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Belgrade Offensive
Part of the Eastern and Yugoslav fronts of World War II
File:Soviet T34 Belgrade.jpg A Soviet T-34-85 tank on the streets of Belgrade.
Date 28 September, 1944 — 20 October, 1944 Location Belgrade, Yugoslavia Result Victory of the Yugoslav Partisans and the Red Army. The liberation of a Belgrade and surrounding areas of Yugoslavia.
Belligerents
Yugoslav Partisans  Soviet Union Bulgaria	Germany File:National flag of Serbia.PNG Serbian Military Administration (fifth column)
Commanders and leaders
Josip Broz Tito Savo Drljević Peko Dapčević Danilo Lekić Fyodor Tolbukhin Vladimir Zhdanov Kimon Georgiev	Maximilian von Weichs Willi Schneckenburger Hans Felber Alexander Löhr
Strength
580,000 troops, 3640 shells and mortars, 520 tanks and assault guns, 1420 aircraft, 80 ships	150,000 troops, 2100 shells and mortars, 125 tanks and assault guns, 350 aircraft, 70 ships
Casualties and losses
4,350 irrecoverable, 14,488 wounded or sick	45,000

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The Belgrade Offensive (Croatian, Serbian: Beogradska ofenziva/ofanziva) (September 14 1944 - November 24 1944) was a joint military operation by the armed forces of the Yugoslav Partisan 1st Army Group, by the armed forces of the Yugoslav Partisan 1st Army Group, and elements of the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts (including the Bulgarian 2nd Army), against part of Germany's Army Group E (Korpsgruppe 'Schneckenburger' and 'Stern') which included the forces of the Serbian fifth column, the Serbian State Guard. The objective was to destroy the forces of the German Army Group E in the Suva Planina region, and those of Army Group F east of Morova river, and ultimately the liberation of Belgrade.
A secondary goal for the offensive was to sever the line of retreat for German Army Group E from Greece, Albania and the southern regions of Yugoslavia through Belgrade to Hungary, including the Thessaloniki-Belgrade railroad.

Background

By early September 1944, two German Army Groups were deployed in the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Greece, and Albania): Army Group E (southern area of operations), and Army Group F (northern area of operations). In response to the defeat of German forces in the Jassy-Kishinev Operation (which forced Bulgaria and Romania to switch sides) and the advance the Red Army troops into the Balkans, Army Group E was ordered to withdraw into Hungary. Another Army Group was created in Hungary called Army Group Serbia from elements of Army Group F.

As a result of the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944, the monarchist/fascist regime in Bulgaria was overthrown and replaced with a government of the Fatherland Front led by Kimon Georgiev. Once the new government came to power, Bulgaria declared war on Germany.

By the end of September, the Red Army 3rd Ukrainian Front troops under the command of Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin were concentrated at the Bulgarian - Yugoslav border. The Soviet 57th Army was stationed in the Vidin area, while the Bulgarian 2nd Army (under the operational command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front) was stationed to the south on the Niš rail line at the junction of Bulgarian, Yugoslav, and Greek borders. This further caused the arrival of the Partisans 1st Army from Yugoslav territory, in order to provide support to their 13th and 14th Corps collaborating in the liberation of Niš and supporting the 57th Army’s advance to Belgrade, respectively. The Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front’s 46th Army was deployed in the area of the Teregova river (Romania), poised to cut the rail link between Belgrade and Hungary to the north of Vršac.

Pre-operations were coordinated between the Soviets and the commander-in-chief of the Yugoslav Partisans, Marshal Josip Broz Tito. Tito arrived in Soviet-controlled Romania on September 21, and from there flew to Moscow where he met with Stalin. The meeting was a success, in particular because the two allies reached an agreement concerning the participation of Bulgarian troops in the operation that would be conducted on Yugoslav territory.

Offensive

Before the start of ground operations the Soviet 17th Air Army (of the 3rd Ukrainian Front) was ordered to impede the withdrawal of German troops from Greece and southern regions of Yugoslavia. To do so, from , it carried out air attacks on the railroad bridges and other important facilities in the areas of Niš, Skopje, and Kruševo lasting from September 15 to September 21.

The Soviet 57th Army began its attack on September 28 from the region of Vidin in the general direction of Belgrade. The 57th Army enjoyed the support of the Danube Military Flotilla, which operated along the Danube on the northern flank of the Front, and provided river transport to troops and military equipment. The Yugoslav 14th Corps (supported by the Soviet 17th Air Army) broke through the enemy's border defense in the eastern Serbian mountains with heavy fighting. On October 8 the Yugoslavs advanced to the River Morava, capturing two bridgeheads on the Velika Plana and Palanka, where on October 12, the 4th Guards Mechanised Corps was introduced into the penetration after moving here from South-East Bulgaria for the development of the offensive towards Belgrade from the south. Meanwhile, the offensive was continued by the newly arrived Yugoslav 1st Proletarian Division and the 12th Slavonian Division which secured bridgeheads over the Sava river west of Belgrade.

Main operations

Units of the Yugoslav Partisans together with the Soviet 10th Guards Rifle Corps of the 46th Army (2nd Ukrainian Front), moving via the Danube, provided more offensive strength from the north-east against the Wehrmacht's position in Belgrade. They cleared the left bank of the Tisa and Danube (in Yugoslavia) and liberated the town of Pančevo.

The Yugoslav 12th Corps and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps broke through the enemy resistance south of Belgrade on October 14, approached the city. The Yugoslavs advanced along the roads in the direction of Belgrade south of the Sava River, while the Red Army engaged in fighting on the northern bank outskirts. The assault on the city was delayed due to the diversion of forces for the elimination of thousands of enemy troops surrounded between Belgrade and Smederevo (to the south-east). On October 20, Belgrade had been completely liberated by joint Yugoslav and Soviet forces.

The Yugoslav 13th Corps, in cooperation with the Bulgarian 2nd Army, advanced from the south-east. They were responsible for the area of Niš and Leskovac. The forces were also responsible for cutting off the main for the evacuation of Army Group E, along the rivers of South Morava and Morava. Army Group E had, therefore, been forced to retreat through the mountains of Montenegro and Bosnia and was unable to strengthen the German forces in Hungary.

The next day, elements of the 3rd Ukrainian Front stormed Kraljevo and finally cut Thessaloniki highway to Belgrade.

Allied forces

Participating in the assault on the capital of Yugoslavia were:

Soviet Union

3rd Ukrainian Front:
4th Guards Mechanised Corps (lieutenant general T. V. Zhdanov Vladimir Ivanovich) in the composition of: 13th Guards Mechanised Brigade (Lieutenant Colonel Obaturov Gennadi Ivanovich), 14th Guards Mechanised Brigade (Colonel Nikitin Nicodemius Alekseyevich), 15th Guards Mechanised Brigade (Lieutenant Colonel Andrianov Mikhail Alekseyevich), 36th Guards Tank Brigade (Colonel Zhukov Peter Semenovich), 292nd Guards Self-propelled Artillery Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Shakhmetov Semen Kondratevich), 352nd Guards Heavy Self-propelled Artillery Regiment (Colonel Tiberkov Ivan Markovich); 5th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Colonel Zavyalov Nikolai Ivanovich); 23rd Howitzer Artillery Brigade (Colonel Karpenko Savva Kirillovich) of the 9th Breakthrough Artillery Division (Major General art. Ratov Andrey Ivanovich); 42nd Anti-tank destroyer artillery Brigade (Colonel Leonov Constantine Alekseyevich); 22ndAnti-aircraft Artillery Division (Colonel Danshin Igor Mikhaylovich).

57th Army with 75th Rifle Corps (Major General Akimenko Andrian Zakharovich) in the composition of: 223rd Rifle Division (Colonel Sagitov Akhnav Gaynutdinovich), 236th Rifle Division (Colonel Kulizhskiy Peter Ivanovich); 73 Guards Rifle Division (Major General Kozak Semen Antonovich) of 68th Rifle Corps (Major General Shkodunovich Nikolai Nikolayevich). Danube Military Flotilla: 1st Guards Divizion Armoured Boats (lieutenant commander Barbotko Sergey Ignatevich) and 4th Guards Divizion Armoured Boats (Senior Lieutenant Butvin Kuzma ) of the Brigade of Armoured Boats (captain of 2 ranks Derzhavin Pavel Ivanovich); coastal escort force (Major Zidr Klementiy Timofeevich).

17th Air Army with 10th Assault Air Corps (lieutenant general of aviation Tolstyakov Oleg Viktorovich) in the composition: 295th Fighter Air Division (Colonel Silvestrov Anatoliy Alexandrovich), 306th Assault Air Division (Colonel Ivanov Alexander Viktorovich), part of the 136th Assault Air Division (Colonel Tereckov Nikolai Pavlovich); 10th Guards Assault Air Division (Major General of Aviation Vitruk Andrey Nikiforovich), 236th Fighter Air Division (Colonel Kudryashov Vasiliy Yakovlevich), part of the 288th Fighter Air Division (Colonel Smirnov Boris Alexandrovich).

Yugoslavia

Yugoslav Partisans 1st Army Group: the 1st Army Group (General - Lieutenant Colonel Peko Dapčević) in the composition of: the 1st Proletarian Division (Colonel Vaso Jovanović), 6th Proletarian Division (Colonel Đoko Jovanić), the 5th Assault Division (Colonel Milutin Morača), 21st Assault Division (Colonel Miloje Milojević); 12th Army Corps (General - Lieutenant Colonel Danilo Lekić) in the composition of: the 11th Assault Division (Colonel Miloš Šelegović), 16th Assault Division (Colonel Marko Peričin), 28th Assault Division (Lieutenant Colonel Radojica Nenezin), 36th Assault Division (Lieutenant Colonel Rodoslav Jović).

Aftermath

Upon completion of the Belgrade operation, the 3rd Ukrainian Front troops were transferred to Hungary to support forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and subsequently assisted the Yugoslav Partisans in the liberation of their country, mainly with weapons, equipment, and ammunition.
A Medal "For the Liberation of Belgrade" was established by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet decree of June 19, 1945.

See also

• Eastern Front (World War II)
• Red Army
• Yugoslav Partisans
• Yugoslav People's Liberation War
• Seven anti-Partisan offensives
• List of anti-Partisan operations in Yugoslavia
• Lothar Rendulic
• Resistance during World War II

Reference

1. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+yu0031) The reference is from the Library of Congress Country Studies and cites "information from Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1919-1945, Arlington, Virginia, 1976." stating that: "...Soviet troops crossed the border on October 1, and a joint Partisan-Soviet force liberated Belgrade on October 20."
2. http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-2/operation/beograd-1944/order-of-battle/allies/
3. http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-2/operation/beograd-1944/order-of-battle/allies/
4. http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-2/operation/beograd-1944/order-of-battle/allies/
5. http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/12-yugoslavia.html Dudarenko, M.L., Perechnev, Yu.G., Yeliseev, V.T., et.el., Reference guide "Liberation of cities": reference for liberation of cities during the period of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, Moscow, 1985 (Дударенко, М.Л., Перечнев, Ю.Г., Елисеев, В.Т. и др., сост. Справочник «Освобождение городов: Справочник по освобождению городов в период Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945»)

Sources

• Dudarenko, M.L., Perechnev, Yu.G., Yeliseev, V.T., et.el., Reference guide "Liberation of cities": reference for liberation of cities during the period of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, Moscow, 1985

• Yugoslavia during World War II
• World War II Eastern European Theatre
• Battles and operations of World War II
• Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II
• Battles involving Yugoslavia
• Battles involving Germany
• Battles involving the Soviet Union
• Battles involving Bulgaria
• History of Belgrade
• Urban warfare