"The fortress in Brest, Belarus was awarded the title Hero Fortress in 1965. It was located right on the recently established border between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany drawn in the secret appendix to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. As such, the fortress had little warning when the Axis
invaded on June 22, 1941, and became the site of the first major
fighting between Soviet frontier guards and the invading German forces
of Army Group Center. German artillery heavily shelled the fortress; the subsequent
attempt to quickly take it with infantry failed, however, and the
Germans started a lengthy siege. The Brest garrison, although cut off
from reinforcements and having run out of food, water and ammunition,
fought and counter-attacked until the very last minute. The Germans
deployed tanks, tear gas and flame throwers. After the Germans had taken
most of the ruined fortifications, taking heavy casualties, fighting
continued underground. The fighting ended only on June 29. The actual front had by then
already moved hundreds of kilometres further east. Even after the
fortress was officially taken, the few surviving defenders continued to
hide in the basements and to harass the Germans for several months."
Another honored Allied location,
Brian
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