Battle for Lviv. During the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front defeated Army Group Northern Ukraine. Our troops completed the liberation of the Ukrainian SSR, a significant part of Poland, and reached the approaches to Czechoslovakia. An extensive foothold was captured in the Sandomierz region.
Destruction of the Wehrmacht grouping in the Brod area
The beginning of the Lvov operation was successful for the Red Army: our troops broke through the powerful enemy defenses, surrounded 8 Wehrmacht divisions in the Brod area, and created conditions for the development of the offensive. However, the Germans offered fierce resistance and launched a counterattack in the area, slowing down the advance of the Soviet troops.
On July 18, 1944, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front began an offensive in the Lublin direction, which improved the position of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Now Konev's troops had to complete the destruction of the enemy in the Brod area, take Lvov, and begin an offensive in the Stanislav direction.
For four days, the troops of the 60th Army, supported by part of the forces of the 13th Army, other forces of the front and aviation, fought with the encircled German group. The Nazis desperately attacked, trying to break through to the southwest. German tanks from the Zolochev-Plugov area tried to break through to meet them. However, the Nazis were unable to break through the encirclement. The encirclement ring was quickly compressed, the enemy group was cut into pieces and on July 22, they were finally finished off. All 8 divisions of the Wehrmacht were destroyed in the Brodsk "cauldron": more than 38 thousand people were killed, more than 17 thousand people were taken prisoner, including the commander of the 13th Army Corps Gauff and two division commanders. Significant forces of the 1st UV were released for the attack on Lvov.
Battle for Lviv
While part of the front's troops crushed the encircled enemy forces, the other part continued to move rapidly to the west. On July 19, 1944, the 1st Guards Tank Army of Katukov broke into enemy resistance on the Western Bug and began a rapid movement westward to the San River, passing 30-35 km a day. To the south, KMG Baranova was also rapidly advancing. Taking advantage of the success of armored and cavalry formations, the shooters of the 13th Army quickly went to the San River. On July 23, our troops were on the San River. Vanguard detachments crossed the river on the move and captured bridgeheads in the Yaroslav area.
The German command organized several strong counterattacks, trying to throw off our troops beyond the San. So, the bridgeheads of Katukov's army in the Yaroslavl region were attacked by the 24th Panzer Division, which was urgently transferred from Romania. The fighting was fierce. The exit of our troops to the San was of great importance. The Red Army broke through the defenses of the 4th and 1st tank armies of the enemy, created a gap between them and did not allow the Germans to gain a foothold on the banks of the San. Also, conditions were created for attacks from the north and west on the Lviv group of the Wehrmacht. However, at a time when the troops of the 1st Guards Tank and 13th Armies reached the shores of Sana'a, parts of the 3rd Guards Army fell behind. There was a large gap between the armies. To eliminate it, the front command sent KMG Sokolov from the Rava-Russkaya area to the Polish Frampol in the Lublin Voivodeship. This offensive was made possible thanks to the success of the 1st BF, which occupied Lublin on 23 July and began to move towards the Vistula.
By July 27, the troops of the 3rd Guards Army and Sokolov's cavalry-mechanized group reached the Vilkolaz-Nisko line. Units of the 1st Guards Tank Army, 13th Army and KMG Baranov fought with the enemy on the Nisko - Sokoluv - Pshevorsk - Debetsko line.
The offensive of the troops of the 1st UV center developed more slowly. Although the Nazis lost 8 divisions in the Brod area, they were able to quickly transfer 3 divisions to Lviv from the Stanislav area and strengthen its defenses. As a result, the tank armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko could not take the city on the move. Their rears and artillery fell behind from heavy rains, the tanks were left without fuel and ammunition. The Germans at this time strengthened the defense of the city. The battles on July 20 - 21 on the northern and southeastern approaches to the city were unsuccessful. In order not to get involved in bloody frontal battles, storming heavily fortified positions, Rybalko's 3rd Guards Tank Army received the task of bypassing the city from the north, reaching the Yavorov - Mostiska - Sudovaya Vishnya region, cutting off the Nazis' escape routes to the west. Lelyushenko's 4th tank army was supposed to bypass Lviv from the south, Kurochkin's 60th army was to attack the city from the east.
On July 22-23, Rybalko's guards, using the success of the northern wing of the front, made a 120-kilometer march and by the end of July 24 reached the specified area. The tankers launched a simultaneous attack on Lvov from the west and on Przemysl from the east. Meanwhile, Lelyushenko's tankers, bypassing major enemy defense centers, were moving towards Lvov from the south. At dawn on July 22, 4th Panzer Army started a battle for the southern part of Lvov. The Germans fought back stubbornly. Especially in battles for the city, Belov's 10th Guards Ural Tank Corps distinguished himself.
Among those who distinguished themselves was the crew of the T-34 "Gvardia" tank of the 2nd battalion of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade: tank commander Lieutenant A. V. -Driver Petty Officer F. P. Surkov. The crew of Lieutenant Dodonov was given the task of hoisting a red flag on the building of the Lviv City Hall. On July 22, the tank broke through to the town hall, Marchenko with a group of riflemen interrupted the guards of the building and hoisted the scarlet banner. The Nazis counterattacked. Marchenko was seriously wounded and died a few hours later. The guardsmen, cut off from their own, continued to fight surrounded. For three days the tank "Guard" fought with the enemy. On the fourth he was hit. For some time, the Soviet tank fired already damaged. Only Sergeant Major Surkov survived. Badly wounded, he got out of the tank, was picked up by local residents, who handed him over to Soviet intelligence officers. During the battle, the crew of the "Guard" tank destroyed 8 enemy tanks and about 100 enemy soldiers (according to other sources - 5 tanks, self-propelled guns, 3 anti-tank guns, 2 mortars and a hundred enemy soldiers). All crew members were awarded orders, and the guard sergeant major Surkov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The exit of Soviet tanks to the western and southern outskirts of Lvov and the offensive of the 60th Army from the east put the Nazi garrison of Lvov under the threat of encirclement. On July 24, the Germans began to withdraw their troops along the road to Sambor, to the southwest. Here they came under the blows of the Soviet aviation, and the road became a cemetery. By the morning of July 27, our troops liberated Lviv. On the same day, Soviet soldiers liberated Przemysl. Thus, by the end of July 27, the 3rd Guards Tank Army occupied Przemysl, the 4th Panzer Army was advancing on Sambir, the 60th and 38th armies were advancing south of Lvov.
Liberation of Stanislav
As a result of the defeat of the Lvov enemy grouping, conditions were created for the release of Stanislav. During the battle for Lvov, the German command transferred part of the troops from the Stanislavsky direction to the Lvov one. This facilitated the offensive of the southern wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front: the 1st Guards Army of Grechko and the 18th Army of Zhuravlev. In addition, with the entry of Soviet tank armies into the Lvov area, a threat was created to the flank and rear of the German group in the area east of Stanislav.
On July 20, 1944, the German command began the withdrawal of the Stanislav group to the west. On the morning of July 21, Grechko's army launched an offensive. By the end of the day, our troops reached the line of the r. Golden Linden. On July 23, the 18th Army launched an offensive. On July 27, Soviet troops liberated Stanislav. On this day, Moscow twice saluted the liberators of Lvov and Stanislav. 79 formations and units of the 1st UV, which distinguished themselves most in the battles, were named "Lvov", 26 formations and units - "Stanislavsky".
Thus, the troops of the 1st UV destroyed the encircled enemy grouping in the Brod area, took Lvov and Stanislav, advanced to a depth of 200 km and in a strip 400 km wide. At the end of July 1944, conditions were created for the crossing of the Vistula.
Development of the Red Army offensive. Capture of the Sandomierz bridgehead
After the loss of Lvov and Stanislav, the German command took urgent measures to restore the front, creating defenses on the Vistula and in the Carpathians. Despite heavy fighting in Belarus, the Germans were forced to transfer significant forces against the 1st UV. At the end of July - the first half of August, seven divisions from Army Group South Ukraine (including three tank divisions), seven infantry divisions from the Third Reich, three infantry divisions from Hungary and the command of the 17th Army (she was defeated in the Crimea). In addition to these 17 divisions, six brigades of assault guns, several separate tank battalions (they were armed with heavy Tiger tanks) and other units were pulled into the Vistula, on the Sandomierz direction.
On July 27-28, 1944, the Soviet Headquarters set the task of the 1st UV to continue the offensive to the west, prevent the enemy from gaining a foothold on the Vistula, cross the river on the move and take bridgeheads in the Sandomierz area. To solve this problem, mobile shock formations (1st and 3rd Guards Tank Armies) had to concentrate their efforts on the right flank of the front. The troops of the center of the front were to reach the line of the Wisloka River, and the left flank was to take the passes through the Carpathian Mountains and advance on Humenna, Uzhgorod and Mukachevo.
On July 28-29, the Red Army continued its offensive. On July 29, the forward detachments of the 3rd Guards, 13th and 1st Guards Tank Armies reached the Vistula in the Annopol - Baranuv sector, and began to cross the river. On July 30, units of the 3rd Guards Army of Gordov and KMG Sokolov captured three small bridgeheads in the Annopol area. However, they failed to expand them. The troops of the 13th Army of Pukhov and the 1st Guards Tank Army of Katukov acted more successfully. They crossed the river in the Baranuv area and by the end of July 30, expanded the bridgehead to 12 km along the front and 8 km in depth. On July 30 - 31, units of the 1st and 3rd Guards Tank Armies began crossing here. The Germans staged strong counterattacks in an attempt to destroy the Soviet bridgehead. The German aviation also became more active, which inflicted strong blows on the crossings, making it difficult to transfer troops and equipment to the bridgehead. However, Soviet troops continued to expand the bridgehead. By the end of August 1, it was expanded to the Kopšivnica - Staszow - Polanets line.
Battle for the bridgehead
The capture of the Sandomierz bridgehead was of great operational importance. Soviet troops crossed the Vistula on the move, preventing the enemy from gaining a foothold on a strong line. The 1st UV received a foothold for the development of the offensive in Poland, in particular, on Krakow. The Hitlerite command at that time did not have strong reserves to organize strong resistance in the first days of crossing the Vistula. But at the beginning of August, new German divisions began to arrive in this area, and they were thrown into battle on the move in order to throw our troops into the Vistula. A fierce battle unfolded on the river. In addition, the Germans gathered on the eastern bank of the river. The Vistula near the town of Mielec was a strong group and on August 1, it struck at Baranów. At the same time, a group of two German infantry divisions attacked Baranów from Tarnobrzeg (in the Sandomierz region). German aviation was active.
The flank counterattacks of the German army were dangerous, since the crossings on the flanks were covered by extremely insignificant forces. The most dangerous was the blow of the Mielec group, which on August 3 reached the southern approaches to Baranuv. For the defense of the city and the crossings, artillery, engineering units and the 70th mechanized brigade of the 3rd Guards Tank Army were attracted. To defeat the enemy group in the Mielec area and expand the bridgehead, the command of the 1st UV on August 4 brought Zhadov's 5th Guards Army into battle. The 33rd Guards Rifle Corps of the 5th Army, supported by the 9th Mechanized Corps, struck at the enemy's Mielec group. The Nazis were thrown back to the river. Wislock. By the end of August 6, our troops occupied Mielec, crossed the Vistula and seized bridgeheads on this river. On August 7, the main forces of Zhadov's army crossed the river and, with the support of the 3rd Guards Tank Army of the Tank Army, expanded the bridgehead. However, the further advance of the Soviet troops was stopped by counterattacks by fresh German divisions that had approached.
Stubborn battles for the expansion of the Sandomierz bridgehead were fought until the end of August 1944. However, the Soviet troops, having suffered heavy losses in previous battles, experiencing a shortage of ammunition, achieved only local successes. The German command, seeking to destroy the bridgehead and restore the line of defense along the Vistula, continued to strengthen the 4th Panzer Army. By August 10, the Germans had prepared a strong strike force consisting of four tank, one motorized divisions, and several infantry brigades. The grouping was supposed to strike at Staszow, at the junction of the 13th and 5th Guards armies, go to Baranuv, dismember and destroy the Soviet troops at the Sandomierz bridgehead. Another blow was prepared in the Opatuva area.
However, the Soviet command managed to take retaliatory measures. The positions held were well equipped in engineering terms. It was decided to reinforce the grouping on the bridgehead with the 4th Panzer Army, which was transferred from the Sambor area. Also, one rifle corps of the 3rd Guards Army was transferred to the bridgehead, and the 5th Guards Army was reinforced with the 31st Panzer Corps. In addition, the front troops at the bridgehead were supported by an air group of three corps.
On August 11, 1944, the Germans attacked in the Staszów area. Fierce fighting continued for two days. The Nazis wedged themselves into our defenses for 8-10 km. Their further attacks were repelled by the efforts of our infantry, artillery, tanks and aviation. Then the enemy changed the direction of the blow. Having regrouped their forces, on August 13, the Nazis attacked in the Stopnitsa area. Stubborn battles raged on August 13-18. The Germans pushed the troops of the 5th Guards Army 6-10 km, took Stopnitsa. However, the further advance of the enemy was stopped. Zhadov's army was reinforced with a tank corps, and the 4th Panzer Army was transferred to the bridgehead.
Simultaneously with repelling enemy strikes, our troops continued the operation to expand the bridgehead. On August 14, the troops of the 13th and 1st Guards Tank Army attacked in the direction of Ozharuv, the 3rd Guards Army was advancing in the western direction. On August 17, Soviet troops blockaded parts of two German divisions north-west of Sandomierz and on August 18 took Sandomierz. The German command was forced to stop attacks in the Stopnitsa area and transfer troops to the north of the bridgehead. On August 19, the Germans launched a new counterstrike in the Ozharuva area. German tanks were able to free their troops, which were surrounded north-west of Sandomierz, but they failed to recapture Sandomierz itself.
The battles on the bridgehead continued until the end of August 1944. On August 29, the troops of the 1st UV went on the defensive. The German army was never able to destroy the Sandomierz bridgehead. The Red Army at this time expanded the bridgehead to 75 km along the front and 50 km in depth. The main forces of the 1st UV were concentrated on the bridgehead. Meanwhile, the forces of the center and the left wing of the front continued to advance westward. They were deprived of most of the mobile formations, moreover, the enemy defended himself on natural lines (Carpathians). Therefore, the movement was slow. By the end of the operation, the troops of the 60th and 38th armies, KMG Baranov reached the Shchutsin - Debica line east of Krosno.
The offensive of the 4th Ukrainian Front
Due to the fact that the main forces of the 1st UV were connected by battles in the Sandomierz direction and the offensive in the Carpathians required special attention, special weapons and equipment, the Soviet Headquarters decided on July 30 to create a new front from the troops of the southern wing of the UV. This is how the 4th Ukrainian Front was formed. It was headed by Colonel General I. E. Petrov. Its management was transferred from the Crimea. On August 5, units of the 1st Guards and 18th armies were included in the front. The troops of the 4th UV were supposed to advance in the southwestern direction, clear the Drohobych industrial region from the Nazis, completing the liberation of Ukraine, capture the Carpathian passes and go to the Middle Danube lowland.
Meanwhile, the German command, trying to hold the Drohobych region and prevent the Russians from breaking through to the Carpathians, strengthened their defenses in this direction. In the first half of August, three divisions and command of the 3rd Army Corps were transferred from Hungary to the Drohobych Region, from Romania - a mountain rifle division, as well as the 49th mountain rifle corps (two divisions) of the 1st Tank Army. All six divisions were reinforced by the 1st Hungarian Army, which was fighting in this direction.
The troops of the 4th UV, operating in rough and wooded terrain in the foothills of the Carpathians, slowly moved forward. On August 5, our troops took the city of Stryi, on August 6 - Drohobych, on August 7 - Sambir and Borislav. On August 15, taking into account the strengthening of enemy resistance, the need to rest and restore our troops, and pulling up the rear, the 4th UV went on the defensive. Preparations began for an operation to overcome the Carpathians. By this time, the troops of the front reached the Sanok - Skole - Nadvirnaya - Krasnoilsk line.
Results of the operation
The sixth "Stalinist" strike was of great military-strategic importance. The Red Army completed the liberation of Ukraine-Little Russia. Our troops defeated the powerful Lvov enemy grouping, took Lvov and Stanislav, threw the Germans back across the San and Vistula rivers. Soviet troops reached the approaches to Czechoslovakia. The troops of the 1st UV, together with the forces of the 1st BF, occupied a significant part of Poland east of the Vistula. Konev's armies crossed the Vistula and formed the vast Sandomierz bridgehead, which could serve as the basis for the further liberation of Poland and an exit to the southeastern borders of the Third Reich.
The Red Army inflicted a heavy defeat on one of the four strategic groups of the Wehrmacht. Army Group Northern Ukraine was defeated. 32 divisions were defeated, 8 divisions were destroyed. In addition, the defeat of Army Group Northern Ukraine forced the Germans to transfer additional forces from other sectors of the front, weakening them. So, the Nazis transferred part of the troops from Romania, which facilitated the subsequent offensive of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, the liberation of Moldova and Romania.
