Development of the Soviet offensive
After the cavalry-mechanized group of Sokolov entered the Krasnik area and the 3rd Guards Army of Gordov moved to the same area, a favorable situation arose for the rapid advance of the troops of the right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front to the Vistula and to the Sandomierz area.
The liberation of Lvov and Przemysl on July 27 created conditions for the troops of the left wing of the front to move to Drohobych, to pursue the 1st tank army of the Germans and the 1st Hungarian army in the Carpathian direction.
The headquarters of the Supreme High Command, taking into account the changes in the situation, indicated by directives dated July 27 that the main efforts of the 1st Ukrainian Front should be concentrated on the right flank to capture and hold a bridgehead on the western bank of the Vistula River.
Soviet tanks in Lviv
Left flank. On July 27, the front command instructed the commander of the 1st Guards Army to advance with the main forces in the direction of Khodarov - Drohobych and reach the Turk - Skole line. The 4th Panzer Army, in order to defeat the retreating Stanislavsky enemy grouping, received the task of a forced march to the Sambor area by the morning of July 28. Then take possession of Drohobych and Borislav, in order to defeat the German grouping in cooperation with the 1st Guards Army and prevent it from retreating to the north-west, across the San River. However, due to serious resistance from German troops on the Dniester and in the Drohobych region, the 4th Panzer Army was not able to fully solve the task.
The German command organized a defense on the Dniester and conducted a series of counterattacks to hold back the Soviet offensive and withdraw parts of the Lvov and Stanislav groups to the northwest. The Germans tried to withdraw the troops along the most convenient and profitable route for them through Drohobych, Sambor and Sanok. German troops, despite defeats and retreat, fought stubbornly.
At the same time, the 1st Guards Army of General A. A. Grechko and the 18th Army of General E. P. Zhuravlev continued to pursue the enemy. On July 27, Stanislav was freed from the Nazis. However, on July 28-30, enemy resistance increased. The German command, trying to stop the offensive of the Soviet troops, organized a series of serious counterattacks against the troops of the left flank of the front. So, the troops of the 1st Guards Army fought fierce battles in the area of the city of Kalash. On July 28, the Germans launched a series of counterattacks with up to two infantry regiments supported by 40 tanks. The Germans even achieved local success. They drove back the troops of the 30th Rifle Corps and recaptured Kalash. However, on July 29, the formations of the 1st Guards Army threw back the enemy and occupied the city. On July 30, Grechko's army occupied the Dolina railway station, intercepting the highway leading through the Carpathians to the Hungarian Plain.
From July 31 to August 4, there were fierce battles in the Valley, Vygoda area. The German command organized a counterattack with the forces of five divisions, including the 8th German tank and 2nd Hungarian tank divisions. German troops tried to regain control of the road that led through the Valley to the Hungarian Plain. However, after four days of fierce fighting, the German group was defeated and began to retreat to the west and southwest. On August 5, the 1st Guards Army captured the important communications center of Stryi.
At the end of July, when the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were fighting on two diverging operational directions - Sandomierz-Breslavl and Carpathian, it became obvious that it was necessary to create a separate department that would solve the problem of overcoming the Carpathians. Front Commander Konev proposed to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin to create an independent command and control for the group of forces advancing in the Carpathian direction. General I. E. Petrov arrived on 4 August. On August 5, according to the directive of the Headquarters, the 1st Guards and 18th Armies became part of the 4th Ukrainian Front, which was supposed to operate in the Carpathian direction. On August 6, front troops took Drohobych.
From August 1 to August 19, the German-Hungarian command brought seven infantry divisions into battle in the Carpathian direction, strengthening the defenses of the 1st Hungarian army. The enemy's defensive line ran along serious natural lines. Therefore, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, which did not have serious mobile units and were weakened in previous battles, advanced slowly.
In the center of the 1st Ukrainian Front - the troops of the 60th and 38th armies, also did not achieve significant success. The armies were weakened in previous battles, and part of their forces and assets were transferred to the right wing of the front, which fought heavy battles in the Sandomierz direction. The troops of the 60th Army occupied Debica on 23 August. The 38th Amiya entered the Krosno - Sanok line.
A salvo of the BM-13 Katyusha guards rocket launchers. Region of the Carpathians, Western Ukraine
Fights in the Sandomierz direction
After the creation of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the 1st Ukrainian Front could concentrate efforts on one operational direction, advancing on Sandomierz and embarking on the mission of liberating Poland. On July 28, the front command ordered the 3rd Guards Army to reach the Vistula, cross the river and occupy Sandomierz. In the offensive zone of the 3rd Guards Army, KMG Sokolov was also supposed to advance.
The 13th Army was to reach the Vistula from Sandomierz to the mouth of the Vistula with its right wing by the morning of July 29 and capture bridgeheads on the other side. The left wing of the army received the task of taking the city of Rzeszow. The 1st Guards Tank Army received the task on the morning of July 29 to strike on the Maidan - Baranuv line, cross the Vistula on the move and seize a bridgehead on the right bank.
On July 29, the 3rd Guards Tank Army was instructed to advance with the main forces north of Rzeszow, Zhokhów, Mielec, and in cooperation with the 13th Army and the 1st Guards Tank Army, to force the Vistula in the Baranów sector, the mouth of the Wisloka River and by the end of August 2 seize a bridgehead in the Stashuv area.
Thus, the main forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front were sent to capture and expand the bridgehead in the Sandomierz area: three combined arms, two tank armies and a mechanized cavalry group. The main reserve of the front, the 5th Guards Army of General A. S. Zhadova. The rest of the front forces were to continue the offensive in the western and southwestern directions.
The 3rd Guards Army of Gordov and KMG Sokolov defeated the enemy troops in the Annopol area and reached the Vistula. The advanced units were able to cross the Vistula and captured three small bridgeheads in the Annopol area. However, due to poor organization, the crossing of troops and equipment proceeded slowly. In addition, the engineering troops suffered heavy losses, and four ferry parks were lost. As a result, the Soviet troops failed to expand the bridgeheads. Moreover, the Germans quickly came to their senses and were able to push the troops of the 3rd Guards Army to the eastern bank of the river.
The 1st Guards Tank and 13th Armies acted more skillfully. The armies reached the Vistula on a wide front and began to force the river with the help of military and improvised watercraft. Army and front-line parks were quickly withdrawn to the river, which accelerated the transfer of armored vehicles and artillery. On July 30, the 350th Infantry Division under the command of General G. I. Vekhina and the forward detachment of the tank army crossed the river north of Baranuv. By August 4, 4 rifle divisions had already been transferred to the western bank of the river. To speed up the process of crossing the water barrier, they decided to build a bridge. Polish patriot Jan Slawinsky pointed out the place where, even before the war, Polish engineers had planned to build a bridge. On August 5, the bridge began to operate.
On August 1, the main forces of Katukov's army began to cross. By the end of August 4, all formations of the 1st Guards Tank Army crossed over to the right bank of the Vistula. When crossing the Vistula, as before in the battles for the Dniester, the 20th Guards Mechanized Brigade under the command of Colonel Amazasp Babajanyan especially distinguished itself. For his skillful leadership and courage, Babajanyan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On August 25, 1944, Babajanyan was appointed commander of the 11th Guards Tank Corps.
After that, the formations of the 3rd Guards Tank Army began to cross the Vistula. But the crossing of the tank army was delayed, and it could not fulfill the tasks set at the beginning of the offensive. The army received an order from the front command to accelerate the movement and expand the bridgehead. 3rd Guards Tank Army crossed the river. Vistula south of Baranuv and, expanding the bridgehead, on August 3, advanced 20-25 kilometers. Rybalko's 3rd Guards Tank Army made its way to the Staszów, Potsanów area.
The German command, wishing to stop the advance of the Soviet troops, prevent the expansion of the captured bridgehead, and trying to destroy the troops that had already made their way to the western bank of the Vistula, organized strong counterattacks from the front and from the flanks. Already on July 31, the troops of the 17th German army tried to launch a counterattack in the direction of the Maidan in order to cut off the advanced Soviet detachments from the main forces. However, this offensive ended unsuccessfully. On August 2-3, German troops with up to one infantry division, supported by 40-50 tanks, launched a counterattack from the Mielec area in the direction of Baranow on the eastern bank of the Vistula. German troops tried to reach the rear of the 1st and 3rd Guards Tank and 13th Armies, and encircle the Soviet troops that had crossed to the western bank of the Vistula.
After repeated counterattacks, German troops were able to achieve some success and reached the southern approaches to Baranuv. However, as a result of fierce battles, the forces of the 121st Guards Rifle Division of the 13th Army, two brigades of the 3rd Guards Tank Army (69th and 70th Mechanized Brigades) and the 1st Guards Artillery Division threw back the enemy. A particularly important role in repelling the counter-offensive of German troops was played by the Soviet artillerymen, who in a number of sectors had to put their guns on direct fire in order to repel the offensive of the enemy infantry.
However, it was obvious to the Soviet command that the Germans would continue their counterattacks, trying at all costs to eliminate the Sandomierz bridgehead. The German command continued to transfer new divisions to the area north of Sandomierz and to the Mielec area. In the Mielec area, reconnaissance found units of the 17th Army, 23rd and 24th Panzer Divisions (they came from Army Group South Ukraine), 545th Infantry Division and two infantry brigades, which were transferred from Germany. Troops were also transferred to the Sandomierz area, where a fresh division and other units appeared. At the same time, the transfer of German troops to these areas continued in the future.
It should be borne in mind that the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front fought hundreds of kilometers. The rifle and tank units had to be replenished with manpower and equipment. Therefore, the command brought into battle the reserve of the front - the 5th Guards Army of Zhadov. The fresh army was brought into battle at the most critical moment. At this time, Soviet troops had to wage heavy battles to hold and expand the Sandomierz bridgehead, and repel enemy counterstrikes.
With the introduction of a fresh army, the situation in the Sandmir sector changed in favor of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On August 4, the army dealt a powerful blow to the enemy's small grouping. German troops were crushed and driven back. 33rd Guards Rifle Corps of General N. F. Lebedenko freed Mielets from the Nazis. Soviet troops crossed the Wisloka. Another part of Zhadov's army crossed the Vistula in the Baranuv area, reached the Shidluv, Stopnitsa line, making up the left wing of the bridgehead. The breakthrough of two rifle corps of the 5th Guards Army beyond the Vistula provided the left flank of the Sandomierz grouping of the 1st Ukrainian Front. By August 10, Soviet troops expanded the bridgehead to 60 kilometers along the front and up to 50 kilometers in depth.
The German command continued to pull up and bring fresh units into battle. Heavy fighting continued with the same intensity. On August 11, German troops launched a new counterattack from the Stopnica area in the direction of Staszów, Osek. A German grouping of 4 tank (1st, 3rd, 16th and 24th divisions) and one motorized divisions by August 13 was able to advance 8-10 km. However, the German troops failed to develop the first success. The 5th Guards Army, supported by the formations of the 3rd Guards Tank and 13th Armies, withstood the enemy blow. In stubborn six-day battles, the German group lost its striking power and stopped the offensive.
It must be said that Soviet artillery played an important role in repelling German counterstrikes. By August 9, 800 guns and mortars were transferred to the bridgehead only to strengthen the anti-tank defense of the 5th Guards Army. The guns and mortars were mainly taken from the 60th and 38th armies. In addition, in the period from 11 to 15 August, the 4th tank army of D. D. Lelyushenko was transferred to the bridgehead. The defense of the Sandomierz bridgehead was significantly strengthened. We must not forget about the successful actions of Soviet aviation. Aircraft of the 2nd Air Army made more than 17 thousand sorties during August. Soviet pilots conducted up to 300 air battles and destroyed about 200 German aircraft.
In these battles, the 501st Separate Heavy Tank Battalion was defeated. For the first time, the Germans used the new heavy tanks "Royal Tiger" ("Tiger 2"). However, an enemy attack was expected, and Soviet tank crews prepared a combined tank-artillery ambush. The 122-mm corps guns of the 1931/37 model and the ISU-152 heavy self-propelled artillery mounts worked for the Germans. The Soviet 5th Guards Tank Brigade knocked out 13 enemy vehicles (according to German data - 11). During the fighting in the area of the townships of Staszow and Szydluv, the troops of the 6th Guards Tank Corps destroyed and captured 24 German tanks (including 12 "Royal Tigers"). Moreover, three vehicles were captured in good condition, their crews fled and did not blow up the tanks stuck in the mud. In addition, in the Khmelnik area, the soldiers of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, during a night battle, captured 16 German tanks, 13 of them were fully operational, three vehicles with broken tracks. The vehicles added to the brigade's tank fleet.
Another counterattack by German troops was launched in the Laguva area. Here two German tank corps went on the offensive. The German command tried to cut off the Laguvsky ledge by encircling the Soviet troops defending it. German troops, in the course of stubborn battles, were able to wedge into the defense of the 13th Army by 6-7 km. However, as a result of the Soviet offensive, the German group was defeated. Part of the German grouping (formations of the 72nd, 291st infantry divisions, an assault regiment, part of the 18th artillery division) was surrounded and eliminated. This ended the attempts of the German command to defeat the Soviet troops on the Sandomierz bridgehead and push them back across the Vistula.
Simultaneously with repelling German counter-attacks, part of the Soviet group carried out an operation to defeat the German 42nd Army Corps. The German corps threatened the right wing of the Sandomierz front grouping. On August 14, the Soviet 3rd Guards, 13th, 1st Guards Tank Armies went on the offensive. A powerful hour and a half artillery barrage and air strikes helped break through the enemy's defenses. On August 18, Soviet troops liberated the city of Sandomierz. The German grouping of 4 divisions was defeated. The Soviet bridgehead was increased to 120 km along the front and to 50-55 km in depth.
Further battles took on a protracted nature. The German command continued to transfer fresh divisions and various separate units. By the end of August, the Germans more than doubled their grouping in the Sandomierz bridgehead area. The Soviet armies lost their striking power, it was necessary to regroup the forces, prepare the troops for new attacks, and replenish the units with people and equipment. On August 29, the 1st Ukrainian Front went over to the defensive.
IS-2 at the Sandomierz bridgehead. Poland. August 1944
Results of the operation
The Lvov-Sandomierz operation ended with the complete victory of the Red Army. Soviet soldiers completed the liberation of the Ukrainian SSR within the borders of 1941. Lvov, Volodymyr-Volynsk, Rava-Russkaya, Sandomir, Yaroslav, Przemysl, Stryi, Sambir, Stanislav and many other cities and towns were liberated. The liberation of Poland began.
The strategic task of defeating Army Group "Northern Ukraine" was solved. 32 enemy divisions were defeated, which lost most of their personnel and equipment (8 enemy divisions were completely destroyed in the Brodsk "cauldron"). The total losses of the German troops amounted to 350 thousand people. In the period from July 13 to August 12 alone, 140 thousand people were killed, and more than 32 thousand people were taken prisoner. Front troops captured huge trophies, including more than 2, 2 thousand guns of various calibers, about 500 tanks, 10 thousand vehicles, up to 150 different warehouses, etc.
With the loss of Western Ukraine and the dismemberment of Army Group Northern Ukraine into two groupings, the enemy's strategic front was cut in two. Troops now had to be transferred through the territory of Czechoslovakia and Hungary, which worsened the maneuver of reserves and the defensive capabilities of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.
The formation of a powerful Sandomierz bridgehead was of strategic importance. Favorable conditions were created for the liberation of the southeastern regions of Poland and Czechoslovakia from the Germans.
In addition, the loss of Lvov and the defeat of Army Group Northern Ukraine forced the German command to transfer up to eight divisions from Army Group Southern Ukraine to the battle area. This facilitated the offensive of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts (Yassy-Kishinev operation).
