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 area 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.

World War II was bloody and brutal. Many European countries suffered from its merciless blow. The losses of relatively small Czechoslovakia were striking in their enormous proportions: 35 thousand soldiers, tens of thousands of civilians ... Looking for cheap money, the Germans forcibly took 550 thousand young people to Germany for forced labor. A large piece of territory was disconnected from the country: Carpathian Rus, the Sudetenland and the Tishinsky region. The state as an independent unit ceased to exist, turning into a German colony: the so-called protectorate.

An occupation

At the end of the war, the Center Army, a rather large German group, was stationed in Czechoslovakia. Its membership numbered as many as a million officers and soldiers. The invaders were commanded by Field Marshal Schörner. He was firmly convinced that the Czech Republic should become a completely German country. The fascist considered the incoming information that the Russians were preparing the liberation of Prague to be absurd and unrealistic. As for the capital itself, in May 1945 it became a training ground for the sixth German combat squadron. The invaders especially carefully guarded the airfield where their planes were stationed, as well as the surrounding territory built up with soldiers' barracks.

Interestingly, the liberation of Prague today causes a lot of controversy and discussion. Historians are divided into three camps. Some believe that local rebels cleared the city of the Nazis, others talk about the brilliant offensive of the Vlasovites, others focus on decisive maneuvers. There is also a version that Prague was already free by the time the Russians arrived. Is it so? Let's try to figure it out.

First steps

Indeed, many planned to liberate the city. Of course, the plan of the operation was developed by the Red Army. Since April 1945, the headquarters carefully studied maps of the capital's terrain made from reconnaissance aircraft: they showed the positions of the Germans, their firing points and ammunition depots. These tactical objects were supposed to fall under the main blow.

At the very end, the liberation of Prague began to be prepared in the Czech National Council, formed in 1945. The department, consisting of communists, claimed to lead the mass uprising, the centers of which now and then flared up in the country. But there was no time left to organize the operation, so the CHNS did not play a decisive role in cleaning up the capital.

At the same time, on May 5, the Vlasovites, soldiers of the First Infantry Division of the ROA, entered Prague. The combat unit, under the leadership of Major General Bunyachenko, marked the beginning of the liberation. In a matter of days, they managed to clear the western part of the city, thereby opening the ring of SS men.

American actions

While the Vlasovites began to liberate Prague from the Nazis, American troops under the leadership of General Patton approached the capital from the other side. From the President of the United States, he was instructed to put forward positions on the line Pilsen - Karlovy Vary - Ceske Budejovice. The Germans did not particularly resist the Americans, but the Red Army, advancing from Slovakia, they gave a fierce rebuff. Knowing about the loyalty of the United States to the prisoners, they preferred to fall into their hands than to peremptory communists. Therefore, the speed of the advance of the allies was different.

General Patton took Pilsen. Residents of the city even erected a monument to him after the war. The Americans stopped there: the Red Army was moving towards them, therefore, in order to avoid confusion, they decided to wait. And the US government did not consider Czechoslovakia a political goal. As a result, they decided once again not to risk the lives of soldiers. When the Russians realized that the Allies were backing down, they continued the liberation of Prague on their own.

What happened next?

Meanwhile, after a successful operation to liberate the western part of the city, the Vlasovites retreated. Historians believe that they occupied Prague for two reasons: firstly, they wanted to impress the Americans, and secondly, they hoped for an amnesty after active cooperation with the Germans. But, having failed to agree on a union status with the ChNS, they left the capital.

As you can see, the liberation of Prague fell entirely on the shoulders of the Red Army. The offensive was commanded by His units had just completed the cleansing of Berlin, as they were immediately transferred to the Czech direction. Without even a day's rest, the fighters began to break through to the city. The battalions of the First Ukrainian Front also took an active part in the hostilities. In one of the hot battles for another bridge, Lieutenant Ivan Goncharenko was mortally wounded, after whom one of the Prague streets was later named. The liberation of the Czech capital lasted several days: from 6 to 11 May. It was the final major operation of World War II in Europe.

Offensive

Prague became the last major focus of fascist resistance. Despite the signed surrender, the local invaders did not want to surrender. Instead, they planned to rejoin a huge German unit called the Mitl-Group. The enemy unit continued to conduct active battles, resisting at every turn. Pushed to the south, the Mitl-group decided to join forces with the Nazis who occupied Czechoslovakia. In order to prevent the strengthening of the enemy forces, our soldiers rushed into battle. To take this position has become a matter of honor and conscience.

How did the liberation of Prague by the Soviet troops take place? At first, the Red Army relentlessly pursued Schörner's units in order to prevent them from accomplishing their plans. The bet was made on tankers under the command of Generals Rybalko and Lelyushenko. It was these brave guys who received the order to break through the line of the retreating fascists, leaving them in the rear and thereby cutting off from the SS men hiding in Prague. The plan was this: when the Mitl-group gets to the capital of Czechoslovakia, Russian soldiers will already be there. The main problem for our fighters was only the steep mountains hanging ahead. To overcome this line was the main task of the tankers.

End of the Mitl Group

The historic operation was started by the tank regiments of the First Ukrainian Front. They made their way through narrow, winding and dangerous passes. In the pitch darkness of the night, tracked vehicles swept away the enemy barriers set up by the Germans at every turn. When there was a need, the crews left the tanks: the soldiers restored the bridges with their own hands, cleared the mines.

Finally, having discarded all the barriers, the steel wave of equipment crossed the ridges and rolled down the slope - straight to the Czech capital. The appearance of Soviet tanks on the horizon was so unexpected for the SS that they did not even have time to put up proper resistance. On the contrary, mad with fear, the Germans ran in panic wherever their eyes looked.

Thus ended the liberation of Prague. The date of the significant event is May 11. On this day, the capital of Czechoslovakia was completely cleared of the invaders. Separate groups of fascists were pursued by our tankers for another two days, after which, having captured all the fugitives, they adequately completed a responsible combat mission.

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 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 troops of the front 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 grouping 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 Dönitz “government” staked, 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 tankers.

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 the German front and go on a decisive offensive in the general direction of Velki-Bitesh, Velki-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 detour maneuver, captured an important stronghold of the enemy’s defense, a junction of railways and highways in 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 of May 5-6, with its right wing again advanced 20 km, and the 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 wearing 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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Chapter 13. OPERATION "SATON" The choice of the place for the amphibious landing operation turned out to be a difficult problem for the British command. As early as May 9, a staff meeting dedicated to precisely this issue was held at the flagship command post of the Hermes aircraft carrier.

For this purpose, it was planned to strike on both flanks of Army Group Center: from the area northwest of Dresden by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front and from the area south of Brno by the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, followed by their development in converging directions to Prague.
Simultaneously with the delivery of these strikes, it was meant to attack the center and left wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front from the northeast, all the forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front from the east and the armies of the right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front from the southeast to cut the encircled grouping into parts , thereby ensuring its rapid defeat and capture. It was also planned to create an external front of encirclement. The troops that formed this front were supposed to come into contact with the American troops coming to the western border of Czechoslovakia.
The 1st Ukrainian Front received the task:“... No later than May 3, complete the liquidation of the encircled grouping of Nazi troops in the Luckenwalde area and clear the territory of Berlin from the enemy within its borders. The troops of the right wing of the front should be used for a swift offensive in the general direction of Prague. With the forward units of the right wing, go to the Mulde River.
May 2 we received a directive from the commander of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front to hand over our combat sector to the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front and concentrate in the forests 35-50 km south of Berlin to prepare an attack on Prague. The directive stated: “The troops of the right wing go on a swift offensive along both banks of the Elbe River in the general direction of Prague in order to defeat the enemy’s Dresden-Goerlitz grouping and tank armies on the sixth day of the operation to capture the capital of Czechoslovakia, the city of Prague.”
To achieve this goal, the command planned to deliver the main blow from the Rize area with the forces of three combined arms armies: the 3rd Guards Colonel General V.N. Gordov, the 13th Colonel General N.P. Pukhov and the 5th Guards Colonel General A S. Zhadov and two tank: 3rd Guards Colonel-General P.S. Rybalko and 4th Guards.
Our 4th Guards Tank Army was supposed to advance along the western banks of the Elbe and Vltava rivers in the general direction of Teplice-Shanov-Prague.
The tank armies were supposed to act in the combat formations of the combined arms armies, striking simultaneously with them:
4th Guards Tank - in the band of the 13th Army, and the 3rd Guards Tank - initially in the band of the 3rd Guards, then in the band of the 5th Guards combined arms armies.
The 4th Guards Tank Army was ordered advance from the sector of the 13th Army in the direction of Nossen - Teplice-Shanov - Prague and on the sixth day from the west and south-west, together with the 3rd Guards Tank Army, capture Prague. On the first day of the operation, the Gosberg, Ober-Schar, and Nossen areas were to be occupied.
The tank armies were supposed to immediately after breaking through the enemy defenses, without being drawn into the battles for Dresden, quickly, on the shoulders of the enemy, together with the combined arms armies, seize mountain passes and through the Ore Mountains go to Czechoslovakia to the rear of Army Group Center.
Readiness for the offensive was scheduled for the evening of May 6.
Our closest right neighbor, advancing on the city of Chemnitz (now Karl-Marx-Stadt), was the 25th tank corps of Major General E.I. Fominykh (after capturing Prague, this formation passed into our operational subordination). This tank corps finally defeated the Vlasov gang, capturing him and his headquarters on May 11, 1945 in the area of ​​Chemnitz. An important role in the capture of Vlasov was played by the commander of the motorized rifle battalion of the 181st tank brigade, Colonel Mishchenko, Captain Yakushev. For this feat, he was awarded the Order of Suvorov II degree.
Having received the directive, we, together with the headquarters, with the participation of the commander of the 1st Guards Assault Aviation Corps V. G. Ryazanov, carefully studied the plan for the upcoming operation and on the same day set tasks for the troops. The 6th Guards Mechanized Corps, with reinforcements, together with the 13th Army, was ordered to break through the enemy defenses in the Mugeln, Naundorf sector and by the end of the first day, advancing rapidly in the direction of Katnitz-Nossen, seize the areas: the main forces - Gross-Voigtsberg, Hirschfeld, Nossen, forward detachment - Freiberg. Conduct reconnaissance in the direction of Oderan - Mitelzeyda. On the second day of the operation, develop the offensive on Lichtenberg and by the end of the day capture the area of ​​Friedebach, Nassau, Ditterstbach. The 10th Guards Tank Corps, together with units of the 13th Army, was to launch an offensive in the Kazabra, Reppen sector and, advancing rapidly in the direction of Nekkanitz-Rauslitz, by the end of the first day, capture the Ober-Schar, Mohorn, Tanneberg area. On the second day of the operation, develop the offensive in the direction of Grilleburg-Schoenfeld and by the end of the day capture the area of ​​Hermsdorf, Hönnersdorf, Reichenau.
The 5th Guards Mechanized Corps was given the task of moving in the second echelon behind the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps, being ready to repel enemy counterattacks from the southwest, and to develop the offensive of the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps. By the end of the first day of the operation, he was supposed to reach the area 8 km northwest of Nossen, and then advance to Weisenberg (6 km southeast of Freiberg).
All formations were ordered to develop swift actions, especially in the first two days of the operation, in order to have time to capture the passes of the mountain range before the enemy was able to organize defense on them; do not stop the offensive at night; take into account the peculiarities of action on rugged mountainous wooded terrain. The forward detachments included sapper units and crossing facilities.
The 68th Guards Tank and 70th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Brigades, as well as a number of other units of army subordination, were assigned to the reserve. The task force of the army headquarters was to follow with the main forces of the 10th Guards Corps.
On May 3, the 4th Guards Tank Army transferred its combat sector to The 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front and the next day concentrated in the forests in the Dahme region south of Berlin.
The personnel of units and formations worked hard to prepare the march at night. The crossing of the Elbe in the Torgau region at nightfall was supposed to ensure the suddenness of our appearance in front of the defending Nazi troops. K. I. Upman, S. S. Maryakhin, N. F. Mentyukov, A. Ya. Ostrenko, M. A. Poluektov, corps commanders E. E. Belov, I. P. Ermakov, S. F. Pushkarev and all other commanders of formations and units.
Prior to the start of the operation, an average of 2 rounds of ammunition, 3 refueling for tanks, 3.5 refueling for vehicles, and 10 food rations per day were delivered.
V. G. Gulyaev and I went to our neighbors and met with the commander of the 13th Army, General N. P. Pukhov, and a member of the military council of the army, M. A. Kozlov, in order to link our actions. The meeting was short, but businesslike.
On the night of May 5, army troops began to march. May 5 received instructions from the front commander to attack the enemy not on May 7, as originally prescribed, but a day earlier - on May 6. This, apparently, was due to the entire military-political situation in the last days of the war, and in particular the uprising in the Czech Republic, the preparation of which has already been mentioned. It unfolded with great force in Prague. Hitler's Gauleiter Frank, in order to win time, began negotiations with the leadership of the rebels, and Scherner gave a categorical order to suppress the uprising by any means. Before the attack on Prague, we were not aware of this, but the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, of course, had the relevant information.
Having crossed the Elbe in the Torgau region and somewhat to the south, by the morning of May 6, the army with the main forces took up the starting position for the offensive at the turn of Mugeln, Zehren (50 km northwest of Dresden). Some of our units were still on the way at that time.
Near the area where the army was concentrated were formations of American troops. We did not receive specific data on the nature and strength of the enemy's defense from the allies - it is difficult to say why. We had to carry out combat reconnaissance in order to establish the nature of the enemy’s defenses and determine whether to conduct artillery preparation against the detected targets or, if the enemy’s defenses were not strong enough, immediately after combat reconnaissance, introduce strong forward detachments, which was possible, since the enemy did not expect ours here offensive.
Soon the commander of the 13th Army, N.P. Pukhov, arrived. Together we waited for the results of military reconnaissance. They were gratifying for us - the enemy did not have a continuous defensive line, there were only separate nodes of resistance. After discussing the situation, we decided, without wasting time, to launch a five-minute artillery fire raid on the discovered pockets of resistance and, without waiting for an air strike, attack the enemy with strong forward detachments. We believed that if the enemy’s defense in depth turned out to be serious, then the battle of the forward detachments could reveal its character and strength, but if the enemy’s resistance could be broken immediately to the entire tactical depth, then without delay the main forces of the armies could be brought into battle to develop an offensive on Prague. Pukhov's troops were mostly on the march.
The forward detachments were assigned: from the 10th Guards Tank Corps - the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade of Colonel M. G. Fomichev, reinforced by the 72nd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment of Major A. A. Dementyev and motorized riflemen of the 29th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of Colonel A I. Efimova; from the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps - the 35th Guards Mechanized Brigade of Colonel P. N. Turkin, reinforced by artillery and a tank regiment. Soon the advance detachment from the 13th Army approached.
The attack was to be supported by the fighter aviation division of the three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel A. I. Pokryshkin, the attack aircraft of Lieutenant General V. G. Ryazanov and the bombers of General D. T. Nikishin.
At 8 o'clock. On the morning of May 6, we were at our observation post. At 8 o'clock. 30 minutes. after a short artillery raid, the forward detachments began the attack. We watched our tanks (there were about 150 of them in both forward detachments) lined up in battle formation - an angle forward. This order of formation is beneficial in the event of sudden enemy anti-tank fire and in the presence of minefields. In addition, such a formation ensured effective firing, both frontal and flank, while the battle formation in line made it possible to fire essentially only in front of the front and did not guarantee against sudden surprises.
Tanks marched boldly, crushing the enemy with fire, armor and caterpillars. In front of us, enemy combat vehicles and other equipment were on fire. The enemy offered stubborn resistance. Separate groups of the Nazis surrendered, apparently, they could not figure out what had happened, who was advancing. Americans? But why then do they beat “in Russian”?
Soon, 4 captured officers were brought to our NP with maps showing the situation. It became quite clear that the enemy did not have a tough defense here, as we expected. From the testimonies of the prisoners it turned out that the enemy command, knowing that American troops were stationed in this area, was convinced that they would not attack. Therefore, the attack of our advanced tank detachments came as a complete surprise to them.
At 10 o'clock. 30 minutes. I reported to the commander of the front troops on the results of the battle of the forward detachments, which were rapidly developing the offensive, briefly outlined the data on the nature of the enemy’s defense, his behavior and asked permission to attack with all the troops.
At 11 o'clock. 20 minutes. Front commander I. S. Konev and a member of the military council of the front, Lieutenant General K. V. Krainyukov, arrived at our NP. Convinced of our success, the front commander instructed to bring the main forces of the army into battle.
Every minute was dear to me, and I asked permission to go forward with the operational group to the main forces, parts of which were just passing near our NP, and exclamations came from the open hatches of the tanks: “Give Prague!”.
About half an hour later, already on the way, we learned from radio messages that on May 5 an uprising of Czechoslovak patriots had begun in Prague. The core of the uprising was the workers' collectives of large factories "Skoda-Smikhov", "Walter", "Avia", "Microphone", "Eta", "ChKD".
Details became known later. The rebels have made significant progress. They occupied the radio station, post office, telegraph, central telephone exchange, central stations, city power station, most of the bridges across the Vltava.
On the initiative of the Communists, on the night of May 6, the Czech National Council appealed to the inhabitants of the capital to build barricades. During the night, 1,600 barricades were erected. About 30 thousand people fought on them.
The uprising in Prague assumed ever greater proportions. To suppress it, the fascist command threw tanks and planes to help their garrison. The Nazi monsters dealt cruelly with the population, sparing neither women nor children. The SS units were especially atrocious in the working-class districts of the city. The rebels fought with the greatest courage and bravery.
An important role in maintaining the stamina of the fighters was played by the newspaper Rude Pravo, which came out after six years of underground, where the appeal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to the communists was published, which said: “Communists! Yesterday our direct participation in the battles began. Prove that in an open struggle against the enemy you will be as steadfast, courageous and resourceful as during the six years of cruel struggle against the monsters of the Gestapo. Be the best of the best everywhere and gloriously carry your banner soaked in the blood of thousands of your comrades to the goal. The iron discipline of the Bolshevik Party and the enthusiasm of the fraternal Red Army serve as a vivid example for you. Forward, to the last battle for a free, popular, democratic Czechoslovak Republic!
Despite the heroism of the patriots who revolted in Prague, during May 6, the enemy managed to capture a number of barricades after fierce fighting. The Nazis began to make their way to the city center. The crisis of the uprising was coming.
From the basement of the Prague radio building besieged by the Nazis, a Czechoslovak announcer in Russian called for help: “Attention! Attention! Czech Prague speaking! Czech Prague speaking! A large number of German tanks and aircraft are attacking our city from all sides at the moment. We make a fiery appeal to the heroic Red Army with a request for support. Send us tanks and planes to help us, don't let our city of Prague perish!"
The soldiers of the Red Army, having learned about the address of the Czechoslovak people on the radio, with even greater enthusiasm and energy sought to reach Prague as soon as possible and help the rebels.
Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced from the north and northwest. Formations of the 4th Ukrainian Front were coming from the east, and the 2nd Ukrainian Front was developing success from the southeast.
By the evening of May 6 the troops of our army, having traveled 50 km, reached the line of Waldheim, Siebelen, and advanced detachments advanced up to 65 km, captured an important railway junction - the city of Freiberg. The forward detachments seized road junctions, defiles and passes. They were ahead of the enemy, preventing him from occupying the lines prepared for defense on the German-Czechoslovak border and saddling the mountain passes.
May 7 The 4th Guards Tank Army advanced another 50-60 km, to the Frauenstein-Zaida line. Soon all the passes through the Ore Mountains were in our hands. The 10th Guards Tank Corps was occupied by Teplice-Shanov, and the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps by Duhtsev.
The enemy fought back, clinging to every advantageous line, setting up blockages and minefields in narrow places, on passes and in gorges. The sappers of Major General M.A. Poluektov paved the way for tanks in the mountains covered with forests. Czechoslovak friends showed us how best to get around the obstacles.
The great difficulty was to overcome the steep rocky slopes covered with forest. I had to resort to the invention of driver mechanics: tracks on caterpillars were turned over with a crest outwards, then the engagement with the ground was reliably ensured.
I can't help but cite one curious episode. Our task force ended up in a mountainous area rich in iron ore. The compass needle pointed anywhere but north. In order to better navigate the terrain, I climbed a border tower. On the eastern slopes of the Ore Mountains, many factory chimneys could be seen in the predawn darkness. And on the map there was a forest and several villages. I was seriously upset, thinking if we had gone astray from our direction. But, fortunately, at that moment the sun began to rise. It turned out that we were going in the right direction, exactly to the east, and the factories, as it turned out later, had been built by the Nazis in recent years. The fascist German leadership built their defense enterprises here, considering that we would not bomb the territory of Czechoslovakia.
By the end of May 7, the 4th Guards Tank Army had overcome the Ore Mountains with its main forces. and was already 150-160 km northwest of Prague. Behind them advanced the 13th Army. On the left was the 3rd Guards Tank Army and other troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The 1st Guards, 38th, 60th and 18th Armies of the 4th Ukrainian Front were moving from the east. From the southeast, the 2nd Ukrainian Front developed success.
Acting in difficult conditions of mountainous terrain, the guards of the 16th mechanized brigade of G. M. Shcherbak on the morning of May 8 broke into the city of Most, which is of great military-industrial importance. A large plant for the production of synthetic gasoline was located there. The brigade destroyed more than 20 enemy guns, defeated the fascist garrison and liberated the city.
Hundreds and thousands of men, women, teenagers came out to meet the Soviet soldiers. These were Russians, Czechs, Poles, French, Danes, people of many other nationalities, whom the Nazis drove from their homes to hard labor.
And past us, further to Prague, the brigades of our 5th Guards Mechanized Corps I.P. Ermakov.

The defeat of Army Group Center and the liberation of Prague

On the night of May 8, 1945, the 10th Guards Mechanized Brigade of the 5th Guards Mechanized Corps under the command of Colonel V. N. Buslaev, acting as an advance detachment, broke into Zatec (60 km northwest of Prague). Noticing a long enemy column of vehicles in the twilight, the commander of the tank regiment, Lieutenant Colonel O. N. Grebennikov, attacked the enemy on the move. Other brigades soon arrived. 5th Guards Mechanized Corps and completed the work begun by Grebennikov. As it turned out later, this was the headquarters of Army Group Center Scherner, who was in a hurry from Jaroměř (100 km northeast of Prague) to Pilsen in order to make his way to the west from there.
It was on this path that disaster befell the enemy. Literally in a few minutes, under the attacks of the tanks of Senior Lieutenant V. S. Derevyanko and Lieutenant S. P. Bednenko, the headquarters of Field Marshal Scherner ceased to exist. Something like a paper blizzard broke out on the streets of Žatec: the wind circled and scattered armfuls of staff documents in all directions. Most of the Nazis surrendered, including 9 generals. But many, like a flock of frightened jackals, tried to hide in doorways, in vegetable gardens, in ditches and attics. Czechoslovak friends helped us catch them.
Scherner, as it later became known, with an adjutant who spoke Czech, dressed in civilian clothes, managed to escape, leaving his troops to their fate. Here is how Scherner himself tells about it: “On the night of May 7-8, my headquarters was in the transfer and on the morning of May 8, during a Russian tank breakthrough, it was completely destroyed. Since that time, I have lost control of the retreating troops. The tank breakthrough was completely unexpected, since the front still existed on the evening of May 7th.
Having strayed for 5 days, Scherner and his adjutant made their way to the Americans and surrendered.
Now Scherner's troops, acting in front of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian fronts, found themselves without centralized control.
On the morning of May 8, it became known that Germany had surrendered, but Scherner's troops, not recognizing the surrender, still continued to fight. They tried to break through to the west, but, not having reached their goal, they were destroyed or captured by our troops.
Although on May 9, the new fascist leader, Doenitz, officially instructed his troops "on May 9 at 00:00, all branches of the armed forces, all theaters of military operations, all armed organizations and individuals to stop hostilities against their former opponents", but on the same day to "clarify" this order to Pilsen, where, according to Doenitz's calculations, Scherner's headquarters, which we had already defeated in Zatec, should have been located, an officer of the general staff, Colonel Meyer-Detring, went by plane. He had with him an order in which he ordered to continue the fight against the Soviet troops for as long as possible, because only under this condition would numerous parts of the fascist army be able to gain time in order to break through to the west, to the allies.
Approximately 2 o'clock. 30 minutes. May 9 am we received a radio report from M. G. Fomichev's advance detachment that he had broken into Prague. This information was confirmed by a communications officer from the 10th Guards Tank Corps, Captain M.V. Mishin.
At 3 o'clock. 9th May the advanced units of the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade were fighting in the center of Prague - near the General Staff Building. One battalion of the brigade, preventing the SS from blowing up the mined Charles Bridge, was on the western bank of the river. Vltava, and another battalion knocked out the Nazis from the Prague Kremlin.
At 4 o'clock. May 9 am The entire 10th Guards Tank Corps of the 4th Guards Tank Army entered Prague. Together with him, the 70th Army Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade of N.F. Kornyushkin entered. A self-propelled gun platoon of Lieutenant Kulemin broke into Prague from the south-west, followed by the 72nd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment of A. A. Dementyev. Our other corps (6th and 5th Guards Mechanized) also entered the city with the main forces.
The operational group and I moved along with the 10th Guards Tank Corps. From Prague, I sent a report to the front commander:
“At 4.00 am on 9.5.45, the 10th Guards Tank Corps entered the city of Prague and reached its northeastern outskirts, eastern and southeastern outskirts. 6th Guards Mechanized Corps - to the southern and southwestern outskirts of Prague. 5th Guards Mechanized Corps - to the western outskirts. Many prisoners and trophies were captured. Those who resisted were destroyed. Communication with the rebels through Brigadier General Veder. There are no American troops. There are no neighbors. I conduct reconnaissance in the northeastern part, in a southerly direction. I am tidying up. I'm with a task force on the western outskirts of Prague. Lelyushenko.

Prague operation 1945

The Prague operation of 1945, the final offensive operation of the Great Patriotic War in Europe, carried out on May 6-11 by the troops of the 1st, 4th and 2nd Ukrainian fronts in order to encircle and defeat the German-fascist. groups on the territory of Czechoslovakia and the liberation of its capital - Prague. After the completion of the Berlin operation of 1945, a favorable operational strategy was created. the situation for the defeat of the German-fascist group. troops, which continued to resist on the territory. Czechoslovakia. Troops of the 1st Ukrainian. front (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev), advancing by the armies of the center in the district of 30-50 km north. and north-east. Dresden, deeply covered the left flank of the enemy Army Group Center. 4th Ukr. the front (commands, General of the Army A.I. Eremenko) went to the line of Krnov, Sternberk, Novi-Yichin, sowing. Zlin. Troops of the 2nd Ukrainian. front (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky) fought west. and south of Brno, covering the right flank of the pr-ka grouping from the south. As part of three Ukr. There were 20 combined arms fronts, 3 tanks, and 3 air. army, 1 cavalry. group, 1 division arm., 5 sec. tank., 1 mech. and 1 cav. frame. This number included the 2nd Army of the Polish Army, the 1st and 4th Romanian armies and the 1st Czechoslovak Army. frame. In the troops involved in the operation, there were St. 2 million people, approx. 30.5 thousand or. and mortars, approx. 2000 tanks and self-propelled guns and more than 3 thousand aircraft. Opposed owl. to the troops, the grouping of the pr-ka included the 4th tank., 17th and 1st tank, the armies of the Army Group Center (commands, General Feldm. F. Schörner) and part of the forces of the Austrian Army Group (8- I army and the 6th tank, SS army) under the command of Gen.-Regiment. L. Rendulich. Total number enemy group was St. 900 thousand people, 9700 op. and mortars, 1,900 tanks and assault guns, and 1,000 aircraft. German-Fash. the command took every measure to ensure that as long as possible to hold out in Czechoslovakia, hoping for disagreements between the allies and collusion with the ruling circles of the United States and Great Britain. German-fascist plan. command was to put up stubborn resistance to the Sov. Army, but open the front to the Anglo-American troops. To do this, the Nazis entered into direct negotiations with the West. powers. However, these plans were thwarted by the swift advance of the owls. troops. In the period from 1 to 5 May in different. districts of Czechoslovakia began Nar. insurrection.

On the morning of May 5, it broke out in Prague (see May uprising of the Czech people of 1945). To suppress the uprising in the capital of Czechoslovakia, German-fascist. the command abandoned large forces of the troops of Army Group Center. The position of the rebels became more difficult. They turned to the command of the Sov. Army and allies asking for help. The situation demanded in the shortest possible time to defeat the resisting enemy grouping of troops in order to provide assistance to the armed forces. uprising of the Prague workers. The idea of ​​the operation was to inflict several powerful blows in converging directions on Prague, to surround and dismember the main. forces of the enemy group east. cities, liberate the Czechoslovak capital and cut off the escape routes for the Army Group Center to 3. and S.-W. Troops of the 1st Ukrainian. front Ch. the blow was delivered from the Riesa district in the general direction of Teplice, Prague by the forces of 3 combined arms and 2 tanks, armies (13th army, 3rd and 5th guards, 3rd and 4th guards tank), 2 tank, corps (25th and 4th guards) and 5 art. breakthrough divisions. The second strike from the north-west area. Görlitz in the general direction of Zittau, Mlada Boleslav, Prague was attacked by a strike force consisting of the 28th and 52nd armies; the third blow - the 2nd Army of the Polish Army from the Kamenz, Neshwitz line in the general direction to Pirna, bypassing Dresden from the south-east. Aviation support and cover for the advancing troops were assigned to the 2nd air. army. Troops of the 2nd Ukrainian. The front attacked Prague from the district south of Brno with the forces of 4 combined arms (7th and 9th guards, 53rd and 46th), 1 tank. (6th Guards) armies, 1 cavalry mech. groups (1st Guards). In the Olomouc direction, the 40th Army was to develop the offensive in cooperation with the 4th Rum. army. Aviation support was provided by the 5th air. army. 4th Ukr. the front was to continue the liquidation of the Olomouc ledge of the avenue in cooperation with the troops of the 2nd Ukr. front, inflicting Ch. a strike by the forces of the 60th and 38th armies on Olomouc and continuing the offensive of the 1st Guards. army on Novy-Jicin and Godslavice, the 18th army - on Vnlashsk-Mezirzhichi and Bistrshitsa (see Moravska-Ostrava operation of 1945). This created the conditions for the subsequent attack on Prague from the East by all the forces of the 4th Ukr. Front and the 1st Czechoslovak Army. corps. Aviation support for the advancing troops was assigned to the 8th air. army. The preparation of the operation was carried out in an extremely short time. 3rd and 4th Guards Tank, Army and Rifleman. connections of the 1st Ukr. front in 3 days made a 100-200-km march from Berlin to the starting area of ​​the north. -zap. Dresden. This means that the regrouping of troops was also carried out in the 2nd Ukr. front. The troops put in order their weapons, equipment, replenished fuel and ammunition. Com-ry and political agencies mobilized soldiers for the quick and exemplary performance of the upcoming combat missions; explained to them the meaning of liberate, the mission of the Sov. Armies in relation to the peoples of Czechoslovakia, still under occupation. On May 6, taking advantage of the departure of the pr-ka to the dep. directions, troops of the right wing of the 1st Ukr. front went into pursuit. Knocking down the rearguards of the enemy, the advanced detachments quickly moved forward, providing the path of the main. forces. Fighting owls. troops did not stop day or night. The need to increase the pace of the offensive was caused by two circumstances: firstly, it was necessary to prevent the pr-ku from leaving by 3 .; secondly, the situation of the citizens of Prague became more and more critical. The danger of reprisals against them and the destruction of Prague by the retreating fascists increased. troops.

On May 7, the troops of the left wing and the center of the 1st Ukr. front (2nd Army of the Polish Army, 28th, 52nd, 31st and 59th armies), which developed successfully. May 8 owl. troops captured Dresden, the 2nd Army of the Polish Army occupied the city of Bautzen, and the 52nd Army - Görlitz. The armies of the right wing of the front liberated the years. Teplice, Bilina, Most, etc. - Troops of the 2nd Ukr. the front was seized by the years: Znojmo, Miroslav, Jaromerice and continued to advance towards Prague from the south-east. 4th Ukr. On May 8, the front occupied the city of Olomouc, after which its troops on the morning of May 9 joined with units of the 2nd Ukr. front. On the night of May 9, the 4th (command, colonel general D. D. Lelyushenko) and 3rd (command, regiment general, tank, troops P. S. Rybalko) guards tank armies of the 1st Ukr . front made an 80-kilometer throw and at dawn their advanced units broke into Prague on the move. Following them on the morning of May 9, advanced units of the 3rd Guards entered the city. (commands, Colonel General V. M. Gordov) and the 13th (commands, Colonel General N. P. Pukhov) armies of this front. On the same day, mobile groups of the 2nd and 4th Ukr entered the capital of Czechoslovakia. fronts, as well as the advance detachment of the mobile group of the 38th Army (commands, Colonel General K.S. Moskalenko) of the 4th Ukr. front, as part of a swarm, tankers of the 1st division fought. Czechoslovakian tank brigade. With the active support of the fighting squads of the insurgent Prague, Sov. On May 9, the army completely liberated the capital of Czechoslovakia. On May 10, the striving continued in all directions, the advance of the owls. troops. During the day, the troops of the 1st Ukr. front passed 40 km and captured approx. 80 thousand German-Fash. soldiers and officers. At the airfields of Dresden, Striegau, Görlitz, Liberec, 272 enemy aircraft were captured. 1st Guards kav. corps (comr. general-l. V.K. Baranov) in the Chemnitz region and part of the forces of the 4th Guards. tank, the armies in the Rokycany region (east of Pilsen) came into contact with the Amer. troops. Main forces of the 4th Guards. tank, the army, advancing to the south from Prague, went to the Beneshov district and joined with the 6th Guards. Tank army of the 2nd Ukrainian. front. Left-flank formations of the 2nd Ukrainian. front, developing the offensive, met with the Amer. parts in the districts of Pisek and Ceske Budejovice. Almost the entire enemy grouping located in Czechoslovakia was surrounded. Only a few divisions of Army Group "Austria", operating on the flanks of the grouping, broke into the zone of action of the Amer. troops. Having lost hope of breaking through on 3., the encircled troops began to lay down their arms.

During May 10 and 11, forces German-Fash. troops were captured. Simultaneously with the liquidation of the encircled grouping of the pr-ka, the troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts continued to advance on 3. until meeting with the 3rd Amer. army. On May 11 they came into contact with the Amer. parts in the strip of the 1st Ukr. front in the districts of the years. Karlovy Vary and Klatovy. Owls. The army fulfilled its internat. , duty to the Czechoslovak people. She brought him liberation, put an end to the political. combinations that the ruling circles of England and the USA were plotting in relation to Czechoslovakia. The actions of the owls The troops were actively supported by the courageous Czechoslovak partisans. By. was the last operation of the Soviets. Armed. Forces in the war against fascists. Germany. Troops of the 1st, 4th and 2nd Ukr. fronts captured approx. 860 thousand enemy soldiers and officers, including 60 generals. A characteristic feature of P. o. it was prepared in an extremely short time with complex operations. regrouping of troops. The peculiarity of this operation was also the use of tanks, armies to carry out a deep and quick maneuver to encircle the main. forces pr-ka in a mountainous wooded area. The average rate of advance of the tank, troops in the mountains was 50-60 km per day. By. confirmed the high organizational skills of owls. command and skill of the soldiers of the Sov. Army. Party-watered, the work helped the command to create a high offensive. impulse and ensure the massive heroism of the warriors.

In commemoration of the victory of the Soviet Armed. Force Presidium Top. The Council of the USSR established the medal "For the Liberation of Prague", which was awarded to all participants in the battles for the capital of Czechoslovakia. More than 50 compounds were given honorary titles, and approx. 260 formations and units were awarded orders. St. 140 thousand owls. soldiers fell in the battles for the liberation of Czechoslovakia. As a sign of eternal gratitude to the owls. Numerous monuments have been erected in Czechoslovakia to the soldiers who fell in the struggle. Many officers and generals, com-ry partisans. detachments were awarded Czech orders and medals, elected honorary citizens of the cities of Czechoslovakia.

A. S. Galitzan.

Used materials of the Soviet military encyclopedia in 8 volumes, volume 6.

Literature:

Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in World War II. Ed. 2nd. M., 1974;

Liberation of South-Eastern and Central Europe by the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts (1944-1945). M., 1970;

For the liberation of Czechoslovakia. M., 1965;

Moskalenko K.S. Prague operation.- “Military-ist. journal, 1975,

Read further:

May uprising in the Czech Republic in 1945.

World War II 1939-1945.(chronological table).