Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive Operation
Encyclopedia
The Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army
in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.
- Minsk
highway near Orsha
. As a result, the attack of Galitsky's 11th Guards Army
in this sector was to be preceded by specialised engineer units; mine rolling
PT-34 tanks of
the 116th Separate Engineering Tank Regiment were committed along with assault engineer companies and assault gun
regiments in several waves against the fortified and heavily-mined positions of the 78th Sturm Division.
The cities of Vitebsk
and Orsha
had been declared Fester Platz - fortified towns to be held at all costs - under the command of Gollwitzer (Vitebsk) and General Traut of the XXVII Corps' 78th Sturm Division (Orsha).
The above units were under the overall command of Army Group Centre
(Field-Marshal Ernst Busch).
Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky
was appointed to coordinate the operations of the two Fronts involved.
; the lines ran through marshy terrain in the north, through a salient
round the city of Vitebsk
, to a sector north of the main Moscow
–Minsk
road, held by the Fourth Army
. It was opposed by the 1st Baltic Front
of Hovhannes Bagramyan
, and Chernyakhovsky
's 3rd Belorussian Front
, who were given the task of breaking through the defences to the north and south of Vitebsk
and cutting off the salient.
It was in this sector that Soviet forces had their greatest initial gains. The Soviet 43rd Army broke the defences of the German IX Corps
, to the north of Vitebsk
, within hours, pushing towards the Dvina
river. South of the city, the VI Corps
' 299th
and 197th
Infantry Divisions simply disappeared beneath an overwhelming Soviet assault, with a particularly effective breakthrough by the 5th Army at the junction of the 299th and 256th
Infantry Divisions' sectors. By June 24, the German position in Vitebsk itself, held by the central LIII Corps of four divisions, was already serious, as Soviet forces were clearly intending to encircle the city, but no reserves were available to shore up the collapsing defences, and requests to withdraw German troops to the second defense lines, the 'Tiger' line, were denied by the Oberkommando des Heeres
.
By June 25, Third Panzer Army was disintegrating. In the north, IX Corps had been broken and pushed over the Dvina
, blowing the bridges during its retreat. In the south much of the VI Corps had been annihilated, and its southernmost divisions (the 299th
and 256th
Infantry Divisions) had become separated from the remainder of Third Panzer Army by heavy attacks around Bogushevsk, where they attempted to make a final stand in the 'Hessen' line, the third defence zone. The Soviet 43rd and 39th
Armies were now converging behind Vitebsk, trapping the entire LIII Corps. LIII Corps' commander, Friedrich Gollwitzer
, had transferred the 4th Luftwaffe Field Division south-west of the city in order to spearhead a breakout, while the 246th Infantry Division
attempted to hold open the Dvina crossings. OKH
however, denied all requests for complete evacuation: the 206th Infantry Division
was ordered to stay in the city and fight to the last man.
Soviet plans in this sector met with overwhelming success. The 4th Luftwaffe Field Division was cut off and destroyed by the 39th Army on the evening of the 25 June, and by the next day the 246th Infantry and 6th Luftwaffe Field Divisions, fighting their way along the road from Vitebsk, had also been encircled. Hitler
insisted that a staff officer be parachuted into Vitebsk to remind Gollwitzer that the trapped 206th Infantry Division should not withdraw; Third Panzer Army's commander, Reinhardt, was only able to get this decision reversed by insisting on being parachuted in himself if Hitler continued to order it. By the evening Soviet forces were fighting their way into the city and Gollwitzer finally ordered the garrison to withdraw too, in defiance of OKH
orders.
By 27 June LIII Corps had been dispersed, its 30,000 men being almost all killed or taken prisoner; a group of several thousand from the 4th Luftwaffe Field Division initially managed to break out, but was liquidated in the forests west of Vitebsk. The remnants of IX Corps were retreating to the west, falling back on Polotsk with the 6th Guards Army
in pursuit: VI Corps was also largely destroyed. Third Panzer Army had been effectively shattered within days, and Vitebsk
liberated: even more significantly, a huge gap had been torn in the German lines to the north of Fourth Army in the former VI Corps sector.
, which was under the overall command of Kurt von Tippelskirch
. Soviet plans envisaged the bulk of it, the XXXIX Panzer Corps and XII Corps, being encircled while pinned down by attacks from the 2nd Belorussian Front
in the parallel Mogilev Offensive Operation
. By far the most important Soviet objective, however, was immediately to the north: the main Moscow
–Minsk
road and the town of Orsha
, which the southern wing of Chernyakhovsky
's 3rd Belorussian Front
was ordered to take. A breakthrough in this area, against General Paul Völckers
' XXVII Corps
, would form the northern 'pincer' of the encirclement aimed at destroying Fourth Army. The Minsk road was protected by extensive defensive works manned by the 78th Sturm Division, a specially reinforced unit with extra artillery and assault gun
support. Orsha itself had been designated a Fester Platz or strongpoint under 78th Sturm Division's commander, with the 25th Panzergrenadier Division holding the lines to the south. As a result of the strong defenses in this sector, Soviet plans included the commitment of heavily-armed engineer units to assist in a breakthrough.
Galitsky
's 11th Guards Army
attacked towards Orsha on 23 June but initially made little headway. By the next day, the Soviet 1st Guards Rifle Division was able to break through the German lines in a marshy, thinly-held area to the north of the 78th Sturm Division, which was ordered back to the 'Hessen' line, the third defence zone. It was now struggling to maintain contact with the 25th Panzergrenadier Division to the south. Chernyakhovsky, encouraged by the 1st Guards Rifle Division's progress, pushed a mixed cavalry / mechanised exploitation force into the breach in the German lines. On 25 June, the German defences began to rupture; a counter-attack at Orekhovsk failed.
Völckers' position was further threatened by the near-collapse of the Third Panzer Army's VI Corps, immediately to the north. At 11:20 on 25 June the VI Corps, which had been cut off from its parent formation, was reassigned to Fourth Army. Part of its reserve, the 14th Infantry Division was brought up to try and slow the Soviet advance north of Orsha. By midnight, however, the 11th Guards Army had shattered the remnant of VI Corps in the 'Hessen' line, and the 78th Sturm Division's situation was becoming untenable: 26 June saw the German forces in retreat. Soviet tank forces of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps were able to push up the road towards Minsk
at speed, with a subsidiary force breaking off to encircle Orsha
, which was liberated on the evening of 26 June. The main exploitation force, Pavel Rotmistrov
's 5th Guards Tank Army, was then committed through the gap torn in the German lines. VI Corps finally crumbled completely, its rear elements falling back towards Borisov in disarray: its commander, General Georg Pfeiffer
, was killed on 28 June after losing contact with his divisions. Völckers was ordered to hold fast, but lacked the necessary resources despite shifting his 260th Infantry Division northwards and moving the 286th Security Division into the lines.
The operation effectively ceased with the arrival of 5th Guards Tank Army's forward units at the Berezina on 28 June.
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.
Operational goals
The immediate goals of the Soviet offensive were as follows:- Break through the defences of Third Panzer Army to the north and south of VitebskVitebskVitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
and encircle the city, which occupied a salient in the German lines. - Break through the heavily-fortified area around the main MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
-MinskMinsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
highway and liberate the town of OrshaOrshaOrsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
. - Commit motorised / cavalry exploitation forces through the gap opened once the highway had been cleared, opening the way for a major encirclementEncirclementEncirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The German term for this is Kesselschlacht ; a comparable English term might be "in the bag"....
of the German Fourth ArmyGerman Fourth ArmyThe 4th Army was a field army of Imperial Germany during World War I and of the Wehrmacht during World War II-World War I:At the outset of war, the Fourth Army, with the Fifth Army, formed the center of the German armies on the Western Front, moving through Luxembourg and Belgium in support of the...
in the Minsk Offensive OperationMinsk Offensive OperationThe Minsk Offensive was part of the second phase of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.-Operational goals:...
.
Russian intelligence
Russian intelligence had revealed the depth of the German defences on the MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
highway near Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
. As a result, the attack of Galitsky's 11th Guards Army
11th Guards Army
The 11th Guards Army was a Soviet field army active from 1943 to 1997, which traces its origins to the formation of the Soviet 16th Army in June-July 1940.-History:...
in this sector was to be preceded by specialised engineer units; mine rolling
Mine roller
A mine roller or mine trawl is a demining device mounted on a tank or armoured personnel carrier, designed to detonate anti-tank mines. It allows engineers to clear a lane through a minefield which is protected by enemy fire....
PT-34 tanks of
the 116th Separate Engineering Tank Regiment were committed along with assault engineer companies and assault gun
Assault gun
An assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis, designed for use in the direct fire role in support of infantry when attacking other infantry or fortified positions....
regiments in several waves against the fortified and heavily-mined positions of the 78th Sturm Division.
Wehrmacht
- Third Panzer Army (Colonel-General Georg-Hans ReinhardtGeorg-Hans ReinhardtGeorg-Hans Reinhardt was a German general of World War II. He commanded Third Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1944 and 1945. His highest rank was Generaloberst . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
)- IX CorpsIX Army Corps (Germany)- Commanders :* Artillery General Friedrich Dollmann, 1 October 1934 – 25 August 1939.* Infantry General Hermann Geyer, 25 August 1939 – 31 December 1941....
(General Rolf WuthmannRolf WuthmannRolf Wuthmann was a highly decorated General der Artillerie in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
) - LIII Corps (General Friedrich GollwitzerFriedrich GollwitzerFriedrich Gollwitzer was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LIII. corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
) - VI CorpsVI Corps (Germany)The VI Corps was an infantry corps in the German Army. It fought in several notable actions during World War II.The corps was originally formed around the 6th Division of the Reichswehr in October 1934 in Münster.-1940:...
(General Georg PfeifferGeorg PfeifferDr. Georg Pfeiffer was a highly decorated General der Artillerie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the VI. Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
)
- IX Corps
- Northern flank of Fourth Army (General Kurt von TippelskirchKurt von TippelskirchKurt Oskar Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm von Tippelskirch was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Kurt von Tippelskirch was born on 9 October 1891 in Berlin...
)- XXVII CorpsXXVII Corps (Germany)The XXVII Corps was an infantry corps in the German Army. It fought in several notable actions during World War II.The corps was originally raised in August 1939 in Wehrkreis VII.-1939:...
(General Paul VölckersPaul VölckersPaul Gustav Völckers was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XXVII Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
)
- XXVII Corps
- Reserve: 14th Infantry Division, 286th Security Division
The cities of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
and Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
had been declared Fester Platz - fortified towns to be held at all costs - under the command of Gollwitzer (Vitebsk) and General Traut of the XXVII Corps' 78th Sturm Division (Orsha).
The above units were under the overall command of Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
(Field-Marshal Ernst Busch).
Red Army
- 1st Baltic Front1st Baltic FrontThe First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
(General Hovhannes BagramyanHovhannes BagramyanIvan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
)- 4th Shock Army
- 6th Guards Army6th Guards Army (Soviet Union)The 6th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought against Germany during World War II under the command of General Ivan Mikhailovich Chistiakov...
- 43rd Army
- 3rd Air Army
- 3rd Belorussian Front3rd Belorussian FrontThe 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
(General Ivan ChernyakhovskyIvan ChernyakhovskyIvan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky, also Cherniakhovsky, ; Oksanina, Uman, Russian Empire , - Mehlsack, today Pieniężno, Poland, 18 February 1945) was a Soviet General of the Army , twice Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, who died from wounds received outside...
)- 11th Guards Army11th Guards ArmyThe 11th Guards Army was a Soviet field army active from 1943 to 1997, which traces its origins to the formation of the Soviet 16th Army in June-July 1940.-History:...
(General Kuzma GalitskyKuzma GalitskyKuzma Nikitovich Galitsky was a Soviet army general who earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union.-Biography:Kuzma Galitsky was born on October 24, 1897 in the city of Taganrog into a worker's family. He studied at the Taganrog Boys Gymnasium, which he graduated from in 1912, and worked at the...
) - 5th Army
- 39th Army39th Army (Soviet Union)The 39th Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army formed on 15 November 1941 in the Arkhangelsk Military District, in accordance with a directive issued by the Stavka on 2 November 1941...
- 31st Army
- 5th Guards Tank Army (General Pavel RotmistrovPavel RotmistrovChief Marshal of Armoured Troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov was a commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following World War II.-Pre-War:...
) - 1st Air Army
- 11th Guards Army
Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Russian career officer in the Red Army, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953...
was appointed to coordinate the operations of the two Fronts involved.
Vitebsk
Army Group Centre's northern flank was defended by the Third Panzer Army under the command of Georg-Hans ReinhardtGeorg-Hans Reinhardt
Georg-Hans Reinhardt was a German general of World War II. He commanded Third Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1944 and 1945. His highest rank was Generaloberst . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
; the lines ran through marshy terrain in the north, through a salient
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
round the city of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, to a sector north of the main Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
–Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
road, held by the Fourth Army
German Fourth Army
The 4th Army was a field army of Imperial Germany during World War I and of the Wehrmacht during World War II-World War I:At the outset of war, the Fourth Army, with the Fifth Army, formed the center of the German armies on the Western Front, moving through Luxembourg and Belgium in support of the...
. It was opposed by the 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
of Hovhannes Bagramyan
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
, and Chernyakhovsky
Ivan Chernyakhovsky
Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky, also Cherniakhovsky, ; Oksanina, Uman, Russian Empire , - Mehlsack, today Pieniężno, Poland, 18 February 1945) was a Soviet General of the Army , twice Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, who died from wounds received outside...
's 3rd Belorussian Front
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
, who were given the task of breaking through the defences to the north and south of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
and cutting off the salient.
It was in this sector that Soviet forces had their greatest initial gains. The Soviet 43rd Army broke the defences of the German IX Corps
IX Army Corps (Germany)
- Commanders :* Artillery General Friedrich Dollmann, 1 October 1934 – 25 August 1939.* Infantry General Hermann Geyer, 25 August 1939 – 31 December 1941....
, to the north of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, within hours, pushing towards the Dvina
Dvina
Dvina may refer to:* Daugava river, also known as "Western Dvina", a river in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia.* Northern Dvina, a river in northern Russia.* R-12 Dvina, a theatre ballistic missile from the Soviet Union....
river. South of the city, the VI Corps
VI Corps (Germany)
The VI Corps was an infantry corps in the German Army. It fought in several notable actions during World War II.The corps was originally formed around the 6th Division of the Reichswehr in October 1934 in Münster.-1940:...
' 299th
299th Infantry Division (Germany)
The German 299th Infantry Division was a World War II infantry formation, which fought in France and the Russian Front until February 1945.The 299th Infantry Division was formed in March and April 1940 from men from Hesse and Thuringia. The 299th Infantry Division first saw action in the 1940...
and 197th
197th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 197th Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 1 December 1939.-197...
Infantry Divisions simply disappeared beneath an overwhelming Soviet assault, with a particularly effective breakthrough by the 5th Army at the junction of the 299th and 256th
256th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 256. Infanterie-Division was a German Infantry division in World War II. They formed on August 1939 as part of the 4. Welle . The division was destroyed at Vitebsk in June 1944...
Infantry Divisions' sectors. By June 24, the German position in Vitebsk itself, held by the central LIII Corps of four divisions, was already serious, as Soviet forces were clearly intending to encircle the city, but no reserves were available to shore up the collapsing defences, and requests to withdraw German troops to the second defense lines, the 'Tiger' line, were denied by the Oberkommando des Heeres
Oberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
.
By June 25, Third Panzer Army was disintegrating. In the north, IX Corps had been broken and pushed over the Dvina
Dvina
Dvina may refer to:* Daugava river, also known as "Western Dvina", a river in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia.* Northern Dvina, a river in northern Russia.* R-12 Dvina, a theatre ballistic missile from the Soviet Union....
, blowing the bridges during its retreat. In the south much of the VI Corps had been annihilated, and its southernmost divisions (the 299th
299th Infantry Division (Germany)
The German 299th Infantry Division was a World War II infantry formation, which fought in France and the Russian Front until February 1945.The 299th Infantry Division was formed in March and April 1940 from men from Hesse and Thuringia. The 299th Infantry Division first saw action in the 1940...
and 256th
256th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 256. Infanterie-Division was a German Infantry division in World War II. They formed on August 1939 as part of the 4. Welle . The division was destroyed at Vitebsk in June 1944...
Infantry Divisions) had become separated from the remainder of Third Panzer Army by heavy attacks around Bogushevsk, where they attempted to make a final stand in the 'Hessen' line, the third defence zone. The Soviet 43rd and 39th
39th Army (Soviet Union)
The 39th Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army formed on 15 November 1941 in the Arkhangelsk Military District, in accordance with a directive issued by the Stavka on 2 November 1941...
Armies were now converging behind Vitebsk, trapping the entire LIII Corps. LIII Corps' commander, Friedrich Gollwitzer
Friedrich Gollwitzer
Friedrich Gollwitzer was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LIII. corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
, had transferred the 4th Luftwaffe Field Division south-west of the city in order to spearhead a breakout, while the 246th Infantry Division
246th Volksgrenadier Division (Germany)
The 246th Infantry Division was a Third Wave division of the Wehrmacht formed in Trier and initially stationed on the Saar Line, later in South-western France from August 1941 until January 1942....
attempted to hold open the Dvina crossings. OKH
Oberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
however, denied all requests for complete evacuation: the 206th Infantry Division
German 206th Infantry Division
The German 206th Infantry Division , was a military unit that served during World War II...
was ordered to stay in the city and fight to the last man.
Soviet plans in this sector met with overwhelming success. The 4th Luftwaffe Field Division was cut off and destroyed by the 39th Army on the evening of the 25 June, and by the next day the 246th Infantry and 6th Luftwaffe Field Divisions, fighting their way along the road from Vitebsk, had also been encircled. Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
insisted that a staff officer be parachuted into Vitebsk to remind Gollwitzer that the trapped 206th Infantry Division should not withdraw; Third Panzer Army's commander, Reinhardt, was only able to get this decision reversed by insisting on being parachuted in himself if Hitler continued to order it. By the evening Soviet forces were fighting their way into the city and Gollwitzer finally ordered the garrison to withdraw too, in defiance of OKH
Oberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
orders.
By 27 June LIII Corps had been dispersed, its 30,000 men being almost all killed or taken prisoner; a group of several thousand from the 4th Luftwaffe Field Division initially managed to break out, but was liquidated in the forests west of Vitebsk. The remnants of IX Corps were retreating to the west, falling back on Polotsk with the 6th Guards Army
6th Guards Army (Soviet Union)
The 6th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought against Germany during World War II under the command of General Ivan Mikhailovich Chistiakov...
in pursuit: VI Corps was also largely destroyed. Third Panzer Army had been effectively shattered within days, and Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
liberated: even more significantly, a huge gap had been torn in the German lines to the north of Fourth Army in the former VI Corps sector.
Orsha
The central sector of Soviet operations was against the long front of Fourth ArmyGerman Fourth Army
The 4th Army was a field army of Imperial Germany during World War I and of the Wehrmacht during World War II-World War I:At the outset of war, the Fourth Army, with the Fifth Army, formed the center of the German armies on the Western Front, moving through Luxembourg and Belgium in support of the...
, which was under the overall command of Kurt von Tippelskirch
Kurt von Tippelskirch
Kurt Oskar Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm von Tippelskirch was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Kurt von Tippelskirch was born on 9 October 1891 in Berlin...
. Soviet plans envisaged the bulk of it, the XXXIX Panzer Corps and XII Corps, being encircled while pinned down by attacks from the 2nd Belorussian Front
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
in the parallel Mogilev Offensive Operation
Mogilev Offensive Operation
The Mogilev Offensive was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in the summer of 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration. Its goals were to capture the city of Mogilev, and to pin down and trap the bulk of the German Fourth Army...
. By far the most important Soviet objective, however, was immediately to the north: the main Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
–Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
road and the town of Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
, which the southern wing of Chernyakhovsky
Ivan Chernyakhovsky
Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky, also Cherniakhovsky, ; Oksanina, Uman, Russian Empire , - Mehlsack, today Pieniężno, Poland, 18 February 1945) was a Soviet General of the Army , twice Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, who died from wounds received outside...
's 3rd Belorussian Front
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
was ordered to take. A breakthrough in this area, against General Paul Völckers
Paul Völckers
Paul Gustav Völckers was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XXVII Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
' XXVII Corps
XXVII Corps (Germany)
The XXVII Corps was an infantry corps in the German Army. It fought in several notable actions during World War II.The corps was originally raised in August 1939 in Wehrkreis VII.-1939:...
, would form the northern 'pincer' of the encirclement aimed at destroying Fourth Army. The Minsk road was protected by extensive defensive works manned by the 78th Sturm Division, a specially reinforced unit with extra artillery and assault gun
Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz is a German word for "assault gun", usually abbreviated StuG. The vehicle was a leading weapon of the Sturmartillerie, a branch of the German artillery tasked with close fire support of infantry in infantry, panzer, and panzergrenadier units...
support. Orsha itself had been designated a Fester Platz or strongpoint under 78th Sturm Division's commander, with the 25th Panzergrenadier Division holding the lines to the south. As a result of the strong defenses in this sector, Soviet plans included the commitment of heavily-armed engineer units to assist in a breakthrough.
Galitsky
Kuzma Galitsky
Kuzma Nikitovich Galitsky was a Soviet army general who earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union.-Biography:Kuzma Galitsky was born on October 24, 1897 in the city of Taganrog into a worker's family. He studied at the Taganrog Boys Gymnasium, which he graduated from in 1912, and worked at the...
's 11th Guards Army
11th Guards Army
The 11th Guards Army was a Soviet field army active from 1943 to 1997, which traces its origins to the formation of the Soviet 16th Army in June-July 1940.-History:...
attacked towards Orsha on 23 June but initially made little headway. By the next day, the Soviet 1st Guards Rifle Division was able to break through the German lines in a marshy, thinly-held area to the north of the 78th Sturm Division, which was ordered back to the 'Hessen' line, the third defence zone. It was now struggling to maintain contact with the 25th Panzergrenadier Division to the south. Chernyakhovsky, encouraged by the 1st Guards Rifle Division's progress, pushed a mixed cavalry / mechanised exploitation force into the breach in the German lines. On 25 June, the German defences began to rupture; a counter-attack at Orekhovsk failed.
Völckers' position was further threatened by the near-collapse of the Third Panzer Army's VI Corps, immediately to the north. At 11:20 on 25 June the VI Corps, which had been cut off from its parent formation, was reassigned to Fourth Army. Part of its reserve, the 14th Infantry Division was brought up to try and slow the Soviet advance north of Orsha. By midnight, however, the 11th Guards Army had shattered the remnant of VI Corps in the 'Hessen' line, and the 78th Sturm Division's situation was becoming untenable: 26 June saw the German forces in retreat. Soviet tank forces of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps were able to push up the road towards Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
at speed, with a subsidiary force breaking off to encircle Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
, which was liberated on the evening of 26 June. The main exploitation force, Pavel Rotmistrov
Pavel Rotmistrov
Chief Marshal of Armoured Troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov was a commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following World War II.-Pre-War:...
's 5th Guards Tank Army, was then committed through the gap torn in the German lines. VI Corps finally crumbled completely, its rear elements falling back towards Borisov in disarray: its commander, General Georg Pfeiffer
Georg Pfeiffer
Dr. Georg Pfeiffer was a highly decorated General der Artillerie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the VI. Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
, was killed on 28 June after losing contact with his divisions. Völckers was ordered to hold fast, but lacked the necessary resources despite shifting his 260th Infantry Division northwards and moving the 286th Security Division into the lines.
The operation effectively ceased with the arrival of 5th Guards Tank Army's forward units at the Berezina on 28 June.
Consequences
In terms of its objectives within the broader structure of Operation Bagration, the offensive was a complete success:- The two key cities and communication / transport centres of Vitebsk and Orsha were captured.
- Heavy damage was inflicted on German forces, with the LIII Corps of Third Panzer Army being almost completely eliminated and other corps suffering high levels of casualties and loss of equipment.
- The breakthrough of exploitation forces at Orsha, in combination with a similar breakthrough in the south in the parallel Bobruysk Offensive OperationBobruysk Offensive OperationThe Bobruysk Offensive was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.-Operational goals:...
, set up the planned encirclement of the bulk of the German Fourth Army in the following Minsk Offensive OperationMinsk Offensive OperationThe Minsk Offensive was part of the second phase of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.-Operational goals:...
.