Moravian-Ostrava operation
The Moravian Ostrava Operation ( Russian Моравско-Остравская операция Moravsko-Ostrawskaja Operazija ) was an offensive by the Red Army in World War II , which lasted from March 10 to May 5, 1945 and reached the Soviet break-in through the Moravian Gate on Olomouc .
prehistory
The front on the southwestern border of Lesser Poland ran in the spring of 1945 along the line from Wieliczka via Jaworzno and Gleiwitz to Mittelwalde . The 4th Ukrainian Front (Colonel General Ivan Petrow ) and the right wing of the adjoining 2nd Ukrainian Front ( Malinovsky ) to the south lagged far behind the other fronts of the Red Army. On the western part of the High Tatras a front arch had formed which encompassed the northeast and southeast borders of Slovakia . At the beginning of March 1945, the 4th Ukrainian Front, located in front of the western Carpathian ridge and between Dukla and Kaschau , had 317,300 men, 2,900 artillery pieces and mortars, 184 tanks and self-propelled guns and 416 aircraft. The opposing army group Heinrici (German 1st Panzer Army and Hungarian 1st Army ) numbered over 150,000 men, 1,500 artillery pieces and mortars, 100 tanks and 120 aircraft.
course
First offensive on March 10th
On March 10, the offensive of the 4th Ukrainian Front began with the 38th Army (General Moskalenko ) from the Pless and Schwarzwasser area . The Red Army could only advance 3–4 km on the first day of the attack. By the evening of March 17, the German defense had been pushed back about 6–12 km on a 15 km wide front, the operational objectives had not been achieved, but the losses were considerable. After the offensive from the Rybnik area of the 60th Army (Colonel General Kurotschkin ) of the 1st Ukrainian Front against the German XI. Army Corps towards Racibórz was successful, the new focus was shifted to the right wing of the front.
Second offensive on March 24th
On March 24th, the 4th Ukrainian Front began a new major offensive. The north Moravian industrial area was now attacked simultaneously from the north and east. The 38th Army attacked the front of the German LIX from the Sohrau area . Army Corps (General of the Infantry Sieler ). The German defense lines were successfully breached and an area 20 km wide and 7 km deep was conquered. A quick counter-attack by the German 8th and 19th Panzer Divisions could not restore the situation. On March 26, the positions at Loslau were lost. The troops of the 60th Army standing on the flanks and the 1st Guard Army were then able to advance towards Oderberg .
Army General Andrei Yeremenko , who was appointed the new commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front on March 26th, had the units of the 38th Army attacked again on March 27th. His troops were able to penetrate a further 5 km and approach the Oder at a distance of 2 to 3 km at Bukau . On April 2nd, the 95th and 126th Rifle Corps managed to cross the Oder and form a bridgehead. At the same time, the 11th Rifle Corps crossed the river in the Tworkau area . In the east, the Soviet 18th Army was able to overcome the positions on the Tatra Mountains and take Rosenberg . The penetration of the 1st Guard and 18th Army towards Frankstadt, now extended to a depth of 20 km, could not be extended until April 5th due to increasing German resistance. On April 6, the 60th Army, previously subordinated to the 1st Ukrainian Front, was subordinated to Yeremenko's Front. The Czechoslovak 1st Army Corps (General Ludvík Svoboda , from April 3rd General Klapalek ) deployed within the 38th Army was transferred to the 18th Army (Lieutenant General Gastilowitsch ) and was able to distinguish itself on April 4th when Liptovský Mikuláš was liberated .
The Stawka then changed the plan of operations to the south-west of Olomouc , because the possibility presented itself to cut off the 1st Panzer Army . The aim of the Soviet offensive was to cut off the connection to the German 17th Army (General der Infanterie Schulz). Field Marshal Schörner moved five German divisions to reinforce the threatened positions of the 1st Panzer Army in the Troppau area .
On April 22nd, Opava fell to the 60th Army and on April 30th, Mährisch Ostrau fell into the hands of the 38th Army, thus the positions of the German XXXXIX. Mountain Corps (78th, 320th Infantry, 3rd and 4th Mountain Divisions ) untenable. The 17th Guards Rifle Corps (Lieutenant General Nikifor Medwedjew) of the Soviet 18th Army, which was still in the east, was finally able to defeat the German LXXII. Force Army Corps on the northern Waag section to retreat and occupy Sillein on April 30th . The 1st Panzer Army immediately began to withdraw towards Olomouc in order to avoid the impending encirclement. On May 6, Sternberg and the approaches to Olomouc fell into Soviet hands.
consequences
The Soviet troops occupied the Moravian Ostrava industrial area and created the conditions for the advance into the central areas of Czechoslovakia. The Red Army lost 112,620 men (23,960 dead and 88,660 wounded).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ ОБОРОНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ОПЕРАЦИЯ В ЛИТВЕ И ЛАТВИИ ( Memento from March 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive )