Liberation of Prague May 9, 1945. Who liberated Prague and how. From the memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery
Who liberated Prague in 1945 Mysteries of the Prague uprising Smyslov Oleg Sergeevich
Chapter 10. PRAGUE OPERATION
PRAGUE OPERATION
When the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I. Stalin found out about the Red Army's withdrawal to the Elbe, he immediately said that it was time to strike at Prague. We only note that we are not talking about some kind of throw, march, etc. We are talking about a strike, a strategic offensive operation on several fronts. The definition of such an operation speaks for itself.
Strategic offensive operation - a military operation, which is a set of coordinated and interconnected in terms of purpose, tasks, place and time of simultaneous and successive battles, combat and special actions, strikes, maneuver and actions of troops (forces), carried out according to a single plan and plan by offensive for achieving a strategic goal with the aim of defeating enemy forces and capturing certain areas of the terrain in certain strategic directions.
According to General SM. Shtemenko, about a day after the meeting with the Americans, J. Stalin himself called the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev: “Without any preface, he asked: who will take Prague?
For I.S. Konev, the answer to this question was not difficult: the situation developed in such a way that it was more convenient for the 1st Ukrainian Front to strike at Prague in the shortest direction from the north and northwest, thereby cutting off the escape routes to the west of the Prague enemy grouping. Then Konev was ordered to submit considerations on the Prague operation, and the General Staff was given the task of preparing their proposals on this score.
The capital of friendly Czechoslovakia occupied a very prominent place in the plans of the Soviet Supreme High Command. Our strategic leadership tried in every possible way to preserve this wonderful ancient city with its numerous cultural monuments from destruction. First of all, Prague had to be protected from American bombs, since our allies regularly put it on the list of targets for bombing. Since the area of the city was in the zone of operations of the Soviet troops and the objects for air raids had to be coordinated, the General Staff just as systematically deleted Prague from the list.
By the end of April 30, the main resistance of the enemy in Berlin was broken, and the capital of the fascist Reich was on the eve of surrender. The situation made it possible to hope that the forces of the 1st Belorussian Front would be sufficient to completely defeat the enemy in Berlin. One of his army was even transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front, which could now be moved to Dresden and then against Army Group Center. In the zone of the 4th Ukrainian Front, Soviet troops stormed the city of Moravska-Ostrava, a large industrial center and a powerful stronghold of the German defense in Czechoslovakia. At the same time, the troops of the front captured the city of Zhilina, an important road junction in the Western Carpathians. (…)
Having lost Moravska-Ostrava, the enemy in the nearest depth did not have such advantageous lines for organizing defense. In addition, Soviet troops had deeply bypassed his flanks along the northern and southern borders of Czechoslovakia. The enemy had no choice but to retreat to Olomouc. The retreat of the enemy significantly changed the situation in the zone of the 2nd Ukrainian Front R.Ya. Malinovsky. Now the most important thing for the front was the main forces to move faster towards Prague and, thus, create the southern front of the future encirclement of the troops of Army Group Center. In this case, the armies of the 3rd Ukrainian Front F.I. Tolbukhin would reliably provide a strategic operation from Western Austria, where almost half a million German fascist troops under the command of General Rendulich still remained.
During our evening report on the situation, I.V. Stalin ordered, in connection with the withdrawal of the enemy in front of the 4th Ukrainian Front, to give a directive to R.Ya. Malinovsky and Stavka representative S.K. Timoshenko. “Turn the main forces of the front troops to the west,” the directive said, “and strike in the general direction at Jihlava, Prague with the task of capturing the Jihlava, Ulabinch, Gorn line no later than May 12-14, and subsequently reaching the river. Vltava and capture Prague. Only a part of the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front was to advance in the direction of Olomouc, where enemy resistance continued” (191) .
Thus, it was originally assumed that the operation itself would stretch for as much as two whole weeks, since one of the strongest enemy groupings, Army Group Center, stood in front of the Soviet fronts. However, the situation was changing at an incredible speed:
“Events at the front immediately resonated in the German rear in the Czech Republic. There, the fire of the anti-fascist struggle flared up brighter and brighter. The patriots actively armed themselves and in some places of the country even seized power. The events that decided the fate of the peoples of Czechoslovakia were about to begin. The General Staff vigilantly kept the area of Prague in its field of vision. Large groupings of Nazi troops retreated here. East of Prague in the mountainous areas, the contours of the defense of Scherner's army group were determined. Here, according to the General Staff, important events should have played out.
On the night of May 1, 1945, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered, no later than May 4, to change the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, located in Berlin, with the forces of the armies of the left wing of the 1st Belorussian Front. I.S. Konev was ordered no later than May 3 to complete the liquidation of the German group surrounded east of Luckenwalde, and after the change, the liberated troops of the right wing of the front were thrown into a swift offensive in the general direction of Prague. From May 6, a demarcation line was appointed between the fronts to Lübben and further to Wittenberg for the 1st Ukrainian Front inclusive ”(192) .
Actually, this is exactly how the plan of the Prague strategic offensive operation of the three Soviet fronts developed. The main striking force was the 1st Ukrainian Front: “It was supposed to cut off the enemy’s retreat to the west and southwest, create the northern and western faces of the encirclement of Scherner’s troops, who were sitting in the Ore Mountains and the Sudetes. From the east, the 4th Ukrainian Front of A.I. moved with the center to Olomouc. Eremenko. From the south, the 2nd Ukrainian Front R.Ya. Malinovsky. Having surrounded the enemy, these fronts were to dismember and destroy the encircled grouping by simultaneous and successive strikes on the ground and from the air. The troops of our allies entered the western part of Czechoslovakia.
The plan for the Prague operation - the last major operation of the Soviet Armed Forces in Europe - was finally developed by May 4, 1945. The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front on that day at 01:10 were given an operational directive. It stated: “The armies of the right wing of the front go on a swift offensive along both banks of the river. Elba in the general direction of Prague in order to defeat the enemy’s Dresden-Gerlitz grouping, and on the sixth day of the operation to capture the capital of Czechoslovakia, Prague, by tank armies” (193) .
In accordance with the plan of the operation, the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front decided to deliver the main blow with the forces of the 13th Army, the 3rd and 5th Guards, 4th and 3rd Guards Tank Armies, two tank and cavalry corps from the Riza area along left banks of the Elbe and Vltava in the general direction to Prague. In order to cut the enemy grouping, the second strike of the 1st Ukrainian was to be delivered on the third day of the operation by the forces of two armies and a mechanized corps from the area northwest of Görlitz in the general direction of Zittau, Mlada Boleslav, Prague. And the third, bypassing Dresden, from the southeast, was attacked by the 2nd Army of the Polish Army with a tank corps. The front was supported from the air by the 2nd Air Army.
The commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front decided to deliver the main blow to Prague on the morning of May 7 from the area south of Brno with the forces of the 7th Guards Combined Arms and 6th Guards Tank Armies. Two days later, to the left of the 7th Army, the 9th Guards Army was to go on the offensive, and to the right, the 53rd Army with two corps of the Romanian Army and the 1st Guards Cavalry Mechanized Group. The 40th Army, in cooperation with the 4th Romanian Army, was aimed at Olomouc, and the 46th Army at Ceske Budejovice. The front was supported from the air by the 5th Air Army.
The commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front, continuing the offensive in the Olomouc direction, decided to create a mobile group and prepare an airborne assault as part of a rifle battalion to attack Prague. The beginning of the actions of this group was set depending on the degree of enemy resistance in the Prague direction. From the air, the front was supported by the 8th Air Army.
In total, the combat strength of the three fronts by the beginning of the operation consisted of: divisions - 151, corps - 14, brigades - 18, SD - 2 (1,770,700 people). And that's not counting the army of the Polish Army, two Romanian armies and the Czechoslovak Army Corps.
And further. The duration of the operation is 6 days. The width of the combat front is 1200 km. The depth of advance of the Soviet troops is 160-200 km. The average daily rate of advance for riflemen is 20-30 km, for armored and mechanized ones - 50-60 km (194).
As the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal Konev, emphasized in his memoirs, “The Prague operation was by no means symbolic, as they sometimes try to portray in the West. We were facing a serious struggle with a large grouping of the armed forces of Germany, on which the "government" of Dönitz was counting, hoping that the salvation of this grouping would make it possible, at least for some time, to prolong the existence of the Third Reich "(195) .
The commander of the 4th Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, General D.D. Lelyushenko: “... on the night of May 5, the army troops began to march. The next morning, a new order was received from the front commander: to attack the enemy not on May 7, as prescribed before, but a day earlier - on May 6. Realizing that this, apparently, was determined by the general situation on the territory of Czechoslovakia, we accelerated the pace of movement. (…)
On May 6, 1945, at 8:30 in the morning, after a short artillery fire attack, our forward detachments began to attack. It was joyful to watch how our tanks, and there were almost a hundred and fifty of them in both advanced detachments, went "at an angle forward." With fire on the move, a blow to the armor and caterpillars, they broke into the enemy's defenses. One could see how the enemy vehicles were burning, the cannons were falling apart from the fire of our tanks and guns, the fascist infantry was rushing around the field in disarray, and separate groups raised their hands up.
The enemy was stunned. The Nazis did not expect a blow from this side. As for the American officers who were near our NP, they, watching the attack, exclaimed: “Very good, vary well!”
Soon four enemy officers were brought to the command post with maps showing the situation. It became finally clear that the enemy did not have a cruel defense here. The prisoners confirmed that the attack of our troops was unexpected for them.
At 10:30, I reported to the front commander on the results of the battle of the forward detachments, which were rapidly developing the offensive, and asked permission to bring the main forces into battle ”(196).
By the evening of May 6, the troops of Lelyushenko's army had traveled about 50 kilometers, and the forward detachments up to 65. Having captured an important road junction - the city of Freiberg, the 4th Guards Tank Army traveled another 50-60 kilometers on the day of May 7. Passes through the Ore Mountains were occupied, and this was already Czechoslovakia. At the same time, as the commander writes: “the enemy retreated with battles, clinging to every advantageous line and arranging blockages and minefields in narrow places, on passes and in gorges.”
The most fierce resistance of the 4th Guards Tank Army was provided at the turn of the cities of Freiberg and Oderan: “In order to better navigate the terrain unfamiliar to all of us, in the morning of May 7 I climbed the border tower. The map didn't really fit the terrain. On the eastern slopes of the Ore Mountains, a whole forest of factory pipes was visible, and there were no enterprises on the map. Have we gone astray? The compass did not work, as it turns out, it always happens in the rich metal deposits of the Ore Mountains. But as soon as dawn came, it became clear that we were going in the right direction - to the east. As for the factories, this soon became clear: during the war, the Nazis relocated many enterprises from Germany here, hoping to protect them here from air bombardments.
Now the enemy set out precisely in this area to delay our impetuous offensive. On the afternoon of May 7, when the army headquarters was on the eastern outskirts of the city of Freiberg, enemy tanks appeared nearby. In the forest southeast of the city, General K.I. Upman immediately organized the defense. The situation was complicated by the fact that new enemy units with tanks and artillery approached here from the northeast.
But at that time, the 7th Guards Tank Corps of General V.V., following the route of our 10th Corps, entered the Freiberg area. Novikov from the 3rd Guards Tank Army. His tankers defeated the enemy units that got in their way and, having rescued our headquarters, moved on ...
By the end of May 7, the 4th Guards Tank Army had crossed the Ore Mountains with its main forces and was already 150-160 km northwest of Prague ”(197) .
1st Guards Horse-Mechanized Group of the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of General I.A. Plieva also fought her way to Prague: “During the fierce fighting on April 25, the formations occupied a number of suburban settlements and came close to Brno from the south and southwest. By the end of the day, we captured the Bohunitsa point, crossed the Svratka River in the N. Liskovets area, captured Bosonogy, went to Kogoutovice, cleared the southeastern part of Zhebetin from the enemy and prepared crossings across the Svratka River on the western outskirts of the city.
The left-flank divisions of the group advanced over more difficult terrain, making a difficult maneuver to reach the western and northwestern outskirts of the city of Brno. The formations advancing on the southern part of the city conducted combat operations more successfully, along the roads the 6th Infantry Division, using the success of its neighbors, made a bold throw, successfully crossed the Svratka River, broke into the southern outskirts of Brno and, supported by massive artillery and aviation fire, tied up street fight with the enemy.
At night, the division captured a reinforced concrete bridge on the southern outskirts of Brno, which was immediately used to bring tank units and group reinforcements into battle. The headquarters of the 1st Guards Cavalry Mechanized Group moved to Moravany.
The assault on the city began. The 7th Guards Mechanized Corps, developing an offensive at the junction between the cavalry corps, fought in the southwestern and western parts of Brno.
The troops of the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps, having cleared the bank of the Svratka River from the enemy, crossed it at 2 am on April 26 and, waging street battles, advanced along the western outskirts of the city. The 10th Guards Cavalry Division, having crossed the river ford, also broke into the city. Following it, the 30th Red Banner Cavalry Division crossed, it developed an offensive in the direction of Zhabovrzheshki, clearing the suburban part of Brno from the west from pockets of enemy resistance.
The 6th Guards Cavalry Corps, advancing on the northwestern and northern parts of Brno-Komyn, provided the left flank of the group with actions in the direction of Kninitsa, Razdrojovice. I forced the capture of these points to be accelerated in order to prevent the approach of enemy reserves from the direction of Veverska-Bityshka. This maneuver also cut off the German escape route from Brno to Prague.
In fierce street battles, our tankers especially distinguished themselves. Their formidable combat vehicles destroyed the enemy's firing points, burst into his rear, sowing panic. During these hours, we again witnessed the heroism of our soldiers.
In the fire of continuous battle, face to face with death, they found time to help the local population.
This is the picture I saw on one of the streets in the western part of Brno, where the 7th mechanized corps fought. Our heavy tank, having crushed a German bunker, was about to move towards another, but suddenly burst into flames, set on fire by a faustpatron. Tankers began to jump out of it. Clinging to the pavement, they began to shoot at the enemy with machine guns. And suddenly one of them crawled forward, right under the bullets. Comrades covered him with fire. He returned back with a little Czech boy. Left alone in the street, he cried loudly against the wall of the house. They say that after the battle his parents were found and warmly thanked our tankmen.
As a result of street fighting, by the end of April 26, Brno was completely occupied by the troops of the cavalry-mechanized group, which had approached formations of the 50th Rifle Corps and the 6th Guards Tank Army.
Until the end of the day, shooting was heard in different parts of the city. It was cavalry and tanks that cleared the streets, eliminating small groups of machine gunners and single enemy firing points. Our main forces pursued the Nazis outside the city in a northwestern direction.
Thus, exactly one month after the first shots fired by our divisions on the Hron River in Czechoslovakia, the last shots fired on the streets of the city of Brno also subsided. The streets of the city were filled with jubilant crowds of people. They came out of the basements and bomb shelters to greet their liberators - the Soviet soldiers. We were greeted enthusiastically, with bread and salt, flowers… Tired, dusty, covered with gunpowder, the soldiers passed from one embrace to another. Spontaneous rallies broke out here and there. It was a real manifestation of friendship and brotherhood between the two peoples. And it will forever remain in my memory as one of the brightest, most impressive events" (198) .
On the night of May 7, the formations of the cavalry-mechanized group surrendered the captured lines to the approaching rifle formations and concentrated northwest of Brno. And in the evening, General Pliev gave the troops a combat order: “Before dawn on May 9, break open the German front and go on a decisive offensive in the general direction of Velky-Bitesh, Velky-Mezirichi, Chilgava, Vlashim, Beneshev and by the end of May 10, capture Prague. The beginning of the attack on the signal "333-Moscow" "(199) .
Prague was only 185 kilometers away.
As for the advance to Prague of the front under the command of Marshal A.I. Eremenko, he himself will write about it this way: “... the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front were moving towards the capital of Czechoslovakia from the east. The shortest and relatively more convenient way for them could be the Olomouc Valley, which was, as it were, a natural gateway to Prague. Therefore, Scherner created a strong center of resistance in the Olomouc region, at a very advantageous line for defense. The Nazis had here large infantry forces up to 14 divisions and a large amount of equipment, in addition, they managed to build an extensive network of barriers.
As a result of the offensive actions taken by our armies on May 1, the enemy retreated 12-20 km and surrendered a number of important strongholds, which had previously served as a cover for him in the Prague direction. On this day, the 38th Army captured 14 settlements, the 1st Guards Army advanced 12 km and drove the enemy out of 80 settlements, including the cities of Bohumia, Nadrazhi-Bogumin, Frishtat, Skoczow. The 18th Army, overcoming enemy fire resistance, in off-road conditions and mountainous wooded terrain advanced 20 km with fighting and, as a result of a roundabout maneuver, captured an important stronghold of the enemy’s defense, a junction of railways and highways of the city of Chadets, as well as Vel. Bitch. The 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps crossed the river. Vag and successfully, together with other troops, moved west.
In connection with these new successes, on May 1, another victorious salute was sounded in Moscow in honor of the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, and on May 3, a second salute was fired in connection with the liberation of the city of Tseshin.
On May 2, the troops of the front with the armies of the center - the 1st Guards and the 38th - continued to clear the western part of the Moravian-Ostrava industrial region from the enemy. The right-flank 60th Army and the left-flank 18th Army were advancing in a westerly direction.
By this time, the following situation had developed at the front. The 60th Army, consisting of four rifle and one tank corps (3rd Guards Rifle, 15th, 28th and 106th rifle, 31st tank corps) continued to develop the offensive in the Olomouc direction, advanced to the Türmitz, Walterzhovice line. The 38th Army, consisting of four rifle corps (126th mountain rifle, I, 52 and 101st rifle corps), advancing on the Odra, reached the line of Walterzhovice, Peskov. The 1st Guards Army, consisting of four rifle corps (127th light mountain rifle corps, 67th, 95th and 107th rifle corps), advancing in the Cieszyn direction, fought at the line of Peskov, Bistřice. The 18th Army, consisting of the Rifle Corps (17th Guards Rifle Corps), the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps and one fortified area, advancing on a wide front, fought on the Bistřice-Lazi line.
On the same day, i.e. On May 2, I reported to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command that in the event of a weakening of the enemy’s resistance in the period preceding the surrender of Germany, I prepared for the capture of Prague a mobile group consisting of a rifle division planted on vehicles, with a tank brigade attached to it and a reconnaissance motorcycle company, an airborne assault as part of a rifle battalion on 10 aircraft, as well as mobile groups of the 60th, 38th and 1st Guards armies.
For the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front in the course of the attack on Prague, the immediate task was to capture the city of Olomouc, in fact, the last most important point in the Prague direction in case of an attack from the east.
At the direction of the Headquarters and according to our plan, Olomouc was to be attacked by two armies in converging directions: the 60th Army from the north and the 40th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front from the south. After that, a general offensive was planned to the west towards Prague in cooperation with the rest of the troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts, which went into this area in order to cut off the entire Army Group Center and prevent it from retreating to the west.
During May 4 and 5, the actions of our troops developed successfully in all directions. During these two days, they advanced from 18 to 45 km, while capturing 360 settlements, including the cities of Sternberk, Stadt Liebau, Fulnek, Przhibor, Rozhnov and others.
The 60th Army, having regrouped during the night from May 5 to 6, again advanced 20 km with its right wing, and with its center, advancing from Sternberk along the highway to Olomouc, reached the northeastern outskirts of Olomouc, where it met stubborn enemy resistance .
On the same day, the 1st Guards and 18th Armies also had significant success, which reached the line of Novi-Jicin, Teleshov. The 60th Army, with its right wing and center, advanced up to 30 km, while capturing 150 settlements. Stubborn battles were fought on the left wing in the Olomouc region, repeated enemy attacks were fought off in the northern part of the city. The success of the 60th Army made it possible to strengthen the advance of the troops of the 38th and 1st Guards Armies, which also had success during May 7 and advanced from 7 to 20 km, while the 38th Army captured most of Olomouc "(200) .
And at this time, the enemy began to behave even more cunningly and more insidiously. And it is not surprising, because the end of the Second World War in Europe pushed him to the most unexpected decisions for the Soviet side. General SM spoke about this quite truthfully in his memoirs. Shtemenko: “May 6 was a hot day at Hitler's headquarters. Keitel at 2:12 p.m. demanded the fastest possible withdrawal of troops from Army Groups Center, Austria, and Southeast to the American zone of action. This was forced by reports from the front. From there it was reported that the Red Army was going on the offensive in the direction of Prague. Kesselripg was ordered not to interfere with any advance of the Americans to the east into the protectorate (as the Nazis called Czechoslovakia).
... on the same day in Reims, Jodl's negotiations began on the surrender of the Nazi troops on the western front. Until it was clear how the British and Americans would react to the Nazi proposal, the Nazi command in Prague tried to suppress the uprising by force. When they received information that the surrender in the West would take place before the Anglo-Americans, the Nazis in Prague changed tactics. On May 7, Dönitz ordered the withdrawal of the Nazi troops from the eastern front in order to surrender to our allies.
Now, in the interests of fulfilling the new task, the Nazis could not further expand the struggle on the streets of Prague, but it turned out to be more profitable somehow to weaken the uprising, and if possible, to come to an agreement with the rebels. General Toussaint took over the task. He managed to enter into negotiations with the Czech National Council (Czech People's Rada), which began at 10 o'clock on May 7, when the surrender in Reims had already been signed, and the Red Army was advancing along the entire front. The course of the negotiations showed that the bourgeois leaders had the majority in the council, who considered the meaning of the actions of the insurgents very limitedly. The head of the Czech National Council, Professor of the University of Prague, Albert Prazhak, later said about it this way: “The uprising was aimed at saving the city from the expected destruction, since the Germans were not going to leave it without a fight. We waited from hour to hour for the arrival of the Allied troops.” Deputy Chairman I. Smrkovsky, who was then a member of the Communist Party, did not influence such a conciliatory point of view of the bourgeois majority of the Czech National Council.
Due to these circumstances, Toussaint quickly identified a weak point in the leadership of the rebels and on May 8 at 16.00, when, according to the document signed in Reims, the time for the surrender of German troops was approaching, he managed, in turn, to sign an agreement with the Czech National Council, which was very beneficial for the German fascist command. It received guarantees of a calm withdrawal of the Nazi troops to the location of the Americans. The International Red Cross at 7:15 pm on May 8, 1945, broadcast the following message on the Prague radio in Czech and German: “According to an agreement with the Czech People's Rada, hostilities in Prague and its environs must cease. The same order was given to Czech formations and citizens. Anyone who does not comply with this order is liable to court. Signed by the commander of the German troops in Bohemia and Moravia. Prague. Czechoslovak radio station.
The agreement also contained the following entry:
"5. The surrender of weapons should be carried out in the following order: heavy weapons are surrendered on the outskirts of the city to units of the Czechoslovak army, aircraft remain at the airfields in Ruzyn and Kbely.
6. The surrender of the rest of the weapons will be carried out on the American demarcation line to the troops of the Czechoslovak People's Army. All weapons are handed over with ammunition in an unspoiled form.
Thus, the fascist German troops retained their light infantry weapons until the moment they passed the dangerous strike zone of the Soviet troops and the Czechoslovak insurgents. The personnel of Army Group Center, by agreement, had the right to pick up the necessary provisions from the warehouses for the duration of the journey.
In fact, no surrender of German troops in Prague and its region occurred. Prazhak himself, when Soviet troops had already arrived in the city and defeated the Nazis, assessed the signed act as "a trick of the Germans." Thus, the bourgeois majority of the council fell for the enemy's trick" (201).
Field Marshal Scherner also played his own game to the last:
“The capitulation of the Nazi troops began on the fronts as well. However, more than a million soldiers of the Army Groups "Center" led by F. Scherner and "Austria" under the command of L. Rendulich were not going to lay down their arms in front of the Red Army. Dönitz actually pandered to them, not taking any measures against the violators of the terms of surrender.
Scherner, who was considered a master of mountain warfare, covered up his sabotage of surrender with references to the fact that he was being hindered by Czech rebels. They allegedly constantly violate telephone lines, intercept messengers transmitting orders to the troops, and thus make it impossible to carry out a planned surrender. Scherner asked Dönitz to urgently influence the Allies so that the rebels would immediately stop their attacks on the German army, immediately release the radio stations and thereby give him, Scherner, the first prerequisite for carrying out the surrender order.
The idea of putting pressure on our Western allies in order to make it easier for their troops to withdraw behind their front lines was immediately taken up by the Dönitz government. Already on the morning of May 8, Jodl sent a telegram to Eisenhower reporting that the surrender in Czechoslovakia was difficult because the rebels were preventing this: they interrupted telephone communications and intercepted messengers. He, Jodl, asked the Allies to use the radio stations in the hands of the rebels to transmit orders to the troops.
Scherner himself, meanwhile, was developing a plan to break through Army Group Center into the American zone in order to lay down their arms there. He shared his thoughts on this plan with Field Marshal Kesselring, about which the latter reported to Keitel with a request to inform him, Kesselring, of his opinion. We do not know whether Keitel communicated his views on Scherner's plan, but the commander of Army Group Center failed to carry out the plan. This was prevented by the Soviet troops.
It is curious that Scherner was ordered on the morning of May 8 to personally go to the Ore Mountains region in order to take care on the spot regarding the organized surrender of the troops there. But Scherner said that he did not see the possibility of firmly managing the troops and complying with the terms of surrender. He washed his hands and left the troops without the permission of his command. Having no orders from Scherner to surrender to the Red Army, continuing to hope for a relatively safe retreat behind the American line and having obtained an agreement in Prague for this with the Czech National Council, Army Group Center did not lay down its arms" (202) .
Early in the morning of May 8, Field Marshal Scherner was in a hurry to get to Pilsen, where there were already American troops, but he was prevented by the advance detachment (10th Guards Mechanized Brigade) of the 4th Guards Tank Army. At 3 am on May 8, this detachment suddenly broke into the village of Zatec, which is 60 kilometers from Prague. The commander of a tank regiment, having seen a long enemy column of vehicles in the predawn twilight, attacked and defeated it on the move. The column turned out to be the headquarters of Army Group Center. In a matter of minutes, Scherner's headquarters ceased to exist. Most of the generals, officers and soldiers who were with him surrendered. The field marshal himself managed to escape. May 15, 1945 he will be taken prisoner by the Americans. In the alpine hut where Hitler's "chain dog" was hiding, he will be dressed in a traditional Bavarian alpine costume, which he traded for his military uniform and a golden party badge.
Then, on May 8, 1945, at 22.43 CET and May 9 at 00.43 Moscow time in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, in the building of the former canteen of the military engineering school, the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender will be signed. The time of the cease-fire in this document will be specially emphasized: May 8 at 23.01 CET and May 9 at 01.01 Moscow time. Boris Gorbatov, who was personally present at this ceremony, solemnly writes in the essay “Surrender”: “On May 8, 1945, mankind breathed freely.
Nazi Germany has been brought to its knees.
The war is over.
Victory" (203) . However, the war is not over yet...
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In May 1945, one of the divisions of the army of General A.A. Vlasova liberated the Czech capital from the German garrison in a matter of days. Less than a day later, Soviet units entered the city, but there was no one to fight with.
Blitzkrieg in Vlasov style
In early May, members of the Prague underground organizations were preparing an uprising in order to finally expel the German occupation troops from the Czech capital. However, the rebel leadership was clear that they could not cope with the enemy on their own. Who could help the citizens of Prague?
The 3rd American Army was located 70 kilometers west of Prague, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were stationed north of the Dresden-Gorlice line, 140 kilometers from the city; the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front - at Brunn, 160 kilometers, and the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front - at Olomouc, 200 kilometers from the Czech capital.
However, the only one who responded to the calls of the rebels was the 1st Infantry Division of the troops of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (KONR) under the command of Major General Sergei Bunyachenko, which was part of the so-called Russian Liberation Army Vlasov (ROA).
On May 5, the forces of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Ryabtsev blocked the Ruzyne airfield, then the 1st Infantry Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Arkhipov, having captured the bridges across the Vltava River, entered the city and moved towards the center of Prague with battles. The artillery of Bunyachenko's division bombarded the SS gathering places and the headquarters of the German command, while the 2nd Infantry Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Artemiev blocked the approach of the SS troops from the south.
Active battles in the southern quarters of Prague and the central regions adjacent to them were fought from the night of May 6 until the morning of May 8, until the resistance of the Wehrmacht and the SS troops was completely suppressed.
A member of the Czechoslovak National Council, Dr. Otakar Makhotka, years later recalled: “The Vlasovites fought courageously and selflessly, many, without hiding, went straight to the middle of the street and shot at the windows and hatches on the roofs from which the Germans fired. It seemed that they deliberately went to their death, just not to fall into the hands of the Red Army.
With minimal loss
It was the Vlasovites, and not the Soviet troops, that the Praguers considered their deliverers. “It is not surprising that the rebels treated the Russians as liberators and gratefully welcomed the participation of the ROA in the uprising. The attitude of the Czech population towards the soldiers of the ROA is everywhere described as “very good, fraternal”: “The population greeted them with enthusiasm,” noted German military historian Joachim Hoffmann.
Dr. Mahotka wrote that the intervention of the Vlasov army turned out to be "decisive", significantly changing the military situation in Prague in favor of the rebels and greatly encouraging the population. According to the colonel of the Czechoslovak People's Army, Dr. Stepanek-Shtemr, the main merit of the ROA soldiers was that the old historical part of the city was preserved. "Undoubtedly, it was thanks to the participation of the Vlasovites in the uprising on the side of the Czech patriots - even if it lasted only a few hours - that Prague was saved from destruction."
The uprising resulted in a large number of casualties among the local population. 1694 people died, including rebels and townspeople. About a thousand soldiers were killed from among the German garrison. The liberation of Prague cost Bunyachenko's division about 300 killed and almost 600 wounded soldiers, one tank and two artillery pieces were also shot down in the battle. The losses of the Soviet troops, who arrived on the night of May 9, amounted to 30 people.
There was no one to release
Eyewitnesses note that Prague was actually liberated from the Nazis on the morning of May 8 and Soviet troops entered the city cleared of the Germans. On this day, at dawn, Bunyachenko, making sure that the troops of the 3rd US Army would not occupy Prague, withdrew the division from the city and marched to the southwest.
Formally, the Prague garrison of the Wehrmacht continued to exist for another 8-10 hours after the departure of the Vlasovites. On May 8, at 4 p.m., German General Rudolf Toussaint signed a protocol on the surrender of all the forces of the garrison and handed it over to the Czechoslovak National Council. By 6 p.m., German resistance had finally ceased in the Czech capital.
Only 12 hours after the surrender of the Germans, the first Soviet armored vehicles of the 62nd, 63rd and 70th brigades of the tank army of the 1st Ukrainian Front appeared in Prague, as evidenced by the documents of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. But there was no longer anyone to liberate the city, except perhaps from the remnants of the German garrison.
It is curious that the Soviet command immediately imposed a categorical ban on the admission of American war correspondents to Prague, fearing that information about the participation in the liberation of the city of the Vlasovites would become available to everyone.
Soon, General Pavel Rybalko arrived in Prague "to learn about the meaning of the uprising, its course, the participation of the so-called Vlasov army in it and the surrender of the Germans." Having received the necessary information, he declared that all Vlasovites would be shot. But after "energetic and cordial" requests from representatives of the Czechoslovak National Council, Rybalko relented and promised not to shoot everyone.
What to do?
By mid-April 1945, all formations and units of the KONR troops were scattered across different countries - Germany, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. The war was inexorably drawing to a close. On the agenda was the question: what to do?
Historian Kirill Alexandrov, who has been dealing with the topic of Russian liberation armies for many years, noted that Vlasov had been in correspondence for a long time with two Serbian military and political figures - General Dragoljub Mikhailovich and Lieutenant Colonel Dimitri Letich. They considered the possibility of concentrating all anti-communist forces in Slovenia, in the Ljubljana region, in order to actually divide Yugoslavia into two parts: the northern one - anti-communist, and the southern one - under the control of Marshal Josip Tito.
However, Mikhailovich and Letich together had no more than 40 thousand fighters, who could hardly realize a daring idea. They were interested in the Vlasovites. Apparently, Vlasov himself did not mind, as he expected to gather his forces in the north of Yugoslavia in order to unite with the Serbian monarchists and take a strong position in negotiations with the allies.
This explains the deployment of Bunyachenko's division, who led it south to join the group of General Trukhin. By April 29, the division reached the city of Louny, located 50-55 km northwest of Prague. From this moment, Bunyachenko's contacts with representatives of the military wing of the Czech Resistance begin, despite all the objections of the command of the Army Group Center. However, there was no talk of helping the rebels then.
Against the Center
On May 2, a Czech delegation came to Bunyachenko with a message in which the townspeople asked: “In the name of saving the heroic sons of Czechoslovakia, in the name of saving defenseless old people, our mothers, wives and children, help us. The Czech people will never forget your help in the difficult moment of their struggle for freedom.”
However, Bunyachenko was in no hurry to answer. On the same day, he received a sharp ultimatum from the commandant of the Prague garrison, General Rudolf Toussaint, in which he was required to proceed to the front near Brunn, following the order of the command of Army Group Center. In case of deviating from the prescribed route, Toussaint threatened to use armed force, including aviation, against the Vlasovites.
As eyewitnesses noted, such an ultimatum finally set up Bunyachenko to act in defiance of the German command. The general held a council at whichmost of the regimental commanders were in favor of helping the Prague Uprising.
Kirill Alexandrov notes that Vlasov and Bunyachenko were well aware of the responsibility that they would take upon themselves, giving their consent to support the uprising. At the same time, Vlasov himself was against intervention, because, firstly, he was afraid of German reprisals against other Vlasov units, worse armed than the 1st division, and secondly, he believed that the division would lose time and not have time to leave for the zone, controlled by the US Army. The last fear was later confirmed.
Bunyachenko also did not consider himself entitled to interfere in the internal affairs of Czechoslovakia, but it was not possible for him to remain indifferent and indifferent to the ongoing events. The soldiers and officers of his division did not react to this indifferently. They not only sympathized with the citizens of Prague, but also admired their courage in the fight against the superior forces of the German garrison in all respects.
According to Alexandrov, Bunyachenko decided to conclude a military-political agreement with the rebels, hoping to acquire not only allies in the inevitable clash with the Prague garrison, but also possible political dividends.
On May 5, the moment finally came when General Sergei Bunyachenko, the chief of staff of the division, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Nikolaev, and the commander of the 4th regiment, Colonel Igor Sakharov, signed an agreement with representatives of the military wing of the Resistance "On the joint struggle against fascism and Bolshevism."
Who does not know the history of the liberation of Prague? On May 5, 1945, the citizens of Prague raised an uprising, Soviet troops came to the aid of the rebels, and on May 9, Prague was liberated.
But everything was a little different, or to be more precise, it was not at all like that. In May, in Prague, parts of the German garrison really fought bloody battles. Only their main opponents were not the rebellious Czechs, but the fighters of the 1st division of the ROA (Vlasovites).
Czech Republic - a reliable industrial rearIII Reich
Czechoslovakia, as an independent state, disappeared from the political map of Europe even before the outbreak of World War II. First, in April 1938, under pressure from Great Britain, France and Italy, Czechoslovakia abandoned the Sudetenland in favor of Germany (the so-called Munich Agreement).
Then, less than a year later (March 14, 1939), Hitler summoned President Hacha to Berlin and offered to sign a document on the voluntary acceptance of German "patronage" by Czechoslovakia. Haha signed. The country did not resist even a day.
Only in the city of Mistek did the company of Captain Pavlik meet foreign soldiers with rifle fire. This single fight lasted 30 minutes. The loss of independence cost Czechoslovakia 6 wounded soldiers. The Czech Republic became a protectorate, Slovakia - an independent state, a loyal ally of Hitler.
For 6 years, the Czech Republic was a reliable industrial rear of Nazi Germany. Wehrmacht soldiers fired from carbines made at Czech factories, Czech tanks mutilated the fields of Poland, France and Ukraine with their tracks. Separate actions of underground fighters and partisans (like the assassination of Heydrich) did not change the overall picture: neither a strong underground like in Poland, nor a broad partisan movement like in Yugoslavia, in the Czech Republic did not exist.
May 1945 - time to start resistance
In April 1945, when the outcome of the war was no longer in doubt, Czech politicians began to think about the future of the country and their own. They did not want to be listed as German accomplices at the end of World War II. It was decided to start the fight.
In Prague, there were several centers of resistance that acted absolutely independently. "Commandant's Office Bartosz" focused on Britain and the United States, the Czech National Council - on the USSR.
By the end of April 1945, both groups decided that the time had finally come for resistance. Both the "Commandant's Office Bartosz" and the ChNS planned in this way to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes (some of the West, others of the USSR) and end the war in the ranks of the fighters against fascism. There was only one catch: the German garrison stationed in Prague.
The balance of power before the uprising
The garrison was not that great. At the disposal of the commandant (General Rudolf Toussaint) there were about 10 thousand soldiers stationed directly in the city and about 5 thousand in the vicinity. But these were military units that had combat experience.
The Czechs could only oppose them with civilian rebels armed with revolvers and hunting rifles. In this scenario, the uprising was doomed to failure, unless someone came to the rescue.
But the Americans (parts of General Patton) were 80 km from Prague in the Pilsen region, and the nearest Russian units (troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front) were even further away - 150 km, in the Dresden region.
Help came from where no one expected it. On April 29, 50 km northwest of Prague, the 1st Infantry Division of the ROA appeared under the command of Major General Bunyachenko (Vlasovites).
Deserted division
Division formed in November 1944, April 15, 1945. arbitrarily withdrew from the front and marched southwest on foot to surrender to the Americans. There were about 18 thousand fighters in the division, in addition to light small arms, the Vlasovites were armed with machine guns, light and heavy artillery, anti-aircraft guns, mortars, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled guns and even 10 tanks.
The commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal Scherner, issued an order to stop and return the division to the front (in extreme cases, disarm it), but for some reason there were no people willing to stop and disarm this heavily armed Russian horde.
On April 30, representatives of the "Commandant's Office Bartosz" came to Bunyachenko and asked him to support the armed uprising in Prague. The auction began, which lasted until May 4. In exchange for support, the future rebels promised the Vlasovites after the victory the status of allies and political protection.
Prague in exchange for political asylum
On the evening of May 4, Bunyachenko summoned the commanders of regiments and individual battalions to discuss the proposal. Bunyachenko expressed the idea not only to enter into an alliance with the Czechs, but also to play his own game: to capture the city, present it to the Americans on a plate with a blue border, and at the same time surrender. It was assumed that the Americans, in gratitude, would provide political asylum to all who surrendered. Only the commander of the first regiment Arkhipov was against it, all the rest were in favor.
On the morning of May 5, representatives of the command of the 1st division of the ROA and representatives of the "Commandant's Office Bartosh" signed a document "On the joint struggle against fascism and Bolshevism." By betting on both the Czechs and the Americans at the same time, the Vlasovites hoped that at least one bet would turn out to be winning.
Let's start an uprising, the Russians will help us!
Having received guarantees of support, the leaders of the "Commandant's Office Bartosz" on May 5 at about 11 am began an uprising. The other resistance groups had no choice but to join. By 2 pm, about 1,600 barricades had been built in the city, and calls for help were on the air.
The Soviet command planned the liberation of Prague on May 11th. Because of the uprising, the plans urgently had to be adjusted. On May 6, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front began to move towards Prague. But it was almost 150 km before it, while Bunyachenko's division entered the village on May 4th. Sukhomasty, from where less than 20 km remained to Prague.
On the morning of May 6, the advanced units of Bunyachenko's division entered the city. With the advent of the Russian division, the actions of the rebels went uphill sharply. If even on the 5th their situation was regarded as catastrophic, then during May 6-7, the Vlasovites occupied the entire western part of Prague and cut the city into 2 parts. The surrender of the German garrison was simply a matter of time.
All plans go to hell
Meanwhile, significant changes took place among the rebels and the situation for the Vlasovites became not just bad, but very bad. The uprising was led by the Czech National Council, oriented towards the USSR.
The leaders of the ChNS did not want to "dirty" themselves with cooperation with the Vlasovites and stated that they did not recognize the agreements concluded with the Komedatura Bartosz, were not going to fulfill them, and advised the soldiers of the division to surrender to the Red Army.
Following the Czechs, the Americans "planted a pig" as well. On the evening of May 7, reconnaissance from the 16th American armored division arrived in the city. To the proposal to take the almost liberated Prague, the American officer replied: “No!”
By May 1945, the victorious countries had already divided Europe into zones of "responsibility". Prague was to become Soviet. General Patton might not mind remaining in history as the liberator of Prague, but the commander-in-chief of the combined Anglo-American armed forces in Europe, Eisenhower, already thought not only as a military man, but also as a politician. He categorically forbade movement east of the line Karlovy Vary - Pilsen - Ceske Budejovice. Patton could only watch from the sidelines as events unfolded.
For the Vlasovites, it was a blow. Participation in the uprising lost all meaning for them. On the evening of May 7, Bunyachenko gave the order to stop hostilities and leave Prague. On the morning of the next day, the 1st division of the ROA left the city.
The pendulum swung back. The Nazis went on the offensive, the territory controlled by the rebels began to rapidly shrink, and it was time for the Czechs, not the Germans, to think about the terms of surrender.
The so-called "surrender"
The commandant of Prague, General Toussaint, was neither a fanatic nor a fool. Germany is defeated, Berlin has fallen. Americans or Russians (and most likely Russians) will take the city anyway. In this situation, the general decided not to bother with the already senseless defense, but to save the lives of the last soldiers remaining under his command.
A truce was sent to the rebel-controlled island, and the leaders of the ChNS were surprised to learn that they had won and the Germans were ready to surrender Prague to them. May 8 at 16:00 General Toussaint signed the act of surrender. The capitulation was more like a settlement agreement: leaving heavy weapons in the city, the German troops went west to surrender to the Americans, the Czechs pledged not to interfere with them.
Early on the morning of May 9, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front entered Prague, abandoned by the Germans, losing 30 soldiers killed and wounded in skirmishes with SS fanatics who had settled in the city.
So who liberated Prague?
437 Soviet soldiers and officers are buried at the Olshansky cemetery in Prague. Dates of death May 9, May 10, 12th, up to July and August. These are Red Army soldiers who died after the Victory from wounds in a Prague military hospital. They are the true liberators of Prague. If there had been no Stalingrad and Kursk, Leningrad would not have survived and Berlin would not have fallen, if in May 1945 the victorious Red Army had not stood 150 km away. from Prague, the Czechs would not even think of raising an uprising, and the Germans would “surrender” to them. Is not it?
The last strategic operation carried out by the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War was the Prague Offensive (May 5-12, 1945), during which the capital of Czechoslovakia, the ancient city of Prague, was liberated and the last major Wehrmacht grouping, Army Group Center, was defeated .
After the defeat of the enemy in the Berlin direction and the capitulation of the Berlin garrison on May 2, the only force of the Wehrmacht that could still resist the Red Army was the Army Group Center (commander Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner) in Czechoslovakia and part of the Austrian Army Group (commander Lothar Rendulich). Schörner, after the encirclement of Berlin, received Hitler's order to withdraw troops to the region of the capital of Czechoslovakia and turn Prague into a "second Berlin". Rendulich also refused to capitulate and withdrew troops to the west. Schörner had up to a million people, about 10 thousand guns, about 1900 and 1000 aircraft.
Units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front (Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky), the 4th Ukrainian Front (General of the Army A.I. Eremenko) fought against this group, they, having completed the liberation of Slovakia, liberated the territory of the Czech Republic. Parts of the 1st Ukrainian Front were located from the north, most of its troops were in the Berlin region in early May, the remaining units took up defense on a 400 km front in the foothills of the Ore Mountains and the Sudetenland. From the west, the 3rd American Army (General D. Patton) was moving towards the border of the Czech Republic, it had the task of occupying the České Budějovice, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary line agreed in advance with the Soviet command.
Rendulich, Lothar.
Schörner, Ferdinand.
Beginning of the operation in Czechoslovakia
As Germany was defeated in Czechoslovakia, local resistance, which had previously been very imperceptible, intensified. In April, about 120 partisan detachments were already operating, although their total number was small - 7.5 thousand people. There was no single leading center, constant communication with the Soviet command, the activity was of a defensive nature. At the end of April, they were able to create the Czech National Council (CNC), it consisted of representatives of various political forces, headed by A. Prazhak, a professor at the University of Prague. The CHNS was not going to immediately start an uprising, since there were no serious forces for this.
But on May 5, a popular uprising began in Prague, it was prepared by the former military of the Czechoslovak army, led by General K. Kutyavashr (organization "Bartosh"). In early May, they made contact with the Russian Liberation Army (ROA), with the commander of the 1st division, General S.K. Bunyachenko. The ROA went west, hoping to surrender to the Americans, Bunyachenko and his commanders hoped for political asylum in Czechoslovakia and on the 4th agreed to support the uprising. Vlasov did not believe in success, but did not interfere either. But already on the night of the 8th, most of the Vlasovites began to leave Prague, without receiving guarantees about their allied status. Schörner was forced to withdraw troops to Prague in order to crush the uprising.
Bunyachenko Sergey Kuzmich.
Soviet forces, plan of operation
On May 1, I. S. Konev received an order to transfer the line along the Elbe River to the 1st Belorussian Front by May 4, and to transfer the released forces to the Prague direction. The regrouping of forces and preparations for the strike began. From the air, the front was supported by the 2nd Air Army, the 6th Army (Lieutenant General V. A. Gluzdovsky) surrounded the Breslau garrison. He was supported by the 4th Ukrainian and 2nd Ukrainian fronts.
By the beginning of the operation, the 3rd Ukrainian Fronts had: 20 combined arms armies (including two Romanian and one Polish army), 3 tank armies and 3 air armies, one horse-mechanized group, 5 tank, 1st mechanized and one cavalry separate corps . Their total number was more than 2 million people with about 30.5 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 3 thousand aircraft. Our forces outnumbered the enemy in manpower almost twice, in artillery and in three, in armored vehicles the forces were almost equal.
They planned to inflict several blows on the flanks of the enemy, the main blows were delivered by the 1st Ukrainian, he hit from the area northwest of Dresden, and the 2nd Ukrainian, he hit from the area south of Brno. Wehrmacht forces wanted to dismember, surround and defeat.
Ivan Stepanovich Konev.
Eremenko, Andrey I.
Operation progress
The strike was planned for the 7th, but the events in Prague forced the strike earlier, without completing the regrouping of forces. The rebels were able to capture most of the city, capturing the rocks with weapons, disarming several small parts of the enemy. Field Marshal General ordered to suppress the uprising, as the rebels blocked the escape route to the west. On the 6th, the Wehrmacht captured most of the city, using artillery, aircraft and tanks, on the same day Bunyachenko's division came out on the side of the Czechs. Russian soldiers of the ROA drove the Wehrmacht out of the western part of the city. On the 7th, the ROA crossed the Vltava River and cut the positions of the Wehrmacht into two parts. But the CNS, after some hesitation, thanked the Vlasovites and refused to help. Bunyachenko was ready to stay if the Czechs at least broadcast a message on the radio about the reasons for joining the Wehrmacht, about their actions at the present time, about their readiness to continue to fight with the Nazis, but the Czechs refused. In the evening of the 7th part of the ROA began to retreat to the west, only part of the fighters remained with the Czechs. After the departure of the ROA division, the Wehrmacht again became the master of the situation in the city.
Therefore, Marshal Konev gave the order to march on the morning of the 6th. The 13th and 3rd Guards Armies, together with the 25th and 4th Guards Tank Corps, as well as units of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies advanced through the Ore Mountains. By evening, the 5th Guards Army also joined them. This was a feature of the Prague offensive operation - the simultaneous introduction of combined arms and tank armies into the offensive zone. On the same day, the German group in Breslau capitulated. On May 7, the most successful advancing 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies reached the northern slopes of the mountains, units of the 3rd Guards Tank and 5th Guards Combined Arms Armies began fighting for Dresden.
On May 7, the 4th Ukrainian Front also hit, the 7th Guards Army broke through the enemy defenses on the move, on the 8th the 6th Guards Tank Army, which was advancing on Prague, was introduced into the gap.
The position of the rebels in Prague worsened, the Wehrmacht mercilessly suppressed resistance, advanced to the city center, some of the rebels, in a panic, abandoned the defensive structures. The rebels also experienced shortages of ammunition. On the afternoon of May 7, Schörner received Keitel's order to surrender, but did not bring him to the troops, on the contrary, he ordered to toughen resistance. On the same day, American officers arrived at the headquarters of the rebels. They announced the surrender of Germany and advised to stop the fight in Prague. Negotiations began with the head of the German garrison - R. Toussaint, he agreed to hand over heavy weapons when leaving the city, if the Germans were not prevented from withdrawing troops.
The 8th part of the 4th Ukrainian Front captured the city of Olomouc and launched an attack on Prague; The 1st Ukrainian entered the territory of Czechoslovakia, units of the 4th Guards Tank Army destroyed Schörner's headquarters, depriving Army Group Center of coordination. By the end of May 8, the 5th Guards Army captured Dresden, and several more cities were liberated on the same day.
The Czechs welcomed the Soviet soldiers with joy, many decorated their houses and squares with red banners, invited them to their homes, gave flowers, expressed their joy in every possible way.
On the evening of the 8th, the Soviet command offered the Wehrmacht to capitulate, but there was no answer. The Germans wanted to surrender to the Americans and hastened their retreat. On the night of the 9th Soviet tank units (4th and 3rd Guards Tank Armies) made a 90-km throw, and in the morning the first tanks entered Prague. Behind them, other units entered the city - the 302nd Rifle Division (Colonel A. Ya. Klimenko) in vehicles, the 1st Czechoslovak Tank Brigade from the 60th Army and the forward detachment of the mobile group of the 38th Army, Colonel General K. S. Moskalenko. At lunchtime, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered the city from the south: the 6th Guards Tank Army and the infantry of the 24th Rifle Corps mounted on vehicles, later the 7th Mechanized Corps. With the support of the inhabitants of Prague, the Soviet units "cleaned up" the city from the Nazis. The retreat routes of Army Group Center to the west and south were cut, only a few divisions were out of encirclement, most of the German forces were in the "boiler" east of Prague. On the 10th, our units met with the Americans, on May 10-11 the Germans capitulated, so the last strong grouping of the Wehrmacht ended the war. Shooting continued in the vicinity of Prague until the 12th.
Results
Approximately 860 thousand people were taken prisoner, about 40 thousand fell in battle and were wounded. A large number of equipment and weapons were captured: 9.5 thousand guns and mortars, 1.8 thousand tanks and assault guns, and so on. Our losses: approximately 12,000 dead and missing, about 40,000 wounded and ill. During the liberation of the city itself, about a thousand Red Army soldiers died.
In total, for the liberation of all of Czechoslovakia, the Red Army paid the "price" of 140 thousand dead soldiers.
The Prague offensive once again demonstrated to the whole world the high skill of the Red Army and its commanders, the defense was broken in the shortest possible time, significant enemy forces were surrounded and captured. In the Great Patriotic War, a victorious point was set. The medal "For the Liberation of Prague" was awarded to 390 thousand people.
The Americans did not let the Vlasovites into their zone, some of them, having learned about this, shot themselves. Most surrendered to the Soviet units. Vlasov and other leaders of the ROA were awaiting trial in Moscow.
Sources:
For the liberation of Czechoslovakia, M., 1965.
Konev I.S. Notes of the Front Commander. 1943-1945. M., 1982.
Konev I.S. Forty-fifth. M., 1970.
Pliev I. A. Roads of war. M., 1985.
The battles for the liberation of Czechoslovakia began in September 1944. At that time, she entered the territory of the country. Let us further consider how the liberation of Czechoslovakia took place in 1945. Photos of the battles will also be shown in the article.
Historical information
The Soviet army has already liberated almost the entire territory of Slovakia. The Nazis were expelled from the capital of the country, Bratislava, large industrial centers of Brno and Moravsk-Ostrava. The Wehrmacht grouping was defeated, Berlin fell. All this led to the collapse of the German military machine. The fascist troops operating on the Italian and Western fronts ceased resistance. The German soldiers began to surrender. It was the spring of 1945. The liberation of Czechoslovakia was the next step towards the common goal - to destroy fascism. were still on its territory and continued stubborn defense.
Liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945: positions of the Germans
In early May, on the lines of the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts at the line of Sternberk, Krnov, Strigau, Kamenz, Wurzen, west of Stockerau, Glognitz, Brno, troops from the Center group held the defense. They were commanded by Field Marshal Scherner. Together with them, resistance was provided by part of the troops from the "Austria" group. They were led by General Rendulich. In total, the defense was held by 65 divisions, fifteen separate regiments and 3 brigades. The main enemy forces were in front of the left flank and center of the 1st Ukrainian Front. They acted, relying on a powerful defense, prepared in advance. In front of the right flank, the enemy's resistance was weaker, the line of contact between the armies was unstable. On the directions of the second and fourth Ukrainian fronts, enemy field-type fortifications were located, formed in tactical depth. Using powerful prepared positions, the Nazis continued stubborn resistance. In some areas, German forces even launched counterattacks.
General political situation in Germany
By the end of the war, the fascist leadership still had quite large forces at its disposal. Unwilling under any circumstances to recognize the hopelessness of the situation, the monopoly circles and the ruling elite continued to follow the political course outlined earlier. The German leadership tried to conclude a separate deal with Britain and the United States. Thus, it was supposed to separate the allies, gaining time to save their state. The Denitz government intended to delay the advance of the Soviet army into the western territories. This would open up an unhindered passage to the west, followed by the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 by the Americans and the British. In addition, US and British troops would be able to occupy most of the territory of Austria and Germany. In this regard, an order was given to the fascist armed forces. It said that since the struggle against the Western countries had become meaningless, it was necessary to lay down arms in Holland, Denmark and North-West Germany. At the same time, the fight on the eastern fronts was ordered to continue.
Meeting of the fascist leadership
In Moravia and the Czech Republic, it grew, which significantly complicated the position of the fascist army in these territories. Liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 was accompanied by an active partisan struggle of the local population. So, by the beginning of March, there were 20 people's liberation associations, detachments and brigades in the country. More than 7700 volunteers participated in them. The fascist leadership repeatedly discussed the situation in Czechoslovakia. On May 3, another meeting was called. It, in addition to members of the Denitz government, was attended by Jodl, Keitel, Frank (governor of Moravia and the Czech Republic), as well as the chief of staff of the army association "Center" Natzmer. The position of the troops was hopeless. However, contrary to common sense, the fascist leadership considered that the surrender of troops on the eastern front was impossible. At the meeting, discussing the plight of Scherner's army, agreeing that the situation was forcing him to lay down his arms, they nevertheless decided to continue resistance. The German leadership understood that if the troops surrendered, then everyone would be at the mercy of the Russians. In this regard, the earlier decision to take a wait-and-see attitude was confirmed at the meeting. At the same time, it was supposed to begin preparations for Army Group Center to withdraw to the west and surrender to the US troops.
Liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 (briefly)
The situation that developed in the military-political arena by the end of April - beginning of May required the adoption of urgent measures. The liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 began even before the defeat of the enemy grouping in Berlin was completed. The Headquarters of the High Command decided to start on May 1-2 in some cities of Czechoslovakia spontaneous demonstrations against the Nazis took place. Gradually they began to take on a more organized form. The liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 was facilitated by the very advantageous position of the Soviet troops. The enemy group operating on the territory of the country was surrounded from the southeast, east and north. The armies of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian fronts operated here. The troops of the First were on the 650-kilometer line between Krnov and Potsdam.
Right flank and center
They began to regroup and prepare for an offensive in the direction of Prague. The troops included the forces of the second 3rd and 4th tank, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th guards, 7th mechanized corps, as well as the 52nd, 28th, 13th armies. At the same time, the forces of the left flank were holding defenses on the border north of Krnov, west of Levenberg. The Sixth Army continued blockading the garrison of the Breslau fortress. The ground forces were supported by the Second Air Army. It was commanded by Krasovsky. The main aviation forces were also redirected to the liberation of Czechoslovakia. In 1945, operating between Krnov and Vsetin in a strip of 220 kilometers, the 4th Ukrainian Front, consisting of the 31st Tank Corps, the 1st, 38th, 60th Guards Regiment and the 18th Army, completed the Moravian-Ostrava operation. On this line, ground forces were supported by the 8th Air Army. It included the 1st Mixed Czechoslovak Aviation Division.
From March 26, the troops of the front were under the command of Eremenko. In a strip 350 km wide, from Vsetin to Korneiburg, the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 was carried out by the army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. The 6th, 53rd, 40th Guards Tank, 1st and 4th Romanian armies were present in the right wing under the command of Atanasiu and Descalescu. The army advanced towards Olomouc, towards the army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. The rest of the forces (1st Cavalry-Mechanized Guards Pliev Group, 46th Army and 7th Guards) were sent to the defense. In the reserve of the front was the 23rd Air Ground Forces, which carried out the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 on the right flank, supported by the 5th Aviation Army.
Completion of the operation
The liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 was carried out on a 1220-kilometer strip. By the beginning of May, three Ukrainian fronts participated in the operation, consisting of 20 combined arms (including Romanian and two Polish), 3 air and 3 tank armies, 5 tank, cavalry and mechanized corps, as well as a cavalry-mechanized group. The number of Soviet soldiers exceeded the fascist more than twice. At the same time, the number of tanks was approximately the same. The domestic army had a decisive advantage in aviation and artillery. Here our superiority was threefold. Due to the favorable general military-political situation, thanks to favorable positions on the front line, the Soviet troops in a short time carried out the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945.
