| Belgrade offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theYugoslav andEastern fronts ofWorld War II | |||||||
 Residents of Belgrade greet Soviet troops, 30 October 1944 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Allies Soviet Union Yugoslav Partisans Bulgaria | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Fyodor TolbukhinNikolai GagenVladimir ZhdanovJosip Broz TitoPeko DapčevićDanilo LekićVladimir StoychevKiril StanchevAsen Sirakov |  Maximilian von Weichs Milan Nedić Velibor JonićWilhelm Schneckenburger †Hans FelberAlexander Löhr | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 3rd Ukrainian Front1st Corps12th Corps1st Army2nd Army4th Army | Army Group F 2nd Panzer ArmySerbian State Guard[5] Russian Protective Corps | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 580,000 troops 3,640 artillery pieces 520 tanks and assault guns 1,420 aircraft 80 ships | 150,000 troops (mostly 2nd tier infantry & non-German support troops) 2,100 artillery pieces 125 tanks and assault guns 350 aircraft 70 ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
Soviets: 2,953 dead (assault on Belgrade only)[8] | Unknown | ||||||
TheBelgrade offensive or theBelgrade strategic offensive operation (Serbo-Croatian:Beogradska operacija /Београдска операција;Russian:Белградская стратегическая наступательная операция,Belgradskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya) (15 September – 24 November 1944)[9] was a military operation duringWorld War II in Yugoslavia in whichBelgrade was liberated from the GermanWehrmacht through the joint efforts of the SovietRed Army,Yugoslav Partisans, and theBulgarian Army.[10] Soviet forces and local militias launched separate but loosely cooperative operations that undermined German control of Belgrade and ultimately forced a retreat.[11] Martial planning was coordinated evenly among command leaders, and the operation was largely enabled through tactical cooperation betweenJosip Broz Tito andJoseph Stalin that began in September 1944.[12][13] These martial provisions allowed Bulgarian forces to engage in operations throughoutYugoslav territory, which furthered tactical success while increasing diplomatic friction.[14]
The primary objectives of the Belgrade offensive centered on lifting the German occupation of Serbia, seizing Belgrade as a strategic holdout in theBalkans, and severing German communication lines between Greece and Hungary.[15] The spearhead of the offensive was executed by the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front in coordination with the Yugoslav 1st Army Corps. Simultaneous operations in the south involved the Bulgarian 2nd Army and Yugoslav XIII Army Corps, and the incursion of the 2nd Ukrainian Front northwards from the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border placed additional pressure on German command.[16] There were additional skirmishes between Bulgarian forces and German anti-partisan regiments in Macedonia that represented the campaign's southernmost combat operations.[17][18]
By the summer of 1944, the Germans had not only lost control of practically all the mountainous area of Yugoslavia but were no longer able to protect their own essential lines of communication. Another general offensive on their front was unthinkable, and by September it was clear that Belgrade and the whole of Serbia must shortly be free of them. These summer months were the best the movement had ever seen; there were more recruits than could be armed or trained, desertions from the enemy reached high numbers; one by one the objectives of resistance were reached and taken.[19]
In August 1943, the German Wehrmacht had two army formations deployed in the Balkans:Army Group E inGreece and the2nd Panzer Army inYugoslavia andAlbania.Army Group F headquarters (GeneralfeldmarschallMaximilian von Weichs) in Belgrade acted as a jointhigh command for these formations, as well as for Bulgarian andQuisling formations.[citation needed]
After the collapse ofthe uprising in December 1941, anti-Axis activity in Serbia decreased significantly, and the focus of resistance moved to other, less populated areas. Consequently, although Serbia had great significance to the Germans, very few troops actually remained there; according to Schmider only about 10,000 in June 1944.[20] In the following years, Tito repeatedly tried to reinforce the partisan forces in Serbia with experienced units fromBosnia andMontenegro. From the spring of 1944, the Allied command had assisted in these efforts.[21] The Germans actively opposed these efforts by concentrating forces in the border regions of Bosnia and Montenegro, in order to disturb Partisan concentrations, to inflict casualties on Partisan units, and to push them back with a series of large-scale assaults.[citation needed]
In July 1944, German defenses began to fail. After the failure of Operation Draufgänger (Daredevil) – a 1944 anti-partisan operation in Montenegro, Yugoslavia, and NorthernAlbania – three divisions of theNarodnooslobodilačka vojska Jugoslavije (the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia) (NOVJ) – managed to cross theIbar River to the east and threaten the main railroad lines. After the failure ofOperation Rübezahl in Montenegro in August 1944, two additionalNOVJ divisions broke through the Germanblockade, successfully entrenching themselves in western Serbia. Army Group F command responded by deploying additional forces: the1st Mountain Division arrived in Serbia in early August, followed by the4th SS Panzergrenadier Division from theThessaloniki area.[citation needed]
Developments inRomania in late August 1944 confronted Army Group F command with the necessity of an immediate large-scale concentration of troops and weapons in Serbia in order to cope with a threat from the east. The Allied command, and the NOVJ supreme command, predicted this scenario and developed a plan for the occasion. On 1 September 1944, a general attack from the ground and from the air on the German transport lines and installations (Operation Ratweek) began.[22] These attacks largely hindered German troop movements, with units disassembled and tied to the ground.[23]
In the meantime, the 1st Proletarian Corps, the main partisan formation in Serbia, continued with reinforcing and developing its forces and with seizing positions for the assault on Belgrade. On 18 SeptemberValjevo was taken, and on 20 SeptemberAranđelovac. Partisans achieved control of a large area south and southwest of Belgrade, thus forming the basis for the future advance towards Belgrade.
In response to the defeat of German forces in theSecond Jassy–Kishinev offensive in late August 1944, which forced Bulgaria and Romania to switch sides, and to the advance of Red Army troops into the Balkans, Berlin ordered Army Group E to withdraw into Hungary. But the combined actions of Yugoslav partisans and Allied air forces impeded German movements with Ratweek. With the Red Army on Serbia's borders, the Wehrmacht put together another provisional army formation from available elements of Army Group E and the 2nd Panzer Army for the defense of Serbia, called "Army Group Serbia" (German:Armeeabteilung Serbien).
As a result of theBulgarian coup d'état of 1944, the pro-Axis regime in Bulgaria was overthrown and replaced with a government of theFatherland Front led byKimon Georgiev. Once the new government came to power, Bulgaria declared war on Germany. Under the new pro-Soviet government, four Bulgarian armies, 455,000 strong were mobilized and reorganized. In early October 1944, three Bulgarian armies, consisting of around 340,000 men,[17] were located on the Yugoslav – Bulgarian border.[24][25]
By the end of September, the Red Army3rd Ukrainian Front troops under the command of MarshalFyodor Tolbukhin were concentrated at the Bulgarian-Yugoslav border. The Soviet57th Army was stationed in theVidin area, while the Bulgarian 2nd Army[26] (General Kiril Stanchev commanding under the operational command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front) was stationed to the south on theNiš rail line at the junction of the Bulgarian, Yugoslav, and Greek borders. This allowed the arrival of the Partisans1st Army from Yugoslav territory, in order to provide support to their13th and14th Corps collaborating in the liberation of Niš and supporting the 57th Army's advance to Belgrade, respectively. The Red Army2nd Ukrainian Front's 46th Army was deployed in the area of theTeregova river (Romania), poised to cut the rail link between Belgrade and Hungary to the north ofVršac.
Pre-operations were coordinated between the Soviets and the commander-in-chief of the Yugoslav Partisans, MarshalJosip Broz Tito. Tito arrived in Soviet-controlledRomania on 21 September, and from there flew toMoscow where he met with Soviet premierJoseph Stalin. The meeting was a success, in particular because the two allies reached an agreement concerning the participation of Bulgarian troops in the operation that would be conducted on Yugoslav territory.
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Before the start of ground operations, the Soviet17th Air Army (3rd Ukrainian Front) was ordered to impede the withdrawal of German troops from Greece and southern regions of Yugoslavia. To do so, it carried out air attacks on the railroad bridges and other important facilities in the areas of Niš,Skopje, andKruševo lasting from 15 to 21 September.
It was necessary for the Yugoslavs to break through German defensive positions on the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border to gain control of roads and mountain passages through eastern Serbia, to penetrate into the valley of theGreat Morava river, and to secure thebridgehead on the western bank. This task was to be executed mainly by the 57th Army, and the Yugoslav XIV Army Corps was ordered to co-operate and support the Red Army attack behind the front line.[27]
After the successful completion of the first stage, the plan was to deploy the4th Guards Mechanized Corps to the bridgehead on the west bank. This Corps with its tanks, heavy weapons, and impressive firepower was compatible with the Yugoslav 1st Army Corps, which had significant, concentrated manpower, but was armed mainly with light infantry weapons. Once joined, these two formations were ordered to execute the main attack on Belgrade from the south.[28] The advantages of this plan were the possibility of the rapid deployment of forces in the critical final stage of the offensive, and the possibility of cutting off German troops in eastern Serbia from their main forces.
In January 1944, partisan operational units left the northern part of east Serbia under pressure from occupiers and auxiliary forces. Bulgarian garrisons, some German police forces, and Serbian Quisling troops, all under German command, andChetniks, mostly commanded by agreements with the Germans, remained in the area. Partisan forces made up of the 23rd and 25th Divisions returned to the central parts of east Serbia in July and August 1944, forming a free territory with a makeshift runway inSoko Banja, thus securing both air supply of arms and ammunition, and allowing evacuation of the wounded. After the coup in Romania, the importance of the northern part of east Serbia had grown for both sides. In a race against each other the Partisans were better positioned and faster. 23rd Division, in a fierce battle withOrder Police battalions and auxiliary forces, tookZaječar on 7 September, and on 12 September enteredNegotin, while the 25th Division unsuccessfully attackedDonji Milanovac at the same time. Volunteers were joining the units in large numbers increasing their size. A new, 45th Serbian Division was formed on 3 September, and on 6 September, 14 Corps headquarters was established as a high command for the area of operations.
The Germans intervened with the 1st Mountain Division, reaching Zaječar on 9 September. Over the next week Partisans launched defensive attacks trying to deny the Germans access to the Danube at Negotin. On 16 September, when Red Army forces did not cross over from Romania as expected, the 14th Corps decided to abandon its defense of the Danube coastline, and to focus on attacking German columns maneuvering elsewhere.
On 12 September, near Negotin, a NOVJ delegation led byColonel Ljubodrag Đurić crossed the Danube to the Romanian side, and establish contact with the Red Army 74th Rifle Division. The delegation was accompanied to Romanian territory by the 1st Battalion of the 9th Serbian Brigade; the 1st Battalion would fight with the 109th Regiment of 74th Rifle Division until 7 October.
In August 1944, Weichs ordered the concentration of his mobile forces in Serbia to combat the Partisans. This included: the 4th SS Police Division, the 1st Mountain Division, the 92nd Motorized Regiment, the 4th Brandenburg Regiment, the 191st Assault Brigade, and the 486th Armored Reconnaissance Troop. As a counter-measure to the events in Romania and Bulgaria, he ordered the11th Luftwaffe Field Division, the22nd Infantry, the117th, the104th Jäger Division, and the18th SS Mountain Police Regiment to advance toMacedonia.
The 1st Mountain Division was withdrawn from operations against partisans in Montenegro, and was transported to the Niš area. On 6 September, it was placed under the command ofGeneral Hans Felber, tasked with establishing control on the Bulgarian border. By mid-September, the division won control of Zaječar and reached theDanube, at the area where the main attack was expected. The7th SS Division under the command of the 2nd Panzer Army, attacked partisan units moving to Serbia from eastern Bosnia andSandžak. This Division was subordinated to General Felber on 21 September, with the intention of launching an offensive against the partisans in western Serbia. However, due to the deteriorating situation on the eastern border, this offensive was canceled. Beginning at the end of September, the division was transferred to southeast Serbia, to guard the southern part of the Serbian front-line between Zaječar andVranje. This enabled the 1st Mountain Division to concentrate on the north, in the area between Zaječar andIron Gates. The 1st Mountain Division was strengthened by the 92 Motorized Regiment, the 2nd Brandenburg, and the 18th SS Mountain Police Regiment. Both divisions added men from sections of German units withdrawn from Romania, and Bulgaria, as well as from local formations. On 22 September, the 1st Mountain Division mounted an attack on the left bank of the Danube in order to gain control of the Iron Gates, but the plan failed when the 75th Corps of the Red Army, advancing in the opposite direction, launched an attack on the division.
After the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, a wide and deep area of possible advancement opened up in front of the Red Army. This started a race between the Soviets and the Germans to the "Blue Line", an intended front-line running from the southern slopes of theCarpathians over the Iron Gates down the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border. By the end of September, both the2nd and the 3rd Ukrainian Front managed to deploy some 19 Rifle Divisions with supporting units to the line (compared to 91 Rifle Divisions in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive).[2] Vast terrain with poor and damaged roads, uncertainty over local forces, and logistical difficulties dispersed the German groups and slowed down their advancement. On the other side, Army Group F encountered much larger problems in concentrating their forces. This resulted in the Red Army achieving substantial superiority in numbers on the Blue Line by the end of September. Given this fact, and the prospect of cooperation with NOVJ, the offensive was launched.
First to reach the Iron Gates area were reconnaissance elements of the 75th Rifle Corps. On 12 September, they established contact with the partisans on the other side of the Danube. However, in the following days, the Germans succeeded in pushing out the partisans from the river bank, and launched a limited attack on Red Army elements across the Danube. According to the general plan, the 75th Corps was to be included in the composition of the 57th Army during its attack south of the Danube, and the completion of the 57th Army transfer to the Vidin area was not expected before 30 September. Having a fluid situation on the Yugoslav side of the Iron Gates, and a German attack across the Danube, 75th Corps launched its attack earlier, crossing the Danube on 22 September. After initial success, in the next days, the German 1st Mountain Division undertook a vigorous counter-attack, pushing the Soviets back to the shores of the Danube. Because of this, the 57th Army attack was launched on 27 and 28 September with troops brought in over night. Divisions of the 68th and the 64th Rifle Corps were introduced to the area from Negotin to Zaječar.
This attack by three Army Corps allowed the Red Army to gain supremacy on the combat line and to advance in spite of the stubborn German defense. On 30 September, Negotin was liberated and heavy fighting erupted in Zaječar.
Army Group F Command in Belgrade sought to bring more units to Belgrade as soon as possible. Weichs ordered the 104th Jäger Division to be transported immediately as soon as transport of the 117th Jäger Division was completed. However, transport from the south was hindered by partisan operations and Allied Air Force attacks. The 117th Jäger Division had been boarded on forty-four trains inAthens on 19 September, but only seventeen of them had reached Belgrade by 8 October. The 104th Jäger Division remained blocked in Macedonia. Because of the lack of troops at the front-line, on 29 September, Army Group F Command ordered a defensive assault by the 1st Mountain Division and the 92nd Motorized Brigade in an attempt to buy time. Assault Regiment Rhodes was transported to Belgrade by air without heavy weapons, but this method of transport could not meet the army's needs.
The attack on the German forces by three Soviet Rifle Corps, supported by the 14th Corps NOVJ, stretched between Donji Milanovac and Zaječar, gradually progressed, despite persistent resistance. The fight broke down into a number of skirmishes for the strong points in towns and on the crossroads and passes, and the Germans were forced to withdraw gradually. The 14th Corps NOVJ won control over communications behind the front-line, and the commander of the 57th Army sent his Chief of Staff Major General Verkholovich (Russian:Верхолович) to the 14th Corps Headquarters to coordinate actions.[29] On 1 October, after a fierce battle, the 223rd Division of the 68th Corps seized an important crossroad in the village of Rgotina, 10 km to the north of Zaječar. Another important crossroad in Štubik fell on 2 October after a bitter battle. On 3 October, parts of the 223rd Division and the 7th and 9th Serbian Brigade of the 23rd Division NOVJ liberatedBor, important for its large copper mine. In Bor the 7th and 9th Brigade liberated some 1,700 forced laborers, mostly Jews from Hungary.[citation needed]
Because of successful attacks, by 4 October, German forces in front of the Soviet 57th Army were separated into three battle groups with no contact with each other. Battle group Groth holding Zaječar was the southernmost, battle group Fisher held positions in the middle, and battle group Stettner (named after the 1st Mountain Division commander) held grounds in mountains further to the north. Having firm control of the crossroads in their area, Soviet command decided to postpone a decisive attack on the German battle groups and to exploit the open roads with mobile forces for deeper penetration. On 7 October, the 5th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, reinforced with a self-propelled artillery regiment and an anti-tank regiment, marched from Negotin over Rgotina andŽagubica toSvilajnac. In twenty-four hours the brigade performed a 120 km long march-maneuver, reaching the Great Morava valley on 8 October, leaving German frontline forces far behind. The next day, 9 October, the93rd Rifle Division broke into the Great Morava valley throughPetrovac. The division commander formed a special task force under Captain Liskov, to capture the only 30-ton bridge over the river near the village of Donje Livadice. Captain Liskov's group successfully neutralized German guards and prevented them from mining the bridge which held great importance for the remaining course of the offensive. On 10 October, the 93rd Rifle Division and the 5th Motorized Brigade secured the bridgehead on the west bank of the Great Morava river.[30]
On 7 October 64th Rifle Corps units, together with elements of 45th Division NOVJ, finally managed to break the steadfast resistance of battle group Groth and took Zaječar. At the same time, owing to great efforts by engineering units, the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps' transports reached the Vidin area. On 9 October, the Corps moved through Zaječar heading to the bridge over the Great Morava. After crossing the bridge, on 12 October, in the area of Natalinci, 12 km east ofTopola, the Corps met the 4th Brigade of the21st Serbian Division.[31] The 4th Guards Mechanized Corps, with its 160 tanks, 21 self-propelled guns, 31 armored cars, and 366 guns and mortars,[32] had impressive firepower. Together with the Yugoslav1st Proletarian Corps concentrated in the area, the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps formed the main attack force for the direct assault on Belgrade. With this concentration of forces in the area west of Great Morava, the first phase of the offensive was successfully concluded.
On 2 October, the German command structure was reorganized and GeneralFriedrich-Wilhelm Müller, former commander of German forces on Crete, resumed command over the front-line south of the Danube. His Corps headquarters was located in Kraljevo.General Wilhelm Schneckenburger retained command of the forces north of the Danube and was tasked with the immediate defense of Belgrade. Both Corps commands were subordinated to General Felber's Army Detachment Serbia command, under Commander-in-Chief, South-east (Army Group F) High Command.
As Belgrade became a more unstable combat zone, on 5 October, Army Group F headquarters was relocated from Belgrade toVukovar. Felber and Schneckenburger remained in Belgrade.
On 10 October, Army Group F command acknowledged that the Red Army had opened a hole in their front line and had penetrated the Great Morava valley. These Soviet forces threatened to proceed with a direct attack on Belgrade, cutting off the 1st Mountain Division, still stuck in combat in east Serbia, and to attack it from the rear. German Command stated its determination to close the hole with a counter-attack, but lacked troops for such an undertaking. With the impossibility of reinforcements coming from the south finally acknowledged, German Command was forced to seek more troops from 2nd Panzer Army. Previous deployment of forces to the front-line in Serbia had already cost 2nd Panzer Army the loss of a number of important towns, some permanently: (Drvar,Gacko,Prijedor,Jajce,Donji Vakuf,Bugojno,Gornji Vakuf,Tuzla,Hvar,Brač,Pelješac,Berane,Nikšić,Bileća,Trebinje,Benkovac,Livno), and some temporarily: (Užice,Tešanj,Teslić,Slavonska Požega,Zvornik,Daruvar,Pakrac,Kolašin,Bijelo Polje,Banja Luka,Pljevlja,Virovitica,Višegrad, andTravnik). A new defensive plan, put into operation on 10 October, allowed the 2nd Panzer Army to abandon most of the Adriatic coast, and to form a new defensive line from the mouth ofZrmanja eastwards, relying on mountain ranges and fortified towns. This defensive line was to be held with three 'legionnaire' divisions (the369th, the373rd and the392nd), and it was to allow Germans to draw out two divisions (the118th and the264th) for use in critical areas. However, due to the failure of the 369th Division, only two battalion-strong battle-groups of the 118th Division were sent to Belgrade, while the 264th was caught in the offensive of the8th Yugoslav Corps, and was eventually destroyed in theKnin area.
Operations began on the far southern flank of the front with an offensive by the 2nd Bulgarian Army into the Leskovac-Niš area, which almost immediately engaged the infamous 7th SS Mountain Division "Prinz Eugen". Two days later, having encountered the Yugoslav Partisans, the Army with Partisan participation defeated a combined force of Chetniks and Serbian Frontier Guards and occupied Vlasotince. Using its Armored Brigade as a spearhead, the Bulgarian Army then engaged German positions on 8 October at Bela Palanka, reaching Vlasotince two days later. On 12 October, the Armored Brigade, supported by the 15th Brigade of the 47th Partisan Division, was able to takeLeskovac, with the Bulgarian reconnaissance battalion crossing the Morava andprobing toward Niš. The goal of this was to not so much to pursue the remnants of the "Prinz Eugen" Division withdrawing northwest, but for the Bulgarian 2nd Army to begin theliberation of Kosovo which would have finally cut the route north for the German Army Group E withdrawing from Greece. On 17 October, the leading units of the Bulgarian Army reachedKuršumlija, and proceeded to Kuršumlijska Banja. On 5 November, after negotiating the Prepolac Pass with heavy losses, the Brigade occupied Podujevo, but was unable to reach Pristina until the 21st.[33]
On the northern face of the offensive, the Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front's supporting46th Army advanced in an attempt to outflank the German Belgrade defensive position from the north, by cutting the river and rail supply lines running along theTisa. Supported by the5th Air Army, its10th Guards Rifle Corps was able to rapidly performassault crossings of the riversTamiš and Tisa north ofPančevo to threaten the Belgrade-Novi Sad railroad. Further to the north the Red Army31st Guards Rifle Corps advanced towardPetrovgrad (modern-day Zrenjanin), and the37th Rifle Corps advanced toward, and crossed the Tisa to threaten the stretch of railway between Novi Sad andSubotica, and to prepare for the plannedBudapest strategic offensive operation.[34]
On 12 October, of the whole area betweenKragujevac andSava, with the exception of Belgrade, the Germans held only solitary strongholds inŠabac,Obrenovac, Topola andMladenovac, while the areas in between were under the control of NOVJ. After the liberation of Valjevo, divisions of the12th Corps, and the6th (Lika) Division, and scattered Chetniks, pushed back German battle-group von Jungenfeld south of Šabac, and entered the area between Belgrade and Obrenovac. Chetnik elements that had retreated to Belgrade were transported toKraljevo by the Germans on 3–5 October.1st and5th (Krajina) Division held Topola and Mladenovac under pressure, and were reinforced by the 21st Division, which marched in from the south.
On that day, all of the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps was concentrated to the west of Topola. The Germans formed two combat groups to defend against an attack intended to force them back across the Great Morava. The attack of the southern combat group from Kragujevac was easily blocked, and the northern battle group was dealt with by the Corps along its advancement towards Belgrade. The main direction of attack, along a line between Topola and Belgrade, was entrusted to the 36th Tank Brigade, the 13th and 14th Guards Mechanized Brigade of Red Army, and to the 1st, 5th, and 21st division NOVJ. The task of penetrating the line in an additional direction, on the right flank, towards the Danube andSmederevo, was given to the 15th Guards Mechanized Brigade, reinforced by the 5th Independent Mechanized Brigade, two artillery regiments, and the 1st Brigade of 5th Division NOVJ.
The final run towards Belgrade started on 12 October. An auxiliary right flank attack on the 15th Guards Mechanized Brigade, and the 1st Brigade of 5th Division, allowed NOVJ to reach the Danube near Boleč late in the evening of 13 October, after a charge through the positions of theBrandenburgers.[35] With this success, German forces were split into two separate groups: the Belgrade garrison to the west, and the battle-group retreating from eastern Serbia, which was then in the Smederevo area. The latter, consisting of the 1st Mountain Division, the 2nd Brandenburg Regiment, and elements of other units, under GeneralWalter Stettner, was cut off from all other German units, and faced destruction. Efforts by this group to break through and to establish a link with the Belgrade garrison resulted in fierce fighting. In the following days, the 21st and 23 Division NOVJ were deployed to strengthen positions and to prevent the Germans from reuniting.
The 36th Tank Brigade led an attack in the main direction. With the 4th Battalion of the 4th Serbian Brigade boarded on tanks, the 36th headed towards Topola. Parts of the 5th Division NOVJ (10th Krajina Brigade) were attacking the Topola garrison from the west when tanks of 36th Tank Brigade suddenly appeared from the east. After a short but intense artillery bombardment, the German garrison was overrun with a joint charge. The 36th Tank Brigade continued northwards without delay, and 9 kilometers north of Topola encountered a German assault gun battalion marching in the opposite direction. After a short but fierce clash, with serious losses on both sides, the 36th Tank Brigade overran the Germans on the move, and proceeded to the north. Before 12 October was over, with the assistance of the 3rd and 4th Krajina Brigade NOVJ, the 36th Tank Brigade also overran the garrison at Mladenovac, the last important obstacle before Belgrade, in a manner similar to the action at Topola.[36] With Mladenovac cleared, the way to Belgrade was wide open.
The 4th Guards Mechanized Corps of the Red Army broke through the enemy resistance south of Belgrade on 14 October, and approached the city. The Yugoslavs advanced along the roads in the direction of Belgrade south of the Sava River, while the Red Army engaged in fighting on the northern bank outskirts.[citation needed] The assault on the city was delayed due to the diversion of forces for the elimination of thousands of German troops surrounded between Belgrade and Smederevo to the south-east. On 20 October, Belgrade had been completely overrun by joint Soviet and Yugoslav forces.
The Yugoslav 13th Corps, in cooperation with the Bulgarian 2nd Army,[37] advanced from the south-east. They were responsible for the area of Niš and Leskovac. They were also responsible for cutting off the main evacuation route of Army Group E along the South Morava and Morava Rivers. Army Group E was forced to retreat through the mountains of Montenegro and Bosnia and was unable to re-enforce German units in Hungary.
The Soviet 10th Guards Rifle Corps of the 46th Army (2nd Ukrainian Front), together with units of the Yugoslav Partisans moving via the Danube, provided more offensive strength from the north-east against the Wehrmacht's position in Belgrade. They cleared the left bank of the Tisa and Danube (in Yugoslavia) and took the town of Pančevo.
Participating in the assault on the capital of Yugoslavia were:[38]
1st Army Corps (General – Lieutenant ColonelPeko Dapčević)12th Army Corps (General – LieutenantDanilo Lekić)
By the end of the September, the First Army, together with the BulgarianSecond andFourth Armies, was in full-scale combat against theGerman Army along theBulgaria-Yugoslavia border, withYugoslavian guerrillas on their left flank and aSoviet force on their right. They consisted of around 340,000 men. By December 1944, the First Army numbered 100,000 men. The First Army took part in theBulgarian Army's advance northwards into theBalkan Peninsula with logistical support and under the command of theRed Army. The First Army, advanced into Serbia,Hungary andAustria in the spring of 1945, despite heavy casualties and bad conditions in the winter. During 1944–45, the Bulgarian First Army was commanded by Lieutenant-GeneralVladimir Stoychev.
Upon completion of the Belgrade operation by the 57th Army with the Yugoslav 51st division in November, the bridgehead inBaranja, on the left bank of Danube was taken, causing an acute crisis for the German defense. The bridgehead served as a platform for the massive concentration of the 3rd Ukrainian Front troops for theBudapest offensive. The Red Army 68th Rifle Corps participated in the battles on the Kraljevo bridgehead and theSyrmian Front until mid-December, and were then transferred to Baranja. The Red Army Air Force Group "Vitruk" provided air support on the Yugoslav Front until the end of December.
The Yugoslav 1st Army Corps continued to push German forces westwards for some 100 km through Srem, where the Germans managed to stabilize a front in mid-December.
Having lost Belgrade and the Great Morava Valley, German Army Group E was forced to fight for a passage through the mountains of Sandžak andBosnia, and its firstechelons did not reachDrava until mid-February 1945.
In Soviet propaganda, this offensive (together with theBudapest Offensive and theEast Carpathian Offensive) was listed as one of Stalin's ten blows.
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A Medal "For the Liberation of Belgrade" was established by a decree of thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet on 19 June 1945. TheYugoslav People's Army held its second military parade onRevolution Boulevard (now King Alexander Boulevard) in honor of the one year anniversary of the end of the offensive.[39] Since then, the country there has only been twomilitary parades and high level celebrations in honor of the occasion in Yugoslavia and theRepublic of Serbia, with the first one, theMarch of the Victor, being held on Nikola Tesla Boulevard with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin as the guest of honour.[40]
Every jubilee anniversary is met with a significant Russian presence, often coming in the form of astate visit by thePresident of Russia or another high-ranking official toBelgrade. Beginning withDmitry Medvedev in 2009 and continued with Vladimir Putin as aforementioned, the laying of wreaths of thePresident of Serbia and the leader of Russia takes place at theLiberators of Belgrade Memorial, which contains the remains of over 3,500Yugoslav Partisans and Red Army soldiers who died during the offensive. In 2019, Medvedev represented Russia at the 75th anniversary celebrations in his position as Prime Minister instead of President Putin.[41][42][43]
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