It was an important part of Operation Bagration. Preparation of operation "Bagration"
June 23, 1944 the USSR during the Great Patriotic War began a large-scale, which received it in honor of the commander and hero of the Patriotic War of 1812.
Revenge
The plans of the Soviet troops in Belarus were kept in the strictest confidence. The success of the Red Army in Ukraine the day before made the Germans think that it was here that the next blow would be struck, so they threw the main power of their army to the south. Moreover, the German command considered the position of Army Group Center in Belarus not inspiring any serious concern, since the front there long time remained stable and the Germans had the opportunity to form a developed defense system. On the Eastern Front, the Germans went on the defensive, waiting for the landing of the Anglo-American troops in France. The strengthening of the German grouping in Ukraine determined the decision of the Headquarters to launch an offensive in Belarus. Here, in the summer of 1941, the Red Army suffered one of the largest and most bitter defeats, and here it was decided to win back in full. Even the offensive began with a difference of one day from the anniversary.
Improved Brusilovsky breakthrough
Operation Bagration was carried out in conjunction with June 6, 1944 and the opening of a second front. The offensive on the Eastern Front was supposed to tie down the German forces and prevent them from transferring troops from east to west (it is worth remembering that 235 enemy divisions were concentrated on the Eastern Front, and 65 enemy divisions on the Western Front). "Bagration" with its idea of a wide rapid offensive instead of focusing on one main direction is reminiscent of the times of the First World War. The success of the Belarusian offensive operation was the same surprise for the Soviet command as for the Germans, only positive: the developers of the operation did not expect to push the enemy back 400-600 kilometers in two months. All this only speaks of the thoughtfulness of the offensive, the high military qualities of the Soviet command, the courage and heroism of the Soviet soldiers.
Meaning
In the course of the operation "Bagration", the Byelorussian SSR, part of the Lithuanian and Latvian SSRs were liberated, a breakthrough was made to Poland, Soviet troops reached the border of East Prussia. The victory in one of the largest offensive operations in the history of mankind was given to the Red Army hard. Our troops lost about 178 thousand people (7.6% of total number participants in the operation), more than half a million were injured. The German army group "Center", in fact, ceased to exist, serious losses were suffered by the army groups "North" and "Northern Ukraine". In general, according to various estimates, the German irretrievable losses amounted to 300-400 thousand people, about 100 thousand wounded, excluding prisoners and equipment. These are very high figures even for the Second World War. One way or another, it became clear that the next year of the war would be the last, and at that time the only force in the world that could compare with the Red Army was the Red Army itself.
After the successes of the Soviet troops in Ukraine in 1943, a ledge formed on the front line - " Belarusian balcony". To eliminate it, as well as the liberation of the BSSR, part of Poland and a number of other territories, the Headquarters of the High Command decided to strike in the summer of 1944, known as the Belarusian offensive operation, the code name of which was the name of the famous commander of the 19th century - "Bagration". It lasted from the end of June to the end of August 1944.
Position of the parties
The German units were located in this territory for a long time, so Germany managed to organize a fairly powerful defense, about 250 km long. The main cities: Polotsk, Mogilev, Orsha and Bobruisk were fortified fortresses. The field defenses were also very strong: the defense, which consisted of two lines, relied precisely on the key nodes-cities. However, the defense in depth was weaker, since the work on its creation had not yet been completed.
The Soviet command planned to make 2 strikes. The first fell on Osipovichi, the second - on Slutsk. A limited circle of people was involved in the development of the plan: only Vasilevsky, Antonov and several other trusted persons were aware of what was happening. Preparations for the offensive were carried out secretly, the positions of the Russians kept complete radio silence.
Operation progress
The offensive was preceded by an attack by a partisan movement operating on the territory of the Byelorussian SSR with the support of the Soviet command. It was possible to make about 10,000 explosions, the main objects that were to be destroyed were railway tracks and communication centers. The army group "center" was cut off from the rear and demoralized.
The attack of the Russian fronts began on June 22. The first stage, which ended on July 4, included several operations during which Polotsk, Orsha, Vitebsk, Slutsk, and Nesvizh were captured. The main goal of the Soviet corps was Minsk, and already on July 2, the tank divisions belonging to Rokossovsky came close to the city. In the middle of the next day, the capital of Belarus was liberated.
The capture of Minsk marked the beginning of the second period of the Belarusian operation. German troops began to receive reinforcements and sought to return the front line to its former lines. The Soviet army, in turn, continued to resolutely advance, although the pace of advancement slowed down somewhat. The next goal of the Russians - Vilnius, was a real fortress of the Germans, where almost all the reserves were pulled together.
Significant assistance in the capture of the city was provided by the rebels, who raised a rebellion against the invaders on the eve of the arrival of the Red Army forces. On July 13, the last German resistance to Vilnius was crushed.
The results of the offensive
Soviet soldiers advanced on all fronts. Lida was liberated, the Neman and Vistula were forced. In the battles, almost all German generals who were on this sector of the front were killed or captured. The date of the end of the operation "Bagration" is considered to be August 29 - the day when the entrenched Soviet troops moved to the temporary defense of the Mangushevsky bridgehead. Many historians consider the Belarusian offensive operation "Bagration" to be the largest defeat of fascist Germany, not only during the Great Patriotic War, but also during the entire Second World War as a whole. This colossal success was the result of the correct strategic planning of the Soviet command, the clear interaction of all military units, as well as the skillful disinformation of the enemy.
70 years ago, one of the largest operations of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War, Operation Bagration, was carried out in Belarus. During this operation (June 23 - August 29, 1944), the German armed forces lost 289 thousand people killed and captured, 110 thousand wounded, Soviet troops retook Belarus and a significant part of Lithuania, entered the territory of Poland.
What did the parties plan?
The development of a plan for the Belarusian operation was started by the Soviet General Staff (under the leadership of Marshal Vasilevsky) in April 1944.
During the development, some disagreements of the command came to light. The commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, General Rokossovsky, wanted to inflict one main blow in the Rogachev direction by the forces of the 3rd Army of General Gorbatov, in which it was planned to concentrate about 16 rifle divisions.
The headquarters of the Supreme High Command believed that it was necessary to strike two blows. It was supposed to deliver two converging strikes - from Vitebsk and from Bobruisk, both in the direction of Minsk. Further, it was supposed to occupy the entire territory of Belarus and Lithuania, go to the coast of the Baltic Sea (Klaipeda), to the border of East Prussia (Suwalki) and to the territory of Poland (Lublin).
As a result, the Stavka's point of view prevailed. The plan was approved by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on May 30, 1944. The beginning of the operation "Bagration" was scheduled for June 19-20 (on June 14, due to delays in the transportation of troops, equipment and ammunition, the start of the operation was postponed to June 23).
The Germans were expecting a general offensive of the Red Army in the south on the territory of Ukraine. From there, our troops, indeed, could deliver a powerful blow both to the rear of Army Group Center and to the strategically important oil fields of Ploiesti for the Germans.
Therefore, the German command concentrated its main forces in the south, assuming in Belarus only local operations of a nature. The Soviet General Staff strengthened the Germans in every possible way in this opinion. The enemy was shown that most of the Soviet tank armies "remain" in Ukraine. On the central sector of the front, intensive engineering and sapper work was carried out during daylight hours to create false defensive lines. The Germans believed these preparations and began to increase the number of their troops in Ukraine.
rail war
On the eve and during Operation Bagration, Belarusian partisans provided truly invaluable assistance to the advancing Red Army. On the night of June 19-20, they began a rail war in the rear of enemy troops.
The partisans seized river crossings, cut off the enemy's retreat, undermined rails and bridges, wrecked trains, made surprise raids on enemy garrisons, and destroyed enemy communications.
As a result of the actions of the partisans, the most important railway lines were completely disabled, and enemy transportation along all roads was partially paralyzed.
Then, when, during the successful offensive of the Red Army, the German columns began to retreat to the west, they could only move along major highways. On smaller roads, the Nazis inevitably became victims of partisan attacks.
Operation start
On June 22, 1944, on the day of the third anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War, reconnaissance in force was carried out in the sectors of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts.
And the next day was the day of the Red Army's revenge for the summer of 1941. On June 23, after artillery and aviation preparation, the troops of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts went on the offensive. Their actions were coordinated by the Marshal Soviet Union Vasilevsky. Our troops were opposed by the 3rd tank army of General Reinhardt, who was defending on the northern sector of the front.
On June 24, the troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts launched an offensive. Their actions were coordinated by Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov. Their opponents were the 9th army of General Jordan, who occupied positions in the south, in the Bobruisk region, as well as the 4th army of General Tippelskirch (in the region of Orsha and Mogilev). The German defense was soon hacked - and the Soviet tank troops, blocking the fortified areas, entered the operational space.
The defeat of German troops near Vitebsk, Bobruisk, Mogilev
During the operation "Bagration" our troops managed to take into the "cauldrons" and defeat several encircled German groups. So, on June 25, the Vitebsk fortified area was encircled and soon defeated. The German troops stationed there tried to withdraw to the west, but failed. About 8,000 German soldiers were able to break out of the ring, but were again surrounded - and capitulated. In total, about 20 thousand German soldiers and officers died near Vitebsk, and about 10 thousand were captured.
The Headquarters outlined the encirclement of Bobruisk on the eighth day of the operation, but in reality this happened on the fourth. The successful actions of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front led to the encirclement of six German divisions in the area of the city of Bobruisk. Only a few units were able to break through and get out of the ring.
By the end of June 29, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front advanced to a depth of 90 km, crossing the Dnieper, and liberated the city of Mogilev. The 4th German Army began to retreat to the west, to Minsk - but could not go far.
The airspace was behind Soviet aviation and the actions of the pilots caused serious damage to the enemy.
The Red Army actively used the tactics of concentrated strikes by tank formations and subsequent exits to the rear of the German troops. The raids of the tank guards corps destroyed the rear communications of the enemy, disorganized the defense system, blocked the retreat routes and completed his encirclement.
Commander replacement
At the time of the start of Operation Bagration, Field Marshal Bush was the commander of the German Army Group Center. During the winter offensive of the Red Army, his troops managed to keep Orsha and Vitebsk.
However, Bush was unable to resist the Soviet troops during the summer offensive.
Already on June 28, Bush was replaced in his post by Field Marshal Model, who was considered the master of defense in the Third Reich. The new commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal Model, showed operational flexibility. He did not occupy the defense with the arriving reserves, but, having gathered them into a fist, launched a counterattack with the forces of six divisions, trying to stop the Soviet offensive on the Baranovichi-Molodechno line.
The model to some extent stabilized the situation in Belarus, preventing, in particular, the capture of Warsaw by the Red Army, a steady exit to the Baltic Sea and a breakthrough into East Prussia on the shoulders of the retreating German army.
However, even he was powerless to save the Army Group Center, which was dismembered in the Bobruisk, Vitebsk and Minsk "cauldrons" and methodically destroyed from the ground and air, and could not stop the Soviet troops in Western Belarus.
Liberation of Minsk
On July 1, Soviet advanced units broke through to the intersection of the Minsk and Bobruisk highways. They were to block the path of the German units retreating from Minsk, hold them until the main forces approached, and then destroy them.
Tank troops played a special role in achieving high rates of advance. So, making a raid through forests and swamps behind enemy lines, the 4th Guards Tank Brigade, which was part of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps, outstripped the main forces of the retreating Germans by more than 100 kilometers.
On the night of July 2, the brigade rushed along the highway to Minsk, immediately turned into battle formation and broke into the city outskirts from the northeast. The 2nd Guards Tank Corps and the 4th Guards Tank Brigade were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Soon after the tankers of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps, the advanced units of the 5th Guards Tank Army entered the northern outskirts of Minsk. Pressing the enemy, tank units, supported by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, who came to the rescue, began to recapture quarter after quarter from the enemy. In the middle of the day, the 1st Guards Tank Corps entered the city from the southeast, followed by the 3rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front.
Late in the evening, the capital of Belarus was liberated from the invaders. On the same day, at 22:00, Moscow saluted the victorious soldiers with 24 volleys from 324 guns. 52 formations and units of the Red Army received the name "Minsk".
The second stage of the operation
On July 3, the troops of the 3rd and 1st Belorussian Fronts completed the encirclement of the 100,000th group of the 4th and 9th German armies east of Minsk, in the Borisov-Minsk-Cherven triangle. It was the largest Belarusian "cauldron" - its liquidation lasted until July 11.
With the entry of the Red Army to the Polotsk-Lake Naroch-Molodechno-Nesvizh line, a huge gap 400 kilometers long was formed in the strategic front of the German troops. Before the Soviet troops, the opportunity arose to begin the pursuit of the defeated enemy troops.
On July 5, the second stage of the liberation of Belarus began. The fronts, closely interacting with each other, successfully carried out five offensive operations at this stage: Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas, Bialystok and Brest-Lublin.
The Red Army successively defeated the remnants of the retreating formations of Army Group Center and inflicted heavy losses on the troops transferred here from Germany, Norway, Italy and other regions.
Results and losses
During Operation Bagration, the troops of the advancing fronts defeated one of the most powerful enemy groupings, Army Group Center: its 17 divisions and 3 brigades were destroyed, and 50 divisions lost more than half of their strength.
The German armed forces suffered heavy losses in manpower - irretrievably (killed and captured) 289 thousand people, wounded 110 thousand.
Losses of the Red Army - irrevocably 178.5 thousand people, 587 thousand wounded.
Soviet troops advanced 300-500 kilometers. The Byelorussian SSR, part of the Lithuanian SSR and the Latvian SSR were liberated. The Red Army entered the territory of Poland and advanced to the borders of East Prussia. During the offensive, the large water barriers of the Berezina, Neman, Vistula were crossed, and important bridgeheads on their western shores were captured. Conditions were provided for delivering strikes deep into East Prussia and into the central regions of Poland.
It was a strategic victory.
The third encirclement of a large German grouping was carried out by Soviet troops in the Minsk region. As in other areas, the offensive of the Soviet troops developed rapidly. Borisov was liberated on July 2 - the occupation of this city lasted exactly three years and one day (from July 1, 1941 to July 2, 1944).
Parts of the Red Army, bypassing Minsk, cut the roads to Baranovichi and Molodechno. German troops east of Minsk and in the city itself were surrounded. In total, about 105 thousand people turned out to be in the ring. Based on the experience of previous campaigns, the Soviet troops managed to very quickly create an external encirclement front and cut the German group into several parts.
On July 3, Minsk was liberated. Today this date is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus. Surrounded by German units in small groups of up to two thousand people, repeated attempts were made to break through Minsk from the north and south.
On the first day, German aviation tried to organize an air bridge, but rapid changes in the situation and the dominance of Soviet fighters in the air forced the German command to abandon this option.
Now the surrounded parts were left to themselves. To combat disparate groups in parts of the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front, they began to form special mobile detachments (three per rifle regiment).
Support for the actions of mobile detachments was carried out from the air, when aviation corrected the actions of ground units and delivered assault strikes. Active support in the destruction of disparate groups of regular troops was provided by about 30 partisan detachments. In total, during the Minsk operation, German troops lost about 72 thousand killed and missing and 35 thousand people. prisoners. The success of operations in the eastern and central parts of Belarus made it possible to proceed without a pause to the liberation of the western regions of the republic, the Baltic states and Poland.
Operation "Bagration"
In the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of May 1, 1944, the tasks of the Red Army for the summer and autumn were formulated. It was supposed to complete the expulsion of the invaders from Soviet territory, restore the state border of the USSR along its entire length, withdraw the European allies from the war on the side of Germany and free the Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and other peoples from fascist captivity. Western Europe. In order to solve these tasks during the summer-autumn campaign, it was planned to prepare and consistently conduct a whole series of strategic offensive operations in a vast area - from the Arctic to the Black Sea. paramount importance in the plans of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command for the summer of 1944, the Belarusian operation was assigned.
By the summer of 1944, the front line in the Belarusian direction was bent in such a way that a huge ledge arose, which deeply wedged into the location of the Soviet troops. This ledge was an important strategic foothold for the Germans. Thanks to him, the German troops covered the approaches to Poland and East Prussia, maintained a stable position in the Baltic states and Western Ukraine. The Wehrmacht command also took into account the fact that the Belarusian network of railways and highways made it possible to maneuver forces and means in order to maintain interaction between the North, Center and Northern Ukraine army groups.
In addition, the ledge hung over the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front from the north and created the threat of flank attacks. In addition, German aviation had the opportunity to raid Soviet communications and industrial centers, based on airfields in Belarus.
Therefore, the German command sought to keep the Belarusian ledge at any cost. It prepared him for a stubborn defense, the main role in which it was assigned to Army Group Center, led by Field Marshal E. Bush.
At the northern junction of the Army Group Center, the defense was held by the formations of the German 16th Army, which was part of the Army Group North, and at the southern junction by the formations of the 4th Panzer Army from the Northern Ukraine Army Group. The main enemy forces were concentrated in the areas of Polotsk, Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev, Bobruisk and Kovel, where they covered the most convenient directions for the offensive.
The troops of four fronts were supposed to take part in the Belarusian operation. The 1st Baltic Front under the command of General I. Kh. Chernyakhovsky - south of Vitebsk to Borisov. The 2nd Belorussian Front under General G.F. operated in the Mogilev direction. Zakharov. Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of General K.K. Rokossovsky aimed at Bobruisk, Minsk.
The developed Belarusian strategic offensive operation received the code name "Bagration" - in honor of the outstanding Russian commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Infantry General Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration.
According to the nature of the hostilities and the content of the tasks, the Belarusian operation is divided into two stages. At the 1st stage, the Vitebsk-Orsha, Mogilev, Bobruisk and Polotsk front-line operations were carried out and the encirclement of the Minsk group of the enemy was completed. In terms of duration, this stage took the period from June 23 to July 4.
The course of hostilities was as follows. On June 23, the troops of the 1st Baltic, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian fronts went on the offensive. The next day, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front entered the battle. The offensive of the main forces was preceded by reconnaissance in force, carried out on the morning of June 22 on the 1st Baltic, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian fronts and on June 23 - on the 1st Belorussian front.
The troops of the 1st Baltic Front, together with the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, already on June 25 surrounded 5 German divisions in the Vitebsk region and west of it and liquidated them by June 27. On this day, Orsha was liberated, on June 28 - Lepel, and on July 1 - Borisov. As a result, the German 3rd Panzer Army was cut off from the 4th Army.
Troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front after breaking through the enemy defenses along the river. Pronya, Basya and Dnepr liberated Mogilev on June 28. The troops of the right edge of the 1st Belorussian Front on June 27 surrounded over 6 German divisions in the Bobruisk region and liquidated them by June 29. At the same time, the troops of the front reached the line Svisloch - Osipovichi - Starye Dorogi. On July 3, eastern Minsk was liberated, which was surrounded by formations of the German 4th and 9th armies (over 100 thousand people). Somewhat earlier, on June 28, the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal E. Bush, was removed from his post. Instead, Field Marshal V. Model was appointed. This circumstance had no effect on the state of affairs at the front. Soviet troops continued to advance rapidly.
On July 4, the troops of the 1st Baltic Front liberated Polotsk and continued their attack on Siauliai. In 12 days, Soviet troops advanced 225-280 km at an average daily rate of up to 20-25 km, liberating most of Belarus.
The fascist German army group "Center" was defeated - its main forces were surrounded and defeated. With the release of our troops to the line Polotsk - Lake. Naroch - Molodechno - west of the city of Nesvizh, a gap of 400 km was formed in the strategic front of the enemy. An attempt by the German command to close it was unsuccessful.
At the 2nd stage of the Belarusian operation, which lasted from July 5 to August 29, the fronts, closely interacting with each other, successfully carried out 5 offensive operations: Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas, Belostok and Lublin-Brest.
The German divisions, which were surrounded in the area east of Minsk, tried to break through to the west and southwest. But during the fighting, most of the enemy soldiers and officers were either captured or destroyed.
The troops of the fronts continued to smash the remnants of the formations of Army Group Center and inflict heavy damage on enemy manpower and equipment.
The German command intensively transferred fresh units to this sector of the front from Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, as well as from the North, South Ukraine and North Ukraine army groups.
As a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops, all of Belarus, as well as part of Lithuania and Latvia, were liberated. Our troops entered the territory of Poland. We came close to the borders of East Prussia. The German Army Group North was isolated in the Baltic.
The success achieved during the Belarusian operation was used by the Headquarters for decisive actions in other directions. On July 10-24, the troops of the Leningrad, 3rd and 2nd Baltic fronts, as well as the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, went on the offensive. The front of the strategic offensive stretched from the Baltic to the Carpathians. The Soviet troops, which included the 1st Army of the Polish Army, crossed the state border of the Soviet Union with Poland on July 17-18.
By August 29, the advancing troops reached the line of Jelgava - Dobele - Augustov - rr. Narew and Vistula. Further promotion Soviet army was stopped by the enemy. The reasons for this are the general fatigue of the troops and the lack of ammunition. The Red Army in this sector of the front was forced to go on the defensive.
For 68 days of continuous offensive, Soviet troops in the 1100 km zone advanced westward by 550-600 km.
Literature
1. "Operation" Bagration "liberation of Belarus" Moscow, OLMA-PRESS, 2004
