



Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseUpon turning Romania and Bulgaria against Germany, Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front (under Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin) and Bulgarian troops marched into eastern Yugoslavia on 14 Sep, engaging positions held by German 7th SS Mountain Division troops, Chetnik fighters, and Serbian Front Guard troops along the way. On 28 Sep, Soviet 57th Army began a separate advance toward Belgrade from the south, also aided by Yugoslavian troops. To the north of Belgrade, Soviet 46th Army of Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front provided indirect support by taking transportation hubs along the Tisa River in southern Ukraine, Hungary, and Yugoslavia to prevent German supplies from flowing into Belgrade and to prevent Axis troops from fleeing north along the Tisa River. Soviet 4th Guards Mechanized Corps of 3rd Ukrainian Front and Yugoslavian 12th Corps were the first forces to reach Belgrade, penetrating Axis defenses south of the city on 14 Oct 1944. On 19 Oct, German forces began evacuating the city, and Soviet and Yugoslavian troops marched in on the following day. Because Soviet forces had blocked transportation routes north of the Serbia region of Yugoslavia, the German forces were forced to move westward over mountainous terrain through Bosnia and Croatia regions of Yugoslavia, thus these troops would not be able to play a role in the Budapest Strategic Offensive Operation that the Soviets were about to launch against Hungary. Most German formations would be wiped out or driven out of eastern Yugoslavia by the end of Nov 1944, and the Soviets would turn north toward Hungary.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Update: Jan 2013

Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation Timeline

Photographs

Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Facebook

Reddit

Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB: RSS Feeds

Visitor Submitted Comments

Show older comments

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.