In 1943 the Great Patriotic War was still in full swing. It had already become clear that the plans of the fascist German troops to conquer the USSR through "blitzkrieg" had failed, but Germany was still strong enough. Such a well-trained army could only be defeated with the help of superiority in manpower and equipment, provided that large groups of military formations were in absolute order and coordinated. One of these formations was the 3rd Ukrainian Front, whose composition changed from time to time.
The history of the creation of the 3rd Ukrainian Front
A new combat unit was created a few days after the formation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front - on October 20, 1943. The decision to create a front was made by Stalin's Red Army Headquarters. In fact, the 3rd Ukrainian Front, whose combat path was littered with many successful battles, was not a new division of the Red Army in its composition, because it included armies and corps that fought as part of the Southwestern Front.
In this renaming, first of all, there was an ideological component. Why? The Red Army at that time had already practically liberated the regions of the RSFSR that were under the control of the Nazis, and entered the territory of Ukraine. Many will say: so what? And here is the rub! We are liberating Ukraine, the granary of Europe, which means that the fronts will be Ukrainian!
3 Ukrainian front: composition
At different stages, the front troops included different structural units. In October 1943, that is, immediately after its creation, the front consisted of the following units: guards (1st and 8th armies), air force(6th, 12th, 46th, 17th armies). In 1944, the front received reinforcements. The direction of the units, which increased the combat power and forces of the front, depended on the specific tasks of our troops at a particular stage of hostilities. So, in the course of its existence, the front was introduced: one shock, two guards, five tank armies, several Bulgarian armies. In some operations ground forces support from the sea was needed, so the Danube flotilla was included in the front troops. It was this combination of diverse combat units that often gave the desired result.
Command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front
During the existence of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, it was led by 2 commanders: Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich and Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich. stood at the head of the front immediately after its foundation - October 20, 1943. Malinovsky's military career began with the school of junior officers, after which he became the commander of a platoon of machine gunners. Gradually climbing the career ladder, Malinovsky graduated from the Military Academy in 1930. After the academy, he worked as chief of staff, then was a staff officer in the North Caucasus and Belarusian military districts. Participated in the Spanish Civil War. During the Second World War, our army, under the leadership of General of the Army Malinovsky, won many great victories.
The change in leadership of the front was not connected with Malinovsky's unprofessional approach to commanding troops. The conditions of life just demanded it, it was the Great Patriotic War. Front commanders changed quite often. From May 15, 1944 to June 15, 1945 (the date the front was disbanded), Marshal Soviet Union Tolbukhin. His military biography before being appointed to this high position is also interesting. In the Red Army Tolbukhin since 1918, participated in the Civil War. All the time he was a staff officer in the Northern and Western front, because immediately after joining the Red Army he graduated from junior school commanders. After finishing civil war Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich led the troops of the Novgorod province, was the chief of staff of the 56th and 72nd rifle divisions, the 1st and 19th rifle corps, etc. Since 1938 (another promotion) he became the chief of staff of the Transcaucasian military district. It was in this position that the war found him.
Operations of the Red Army in the Dnieper region
The battle for the Dnieper is a complex of events that took place in the second half of 1943. After the defeat, Hitler, of course, did not lose his chances of winning, but his position was significantly shaken. On August 11, 1943, by order of the command, the Germans began to build defensive areas along the entire line of the Dnieper. That is, the 3rd Ukrainian Front, whose combat path we are studying, gradually advanced along with other Soviet armies.
From August 13 to September 22, 1943, the Donbass offensive operation took place. This was the beginning of the battle for the Dnieper. It was strategically important for our army and country to recapture the Donbass from the Nazis, because Donbass coal was needed to further supply the front with weapons. Everyone also knew very well that the Nazis used it during the occupation.
Poltava-Chernigov operation
In parallel with the offensive in the Donbass, on August 26, the Red Army launched an offensive towards Poltava and Chernigov. Of course, all these offensives of our troops were not sparkling and instantaneous, but they went on systematically and gradually. The Nazis no longer had the strength to nip the offensive impulses of the Soviet troops in the bud.
Realizing that the only way to stop the offensive of the Soviet troops, they will only have when the Germans from September 15, 1943 began to retreat. They wanted the 3rd Ukrainian Front, whose combat path continued successfully, along with other troops, to be unable to capture the Black Sea ports, force the Dnieper and reach the Crimea. Along the line of the Dnieper, the Nazis concentrated huge forces and built serious defensive structures.
Successes of the first stage of the battle for the Dnieper
August and September Soviet troops liberated many cities and territories. So, at the end of September, Donbass was completely liberated. Also, such cities as Glukhov, Konotop, Sevsk, Poltava, Kremenchug, many villages and smaller towns returned under Soviet rule. In addition, in many places (in the area of Kremenchug, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Verkhnedneprovsk, Dnepropetrovsk) it was possible to cross the Dnieper and create bridgeheads on the left bank. At this stage, it was possible to create a good springboard for further success.
Troop advance at the end of 1943
From October to December 1943, the second period of the battle for the Dnieper is distinguished in the historiography of the war. The 3rd Ukrainian Front also took part in these battles. The combat path of our troops was still difficult, because the Germans were able to build a strong "Eastern Wall" along the Dnieper. The first task of our troops was to eliminate as much as possible all the bridgehead fortifications built by the Nazis.
The command understood that it was impossible to stop the offensive. And the troops are coming! 3 The Ukrainian Front (the combat path intersected with the offensive lines of other fronts) conducted the Nizhnedneprovsk offensive operation. It was very difficult for the enemy to defend himself, because at the same time the formation of forces for an attack on Kyiv from the Bukrinsky bridgehead began. Large enemy forces were diverted to because this city was the most important for the enemy on this line and the second most important after Moscow. Until December 20, 1943, our troops managed to liberate the most important cities of Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye, as well as capture huge bridgeheads on the right bank of the Dnieper. It was also possible to block the retreat of German troops from the Crimea. The battle for the Dnieper ended in a complete victory for the Soviet troops.
The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in this operation showed themselves in the best possible way. Of course, the losses of the Soviet troops were heavy, but in such heavy battles it was impossible to do without losses. And the level of development of medicine was not yet the same as it is now ...
Soviet troops continued to liberate Ukraine in 1944. In the second half of 1944, our troops launched an offensive against Moldova and Romania. These legendary attacks went down in the history of the war as the Iasi-Kishinev operation.
Very significant German forces, about 900,000 soldiers and officers. Against such forces, it was necessary to attack decisively in order to ensure the effect of surprise. The offensive began on August 20, 1944. Already before the morning of August 24, the Red Army broke through the front and, in general, in 4 days advanced 140 kilometers inland. The troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts reached the border with Romania by August 29, having surrounded and destroyed the German troops in the Prut area before that. The successful advance of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front led to a revolution in Romania. The government changed, the country declared war on Germany.
Several volunteer divisions were formed, the first of which became part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The offensive of the joint Soviet-Romanian troops continued. On August 31, troops occupied Bucharest.
Attack on Romania
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 provided Soviet soldiers with excellent combat experience. During the battles, the skills of countering the enemy and conducting offensive operations were formed. Therefore, in 1944, when the fascist army was no longer as strong as in 1941, it was no longer possible to stop the Red Army.
After the liberation of Romania, the military command understood that it was necessary to move towards the Balkan countries and Bulgaria, because large Wehrmacht forces were still concentrated there. The liberation of Romania ended in October 1944. The last liberated Romanian city during this march is Satu Mare. Further, the troops of the USSR headed for the territory of Hungary, where they also successfully coped with the enemy over time.
The Iasi-Chisinau operation became one of the most successful during the war, because significant territories were liberated, and Hitler lost another ally.
Conclusion
During the war, troops of 4 fronts fought on the territory of Ukraine. Each of them in the history of the Ukrainian sector of the war in the period from 1941 to 1944 left a significant mark on the liberation of Ukraine from the German fascist invaders. The role of each front, each unit in the cause of victory over the mortal enemy, probably, has not yet been fully appreciated by historians and the people in general. But it is worth noting that the 3rd Ukrainian Front, whose combat path ended in June 1945, made a significant contribution to the victory, because important industrial regions of the Ukrainian SSR were liberated by the troops of the front.
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 is an example greatest feat multinational Soviet people.
3rd Ukrainian Front
Commanders:
Malinovsky R. Ya. (October 1943 - May 1944), army general
Tolbukhin F. I. (May 1944 - June 1945), General of the Army, from September 1944 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Member of the Military Council:
Zheltov A. S. (October 1943 - June 1945), lieutenant general, from September 1944 colonel general.
Chiefs of Staff:
Korzhenevich F.K. (October 1943 - May 1944), lieutenant general
Biryuzov S. S. (May - October 1944), lieutenant general, since May 1944 colonel general
Ivanov S. P. (October 1944 - June 1945), lieutenant general, from April 1945 colonel general
Literature:
Liberation of South-Eastern and Central Europe by the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts (1944-45).// - Moscow, 1970
Biryuzov S. S. Harsh years. 1941-1945.// - Moscow, 1966
Yakupov N. M. Spring was brought on banners.// - Odessa, 1980
Zheltov A.S. 3rd Ukrainian in the Balkans, in the book "The Great Liberation Campaign", a collection of memoirs. // - Moscow, 1970
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3rd Ukrainian Front formed in the southwestern direction of the Soviet-German front on October 20, 1943 on the basis of an order VGK rates dated October 16, 1943 by renaming. It included the 1st and 8th Guards, 6th, 12th, 46th Armies and the 17th Air Army. Subsequently, it included the 5th shock, 4th and 9th guards, 26th, 27th, 28th, 37th and 57th armies, 6th guards tank army, 1st, 2nd and 4th Bulgarian armies. The Danube military flotilla was under operational control of the front.
In October-November 1943, during the battle for the Dnieper, the troops of the front liberated the cities of Dnepropetrovsk and Dneprodzerzhinsk on October 25, advanced 50-60 km west of the Dnieper. Subsequently, acting in the Krivoy Rog direction, with the forces of the 6th Army they captured a bridgehead south of Zaporozhye, and by the end of December, together with the 2nd Ukrainian Front, they held a large strategic bridgehead on the Dnieper.
During the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine, the troops of the front, in cooperation with the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, carried out the Nikopol-Krivoy Rog operation (January 30-February 29, 1944), reached the Ingulets River, from where they launched an offensive in the Nikolaev-Odessa direction in March-April. Having successively carried out the Bereznego-Snigirevskaya (March 6-18) and Odessa operations (March 26-April 14), they, with the assistance of forces Black Sea Fleet completed the liberation of southern Ukraine, liberated a significant part of the territory of the Moldavian SSR and advanced to the Dniester. Bridgeheads were captured on its right bank, including Kopansky, which then played an important role in the Iasi-Kishinev operation.
In August 1944, the troops of the front took part in the Iasi-Kishinev strategic operation (August 20-29), as a result of which the entire Moldavian SSR was liberated, and Romania withdrew from the war on the side of Nazi Germany and declared war on it.
On September 8, the troops of the front entered the territory of Bulgaria and liberated it by the end of the month.
September 28 - October 20, 1944 The 3rd Ukrainian Front, in cooperation with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, with the participation of the troops of the Fatherland Front of Bulgaria, carried out the Belgrade strategic operation, as a result of which the Yugoslav capital Belgrade (October 20) and most of Serbia were liberated.
In October 1944 - February 1945, part of the front's forces participated in the Budapest strategic operation (October 29, 1944 - February 13, 1945). Its troops crossed the Danube and captured a bridgehead on its right bank.
In January 1945, they repulsed the counterattacks of the enemy, who was trying to release the grouping of his troops surrounded in Budapest, and in March, during the Balaton operation (March 6-15), they thwarted the counteroffensive of German troops in the Lake Balaton area. The successful completion of this operation made it possible, without an operational pause, to begin on March 16, in cooperation with the armies of the left wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, the Vienna strategic operation (March 16-April 15), complete the liberation of Hungary, drive the enemy out of the eastern part of Austria and liberate its capital Vienna (13 April).
The front was disbanded on June 15, 1945 on the basis of the directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters of May 29, 1945; The field administration of the front was reorganized into the administration of the Southern Group of Forces.
Front commanders: General of the Army Malinovsky R. Ya. (October 1943 - May 1944); army general, from September 1944 - Marshal of the Soviet Union F. I. Tolbukhin (May 1944 - until the end of the war).
Member of the Military Council of the Front - Lieutenant General, since September 1944 - Colonel General Zheltov A.S. (the entire period).
Chiefs of staff of the front: Lieutenant General Korzhenevich F.K. (October 1943 - May 1944); Lieutenant General, from May 1944 - Colonel General Biryuzov S.S. (May-October 1944); Lieutenant General, from April 1945 - Colonel General Ivanov S.P. (October 1944 - until the end of the war).
The offensive actions of the troops of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army and the Romanian Royal Army in the encirclement of Budapest cannot be satisfactorily considered without an idea of the November combat work of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin. Therefore, I decided to give a detailed coverage of the military operations carried out in November 1944 by the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin
In early November, the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which successfully completed the Belgrade operation, in accordance with the order of the Headquarters, transferred its positions in the north-east of Yugoslavia to the forces of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army and redeployed to the south of Hungary, occupying a strip along the Danube from the confluence with the Drava River to the city of Bahia. The headquarters set the task for Tolbukhin's front to cross the Danube and create a large bridgehead on its western bank.
The redirection of the 3rd Ukrainian Front to Hungary was in no way an improvisation, but was implied even during the Belgrade operation: in the directive of the Headquarters of October 15, Tolbukhin's troops were directly ordered after the liberation of the Yugoslav capital "to gain a foothold on the line of Belgrade, Batochina, Parachin, Knyazhevets and further to do not advance deep into Yugoslavia." The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, General of the Army Aleksey Innokentievich Antonov, in a conversation held at the end of October with a representative of the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces, British Lieutenant General Gammel, admitted: “We do not intend to advance into Yugoslavia. The task of fighting the Germans west of Belgrade is carried out by the army of Marshal Tito .. ... our main task is to quickly withdraw Hungary from the war."
The beginning of hostilities of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in the Hungarian direction was overshadowed by the tragic incident that occurred on November 7 near the Serbian city of Nis.
Lieutenant General Grigory Petrovich Kotov
At 13:10 over the marching columns of the 6th Guards rifle corps Lieutenant General Grigory Petrovich Kotov was hung by a group of two-beam aircraft, according to the 3rd Ukrainian Front, numbering 27 vehicles. The shape of the fuselages suggested the German reconnaissance aircraft Fw-189, nicknamed "frames" in the Red Army. That's just for the Fw-189, and indeed for reconnaissance aircraft, it is uncharacteristic to fly in groups of almost thirty aircraft. The planes went down with the clear intention of attacking, which was completely contrary to reconnaissance activities. As the planes approached, the guards could see that their fuselages did not depict German crosses, but white stars - these were not Fw-189s, but American Lockheed P-38 Lightning heavy fighters. Guessing that the Americans, obviously, confused the Soviet columns with the German ones, the Red Army soldiers began to wave flags and banners. But the allied planes did not stop. The fire of cannons and machine guns fell upon the Soviet units, bombs and rockets rained down. According to the report of the command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, commander Kotov and 4 more officers and 6 Red Army soldiers of the corps control were killed under the fire of American fighters. In total, 34 guardsmen were killed and 39 were injured from the American airstrike.
Fw-189
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Soviet aviation reacted immediately: Yak-9 fighters took off from the nearest airfield. Soviet pilots were ordered not to engage the Americans in battle, but to force them to retreat, but as soon as the red-star aircraft approached the scene, the Americans began to shoot at them. Then junior lieutenant Viktor Vasilyevich Shipulya returned fire, shooting down one of the P-38s. An air battle ensued, and soon the Americans shot down the plane of Shipuli himself - the junior lieutenant died. The Soviet anti-aircraft units located at the Nis airfield also entered the battle, shooting down another P-38, but at the same time accidentally hit the plane of Lieutenant Dmitry Petrovich Krivonogikh - the Yak flared up and crashed to the ground 3 kilometers from the Nis airfield, the lieutenant died. In the growing battle Soviet pilots shot down the third P-38, but they themselves suffered losses - the plane of Lieutenant Anatoly Maksimovich Zhestovsky was seriously damaged, but the pilot, although he received several wounds, was able to leave the dying plane with the help of a parachute and thanks to this he survived. Finally, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Grigoryevich Surnev was able to demonstrate to the commander of the American squadron the red stars on the body of his aircraft, after which the Americans ceased fire and flew south.
Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Grigorievich Surnev
As a result of the retaliatory actions of the Soviet fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft units, US Air Force Lieutenants Philip Brewer and Aidon Coulson crashed to death. Captain Charles King turned out to be more successful - he managed to land a burning plane and get out of it with the help of a Serbian peasant who happened to be nearby, so he escaped with only burns. On the Soviet side, in addition to pilots and servicemen of the 6th Guards Rifle Corps, 4 people died at the Nis airfield.
Subsequently, the Allies apologized for the events of November 7, and in the report conducted by the American side on the results of the investigation, it was admitted that the American squadron "was legally attacked by Soviet fighters defending their ground forces". However, no apologies and confessions could bring the dead back to life. The incident near Nis to a large extent influenced the development at the end of the war of identification marks that were understandable for all the armies of the Anti-Hitler coalition.
The Nis incident, for all its tragedy, did not have a significant impact on the operational situation in the zone of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, and on November 7, the troops of the 57th Army, Lieutenant General Mikhail Nikolaevich Sharokhin, began to force the Danube.
General- Lieutenant Mikhail Nikolaevich Sharokhin
Two companies of the 74th rifle division Colonel Konstantin Alekseevich Sychev, who was part of the 75th Belgrade Rifle Corps, Major General Adrian Zakharovich Akimenko, crossed the river near the city of Apatin and began active reconnaissance, capturing 3 Hungarian border guards during the day. On the same day, 6 Hungarian defector soldiers were noted in the band of the 57th Army. The next day, another 4 battalions of Sychev's division entered the bridgehead. The enemy tried to prevent the crossing of the Soviet units by bombing three times in groups of 6-10 aircraft, but failed to inflict high damage - on November 8, the 74th Infantry Division lost 8 people killed and 15 wounded. The activity of aviation on both sides was hindered by cloudy weather, besides, on the eighth day, the first rain in November began, which interfered with the ground forces as well - in the November journal of military operations of the 57th Army it was recorded: "Dirt roads in some areas have become difficult to pass". And in general, the landscape in the Apatin area turned out to be not the most convenient, as also evidenced by the combat log of the 57th Army: "the southern part of the bridgehead ... is a heavily swampy, shallow-wooded area, covered with water in places up to 1 meter deep. There are no roads or paths ... The soil is marshy, impassable for horses and impassable for all types of transport ... The area is heavily overgrown with shrubs and has poor visibility and shelling. Movement along it is possible only for infantry and with difficulty for "young horses ... There are no detours; for flooring, an improvised chopped shrub is used. The northern part of this foothold... overgrown in places: visibility is limited. The ground is firmer, not swampy: you can pull 75 mm guns".
Major General Adrian Zakharovich Akimenko
However, Soviet command did not intend to limit itself to capturing one bridgehead. Already on the night of November 7-8, units of the 233rd Rifle Division of Colonel Timofei Ilyich Sidorenko attempted to cross the Danube in a section near the Hungarian city of Batina, but boats with Red Army soldiers came under concentrated fire from German units, and the crossing failed. The next night, the forcing was more successful - two rifle companies of the 233rd rifle division, with the support of units of the 12th Vojvodina shock brigade from the 51st Vojvodina division of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, were able to secure a small territory on the west bank and cut the railway line. Of course, the enemy did not accept the appearance of another Soviet tete-de-pon on the Danube and began to counterattack furiously.
The enemy began to pull infantry, artillery, and armored vehicles to the perimeter of the bridgeheads. The intensity of the fighting increased, continuous shelling made it difficult to cross, for which there were already not enough watercraft, which forced the transfer of forces from the east coast to the west in parts. On November 10, enemy artillery wrecked and sank two boats and one barge of the 74th Infantry Division, although personnel did not suffer much damage: parts of Colonel Sychev that day lost 6 people killed and 16 wounded.
On November 11, Sharokhin pointed out to Akimenko the unacceptable slowness of forcing the Danube. The haste of the commander is quite understandable - from military experience, he knew perfectly well that bridgeheads that were not expanded in the shortest possible time to the size that allows them to launch an offensive become useless and then the troops holding them have to be evacuated, and it’s good if the enemy does not have time to throw them into the water. Sharokhin pointed out to the commander of the 75th Rifle Corps the need for the speediest transfer of guns to the bridgehead and, in general, for supporting the infantry with all types of artillery. To speed up the crossing, the commander of the 57th Army demanded that all available means be used.
Crossing of Soviet artillerymen and 45-mm anti-tank guns across the Danube
The reasonableness of the demands of the commander to speed up the crossing of troops and the expansion of bridgeheads is confirmed by data on prisoners captured on November 11-12, which makes it possible to judge the rapid increase in the proportion of German troops in the bridgehead area. If on November 11, 18 prisoners were captured, of which 5 were Germans and 5 were Russian collaborators, then among the 26 prisoners taken on November 12, 18 were Germans. As a result, the losses of the Soviet units increased markedly: on November 13, in the 74th Rifle Division alone, 31 servicemen were killed and 87 were injured.
However, as already mentioned, the consolidation on the bridgeheads proceeded slowly through no fault of General Akimenko: the commander of the 75th Rifle Corps did everything possible to increase the pace, but there were objective circumstances such as the same lack of crossing facilities, and in connection with the strengthening of the enemy grouping in in the area of bridgeheads, the forces of one rifle corps clearly became insufficient to complete the task. The command of the 57th Army was aware of this and activated additional units: The commander of the 64th Rifle Corps, Major General Ivan Kondratievich Kravtsov, received Sharokhin’s order to withdraw the 73rd Guards Rifle Division, Major General Semyon Antonovich Kozak, to the area of the village of Bezdan by the morning of November 12 for further crossings to the Batinsky bridgehead. On November 13, Commander-57 subordinated the 233rd Rifle Division to the 64th Rifle Corps, and in return the 75th Rifle Corps received the 236th Rifle Division of Major General Pyotr Ivanovich Kulizhsky, as well as the 8th Voevodina Shock Brigade.
On November 13-14, units of the 73rd Guards Rifle Division and the 7th Voevoda Shock Brigade crossed to the western coast. The lack of crossing facilities forced the transfer of Soviet and Yugoslav formations in parts, and the lack of a single powerful fist did not allow to turn the tide of battles, but nevertheless, a certain result was achieved - by 20:00 on November 14, units of the 64th Rifle Corps pushed the enemy by 1, 5 kilometers. In total, during November 14, the troops of the 57th Army lost 54 people dead and 154 wounded; in addition, 14 horses were killed and 3 76-mm guns were knocked out. At the same time, Soviet soldiers captured 14 soldiers of the 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division, staffed mainly by Hungarian Volksdeutsche.
Sharokhin planned to expand the bridgeheads until November 18 in order to push the second echelons and reserves of the 64th and 75th rifle corps to the front line, and then launch an offensive and, after November 20, introduce into battle the success development echelon as part of the 6th Guards Rifle Corps and Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Zavyalov of the 32nd Guards Mechanized Brigade in order to further develop the strike in the direction of Pech.
Colonel General Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sudets
But the stubborn resistance of the German troops and the unfavorable weather conditions made adjustments to the plans. On November 15, already familiar cloudiness reigned, it periodically rained, which made the roads impassable. Fierce battles raged on the front line: the parties attacked and counterattacked, guns and mortars, small arms, grenades were used, and sometimes it came to hand-to-hand combat. During the day, units of the 57th Army lost 73 people killed and 289 wounded. By the middle of the month, more than three hundred artillery pieces had been transferred to the bridgeheads, thus providing good fire support for the infantry. Assistance to the Soviet and Yugoslav troops on the bridgeheads was also provided by the pilots of the 17th Air Army, Colonel-General Vladimir Alexandrovich Sudets, who made 97 sorties on November 15 to attack and bombard the enemy in the area of \u200b\u200bthe bridgeheads. However, the Germans also brought up new forces, and it was easier for them, since they did not have to overcome a wide full-flowing river with a lack of watercraft. The scale and tension of the battle for the Danube bridgeheads continued to grow.
Read about further battles of the 3rd Ukrainian Front on the Danube in the next article.
Ukrainian Front (First, Second, Third and Fourth Ukrainian Fronts) had great importance to liberate the territory of the Soviet Union from invaders. It was the troops of these fronts that liberated most of Ukraine. And after that, the Soviet troops with a victorious march liberated most countries from occupation of Eastern Europe. The troops of the Ukrainian fronts also took part in the capture of the capital of the Reich, Berlin.
First Ukrainian Front
On October 20, 1943, the Voronezh Front became known as the First Ukrainian Front. The front took part in several important offensive operations of World War II.
The soldiers of this particular front, having carried out the Kyiv offensive operation, were able to liberate Kyiv. Later, in 1943-1944, the troops of the front carried out Zhytomyr-Berdychiv, Lvov-Sandomierz and other operations to liberate the territory of Ukraine.
After that, the front continued its offensive on the territory of occupied Poland. In May 1945, the front took part in operations to capture Berlin and liberate Paris.
Commanded the front:
- General
- Marshall G.
Second Ukrainian Front
The Second Ukrainian Front was created from parts of the Steppe Front in the autumn (20.10.) 1943. The troops of the front successfully carried out an operation to create an offensive bridgehead on the banks of the Dnieper (1943), controlled by the Germans.
Later, the front carried out the Kirovograd operation, and also took part in the Korsun-Shevchenko operation. Since the autumn of 1944, the front has been engaged in the liberation of the countries of Europe.
He carried out the Debrecen and Budapest operations. In 1945, the troops of the front completely liberated the territory of Hungary, most of Czechoslovakia, some regions of Austria, and its capital, Vienna.
The front commanders were:
- General, and later Marshal I. Konev
- General, and later Marshal R. Malinovsky.
Third Ukrainian Front
It was renamed to the Third Ukrainian Front Southwestern Front 10/20/1943. His soldiers took part in the liberation of the territory of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders.
The troops of the front carried out the Dnepropetrovsk (1943), Odessa (1944), Nikopol-Krivoy Rog (1944), Yasso-Kishenevskaya (1944) and other offensive operations.
Also, the soldiers of this front took part in the liberation from the Nazis and their allies of European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary.
Commanded the front:
- General and later Marshal R. Malinovsky
- General and later Marshal.
Fourth Ukrainian Front
The Fourth Ukrainian Front was created on October 20, 1943. It was renamed the Southern Front. Parts of the front carried out several operations. They finished the Melitopol operation (1943), and successfully carried out the operation to liberate the Crimea (1944).
At the end of spring (16.05.) 1944, the front was disbanded. However, on August 6, the same year, it was re-formed.
The front carried out strategic operations in the Carpathian region (1944), and took part in the liberation of Prague (1945).
Commanded the front:
- General F. Tolbukhin
- Colonel General, and later General I. Petrov
- General A. Eremenko.
Thanks to successful offensive operations all Ukrainian fronts, Soviet army was able to defeat a strong and experienced enemy, liberate her land from the invaders and help the captured peoples of Europe in liberation from the Nazis.