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Battle of Annaberg
Part of Silesian Uprisings
Silesia in 1905
Date May 21-26, 1921 Location St. Annaberg hill, southeast of Oppeln Result German victory
Belligerents
Polish insurgents	Weimar Republic's Freikorps

The Battle of Annaberg (Template:Lang-de, Template:Lang-pl), which took place between May 21-26, 1921, was the biggest battle of the Silesian Uprisings, fought for the strategic hill of St. Annaberg near the village of Annaberg O.S. (since 1945 Góra Świętej Anny), located southeast of Oppeln (Opole) in Upper Silesia, Weimar Germany. After the hill had been occupied by irregular Polish units in the Third Silesian Uprising, German Freikorps managed to drive the Poles from the hill.

Prelude

By the Treaty of Versailles, the Reichswehr was limited to a strength of 100,000. Several independent Freikorps units were formed to fight communist groups, and also Polish insurgents. These units often did not obey orders from politicians, which could provoke Allied action.

On April 30, 1921, Polish-Silesian officials, with Wojciech Korfanty, upon finding that Germany would be granted most of the plebiscite area, decided to start the Third Uprising . On May 2, sabotage acts of the Polish Wawelberg Group units under Konrad Wawelberg severed all connections between Upper Silesia and Germany.

On May 3, at 3 a.m., the Polish forces started the offensive, and in the following days they pushed the small German forces westwards, reaching the line of the Oder river and capturing on May 4, the 400-meter high strategic hill of Annaberg.

It took around two weeks for the Germans to prepare the counter offensive, brining in volunteers from other German areas. The leaders settled for Generalleutnant Karl Höfer (or Karl Hoefer)as commander, while Generalleutnant Bernhard von Hülsen would lead the southern force at the Oder, and Oberstleutnant Grüntzen the northern one in the forests.

In the meantime, their units were strengthened with the arrival of Freikorps Oberland unit from Bavaria. Its soldiers, numbered at 1,650, were experienced veterans of World War One, under major Albert Ritter von Beckh. Among members of the FK Oberland were notable figures of the future Nazi Germany, including Sepp Dietrich (who distinguished himself during the battle) , Rudolf Hoess, Edmund Heines, as well as Beppo Römer and Peter von Heydebreck, leader of the Werewolves and later pronounced the "hero of Annaberg". Also, there were several students-volunteers from the Bavarian town of Erlangen .

Battle

Annaberg, with the monastery located on top of the hill, was regarded as a religious symbol for German Silesians . It was strategically significant, too, as from its peak, the whole valley of the Oder could be dominated. German commanders - generals Karl Höfer and Franz Karl von Hülsen, decided to use three battalions of the Bavarian Oberland, which were transported to Krappitz (Krapkowice), on the 19/20 May 1921.

The German counterattack began on May 21, at dawn and it was led by the Oberland Freikorps and Silesian (Selbstschutzes Oberschlesien) battalions, which divided themselves into two columns to form the left and right wings. The Germans launched it from a hill, located north to the Saint Anne’s Mountain and it was aimed at destroying regiment of Polish Silesian insurgents from Pless (Pszczyna), under Franciszek Rataj. After seven hours of heavy combat, the Germans managed to force the Poles to withdraw and then concentrated their attack on the neighboring regiment of Polish volunteers from Kattowitz (Katowice), under Walenty Fojkis, as well as Polish-Silesian battalions from Groß Strehlitz (Strzelce Opolskie) and Tost (Toszek), known as Group Bogdan. Among Polish forces defending the mountain, there also were coal miners from Ferdinand coal mine in Kattowitz as well as workers from Kattowitz's suburb of Bogutschütz (Bogucice) . Altogether, Polish forces fighting in the area of Saint Anne's Mountain created Group East .

Under German pressure, the Poles, after heavy hand to hand combat, withdrew east. Subsequent Polish counterattack was repelled and the success of the Freikorps was widely described in Germany, as it was regarded as the first German victory since November 1918

On May 23, the Poles, after regrouping and strengthening their forces with a battalion from Hindenburg O.S. (Zabrze) under Pawel Cyms, initiated a strong counterattack, but it was again repulsed by the German artillery, with great losses on both sides. Heavy fighting took place in neighboring villages, such as Leschnitz (Leśnica), Lichynia, Krasowa, Dolna, Olszowa and Klucz.

Aftermath

The government of both sides could barely influence the events, as the neither side had solid commando structures, with forces acting independently. On May 25, the Selbstschutz, under pressure from Berlin which threatened the Freikorps with serious penalties, decided to initiate peace talks. On the next day, general command of Polish forces ordered their units to cease fighting. Some additional skirmishes took place in early June, on the 4th of that month, the Germans once again managed to defeat the Poles.

Finally in early July, Allied troops entered the area and separated both fighting sides. Both Poles and Germans disengaged and retreated. Due to internal and external political reasoning, the contributions of the German fighters was not officially recognized by the government, which supported bitter feelings against the Weimar republic. The reputation of the "Annaberg heroes" helped them in later years anyway.

The disputed territory of Upper Silesia was subsequently divided between the two countries, with Poland receiving the eastern third of the area with the coal mines, even though the majority vote had been for Germany. Annaberg itself remained part of Germany until 1945, when it was transferred to Poland and renamed.

References

1. Góra Św. Anny: Europe's biggest amphitheatre
2. History of the Silesian Uprisings
5. Oberschlesien in der Aufstandszeit, 1918-1921. by A. D. Karl Hoefer, review by H. F. P. Percival, International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1931-1939), Vol. 17, No. 6 (Nov. - Dec., 1938), pp. 853-854 (review consists of 2 pages)
8. The German Freikorps 1918-23, By Carlos Caballero Jurado, Ramiro Bujeiro, p. 31
9. http://www.dws-xip.com/reich/biografie/279975.html
10. Correlli Barnet, Hitler’s Generals, page 412
11. Jay W. Baird: Hitler's War Poets
13. Gary C. Fouse, Erlangen. An American's history of a German Town, page 135
14. Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32
15. Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32
16. Life of Walenty Fojkis, one of commandants of Polish forces
17. Katowice today and yesterday
18. Opole - our city
19. Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32
20. Carlos Caballero Jurado, The German Freikorps 1918-23, page 32

See also

• Wawelberg Group
• Silesian Uprisings
• Upper Silesia plebiscite

• Orphaned articles from August 2008
• History of Silesia
• 1921 in Germany
• Freikorps
• Conflicts in 1921
• Silesian Uprisings