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Niš operation
Part of theEastern andYugoslav fronts of theEuropean theatre ofWorld War II
Bulgarian troops enteringNiš in October 1944
Date October 8–14, 1944 Location Niš,Occupied Serbia Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Bulgaria Yugoslav Partisans Soviet Union	Germany Government of National Salvation Chetniks
Commanders and leaders
Kiril Stanchev[1] Koča Popović Sergey Biryuzov	Hans Felber Milan Nedić Ljubo Patak
Units involved
Bulgaria 2nd Bulgarian Army 4th Division 6th Division 9th Division 12th Division 2nd Cavalry Division 1st Sofia Guard Division 4th Border Brigade Armoured Brigade others National Liberation Army 13th Corps 22nd Division 24th Division 46th Division 47th Division 2nd Proletarian Division 14th Corps 45th Division Partisan Detachments Soviet Union Elements of57th Army IX Aviation Corps	Wehrmacht andWaffen-SS 7th SS Mountain Division Prinz Eugen 11th Luftwaffe Field Division 22nd Infantry Division 37th Flak Regiment Police Battalions Serbian collaborators Serbian State Guard garrison Chetniks Chetnik bands
Strength
80,000 men	21,500 men 154 guns 164 mortars 38 tanks 18 airplanes
Casualties and losses
1,545 dead or wounded[2]	5,200 dead or wounded 3,580captured 97 captured guns 720 captured machine guns 1,100 captured vehicles

Niš operation (Serbian:Нишка операција,Bulgarian:Нишка операция) was an offensive operation of theBulgarian army, supported by Yugoslav Partisans against GermanArmy Group E to secure the left flank of theThird Ukrainian Front of theRed Army.^[3][4][5]

It was held from October 8–14, 1944.Second Bulgarian Army, in cooperation with Yugoslav People's Liberation Army and IX Air Corps of the Red Army was ordered to destroy the German troops and to seizeNiš. Its enemy was7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen, or about 21 500 people from 13 infantry battalions, featuring 154 guns, 164 mortars, 38 tanks and 18 aircraft. Their task was to cover the retreat of 300,000 German soldiers from the composition of the Army Group "E". Bulgarian troops entered the brunt along the RiverSouthern Morava. On October 10, the Sofia armored brigade, consisting of about 150 tanks, most of whichPanzer IV, and the restPanzer 38(t) andPanzer 35(t), aided by ca. 40Leichter Panzerspähwagen, and 50Sturmgeschütz III,^[6] penetrated in the defense of the Germans and forced them to retreat west of the Southern Morava. On October 12 and 13 Bulgarian troops continue pursuit. On October 14 parts of the VI Infantry Division, using the jab from the south of the armored brigade seizedNiš and completely pushed the Nazis. Losses of the Wehrmacht amounted up to 5200 killed and 3850 prisoners of war, but they managed to hold its position in the Vardar corridor to the withdrawal of the remaining German troops.

Bulgarian Army:

• 2nd Army (Major General Kiril Stanchev) (on Oct. 1 - 79,079 men)
• 4th Infantry Division
• 6th Infantry Division
• 9th Infantry Division
• 12th Infantry Division
• 2nd Cavalry Division
• 1st Guards Infantry Division
• Armored Brigade (had German equipment: 78 Maybach T-IV (= PzKw IV), 35 Skoda tanks (= PzKw 35(t)), 10 Prague tanks (= PzKw 38(t)), 23 Maybach T-III (= StuG III)
• 4th Frontier Guard Brigade

NOVJ:

• 13th Serbian Corps (Ljubo Vuckovic) (estimate based on average number of men per division, 35,000 - 45,000 men)
• 22nd Serbian Division
• 24th Serbian Division
• 46th Serbian Division
• 47th Serbian Division
• 2nd Proletarian Division
• 45th Serbian Division
• Ten local partisan detachments

• Stratsin–Kumanovo operation
• Kosovo operation
• Bregalnitsa–Strumica operation

• Battles involving Bulgaria
• Battles of World War II involving Bulgaria
• Battles and operations of World War II
• Military operations of World War II involving Germany
• Yugoslavia in World War II
• Battles involving the Yugoslav Partisans
• Military operations of World War II involving Bulgaria
• 1944 in Yugoslavia
• Conflicts in 1944
• October 1944 in Europe

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2021
• Military articles needing translation from Serbian Wikipedia
• Articles containing Serbian-language text
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