Bornholm was Danish until the Second World War when it was then occupied by German forces. The Germans stayed on the island, even after the rest of was liberated on May 5,1945. This resulted in the Russians bombing Rønne and Nexø. This happened days after Germany surrendered.

Bornholm, as a part of Denmark, was captured by Germany relatively early in the Second World War, and served as a lookout post and listening station during the war, as it was a part of the eastern front. The island's perfect central position in the Baltic Sea meant that it was an important "natural fortress" between Germany and Sweden, effectively keeping submarines and destroyers away from Nazi occupied waters. Several concrete coastal installations were built during the war, and several coastal batteries had tremendous range. However, none of them were ever used and only a single test shot was fired during the occupation. These remnants of Nazi rule have since then fallen into disrepair and are mostly regarded today as historical curiosities. Many tourists visit the ruins each year, however, providing supplemental income to the tourist industry.
On 22 August 1943 a rocket (numbered V83, probably launched from a Heinkel He 111) crashed on Bornholm as part of a test - the warhead was a dummy made of concrete. This was photographed or sketched by the Danish Naval Officer-in-Charge on Bornholm, Lieutenant Commander Hasager Christiansen. This was the first sign British Intelligence saw of Germany's aspirations to develop flying bombs and rockets - which were to become known as V1 and V2.
Bornholm was heavily bombarded by Soviet forces in May 1945. Gerhard von Kamptz, the German superior officer in charge of the island garrison refused to surrender to Soviets, as his orders were to surrender to the Western Allies. The Germans sent several telegrams to Copenhagen requesting that at least one British soldier should be transferred to Bornholm, so that the Germans could surrender to the western allied forces instead of the Russians. When von Kamptz failed to provide a written capitulation as demanded by the Soviet commanders, several Soviet aircraft relentlessly bombed and destroyed more than 800 civilian houses in Rønne and Nexø and seriously damaged roughly 3000 more during 7-8 May 1945. On May 9 Soviet troops landed on the island and after a short fight, the German garrison (about 12,000 strong [5]) did surrender.[6] Soviet forces left the island on April 5, 1946.
Bornholm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Great work!
You always find the things I am most curious about at the right times haha

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Time is only enemy you'll never get rid of.

Must lead a busy life, doesn't he?

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Bornholm was a great fortified Island. No wonder the Soviets waited until the end of the war to attempt an invasion. It was well defended and difficult to get to . It was quite strategic for the Germans to keep this island until the end of the war. It allowed them to control this part of the Baltic Sea. Thanks for this link Za

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You're welcome, but is was Bob the Falkenberg who provided it

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Oops...... I did it again..... Sorry JCFalkenberg you hget the credit for this thread not our favorite Portagee.

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No prob there Skipper

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I was attracted by this thread because of the Strategical position of the Island has always fascinated me. When I was a child, I sent a letter there with a fake address just to see if I would get it back with some nice cancelations. When I finally recovered my letter after several months, it had travelled all over Bornholm and every postman of the Island had signed it on the cover. Not a WWII document, but still something you don't get everyday and this is how I learnt about this place.

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I found this interesting post war about the island,


More recently NATO radar installations have been placed on the island.
A Russian (Soviet) declaration after World War II stated that the placement of "foreign soldiers" (i.e., NATO forces) on Bornholm would be considered a declaration of war against Russia, and that Denmark should keep troops on it at all times to protect it from foreign aggression. This caused diplomatic problems at least twice: once when an American helicopter landed outside the city of Svaneke due to engine problems in a NATO exercise over the Baltic Sea, and once (sometime between 1999 and 2003) when the Danish government suggested shutting down Almegårdens Kaserne, the local military facility, since "the island could quickly be protected by troops from surrounding areas and has no strategic importance after the fall of the Iron Curtain".

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Hey Skipper? Would you have any info on the types of forces and defences?

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Bornholm has a very special place in our history as a testament to, well, us.

During the Swedish War of 1658, the people of Bornholm decided to free themselves from the Swedes. They shot the Swedish commandant and handed over the island to the king of Denmark, who had to promise never to cede Bornholm to foreign powers... that promise unfortunately didn't hold.

Bornholm is very unique and you'd actually have to visit it to see why it was such a "fortress", so to speak - the castles, caves, hills (this sounds silly, but here on the mainland it's flatter than the Midwest US is), barrows, and cliffs. The Germans built some massive "Guns of Navaronne" style cannons there. Only one was fired. There was also a decent-sized air force, consisting of Fiat Cr.42 and G.50s, Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIs, Ju-52s, IAR80bs, Grif J.1s. MC.205V, Laffs, and Messerscmitts Bf-110G2s.

The Germans actually did little to bother the Danes there and it wasn't until the Sovs occupied the island (after a massive bombing campaign) that the people started to look at their occupiers with suspicion (to this day, Russians are simply not trusted there).

The history of Bornholm since the WWII has been shaped by the Russian bombing and occupation of the island. The will of Bornholm to defend itself is reflected in a Home Guard (the equivalent of the US National Guard) that, in proportion to the size of the island, is unequaled in all of Denmark.

Offshore... tons of captured Nazi chemical munitions — including some containing mustard gas blister agents and the infamous Zyklon B used in concentration camps — rest on the Baltic seabed.

As a possibly interesting aside to this... there are lots and lots of rumors about buried German gold on Bornholm.

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"Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning." - Erwin Rommel

Wasn't Bornholm the island with all the round Knights Templar churches too? It always seems to have had military connections.

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Regards,

Gordon
History Vault Bookshop
FortressScotland-http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

Indeed it is. There's a great book about it called The Templars' Secret Island which I can highly recommend.

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"Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning." - Erwin Rommel

Cheers, Army Man. I've actually got it! Been a while since I read it, might look it out again later.

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Regards,

Gordon
History Vault Bookshop
FortressScotland-http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

Thank you for telling us all these interesting details army man, they are a very welcome addition to this thread.

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Would you happen to know what units flew this motley assortment of aircraft LOL? And what action they saw if any? Sounds like a interesting wargame scenario

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I can attempt to find out for you, JC - my first guess is that it was their Air Guard unit, augmented with "donated" equipment. I seem to recall that the only real action that they saw was some limited engagement off the Finnish coast.

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"Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning." - Erwin Rommel

Thanks. I would apreciate it . Hopefully Erich will notice this thread too. He may have some knowledge too .

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.