Lublin–Brest Offensive
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Lublin–Brest Offensive (russian: Люблин‐Брестская наступательная операция, 18 July – 2 August 1944) was a part of the
Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
strategic offensive by the Soviet
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
to clear the
Nazi German 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 ...
forces from the regions of
Eastern Poland Eastern Poland is a macroregion in Poland comprising the Lublin, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships. The make-up of the distinct macroregion is based not only of geographical criteria, but also econo ...
and
Western Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus ( be, Заходняя Беларусь, translit=Zachodniaja Bielaruś; pl, Zachodnia Białoruś; russian: Западная Белоруссия, translit=Zapadnaya Belorussiya) is a historical region of mod ...
. The offensive was executed by the left (southern) wing of the
1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...
and took place during July 1944; it was opposed by the German
Army Group North Ukraine The Army Group North Ukraine (german: Heeresgruppe Nordukraine) was a major formation of the German army in World War II. History It was created on 5 April 1944 by renaming Army Group South under Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model. In April 1944 i ...
and
Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...
. The operation was accompanied by several other offensives, particularly the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive of the
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 a ...
in the south; both offensives launched weeks after the start of the successful
Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
to the north which cleared German forces from most of
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
. After reaching its target objectives, the offensive momentum carried on as the Soviet forces advanced on
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
during August (2 August – 30 September 1944); however Soviet forces did not aid the Polish
Warsaw uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
, which is a matter of some controversy.


Opposing forces

On 15 June,
Army Group North Ukraine The Army Group North Ukraine (german: Heeresgruppe Nordukraine) was a major formation of the German army in World War II. History It was created on 5 April 1944 by renaming Army Group South under Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model. In April 1944 i ...
under command of
Josef Harpe Josef Harpe (21 September 1887 – 14 March 1968) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 9th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Harpe served on the ...
was composed of the
4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (german: 4. Panzerarmee) (operating as Panzer Group 4 (german: 4. Panzergruppe) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army) was a German panzer formation during World War ...
,
1st Panzer Army The 1st Panzer Army (german: 1. Panzerarmee) was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II. When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group ...
, and the
First Army (Hungary) 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 - March 1, 1940 – February 1, 1941 * Lieutenant-General István Schweitzer - February 1, ...
.
Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...
had the 2nd Army, 4th Army, 9th Army and
3rd Panzer Army The 3rd Panzer Army (german: 3. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group (german: Panzergruppe 3) was formed on 16 November ...
. The Soviet
1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...
under command of
Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who becam ...
included the 8th Guards, 28th, 47th, 61st, 65th, 69th, and 70th (Combined Arms) Armies,
2nd Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, now part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the ...
, 6th and
16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...
Air Armies, 11th Tank Corps, 1st Polish Army, 2nd Guards and
7th Guards Cavalry Corps The 7th Guards Cavalry Corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a Cavalry corps (Red Army), cavalry corps active during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed from the 8th Cavalry Corps in February 1943. Second World War 8th Cava ...
.


The offensive: securing Lublin and Brest

The Lublin-Brest region was first used as a feint, on 9–10 July drawing German attention away from Soviet offensive preparations at Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. After the success of that offensive, clearly visible in the first days (from 13 July),
Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who becam ...
started a serious push westwards in the Lublin-Brest area as well.When Titans… On 18 July five armies of the 1st Belorussian Front (including one Polish army, the
Polish First Army Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
) deployed on the front's left wing south of the
Pinsk Marshes __NOTOC__ The Pinsk Marshes ( be, Пінскія балоты, ''Pinskiya baloty''), also known as the Pripet Marshes ( be, Прыпяцкія балоты, ''Prypiackija baloty''), the Polesie Marshes, and the Rokitno Marshes, are a vast natural ...
, struck and shattered the defenses of
Army Group North Ukraine The Army Group North Ukraine (german: Heeresgruppe Nordukraine) was a major formation of the German army in World War II. History It was created on 5 April 1944 by renaming Army Group South under Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model. In April 1944 i ...
4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (german: 4. Panzerarmee) (operating as Panzer Group 4 (german: 4. Panzergruppe) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army) was a German panzer formation during World War ...
west of
Kovel Kovel (, ; pl, Kowel; yi, קאוולע / קאוולי ) is a city in Volyn Oblast (province), in northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion (district). Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runi ...
. Within hours, the front's
2nd Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, now part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the ...
and several mobile corps began exploiting success to the west with the infantry following in their wake.Glantz. Lieutenant General Nikolai Gusev's
47th Army The 47th Army (russian: 47-я армия) of the Soviet Union's Red Army was an army-level command active from 1941 to 1946. History The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's ...
and Colonel General
Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ;  – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw h ...
's
8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a success ...
broke through the German defenses, and by 21 July they had reached the eastern banks of the
Bug River uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = Vi ...
. The following day, Lieutenant General Semyon Bogdanov's 2nd Tank Army began to advance toward Lublin and the
Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
river, while 11th Tank and 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps spearheaded a northwest push toward
Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...
, with the aim of preventing the retreat of
Army Group Center Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...
forces which were fighting around the cities of Brest and Bialystok. Nazi concentration camp Maidanek near Lublin was liberated on 22 July. General Bogdanov was wounded on 23 July during the fighting for Lublin; the 2nd Tank Army was taken over by Major General A. I. Radzievsky. Despite the change of command, the Soviet rapid advance continued, as the lead elements of 8th Guards Army and 2nd Tank Army reached the eastern banks of Vistula on 25 July. A day earlier, on 24 July,
Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who becam ...
’s forces took
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
and advanced westward towards Vistula, south of the Polish capital of Warsaw. The Soviet High Command (Stavka) ordered Radzievsky to advance north toward Warsaw as part of the maneuver designed to prevent the retreat of Army Group Centre. On 28 July
Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...
was taken. Brest, Belarus
By 2 August, the 1st Belorussian Front's left wing armies seized
bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...
s over the Vistula at
Magnuszew Magnuszew is a village in Kozienice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Magnuszew. It lies approximately north-west of Kozienice and south-east of Warsaw. ...
(Chuikov's 8th Guards Army) and
Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417 ...
(Lieutenant General V. la. Kolpakchi's 69th Army). Germans launched several counterattacks on those vital bridgeheads.
Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...
's
XLVI Panzer Corps XXXXVI Panzer Corps (46th) was a tank corps of the German Army during World War II that participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia. The Corps was created as the XXXXVI Army Corps and converted to a Panzer Corps on 21 June 1942. The Panzer Corps ...
conducted counter-attacks from August 8 to reduce the bridgehead.Hinze, p.400 The 19th and ''
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
'' Panzer Divisions mounted several assaults during early August, but the Soviet lines remained firm, managing to retain their positions on the other shore; they would prove crucial during the upcoming Vistula-Oder Offensive that would cross central and western Poland and aim to bring the Soviets within the reach of
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.See also Glantz, ''Failures of Historiography''Zaloga, pp.78-79 Further battles of that period included the battle of Studzianki.


The controversy: bridgeheads instead of Warsaw

During the offensive bringing the 1st Belorussian Front's left wing closer to the Vistula River, the
Polish Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
(''Armia Krajowa'') staged an insurrection in Warsaw; the Soviet advance was one of the factors which accelerated the Uprising, as the Poles both counted on Soviet support and wanted to secure their capital independently (as part of the
Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...
). Only days before the uprising began in Warsaw (on 1 August), the
Stavka The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff, a ...
(Soviet General Headquarters) commanded Rokossovsky to dispatch his 2nd Tank Army in the direction of Warsaw's eastern suburbs (
Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...
). By 28 July, Radzievsky's army, with three corps alongside, engaged the 73rd Infantry Division and the Hermann Goering Panzer Division 40 kilometres southeast of Warsaw. Radzievsky wanted to secure the routes into Warsaw from the east, while the Germans aimed to prevent that and hold on to Warsaw. The 2nd Tank Army was to be protected on the right flank by a cavalry corps (the 2nd Guards) and the
47th Army The 47th Army (russian: 47-я армия) of the Soviet Union's Red Army was an army-level command active from 1941 to 1946. History The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's ...
, however it reached the region east of Warsaw on 29 July, before the slower 47th Army could provide support; the 47th Army and the 2nd Guards were engaged in the battle around
Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...
, 50 kilometres to the east. Germans counterattacked, in what became known as the Battle of Radzymin, with two panzer corps ( XXXIX and IV SS). On 29 July, Radzievsky ordered his 8th Guards Tank Corps (under Lieutenant General A. F. Popov) and 3rd Tank Corps (under Major General N. D. Vedeneev) to advance northward (northeast of Warsaw) aiming to turn the German defenders' left flank, as the 16th Tank Corps engaged the Germans southeast of Warsaw. 8th Guards Tank Corps was able to fight its way 20 kilometres east of the city, the 3rd Tank Corps however was stopped by a series of successive counterattacks by German armored units under
Walter Model Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German field marshal during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defen ...
. From 30 July, the Hermann Goering and 19th Panzer Divisions struck the overextended tank corps near
Radzymin Radzymin is a town in Poland and is one of the distant suburbs of the city of Warsaw. It is located in the powiat of Wołomin of the Masovian Voivodeship. The town has 8,818 inhabitants (as of 2008, but the surrounding commune is heavily pop ...
, north of
Wołomin Wołomin is the main town of Wołomin County situated in the Masovian Voivodship. Wołomin is situated approximately east of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, near the railway to Białystok. It has approximately 36,000 inhabitants and covers an ar ...
, 15 kilometres northeast of Warsaw. On 2 and 3 August, the 4th Panzer Division and
5th SS Panzergrenadier Division Wiking The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (german: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. It was recruited from foreign volunteers ...
joined the German counteroffensive. As a result, the 3rd Tank Corps sustained heavy casualties, and the 8th Guards Tank Corps was also weakened. From 30 July through 5 August Germans succeeded in not only stopping the Soviet's advance but in pushing them back, inflicting heavy losses on the frontline Soviet units. By 5 August when the Soviet 47th Army's was able to enter the frontline struggle, the 2nd Tank Army had to be withdrawn. The three rifle corps of 47th Army had to hold the 80-kilometers frontline, stretching from south of Warsaw north to Siedlce. Without armor support, the 47th Army could not resume the offensive. German forces in the area were still holding and their link with the Army Group Centre in the east had been damaged but not cut. Until 20 August, the 47th Army remained the only major Red Army unit in the vicinity of Warsaw. The Soviets made no attempt to aid the uprising, concentrating on securing Soviet positions east of the river, not providing the insurgents even with artillery support. At the time, the bulk of the 1st Belorussian Front's centre and right wing were struggling to overcome German defences north of
Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...
on the approaches to the
Narew River The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian language, Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributar ...
and, according to Soviet accounts, were unable to support any action to aid Warsaw directly. Western and contemporary Polish accounts claim that
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
deliberately withheld support for the Polish Home Army as he wanted the Home Army – supporting the
Polish government in exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
, a competition to the pro‐Soviet
Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the lat ...
– to be destroyed. On 20 August the 1st Polish Army of General
Zygmunt Berling Zygmunt Henryk Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. Berling was a co-founder and commander of the First Polish Army, which fought on the ...
joined the Soviet 47th Army. Red Army forces north of Warsaw finally advanced across the
Bug River uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = Vi ...
on 3 September, reached the
Narew River The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian language, Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributar ...
the following day, and secured bridgeheads across that river on 6 September. Lead elements of two Polish divisions from the 1st Army attempted to cross the Vistula into Warsaw on 13 September but made little progress and having sustained heavy casualties were evacuated back across the river ten days later. The Uprising forces capitulated on 2 October; the Soviets would take Warsaw without a major battle during their advance early in 1945. American military historian David M. Glantz notes that while the Soviets could have taken Warsaw and aided the insurgents, from a purely military standpoint this would have required diverting efforts from attempts to secure bridgeheads south and north of Warsaw, involved the Soviets in costly city fighting and gained them less optimal positions for further offensives; this, coupled with political factors meant that the Soviet decision not to aid the Warsaw Uprising was based not only on political, but also on military considerations.


Aftermath: battle for the Narew bridgeheads

The bridgeheads at
Serock Serock is a town at the north bank of the Zegrze lake in the Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east-central P ...
, the confluence of the Bug and
Narew The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...
Rivers, had been established by the Soviet 65th Army at the end of the Lublin–Brest Offensive. The German XX Corps of Second Army was deployed in defence. On 3 October elements of the
3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
and 25th Panzer Divisions, supported by the 252nd Infantry Division, were thrown into an attack to eliminate the 65th Army's positions in the bridgehead.See the account of Armin Scheiderbauer in Williams and Rodgers, p.109 On the southern face, German units reached the bank of the Narew by 5 October. The memoirs of General
Pavel Batov Pavel Ivanovich Batov (russian: Па́вел Ива́нович Ба́тов; – April 19, 1985) was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War and afterwards, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Batov fought in World War I, where he ...
, 65th Army's commander, describe committing the 44th Guards Rifle Division in an attempt to halt the German advance.See Batov, В походах и боях, Moscow 1962 An attack on the northern part of the bridgehead was planned for 8 October, involving the 19th Panzer and Wiking divisions but the gains made were eliminated by a Soviet counter-attack on 14 October.Williams and Rodgers, p.110; Batov gives the date as 19 October


Footnotes


References

* David M. Glantz
The Soviet‐German War 1941–45
Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay. * *David M. Glantz

* * *
"When Titans Clashed. How the Red Army Stopped Hitler"
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.
Axis Order of Battle 15 June 1944


External links

* Maps of Soviet operations near Warsaw
late July

early August
* David M. Glantz
The Soviet Conduct of Tactical Maneuver
spearhead of the offensive, 1991. Maps of the Lublin‐Brest operation: pp. 174–75. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lublin-Brest Offensive Conflicts in 1944 Operation Bagration Military operations of World War II involving Germany History of Lublin History of Brest, Belarus July 1944 events August 1944 events September 1944 events