User:Mrg3105/Eastern Front

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Belgrade Offensive Part of the Eastern and Yugoslav fronts of World War II A Soviet T-34-85 tank on the streets of Belgrade. Date 28 September 1944 — 20 October 1944 Location Belgrade, Yugoslavia Result The victory of Red Army troops and Yugoslav partisans. The liberation of most of the territory of Yugoslavia.[citation needed] Belligerents Yugoslav Partisans  Soviet Union Bulgaria  Germany Serbian Military Administration (fifth column) Commanders Josip Broz Tito Savo Drljević Peko Dapčević Danilo Lekić Fyodor Tolbukhin Vladimir Zhdanov Kimon Georgiev Maximilian von Weichs Willi Schneckenburger Hans Felber Alexander Löhr Strength 580,000 troops, 3640 shells and mortars, 520 tanks and assault guns, 1420 aircraft, 80 ships 150,000 troops, 2100 shells and mortars, 125 tanks and assault guns, 350 aircraft, 70 ships Casualties and losses 4,350 irrecoverable, 14,488 wounded or sick 45,000

v • d • e Eastern Front Barbarossa – Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Finland – Leningrad and Baltics – Crimea and Caucasus – Moscow – 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – 2nd Kharkov – Blue – Stalingrad – Velikiye Luki – 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – Kursk – 2nd Smolensk – Dnieper – 2nd Kiev – Battle of Narva – Korsun – Hube's Pocket – Baltic – Bagration – Lvov-Sandomierz – Lublin-Brest – Balkans (Iassy-Kishinev) – Budapest – Vistula-Oder – East Prussia – East Pomerania – Silesia – Vienna – Berlin – Prague

v • d • e Yugoslav Front of World War II Seven anti-Partisan offensives First offensive – Second offensive – Third offensive – Battle of Neretva (Fourth offensive) – Battle of Sutjeska (Fifth offensive) – Sixth offensive – Raid on Drvar (Seventh offensive) Other operations Battle of Kozara - Syrmian Front - Belgrade Offensive - Battle on Lijevča field - Battle of Poljana List of Axis operations in the NDH

The Belgrade Offensive (Russian: Белградская наступарельная операция, Croatian, Serbian: Beogradska ofenziva/ofanziva) (September 14, 1944 - November 24 1944) was a military operation conducted by the Red Army's 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts with cooperation by the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia^[1] 1st Army Group,^[2] and the Bulgarian 2nd Army, against Germany's Army Group E (Korpsgruppe 'Schneckenburger' and 'Stern') which included the Serbian forces. The objective was to destroy the forces of the German Army Group E in the Suva Planina region, and those of Army Group F east of Morova river, and ultimately the liberation of Belgrade.
A secondary goal for the offensive was to sever the line of retreat for German Army Group E from Greece, Albania and the southern regions of Yugoslavia through Belgrade to Hungary, including the Thessaloniki-Belgrade railroad.

Contents 1 Background 2 The Offensive 2.1 46th Army operations 2.2 2nd Bulgarian Army operations 2.3 Belgrade Assault 3 Aftermath 4 Reference 5 Sources

[edit] Background

By early September 1944, two German Army Groups were deployed in the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Greece, and Albania): Army Group E (southern area of operations), and Army Group F (northern area of operations). In response to the defeat of German forces in the Jassy-Kishinev Operation (which forced Bulgaria and Romania to switch sides) and the advance the Red Army troops into the Balkans, Army Group E was ordered to withdraw into Hungary. Another Army Group was created in Hungary called Army Group Serbia from elements of Army Group F.

As a result of popular armed uprising, the monarchist/fascist regime in Bulgaria was overthrown and replaced with a government of the Fatherland Front led by Kimon Georgiev. Once the new government came to power, and following the entry of Red Army forces into its territory, Bulgaria declared war on Germany.

By the end of September, the 3rd Ukrainian Front troops under the command of Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin were concentrated at the Bulgarian - Yugoslav border. The Red Army's 46th Army was positioned north of the Danube and directly east of the Belgrade, the 57th Army was stationed in the Vidin area (south of the Danube), while the Bulgarian 2nd Army under the operational command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front was stationed to the south on the Niš rail line at the junction of Bulgarian, Yugoslav, and Greek borders. Due to past Yugoslav - Bulgarian friction this caused the arrival of the Yugoslav 1st Army's 13th Corps to collaborate in the liberation of Niš, while the 14th Corps proceeded further north to support the 57th Army’s advance to Belgrade, respectively. The Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front’s 46th Army was deployed in the area of the Teregova river (Romania), poised to cut the rail link between Belgrade and Hungary to the north of Vršac.

Pre-operations were coordinated between the 3rd Ukrainian Front and the commander-in-chief of the Yugoslav 1st Army Group Major General Peko Dapčević while Tito arrived in Soviet-controlled Romania on September 21, and from there flew to Moscow where he met with Stalin. The meeting was a success, in particular because the two allies reached an agreement concerning the participation of Bulgarian troops in the operation that would be conducted on Yugoslav territory.

[edit] The Offensive

Before the start of ground operations the Soviet 17th Air Army (of the 3rd Ukrainian Front) was ordered to impede the withdrawal of German troops from Greece and southern regions of Yugoslavia. To do so, from , it carried out air attacks on the railroad bridges and other important facilities in the areas of Niš, Skopje, and Kruševo lasting from September 15 to September 21.

The Soviet 57th Army began its attack on September 28 from the region of Vidin in the general direction of Belgrade. The 57th Army enjoyed the support of the Danube Military Flotilla, which operated along the Danube on the northern flank of the Front, and provided river transport to troops and military equipment. The Yugoslav 14th Corps (supported by the Soviet 17th Air Army) broke through the enemy's border defense in the eastern Serbian mountains with heavy fighting. On October 8 the Yugoslav troops advanced to the River Morava, capturing two bridgeheads on the Velika Plana and Palanka, where on October 12, the 4th Guards Mechanised Corps was introduced into the penetration after moving here from South-East Bulgaria for the development of the offensive towards Belgrade from the south. Meanwhile, the offensive was continued by the newly arrived Yugoslav 1st Proletarian Division and the 12th Slavonian Division which secured bridgeheads over the Sava river west of Belgrade.

[edit] 46th Army operations

The Soviet 10th Guards Rifle Corps of the 46th Army (2nd Ukrainian Front), moving via the Danube, provided more offensive strength from the north-east against the Wehrmacht's position in Belgrade. They cleared the left bank of the Tisa and Danube (in Yugoslavia) and liberated the town of Pančevo.

The Yugoslav 12th Corps and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps broke through the enemy resistance south of Belgrade on October 14, and approached the city. The Yugoslav troops advanced along the roads in the direction of Belgrade south of the Sava River, engaging in fighting on the northern bank outskirts. The assault on the city was delayed due to the diversion of forces for the elimination of thousands of enemy troops surrounded between Belgrade and Smederevo (to the south-east). On October 20, Belgrade had been completely liberated by joint Yugoslav and Soviet forces.

[edit] 2nd Bulgarian Army operations

The Yugoslav 13th Corps, in cooperation with the Bulgarian 2nd Army, advanced from the south-east. They were responsible for the area of Niš and Leskovac. The forces were also responsible for cutting off the main communication lines for the evacuation of Army Group E, along the rivers of South Morava and Morava. Army Group E had, therefore, been forced to retreat through the mountains of Montenegro and Bosnia and was unable to strengthen the German forces in Hungary.

[edit] Belgrade Assault

Participating in the assault on the capital of Yugoslavia were^[3]

The primary responsibility for the planning and coordination of the assault on the city was exercised by the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Its forces included:

4th Guards Mechanised Corps (lieutenant general T. V. Zhdanov Vladimir Ivanovich) in the composition of: 13th Guards Mechanised Brigade (Lieutenant Colonel Obaturov Gennadi Ivanovich), 14th Guards Mechanised Brigade (Colonel Nikitin Nicodemius Alekseyevich), 15th Guards Mechanised Brigade (Lieutenant Colonel Andrianov Mikhail Alekseyevich), 36th Guards Tank Brigade (Colonel Zhukov Peter Semenovich), 292nd Guards Self-propelled Artillery Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Shakhmetov Semen Kondratevich), 352nd Guards Heavy Self-propelled Artillery Regiment (Colonel Tiberkov Ivan Markovich); 5th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Colonel Zavyalov Nikolai Ivanovich); 23rd Howitzer Artillery Brigade (Colonel Karpenko Savva Kirillovich) of the 9th Breakthrough Artillery Division (Major General art. Ratov Andrey Ivanovich); 42nd Anti-tank destroyer artillery Brigade (Colonel Leonov Constantine Alekseyevich); 22ndAnti-aircraft Artillery Division (Colonel Danshin Igor Mikhaylovich).

57th Army with 75th Rifle Corps (Major General Akimenko Andrian Zakharovich) in the composition of: 223rd Rifle Division (Colonel Sagitov Akhnav Gaynutdinovich), 236th Rifle Division (Colonel Kulizhskiy Peter Ivanovich); 73 Guards Rifle Division (Major General Kozak Semen Antonovich) of 68th Rifle Corps (Major General Shkodunovich Nikolai Nikolayevich). Danube Military Flotilla: 1st Guards Divizion Armoured Boats (lieutenant commander Barbotko Sergey Ignatevich) and 4th Guards Divizion Armoured Boats (Senior Lieutenant Butvin Kuzma [Iosifovich]) of the Brigade of Armoured Boats (captain of 2 ranks Derzhavin Pavel Ivanovich); coastal escort force (Major Zidr Klementiy Timofeevich).

17th Air Army with 10th Assault Air Corps (lieutenant general of aviation Tolstyakov Oleg Viktorovich) in the composition: 295th Fighter Air Division (Colonel Silvestrov Anatoliy Alexandrovich), 306th Assault Air Division (Colonel Ivanov Alexander Viktorovich), part of the 136th Assault Air Division (Colonel Tereckov Nikolai Pavlovich); 10th Guards Assault Air Division (Major General of Aviation Vitruk Andrey Nikiforovich), 236th Fighter Air Division (Colonel Kudryashov Vasiliy Yakovlevich), part of the 288th Fighter Air Division (Colonel Smirnov Boris Alexandrovich).

People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia: the 1st Army Group (General- Lieutenant Colonel Dapchevich Peko) in the composition of: the 1st proletarian division (Colonel Yovanovich Vaso), 6th proletarian division (Colonel Yovanich Dzhoko), the 5th shock division (Colonel Moracha Milutin), 21st shock division (Colonel Miloevich Miloye); 12th Army Corps (General- Lieutenant Colonel Lekich Danilo) in the composition of: the 11th shock division (Colonel Shelegovich Milosh), 16th shock division (Colonel Perichin Marco), 28th shock division (Lieutenant Colonel Nenezin Radoyitsa), 36th shock division (Lieutenant Colonel Yovich Rodoslav).

The next day, elements of the 3rd Ukrainian Front stormed Kraljevo had finally cut Thessaloniki highway to Belgrade trapping some German forces in Greece and southern Yugoslavia.

[edit] Aftermath

As a result of the Belgrade offensive, Army Group Serbia and Army Group F was forced to retreat more than 200km to the north, while Army Group E had was completely eliminated. Favourable conditions were created for continuing conduct of the Budapest operation in Hungary.

On completion of the Belgrade operation the 3rd Ukrainian Front troops were transferred to Hungary to support forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and subsequently assisted the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, to continue the liberation of their country, mainly with weapons, equipment and ammunition.

A medal "For the Liberation of Belgrade"was established by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of USSR decree on the 19 June 1945.

[edit] Reference

[edit] Sources

• Dudarenko, M.L., Perechnev, Yu.G., Yeliseev, V.T., et.el., Reference guide "Liberation of cities": reference for liberation of cities during the period of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, Moscow, 1985

{{commons|Belgrade Offensive}} [[Category:Yugoslavia during World War II]] [[Category:World War II Eastern European Theatre]] [[Category:Battles and operations of World War II]] [[Category:Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II]] [[Category:Battles involving Yugoslavia]] [[Category:Battles involving Germany]] [[Category:Battles involving the Soviet Union]] [[Category:Battles involving Bulgaria]] [[Category:History of Belgrade]] [[Category:Urban warfare]] [[cs:Bělehradská operace]] [[de:Belgrader Operation]] [[ru:Белградская операция]] [[sr:Београдска операција]]