75 years ago, the Red Army took the capital of Slovakia by storm. On April 1, 1945, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the northeastern outskirts of Bratislava. On April 4, our troops completely liberated the Slovak capital.
General situation
In the spring of 1945, Soviet troops continued their offensive on the southern wing of the Eastern Front. On the right flank of the 2nd Ukrainian Front (2nd UV), the 4th Ukrainian Front on March 10, 1945, began an assault on the Moravian-Ostrava industrial region. On the left flank of the 2nd UV, the 3rd Ukrainian Front advanced in the Vienna direction. The offensive on Vienna was attended by the left wing of the 2nd UV - the 46th Army and the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps. The 46th Army of Petrushevsky struck in the Vienna direction and at the same time posed a threat from the south to the Bratislava group of the Wehrmacht.
The right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of R. Ya. Malinovsky - the 40th and 53rd armies (on March 25 this army was reoriented to participate in the offensive on Brno) together with the 4th and 1st Romanian armies, 10 - March 30, 1945 carried out the Banska Bystritskaya operation. The Soviet-Romanian troops were to pin down the Germans in the central part of Slovakia and provide cover from the north for the main forces of the front advancing on Bratislava and Vienna. While advancing in the difficult mountainous and wooded terrain of the Western Carpathians, the Russian troops completed their task. The Germans were unable to deliver a flank attack from the north and transfer troops from the Carpathians to Austria. Our troops eliminated the German bridgehead on the left bank of the Hron River, occupied the important industrial center and communications center, the city of Banska Bystrica. Thus, the moment to strike at Bratislava and Brno was favorable.
Operation plan and forces of the parties
The Red Army delivered the main blow in the Bratislava direction. In this operation, units of the 53rd and 7th Guards Armies, the 1st Guards Cavalry Mechanized Group were involved. They were supported by Kholostyakov's Danube military flotilla and Goryunov's 5th air army (it also supported the 46th army in the Vienna direction with part of its forces). The 40th army of Zhmachenko, after the completion of the Banská Bystrica operation, advanced on the city of Trencin. Romanian troops (1st and 4th armies) supported the Russian offensive. In total, the forces of the 2nd UKF numbered about 340 thousand people (Soviet troops - 270 thousand), over 6 thousand guns and mortars with a caliber of 75 mm or more, 240 tanks and self-propelled guns, 645 aircraft.
The adjacent flanks of the 53rd and 7th Guards Armies under the command of Managarov and Shumilov were given the task of crossing the Hron River and breaking through the enemy's line of defense. Pliev's 1st Guards Cavalry Mechanized Group was introduced into the gap. The KMG was supposed to prevent the Germans from gaining a foothold on the previously prepared rear defensive lines on the Nitra, Vag and Morava rivers. Shumilov's army aimed at Bratislava, KMG and the 53rd Army at Brno. In March, our troops carried out preparations for the offensive. To overcome the river. Hron concentrated pontoon units and ferry facilities. Slovak partisans assisted Soviet troops by providing intelligence and guides.
The Germans had a strong defensive line on the Hron River. The western bank of the river was significantly higher than the eastern one. In the spring, the river flooded widely, which made it difficult to use heavy weapons. As a result, the Nazis had the opportunity to detain our troops on the borders of the Hron, Zhitava, Nitra and Vag rivers. Our troops were opposed by 11 divisions of Army Group South under the command of Otto Wöhler (from April 30, Army Group Austria by Lothar Rendulich). The troops of General Kreising's 8th Army were stationed on the Hron River. From the air, units of the 8th Army supported part of the forces of the 4th Air Fleet. The German Bratislava group numbered about 200 thousand people, 1800 large-caliber guns and mortars, 120 tanks and assault guns, 150 aircraft.
Bratislava-Brnovo offensive operation
On March 23, 1945, units of the 25th Guards Rifle Corps on the left flank of Shumilov's army began an auxiliary operation, distracting the enemy. Soviet troops crossed the Hron River and launched an offensive along the Danube towards Komarno. The Danube Flotilla played an important role in the success of the operation. On March 28, the flotilla landed a landing (the 83rd Marine Brigade of Smirnov) in the German rear in the Mocha region. Our troops captured the port of Komarno. On March 30, Soviet troops took Komarno, joining up with the advanced airborne units.
At the same time, the Danube was forced by units of the 23rd Rifle Corps of the 46th Army under the command of Major General Grigorovich (the corps was then transferred to the 7th Guards Army of Shumilov). Grigorovich's corps crossed to the northern bank of the Danube west of Komarno, went to the rear of the Nazis and, together with the 25th corps, advancing from the front, began to move to the Slovak capital between the Danube and Small Danube rivers. This caused the collapse of the defense of the German army.
The main blow was struck on the right flank of the 7th Guards Army (27th Guards Rifle Corps) and the left flank of the 53rd Army. On the night of March 25, 1945, the forward battalions crossed the Hron, destroyed the German guard and occupied the 17-kilometer stretch of the right-bank floodplain of the river, reaching the front edge of the enemy's defense. At the same time, the pontoon units set up crossings. Strong artillery preparation began in the morning. Soviet aircraft struck enemy positions, firing points, headquarters and tactical reserve locations. Thanks to well-conducted reconnaissance (including air), the strike of artillery and aircraft has a great effect. Under cover of artillery volleys and airstrikes, the advance units and sappers continued to move. The main forces began to cross the river. Our troops have occupied a vast foothold. On the very first day of the operation, Soviet troops occupied a bridgehead 20 km wide and up to 10 km deep. The front line of defense of the Nazis was broken.
The pontoon units set up additional crossings to advance the 1st KMG. On the evening of March 26, Pliev's group began an offensive. She completed the breakthrough of the enemy's tactical defense zone and rushed into the gap. By March 28, the front's strike grouping had created a gap up to 135 km wide and 40 km deep. Up to 200 settlements were liberated. Pliev's cavalry did not delay to capture the enemy's defensive posts, bypassed them, smashed the rear of the Germans, preventing them from gaining a foothold in the rear lines. The word "Cossacks" caused panic among the Nazis. Aviation provided great support to KMG, striking the retreating enemy columns. KMG Plieva crossed the Zhitava River. The Germans, trying to somehow stop the Russians, blew up all the bridges across Zhitava, abandoned some of the equipment and weapons in order to have time to gain a foothold at the turn of the river. Nitra. Here the Nazis had strong fortified points: the cities of Nitra, Komjatitsa, Shurani and Nove-Zamky. German troops tried to stop the Russian offensive, even counterattacked.
However, the Soviet troops continued their offensive. Parts of the 10th Guards Cavalry Division bypassed the city of Shurani, which predetermined its fall. Also, our troops intercepted the routes leading to Nové Zamky and took the city on March 29. Thus, the Red Army opened the shortest route to Bratislava. At the same time, Soviet troops took Nitra. Pliev's guards cut the roads leading from the city to the west. The Nazis were blocked. Soviet infantry struck from the east. From the north, units of the 53rd Army left for Nitra. The Germans retreated to the mountains, where they were soon finished off by partisans. Nitra fell on March 31st.
The storming of Bratislava
Having occupied Nove-Zamki and Shurani, the Red Army on March 30, 1945 reached the Vag River. The bridges across the river were destroyed. The river overflowed. However, engineering units quickly set up crossings, Soviet troops maintained a high rate of movement. By the end of the day, the river was crossed, and on April 1, the cities of Trnava, Glohovec and Senec were taken, which already covered the Slovak capital itself. Due to the rapid movement of the Russians, German divisions lost a lot of equipment and weapons between the borders of the r. Nitra and Vag. This significantly weakened their combat capability.
On April 1, 1945, the 25th Guards Corps of the Shumilov Army went to the eastern and northeastern outskirts of Bratislava. Parts of the 24th and 27th corps and Pliev's group made their way to the Small Carpathians, in the area northeast of the capital of Slovakia. The city was well prepared for defense: anti-tank ditches and holes, rubble, barricades and minefields. Many buildings were prepared for all-round defense, equipped with firing positions. The northern part of the city was defended by the Small Carpathians, considered inaccessible, from the south, large water barriers - the Small Danube and Danube. Therefore, the Nazis located their main forces in the eastern part of the city, in the area between the mountains and the river. The outer contour of the line of defense consisted of three lines of trenches with numerous equipped firing positions. Bratislava was defended by the remnants of the defeated German units and numerous auxiliary, rear, militia units.
To hasten the fall of Bratislava, the front commander, Malinovsky, decided to capture the city by outflanking it from the northwest. Our troops began to storm the strong positions of the enemy in the Lesser Carpathians, creating a threat to bypass the enemy garrison from the north and northwest. The commander of the 7th Guards Army, Shumilov, decided to involve the Danube Flotilla and the 23rd Corps, which had recently been included in the army, in the assault on the Slovak capital. The ships of the flotilla made a 75-kilometer rush from Komarno to Bratislava, along a dangerous and mined fairway. The sailors took part in the liberation of the city. The city was taken by simultaneous blows from the northeast and southeast.
On April 2, 1945, the Red Army broke through the outer contour of the enemy's fortifications and broke into the eastern and northeastern outskirts of the capital of Slovakia. To speed up the capture of the city, assault groups were formed. A stubborn battle went on for two days. Soviet stormtroopers took house by house, street by street, block by block. By 12 o'clock on April 4, Soviet troops reached the center of the capital. By the end of the day, the city fell. The remnants of the German garrison fled towards Vienna. In Moscow, a solemn fireworks thundered in honor of the heroes of the storming of Bratislava. The 23rd and 25th Guards Rifle Corps, the 252nd and 409th Rifle Corps, the 5th and 26th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Divisions received the honorary names "Bratislava".
As a result, the troops of Malinovsky in ten days of the operation broke into the strong line of defense of the German army on the river Hron, did not allow the enemy to gain a foothold in the rear lines on the river. Nitra and Vah, liberated the capital of Slovakia and several hundred settlements. The road to Vienna and Brno opened from Bratislava.
