The Battle of the Dukla Pass, also known as the Dukla, Carpatho–Dukla, Rzeszów–Dukla, or Dukla–Prešov offensive, was the battle for control over the
Dukla Pass
The Dukla Pass ( sk, Dukliansky priesmyk, pl, Przełęcz Dukielska, hu, Duklai-hágó, cz, Dukelský průsmyk; 502 m AMSL) is a strategically significant mountain pass in the Laborec Highlands of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, on the border b ...
on the border between
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
on the
Eastern Front of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
between
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in September–October 1944. It was part of the Soviet
East Carpathian strategic offensive that also included the
Carpathian–Uzhgorod offensive. The operation's primary goal, to provide support for the
Slovak rebellion, was not achieved, but it concluded the full liberation of the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
.
The German resistance in the eastern
Carpathian region was much stronger than expected. The battle which began on 8 September would not see the Soviet forces on the other side of the pass until 6 October, and German forces would stop their heavy resistance in the region only around 10 October. Five days to
Prešov turned into fifty days to
Svidník
Svidník ( hu, Felsővízköz, german: Oberswidnik, rue, Свідник, uk, Свидник) is a town in eastern Slovakia, the capital of the Svidník District in the Prešov Region. It has a population of around 11,000.
There is a monumental ...
alone with over 70,000 casualties on both sides. Prešov that was to be reached in six days remained beyond the Czechoslovaks' grasp for four months. The battle would be counted among the most bloody in the entire Eastern Front and the history of Slovakia; one of the valleys in the pass, near the villages of
Kapišová,
Chyrowa
Chyrowa ( uk, Гирова, ''Hyrova'') is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dukla, within Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately south-west of D ...
,
Iwla
Iwla is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dukla, within Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately west of Dukla, south-west of Krosno, and south- ...
and
Głojsce, would become known as the "Valley of Death".
Background
In summer 1944,
Slovaks rebelled against the Nazis and the
Czechoslovak
Czechoslovak may refer to:
*A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93)
**First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38)
**Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39)
**Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60)
**Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...
government appealed to Soviets for help. On 31 August, Soviet marshal
Ivan Konev
Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the ...
was ordered to prepare plans for an offensive to destroy Nazi forces in Slovakia. The plan was to push through the old Slovak-Polish border in the
Carpathian Mountains via the
Dukla Pass
The Dukla Pass ( sk, Dukliansky priesmyk, pl, Przełęcz Dukielska, hu, Duklai-hágó, cz, Dukelský průsmyk; 502 m AMSL) is a strategically significant mountain pass in the Laborec Highlands of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, on the border b ...
near Svidník to penetrate Slovakia proper.
[Battle for Dukla Pass](_blank)
/ref>
In the meantime, however, the Germans had fortified the region, forming the ''Karpatenfestung'' ("Carpathian fortress") or '' Árpád Line''.
Battle
The Soviet operation plan called for the Soviet forces to cross the pass and capture the town of Prešov within five days.[Facts about Carpathian - Dukla's Operation](_blank)
/ref>
The operation started on 8 September. It took the Soviets three days to take Krosno
Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Krosno) is a historical town and county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inhabitants as of ...
(it was captured on 11 September). One of the biggest battles in the pass took place on and around Hill 534 in the northwest from the town of Dukla
Dukla is a town and an eponymous municipality in southeastern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,017. The total area of the commune is . Dukla belongs to Lesser Poland, and until the ...
; the battle to capture this hill lasted from 10 to 20 September, and during that period the control of the hill changed more than 20 times. The town of Dukla was seized on 21 September. The area of the former Czechoslovak state border—heavily fortified by the Germans—was captured on 6 October; it took almost a month for the Soviet forces to reach Slovakia.
The Dukla operation did not end when the Soviets forced the pass. The combat zone shifted to Eastern Slovakia, with Soviet forces trying to outflank and push back the German forces, still strong and having many fortified positions. South of the pass and directly west of the village of Dobroslava lies an area that has come to be known as the "Valley of Death". Here Soviet and German armor clashed in a miniature reenactment of the great tank battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...
. Soviet and Czechoslovak forces would enter Svidník on 28 October. A major German fortified position near the pass, Hill 532 "Obšár", would be secured as late as on 25 November 1944.
Aftermath
The Slovak National Uprising
The Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) was a military uprising organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. This resistance movement was represented mainly by the members of the ...
was mostly crushed by the time Soviet units secured Slovak territories; one of the main reasons for this was that the German resistance in the Dukla Pass was much heavier than expected. Another factor was that the Slovak insurgent forces failed to secure the other side of the pass, as planned by the Slovak and Soviet commanders during early preparations.
In 1949, the Czechoslovak government erected a memorial and cemetery southeast of the Dukla border crossing, in Vyšný Komárnik
Vyšný Komárnik is a village and municipality in Svidník District in the Prešov Region of north-eastern Slovakia, in the Laborec Highlands.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1600.
During World War II, Vyšný ...
, the first liberated village on the territory of (then) Czechoslovakia. It contains the graves of several hundred Soviet and Czechoslovak soldiers. Several other memorials and cemeteries have also been erected in the region.
In 1956, the football club ATK Praha changed their name to Dukla Praha (Dukla Prague) in honour of those who had fallen in the battle.
Order of battle
Soviet Union
*Elements of 1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...
, Marshal Ivan Konev
Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the ...
commanding
** 38th Army (Kirill Moskalenko
Kirill Semyonovich Moskalenko (russian: Кирилл Семёнович Москаленко, uk, Кирило Семенович Москаленко; May 11, 1902 – June 17, 1985) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union. A member of the Soviet Arm ...
)
** Czechoslovak 1st Army Corps (Ludvík Svoboda
Ludvík Svoboda (25 November 1895 – 20 September 1979) was a Czech general and politician. He fought in both World Wars, for which he was regarded as a national hero, )1st Czechoslovak Army Corps
*Elements of 4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front (Russian: Четвёртый Украинский фронт) was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, ...
:
** Soviet 1st Guards Army (Andrei Grechko
Andrei Antonovich Grechko (, ; – 26 April 1976) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union (from 1955). He was Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1976.
Early life
Grechko was the thirteenth child born to a family of Ukrainian peasant ...
)
Germany
* Army Group Heinrici
** 1st Panzer Army ( Gotthard Heinrici)
**Elements of Hungarian First Army
The Hungarian First Army was a field army of the Royal Hungarian Army that saw action during World War II.
Commanders
* Lieutenant-General Vilmos Nagy of Nagybaczon, Vilmos Nagy - March 1, 1940 – February 1, 1941
* Lieutenant-General István ...
(Dezső László
Colonel General Vitéz Dezső László (, 23 July 1894, Lovászpatona, – 8 June 1949, Budapest) was a captain during World War I and general during World War II. He was executed by the People's Republic of Hungary in 1949.
Awards
* Iron C ...
)
Notes
References
*Andrusikiewicz J., ''Boje o Przełęcz Dukielską'' (w:) "Wierchy" t. 37, Kraków 1968
*
*Grzywacz-Świtalski Ł., ''Z walk na Podkarpaciu'', Warszawa 1971
*Luboński P., ''Operacja dukielsko-preszowska'' (w:) ''Magury’ 83'', Warszawa 1983
*Michalak J., ''Dukla i okolice'', Krosno 1996
External links
Post-Dukla 1944 Soviet Offensive Operations in Eastern Slovakia
*Maps of operations in the Carpathian Mountains including the battle of the Dukla Pass: http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/maps/1944SW/1UF/CZ/s17_Carpatians_Sep_Nov44_eng.jpg, http://www.rkka.ru/maps/dukl.gif, https://web.archive.org/web/20080529154931/http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/maps/1944SW/1UF/CZ/38A_Dukla_s04_Sept27_Nov8_44.gif
Diorama painting and Google Earth view of the pass
Description of PL-SK border crossing events by units of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps during operation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukla Pass, Battle Of The
Conflicts in 1944
1944 in Czechoslovakia
Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War
Battles and operations of World War II involving Czechoslovakia
Battles and operations of World War II involving Hungary
Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations
Battles of World War II involving Germany
September 1944 events
October 1944 events
Tank battles of World War II
Battle of Dukla Pass