Soviet Troops 4th Tank Army: Liberation of Stalag IIIA, Luckenwalde (April 1945)

Can anyone help identify which Soviet troops liberated Stalag IIIA on April 22, April 1945? The camp was in Lukenwalde, ~70km’s south of Berlin. I have looked at numerous Soviet maps of the general offensive heading toward Berlin but cannot quite figure it out. Every reference to the camp being liberated says something very generic like “Soviet troops/tanks arrived on April 22” but never which unit etc.

Thank you.

 

I've highlighted the location, that I'm almost certain is Lukenwalde, on the map.

 

If I'm reading this correctly, it would be 1st Ukrainian Front, led by Marshal Konev, and thus the 4th Tank Army, under Dmitry Lelyushenko? This is perhaps corroborated by the "Liberation" report I have from the Man of Confidence, talking about a representative from the camp being sent back to Konev's HQ. Am I on the right track here?

 

Found a reference in the same report to the "83rd Rifle Division" troops entering the camp. So that looks like the answer I was seeking. I will leave this thread here to help anybody else searching for this information.

 

Well, after starting to look into the "83rd Rifle Division" it appears this may not be correct. The only references I can find to an 83rd Rifle Divi. are some brief mentions of action in February 1944. I see nothing around April/May 1945 in the area around Luckenwalde, Germany and Stalag IIIA.

The map I attached in my original post puts the "4rb TA" (with "rb" perhaps being an abbreviation for "guards" as at that time it appears to have been known as The 4th Guards Tank Army) running right through Luckenwalde. Plus references of Konev's HQ. So I think this was the original armour that, based on eyewitness reports, drove through the gates, straight through the camp, and through the fence at the far end and then just kept going! See further below.

So the dates and unit references and personnel names I've uncovered so far are as follows:

The tanks rolling through is undated, but presumably on April 22/45 in advance of the "83rd Rifle Div." support infantry?
April 22/45 The reference to 83rd Rifle Div. troops arriving
April 29/45 Major General Famin, of Konev's staff, visits
May 6/45 Capt Tchokanov, acting as deputy for Capt Medvedev, visits
May 6/45 Capt. Sinkavitch, American POW Contact Officer, from SHAEF visits
May 7/45 Capt. Grant, also American POW Contact Officer, from SHAEF visits
May 7/45 Lt. Col. Mashkov, representing General Famin visits
May 10/45 Famin vists again
May 19/45 Colonel Korofsky, of the Red Army repatriation staff visits

So based on all this, does anybody have any insight as to which Soviet unit it might have been, or for that matter, which US unit arrived after them? I am completely unfamiliar with Soviet research and cannot rely on my usual sources. For example, do they have War Diaries for all these units, which have been exceedingly helpful in my UK military research?

Thank you very much.

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The Clutton-Brock book, “Footprints on the Sands of Time” (p.154) gave the following eyewitness account of the very first Soviet tanks entering, liberating the camp, then immediately leaving:

From the east came Russian tanks bursting out of the surrounding forest, heading straight for the camp. One or two of them drove straight through the main gate and down the central roadway which divided the four quadrants of the camp. The Russians were standing up in their tanks, shouting and cheering, and appeared to be inviting us to join them. They did not stop, however, but ploughed straight through the camp and out of the far side, disappearing into the forest again, knocking down anything in their way, such as the gates.

 

The plot thickens...I've recently found references to liberation by the 83rd Rifle Div. of the US Ninth Army, after the initial Soviet arrival. So that explains why I couldn't find any info. on a Russian unit. Presumably info. on the US Rifle Div. will be relatively straight forward to access.

 

RiverdaleDIY,

You mean the 83rd Infantry Division of the US Army; Rifle Division is not a term the US Army uses. Their Wiki entry: 83rd Infantry Division (United States) - Wikipedia could be a starting point, it does not mention liberating this POW camp though.

The Clutton-Brock book has your answer, no "cut & paste" so follow the link to Google Books: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Long_Road/K-fZAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq="83rd+infantry+division"+++"Stalag+IIIA"&pg=PT455&printsec=frontcover

The first free US Army officer arrived at the camp on 4/5/1945, from the 83rd Infantry Division. Perhaps researching him and his unit there will more information.

Try this book for more clues: The Last 100 Days - SILO.PUB and search using stalag iii to get to the info.

 

Yes, thank you. I've just been discovering this terminology discrepancy. My original quote was from a report about the Camp Liberation (although I've misplaced the source for now) but based on what I've found so far about the 83rd Infantry Division, their progression across Germany lines up perfectly geographically and chronologically with Luckenwalde/Stalag IIA. So it looks like we're onto a winner. It also looks like there is PLENTY of info. out there about them, so I'm excited to see what I can dig up. Thanks for those links, I will check them out.

 

If you do a search on here of Luckenwalde or even Sinkavitch there's plenty of information.

Here's one: WW2 lost POW's | Page 2 | WW2Talk

Despite what's written on various sites and in various books the camp was never liberated by or turned over to the Americans...or British. By 8 May the fence that had been knocked down by the Russians on 22 April was back up and troops posted every 50 yds.

The tank troops that came through on 22 April 1945 didn't stay. From interviews I did with W/Cdr Collard's interpreter, they came in, released their own people, gave them rifles and took off for Berlin. The Russian troops who came in to administer the camp were headed by a chap named Medvedev, said to be a "24-year old veteran of Stalingrad"

Regards,

Dave