between air tanks and placed in a dry dock on September 25th, 1944. Here the Soviets fins an Enigma codemachine, codes and other valuable information. They also discover the new German secret T5 acoustic torpedo.

July 1944
Lithuanian Fire Brigade
SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500
Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500 holds a critical defensive position within the Vilnius Pocket. This strategic enclave, located in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, witnessed a fierce siege by Soviet forces during an offensive campaign that unfolded from July 5th to 13th, 1944. Numerous units from both the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS found themselves encircled within this fortified area, which the Germans designated as “Fester Platz” or Fortress. Among these trapped units was the SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500, contributing to the intense battles and crucial defense during this period.