LVOV OPERATION 1920 - offensive operation of the Soviet troops of the South-Western Front during the Soviet-Polish War of 1920, carried out on 23 July - August 20 with the goal of defeating the Polish troops and the ov-la-children of Western Ukraine.
After the success in the Roven operation of 1920, the troops of the South-Western Front (commander - A.I. Egorov) for-da-chu co-act-at-the-stu-p-le-niyu of the Western Front (M.N. Tu-kha-chev-sky) in Belarus in -reign of Lyub-li-na. One-on-one co-man-do-va-nie of the South-Western Front contacted the head of the Red Army S.S. Ka-me-ne-vu with pre-lo-same-no-em will transfer the main blow to the Lvov-direction. Co-man-do-va-nie of the Red Army from-me-ni-lo the first-in-chief plan and ut-ver-di-lo on-station of the troops of the Western Front on War-sha-woo, and the troops of the South-Western Front to Lvov, than before the operation-ra-tiv-no-strategic pro-count (shock groups - the Soviet troops should have acted in the right-handed races). The 12th, 1st Cavalry (with 3 rifle divisions attached) and the 14th Army (all over 56.5 thousand bayonets and sa-bels), which are standing against the troops of the 2nd, 3rd and 6th armies of the Polish South-Eastern Front (E Rydz-Smig-la) and the Ukrainian People's Army (S.V. Pet-lyu-ra) - in total about 53.6 thousand bayonets and sabers.
On July 23, Soviet troops moved to the na-stu-p-le-nie on Ko-vel, Lvov and Tar-no-Poly on the right-le-ni-yah . Unity of the 12th Army, for-si-ro-vav the Styr and Sto-khod rivers, us-on foot, once-on-stu-p-le- tion to Kovel. Slo-miv with-against-le-nie po-lya-kov, part of the 1st Cavalry Army on July 26 in the ov-la-de-li city of Bro-dy, after 2 day for-si-ro-va-li the Styr River, grabbed Busk and went to the Bug River. The 14th Army, having broken through the enemy's defense on the Zbruch River and ov-la-dev Tar-no-po-lem (July 26; now Ter-no-pol, Uk -rai-na), once-vert-nu-la on-stu-p-le-nie on Mount Ni-ko-la-ev (near Lvo-va). In order not to allow the Soviet troops to approach Lviv, the Polish co-man-do-va-nie si-la-mi 2nd (with se-ve-ro-za-pa -yes) and the 6th (from the south-west) army carried out a counter-attack in general on the right of Bro-dy, you-well-div with - unite the 1st Cavalry Army to leave Bro-dy (August 3) and move to the defense. Meanwhile, the troops of the Western Front ov-la-de-li Brest-Litovsk (August 2; now Brest, Bel-Russia), and parts of 12 1st Army of the South-West. front took Kovel (August 4), which is why the Polish co-man-do-va-nie stop at-the-station and start from the 2nd and part of the forces of the 6th army for re-bro-ski to the areas of Var-sha-va and Lyub-li-na. At one time, it carried out a re-organization of its troops in the Ukraine: the South-Eastern Front was dis-formed van, instead of August 6, the Southern (General V. Ivash-ke-vich; 6th Army and the Ukrainian People's Army) and the Middle (Rydz-Smig) were created la, since August 14, General Yu. Pil-sudsky; 3rd and 4th armies) fronts. By this time, he had made himself known about the account, which had been brought about by the Chief Commander of the Red Army, - from the end of July between... Between the Western and South-Western fronts there was a gap, and their operational interaction was at hand. Back in the beginning of August, S.S. Ka-me-nev gave the order to the troops of the South-Western Front to temporarily stop advancing. p-le-nie, and take the 1st Cavalry Army out of the battle and send it to the Za-mostya region (now not Za-mosc, Poland) . However, due to a breakdown in communications, this order was delivered to the front headquarters only on August 13, after the morning On the same day, part of the 1st Cavalry Army came to the head of Lvov. The second order of the head of the Red Army to stop the march and transfer the 12th and 1st Cavalry armies of the Western Front is not was fulfilled (the main role in this was played by a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the front, I.V. Stalin, who was responsible for signing the order for the re-under -chi-ne-nii). After fierce battles, Soviet ka-va-le-ri-sty ov-la-de-li Bro-da-mi (August 14), Bus-kom (August 15), and 17 August, we tried to stay with Lvov, but we were unsuccessful. Only after this co-man-do-va-nie of the South-Western Front on-cha-lo re-bro-sku of the 1st Cavalry Army, but since On August 14-16, the Polish troops moved to the counter-station near Var-sha-va, then the detention near Lvo-v prevented her to provide timely assistance to the troops of the Western Front, which was extremely un-ga-tiv-but had an impact on the results of Varshav operation of 1920. On August 20, the offensive of the troops of the South-Western Front at all stations was excellent.
The failure of the Lvov operation is explained about the calculations of the Soviet co-man-do-va-niya (not-to-estimate the forces against the opponent and re-evaluate your own capabilities); unsatisfactory management both from the side of the main co-man-do-va-niya of the Red Army and the co-man-do-va - of the South-Western Front; no-good-pri-yat-us-mi us-lo-vi-mi place-st-no-sti for the actions of the end-tsy and, as a consequence, more -mi are in the battles for Bro-dy and Lvov.
Western Ukraine, South-Eastern Poland |
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Victory of the USSR. Destruction of the German-Hungarian group of troops. The liberation of the territories of Western Ukraine by the Red Army, the entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Polish Silesia. |
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Opponents |
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Germany |
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Czechoslovakia |
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Commanders |
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I. S. Konev |
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I. E. Petrov |
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Strengths of the parties |
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1,200,000 people, 13,900 guns and mortars, 2,200 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2,806 aircraft |
900,000 people, 6,300 guns and mortars, 900 tanks and assault guns, 700 aircraft |
Irreversible: 65,001 people. Sanitary: 224,295 people |
350,000 people. According to Soviet data, from July 13 to August 12, 140,000 killed, 32,360 prisoners, 1,941 tanks and 687 aircraft |
(July 13 - August 29, 1944) - a strategic military offensive operation of the armed forces of the USSR against the troops of Nazi Germany and Hungary during the Great Patriotic War with the goal of liberating Western Ukraine and occupying South-Eastern Poland. The operation is one of the so-called 10 Stalinist strikes.
Conditions before surgery
Before the start of the operation, the front line ran west of Kovel, Ternopil and Kolomyia. The southern regions of Poland (including the Silesian industrial region) were of great economic and strategic importance, so the German command sought to hold Western Ukraine by any means necessary and prevent Soviet troops from entering Poland in this area. The German command persistently strengthened and improved its defenses, creating three defensive lines in this area, of which only two were fully prepared by the start of the operation, forming a tactical defense zone.
By the beginning of the operation, the Soviet command managed to create the largest front-line formation ever created in previous operations. The command of the 1st Ukrainian Front decided to launch two strikes: in the Lvov and Rava-Russian directions, which made it possible to dissect the Northern Ukraine army group, encircle and destroy it in the Brody area. The operation was carried out simultaneously with the Belarusian operation and the interaction of the fronts also played an important role.
Balance of power
USSR
- 1st Ukrainian Front (commander I. S. Konev). It included the 13th Army, 18th Army, 38th Army and 60th Army, 1st Guards Army, 3rd Guards Army, 5th Guards Army, 4th Tank Army, 1st Guards Tank Army, 3rd Guards Tank Army, two cavalry-mechanized groups and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps - in total by July 13, 80 rifle and cavalry divisions, 10 tank and mechanized corps and 4 separate tank brigades (1.2 million people , 13,900 guns and mortars, 2,200 tanks and self-propelled guns). Aviation support was provided by the 2nd Air Army, which had 2806 aircraft.
- 4th Ukrainian Front (commander I.E. Petrov) - created on July 30, 1944 for an offensive in the Carpathian direction. The front includes the 18th Army and the 1st Guards Army from the 1st Ukrainian Front. The 8th Air Army was assigned for air support.
- The Polish partisan formations, the Home Army, also provided little assistance to the Soviet troops in the battles for Lviv.
Germany and Hungary
- Army Group “Northern Ukraine” (commander J. Harpe). It included the 1st German Tank Army, the 4th German Tank Army and the 1st Hungarian Army - in total by July 13, 42 divisions, of which 6 tank and motorized (900 thousand people, 6300 guns and mortars, 900 tanks and assault guns). During the operation, the army group also included the additional 17th Army, the 24th Tank Corps, as well as 11 infantry divisions, 2 tank divisions, the SS Galicia division of Galician volunteers and several separate units from Germany. Aviation support was provided by the 4th Air Fleet, which had 700 aircraft.
Partisan actions
At the beginning of 1944, significant formations of Soviet partisans crossed into the western regions of Ukraine and further into the southeastern regions of Poland. By the end of April 1944, the total number of Soviet partisans in these areas amounted to 9 thousand people, united in 10 partisan associations and 53 detachments. Before the start of the operation, they disrupted the transport of German troops on the Lvov-Warsaw and Rava-Russkaya-Yaroslav lines for a month, defeated 13 large garrisons and repelled an attack in the Janow Forests, where three German divisions were thrown against them.
Encirclement and defeat of the German group in the Brody area
By the beginning of the transition of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front to the offensive, three defense lines were created in the sector of Army Group “Northern Ukraine”: the first was 4-6 km deep, the second was 10-15 kilometers from the front line, the third ran along the banks of the Western Bug rivers and Rotten Linden. The total depth of defense was 40-50 km. The German command assumed that in the event of an attack by the Red Army, it would withdraw its troops to the second line of defense in order to avoid losses during artillery preparation. The front command received information about the enemy's plan. Marshal I. S. Konev decided to break through the first zone without artillery preparation, and to use artillery and aviation to break through the second zone. On July 13, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front went on the offensive in the Rava-Russian and Lviv directions. Units of the 3rd Guards and 13th Soviet armies broke through the German tactical defenses and by July 15 advanced to a depth of 20 km. On July 16, a cavalry-mechanized group was introduced into the battle, and on the morning of July 17, the 1st Guards Tank Army. As a result of stubborn battles for the 2nd defensive zone, where the German 16th and 17th tank divisions were advanced from reserve, by the end of July 16, the entire tactical zone of German defense was broken through to a depth of 15-30 km. On July 17, troops of the 1st th Ukrainian Front entered the territory of Polish Silesia.
In the Lvov direction the situation was more successful for the German troops. Having created an attack group of two tank divisions, German troops repulsed the advance of the Soviet 38th and 60th armies and, on the morning of July 15, carried out a counterattack with two tank divisions from the Plugov, Zborov area, thereby pushing back the Soviet troops by several kilometers. The Soviet command intensified air and artillery strikes in this direction and on July 16 brought the 3rd Guards Army and then the 4th Tank Army into battle.
Tank armies were introduced into a narrow corridor (4-6 km wide and 18 km long), formed by the attack of the 60th Army in the area of Kotlov (northwest of Ternopil). The commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, General P. S. Rybalko, led his army into this corridor on July 16, and on July 17, the entire 4th Tank Army of General D. D. Lelyushenko passed through this passage. The introduction of two tank armies into battle in such a narrow zone while simultaneously repelling counterattacks is the only case in the history of Soviet operations of the Great Patriotic War.
By the end of July 18, the German defenses had been broken through in both directions to a depth of 50-80 km in a zone of up to 200 km. Soviet troops crossed the Western Bug and surrounded a group of up to eight divisions in the Brody area, including the 14th SS Grenadier Division "Galicia".
After the Soviet troops reached the approaches to Lvov, the front commander decided to concentrate his main efforts on the Lvov-Przemysl direction in order to complete the defeat of the opposing enemy group and capture the cities of Lvov and Przemysl. At the same time, efforts were made to quickly complete the destruction of the Brody group and speed up the development of the offensive in the Stanislav direction.
Troops of the 60th and 13th armies, with air support from the 2nd Air Army, fought intense battles to eliminate the group encircled in the Brody area. By July 22, the group was liquidated, about 30 thousand German soldiers were killed, and over 17 thousand were captured.
Simultaneously with the battles to destroy the Brody group of Germans, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front continued to develop an offensive to the west. By the end of July 23, the front troops reached the San, tank units crossed the river and captured bridgeheads north and south of Yaroslav. On July 23, in Lviv, the Home Army raised an armed uprising against German troops. The attempt of the Soviet troops to capture Lvov on the move with tank armies ended unsuccessfully, as a result of which the command decided to take the city with the forces of the 60th and 38th armies, and the tank armies to bypass the city from the north and south. By July 27, Soviet troops, with the support of Polish partisans, occupied the cities of Lvov and Przemysl. In the Stanislav direction, units of the 1st Guards and 18th Army occupied Galich on July 24, and Stanislav on July 27.
By July 27, the first stage of the operation was completed. Army Group “Northern Ukraine” suffered heavy losses and was cut into two parts, between which a gap of up to 100 km formed.
To create a defense front on the Vistula, the German command began to transfer additional reserves here from other sectors of the front and from Germany. For operations in the Carpathian direction, the Soviet command created the 4th Ukrainian Front, which included the 18th Army, 1st Guards Army and 8th Air Army.
The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front continued their advance towards the Vistula without pause. The 1st Tank Army, having captured Yaroslavl on the night of July 27, began moving towards the Vistula on the night of July 28, having orders to reach the Vistula without getting involved in battles with the enemy within one day. river in the area of Sandomierz and seize a bridgehead, the 3rd Guards Army advanced on a parallel course from Przemysl to the Baranów area. The movement of the tank armies was complicated by the lack of air support, since due to the high pace of advance, the airfields lagged significantly behind the forward units.
On July 29, the 3rd Guards Army and a cavalry-mechanized group defeated the enemy group in the Annopol area, reached the river, where they captured small bridgeheads, but were forced to retreat due to stubborn resistance from the Germans. The troops of the 1st Guards Tank and 13th armies acted more successfully, captured bridgeheads across the Vistula and began crossing the river. The width of the crossing area did not exceed 2 kilometers. Unique during the Patriotic War were the battles on the water, which were fought by the forward detachments that crossed the river with the retreating German troops. The German command planned to blow up numerous dams on the banks of the Vistula, but the rapid advance of Soviet units thwarted these plans (if the dams exploded, the numerous German troops remaining on the eastern bank of the river would not be able to evacuate). Already on July 30, 30- and 50-ton ferries were installed, on July 31, 2 more thirty-ton ferries were added to them, and in the evening the construction of a low-water bridge across the Vistula began, which went into operation on August 5. Attempts to impede the crossing of Soviet troops using floating sea mines were unsuccessful. Due to the lack of air cover, the transfer of Soviet troops was covered by a fifteen-kilometer smoke screen. By evening, the main forces of the 1st Guards Tank crossed to the bridgehead. Attempts by the approaching 17th German Army on July 31 to launch a counterattack in the direction of Maidan ended unsuccessfully. By the end of August 1, the Soviet bridgehead near Sandomierz was expanded. On August 3, the Germans reached the southern approaches to Baranów and again tried to launch a counterattack. To repel it, the Soviet command brought the front reserve into battle - the 5th Guards Army, which repelled the counterattack and by August 8 reached the Szydłów, Stopnica, Nowy Korchin line. Meanwhile, the troops of the 13th and 1st Guards Tank Armies, located on the bridgehead, resumed the offensive in order to complete the defeat of the main forces of the German 4th Tank Army, but they could not achieve great success. In general, by August 10, the front managed to expand the bridgehead to 60 km along the front and to 50 km in depth.
On the morning of August 11, German troops launched a counterattack in the direction of Staszow, Osiek, and by August 13 they managed to advance 8-10 km and capture the Szydłów area. However, their attempts to develop a strike in the direction of Baranów were unsuccessful. Having failed to achieve significant success in the Staszow area, the German command decided on August 13 to launch a counterattack in the direction of Stopnica, Polanets. Here the Germans first used their new heavy tanks, the Royal Tiger. The debut of the “Royal Tigers” was a fiasco - in the Ogledow-Mokre-Szydłów area, the Germans were ambushed by the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade, where they lost 13 new tanks, of which three Soviet troops captured in good condition, and in the Chmielnik area by fighters 1- 1st Guards Tank Brigade, as a result of a night battle, 16 tanks were captured, of which 13 Soviet troops took with full ammunition, fully operational, 3 with broken tracks. These vehicles were used to complete the 3rd battalion of the brigade. As a result, the commander of the German 501st separate heavy tank battalion, Major von Legat, was removed from his post. On August 14, the Soviet 3rd Guards and 13th armies launched an attack on Sandomierz and took the city the next day.
The German command made a new attempt to liquidate the Sandomierz bridgehead in the area of the Lagow salient. The German command's plan was to encircle Soviet units in the Lagow area with attacks from two tank corps. After stubborn battles, German tank units managed to capture a mountain ridge northwest of Opatow and penetrate 6-7 km into the defenses of the 13th Army. As a result of retaliatory strikes by the 3 Soviet armies, part of the German forces (72nd, 291st infantry divisions, assault regiment, part of the 18th artillery division) were surrounded and destroyed. This ended the attempts of the German command to reset Soviet troops from the western bank of the Vistula in the Sandomierz region. The Soviet bridgehead was expanded to 120 km along the front and to 50 km in depth.
The troops of the left wing of the front, consisting of the 60th and 38th armies, tried to develop an offensive to the west, but they also did not achieve significant success. On August 23, the 60th Army, together with the troops of the 5th Guards Army, captured the city of Dębica. The 38th Army, securing the left flank of the front, reached the front of Glienik and Krosno. On August 29, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front went on the defensive.
At the same time, offensive operations in the Carpathian direction against the German-Hungarian troops were carried out by troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front. From August 1 to 19, the German-Hungarian command additionally introduced seven infantry divisions transferred here to the 1st Hungarian Army, having previously created strong defensive lines here that ran along the heights and river banks. The advance of the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front was rather slow. On August 5, units of the 1st Guards Army occupied the city of Stryi, and the next day captured Drohobych. By August 15, front troops reached the Sanok-Krasnoilsk line and stopped the offensive there.
Results and consequences of the operation
As a result of the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, Soviet troops completed the liberation of the entire territory of the Ukrainian SSR within the 1941 borders from German occupation. During the operation, the strategic task of defeating Army Group “Northern Ukraine” was solved by the forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front alone. Soviet troops almost completely defeated Army Group “Northern Ukraine”, 32 divisions of German troops (including the division of Ukrainian SS collaborators “Galicia”) lost from 50 to 70 percent of their strength, and 8 divisions were completely destroyed. With the loss of Western Ukraine, the entire German front in the east was split in two. Now communication between the Northern and Southern German groups could be carried out in a roundabout way through Czechoslovakia and Hungary, which made it difficult for the reserves to maneuver. The crossing of the Vistula and the creation of a large Sandomierz bridgehead were of great importance for the subsequent offensive of Soviet troops in the Silesian direction.
Before leaving the territory of Western Ukraine, German troops left some of their weapons to the units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army operating in the area. The UPA continued to fight Soviet power in this area for several more years. To fight the UPA and scattered German soldiers, the Soviet leadership sent a significant number of special forces. The Soviet leadership carried out quite harsh methods, exiling UPA fighters and people who collaborated with them to Siberia.
As a result of the rapid advance of the Red Army on Lviv, the retreating Wehrmacht troops did not have time to blow up many of the city’s monuments that they had mined.
From the point of view of military art, the Lvov-Sandomierz operation is characterized by its large scope, variety of combat operations and widespread use of various forms of operational maneuver.
The enemy attached great importance to the defense of Lvov - this important strategic point and a major junction of railways and highways. In the army group reserve and army reserves, the fascist German command had 9 divisions, including 5 tank divisions and a motorized division.
The successful actions of Soviet troops in Belarus created in mid-July 1944 very favorable conditions for the 1st Ukrainian Front to launch an offensive in order to complete the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi occupiers. By this time, the Wehrmacht command was forced to transfer six divisions, including three tank divisions, from the western regions of Ukraine to Belarus. By this, it significantly weakened its group in front of the 1st Ukrainian Front. And yet, by the beginning of our offensive, Army Group “Northern Ukraine” (Colonel General J. Harpe) consisted of 40 divisions (including 5 tank and motorized rifle divisions) and 2 brigades - a total of over 900 thousand people, 6.3 thousand guns and mortars, 900 tanks and assault guns. It was supported by up to 700 aircraft of the 4th Air Fleet. This army group included the German 1st and 4th Panzer Armies, as well as the Hungarian 1st Army. They occupied a defensive line of 440 km. The front line ran west of Kovel, Ternopil and Kolomyia. On the approaches to the Vistula and the Carpathians, the enemy created a powerful multi-line defense up to 50 km deep. It was strongest in the Lvov direction.The enemy attached great importance to the defense of Lvov - this important strategic point and a major junction of railways and highways. In the army group reserve and army reserves, the fascist German command had 9 divisions, including 5 tank divisions and a motorized division. Significant forces were deployed to fight the partisans. In the first half of 1944, under the influence of the successes of the Red Army, the partisan movement in the western regions of Ukraine gained momentum, especially when many partisan formations and detachments from Right Bank Ukraine moved there. By the beginning of May, 11 partisan formations and 40 separate detachments were operating in the occupied regions of Ukraine and the southeastern regions of Poland, the total number of which reached almost 13 thousand people. Ukrainian partisans coordinated their actions with Polish ones, especially when striking enemy communications. Thus, before the start of the Red Army’s offensive, they jointly disrupted railway transportation for almost a month in the rear of the Northern Ukraine Army Group, moreover, on the most important highways for the enemy. At the same time, the partisans defeated 13 large enemy garrisons. The fascist German command was forced to send large forces, including tanks and aircraft, to fight them.
The task of liberating Western Ukraine was entrusted by the Supreme Command Headquarters to the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front (Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev). The decision on this was made on June 24. On the same day, the commander of the front forces received a corresponding directive to conduct an operation, the purpose of which was to defeat Army Group Northern Ukraine, complete the liberation of Ukraine and begin expelling the enemy from the territory of allied Poland. At the first stage, it was planned to defeat the Lvov and Rava-Russian enemy groups and capture the line of Khrubeszow, Yavorov, Nikolaev, Galich. Achieving this goal created favorable conditions for the development of an offensive in a western direction to the San and Vistula rivers and the foothills of the Carpathians. On July 10, the plan for the operation, which later became known as the Lviv-Sandomierz operation (July 13 - August 29, 1944), was finally approved by the Supreme Command Headquarters.
In accordance with its plan, the 1st Ukrainian Front launched two strikes: one on the Rava-Russian direction by the forces of the front’s right wing (two combined arms and a tank army, KMG General V.K. Baranov), the other on the Lvov direction by troops of the center (two combined arms and two tank armies, KMG General S.V. Sokolov). On the left wing, in the Stanislav direction, two combined arms armies were supposed to advance. The combined arms army was allocated to the second echelon of the front, and the rifle and tank corps to the front reserve. Lviv was considered the main direction. Since the Headquarters instructed the command of the 1st Ukrainian Front to use tank armies and cavalry-mechanized groups not to break through enemy defenses, but to develop success in depth, it was able to allocate only 349 tanks and self-propelled guns for direct support of rifle units. As a result, there were only 14 tanks and self-propelled guns per 1 km of the breakthrough front. Over 70% of the artillery, up to 90% of tanks and self-propelled guns, and all of the front’s aviation were involved in delivering strikes in 26 km long breakthrough areas, which accounted for only about 6% of the width of the front’s offensive zone. This concentration of forces ensured superiority over the enemy in these areas in men and tanks by 3-5 times, in guns and mortars by 6-7 times. The artillery preparation was planned to last 1 hour 40 minutes. Artillery densities in breakthrough areas reached 235-255 guns and mortars per 1 km of front.
During the preparatory period, large regroupings were made, in which up to 50% of the rifle divisions, all three tank armies, a significant part of the artillery and special units and formations were involved. They were carried out over a distance of 100-200 km, and in some cases up to 400 km. As a result of the great and intense work of the rear services at the front and in the armies, large reserves of material resources were created.
The 1st Ukrainian Front included the 1st, 3rd, 5th Guards, 13th, 18th, 38th, 60th combined arms armies, the 1st and 3rd Guards and 4th Tank armies, two cavalry mechanized groups and 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps. They were supported from the air by the 2nd and 8th (from July 16) air armies. By the beginning of the offensive, the front had 80 divisions, 10 tank and mechanized corps, 4 tank and mechanized brigades - in total over 1.1 million people, 16.1 thousand guns and mortars, more than 2 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, over 3.2 thousand .airplanes. This was the largest front-line formation of those that were created in previous offensive operations of the Great Patriotic War. And one more characteristic detail that should be emphasized is that the concentration of so many troops and military equipment on one front was a remarkable phenomenon. This was the only time during the war when one front was given the task of defeating a group of enemy armies.
On the morning of July 13, the forward detachments of the 3rd Guards (Colonel General V.N. Gordov) and 13th (Colonel General N.P. Pukhov) armies went on the offensive in the Rava-Russian direction. In the Lviv direction, the 38th (Colonel General K. S. Moskalenko) and 60th (Colonel General P. A. Kurochkin) armies began their offensive on July 14. By the end of the next day, after fierce fighting in the Rava-Russian direction, the enemy’s defenses had been broken through to a depth of 15-20 km. In the Lvov direction it was not possible to complete the breakthrough by the scheduled date. Moreover, on July 15, a large enemy group launched a strong counterattack from the area south of Zolochev and pushed back the troops of the 38th Army.
After breaking through the enemy defenses in the northern sector, mobile troops were introduced into the battle: on July 16, the cavalry-mechanized group of General Baranov and on July 17, the 1st Guards Tank Army (Colonel General M.E. Katukov). Soviet cavalry and tankers launched a rapid attack on Yaroslav, as well as bypassing the Brod group of the enemy from the north.
In the Lvov direction it was very difficult to introduce tank armies into battle. The 60th Army penetrated the enemy’s defenses with only one 15th Rifle Corps (Major General P.V. Tertyshny). A narrow corridor 4-6 km wide and up to 18 km long was formed. The commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, Colonel General P. S. Rybalko, made a bold decision: on the morning of July 16, bring the army into battle through this corridor. The front's military council approved this decision. A narrow breakthrough zone, the so-called Koltovsky corridor (located east of the city of Zolochev, near the town of Koltov), impassability and heavy rains forced army formations to move along one route under enemy artillery and mortar fire. In an effort to eliminate the Koltovsky corridor and prevent tank forces from breaking through into the operational depth, the Nazis continuously counterattacked from the north and south. An extremely tense situation was created. However, General Rybalko's tankers continued to move forward, repelling enemy attacks. On July 18, the troops of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, part of the forces in the Derevlyana area (about 50 km west of the city of Brody), linked up with General Baranov’s KMG and thus completed the encirclement of the enemy’s Brody group. On the morning of July 17, the 4th Tank Army (Colonel General D. D. Lelyushenko) began to enter the breakthrough through the Koltovsky corridor. The enemy fought back fiercely. Trying to stop our tanks, he continued to stubbornly counterattack. The introduction of two tank armies into a breakthrough in such a narrow zone while simultaneously repelling strong enemy counterattacks on the flanks is the only example in the history of the Great Patriotic War. It testifies to the high skill of Soviet military leaders, their strong will, their ability to achieve their goals in the most difficult conditions.
By the end of the day on July 18, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke through the enemy’s defenses on a 200 km front, advanced to a depth of 50-80 km and encircled eight divisions in the Brod area. An important event was the crossing of the Western Bug and the entry of front troops into Polish territory on July 17, 1944. In order to expand the breakthrough towards the left wing of the front, the 1st Guards Army (Colonel General A. A. Grechko) went on the offensive. Using the breakthrough area of the 38th Army, on July 16 it struck in the direction of Berezhany and began to roll back the enemy defenses to the south. For four days, troops of the 13th and 60th armies, with the support of aviation from the 2nd Air Army (Colonel General of Aviation S.A. Krasovsky), fought intense battles to eliminate the encircled Brodsky enemy group. The fascist German command tried to unblock it. But this task turned out to be beyond his strength. Reflecting numerous counterattacks on the outer and inner fronts of the encirclement ring, Soviet troops with powerful blows dismembered the encircled group into parts and completely eliminated it on July 22. During the battles from July 19 to 22, more than 30 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were killed and over 17 thousand were captured. 719 guns, up to 1,100 mortars and about 3.9 thousand vehicles, as well as many other weapons and equipment were captured as trophies.
The main forces of the front continued to advance to the west. Particularly great successes were achieved on the right wing. The 13th, 1st Guards Tank Army and KMG Baranova reached the San River on July 29 and captured bridgeheads on the west bank in the Yaroslav area. At the same time, attempts by the 3rd Guards and 4th Tank Armies to capture Lvov with a strike from the east on July 19-20 were unsuccessful, since the enemy concentrated significant forces there.
The commander of the front forces decided to liberate Lviv through a deep outflanking maneuver of the tank armies and a simultaneous attack on the enemy from the east. This plan was carried out brilliantly. In three days, the 3rd Guards Tank Army, using the success of the front's right wing, completed a 120-km march maneuver around Lvov from the north. On July 24, it reached the Yavorov area and launched an offensive simultaneously in two opposite directions - towards Lviv and Przemysl. The 4th Tank Army also acted skillfully. At dawn on July 22, its units burst into Lviv from the south and started street battles. The feat of the crew of the T-34 “Guard” tank of the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade will forever go down in the history of the war. The command assigned the crew the task of breaking through to the city center and hoisting the red banner on the Lviv Town Hall. The tank was commanded by Lieutenant A.V. Dodonov, the driver-mechanic foreman F.P. Surkov was driving the car, and the turret gunner N.I. Melnichenko cleared the road with the fire of their cannon. Radio operator A.P. Marchenko, who knew the city well, was instructed to show the way to the tank, and then climb the town hall and plant a banner above it. Acting as part of its unit, the Guard tank broke through to the city center. Surkov drove the car to the very entrance of the town hall. Marchenko with a group of machine gunners, having destroyed the enemy guards, burst into the building, climbed the tower and hoisted a scarlet banner over it. The Nazis, seeing the Soviet banner, opened fire on the town hall and the tank. While leaving the building, Marchenko was mortally wounded. For six days the Guard tank fought in the city. During this time, the crew destroyed 8 enemy tanks and over 100 Nazis. But the enemy managed to knock out a Soviet tank. Lieutenant Dodonov was killed, Melnichenko and Surkov were seriously wounded. As a reminder of the heroism of Soviet soldiers in the fight against the Nazi invaders, the famous T-34 tank was installed on a pedestal in the center of Lvov. For the accomplished feat, F.P. Surkov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, other crew members were awarded orders.
The 63rd Guards Tank Brigade from the 4th Tank Army distinguished itself most during the capture of Lvov. For courage and bravery, a number of its soldiers were awarded the highest award of the Motherland - the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Among them was the brigade commander, Colonel M. G. Fomichev.
Lvov was liberated on the morning of July 27 after stubborn fighting by the joint efforts of troops of the 3rd Guards and 4th Tank armies, the 60th and 38th armies, with the support of front-line and long-range aviation. On the same day, on the left wing of the front, troops of the 1st Guards Army liberated the city of Stanislav. The 18th Army, which went on the offensive on July 23 (Lieutenant General E.P. Zhuravlev), with its right-flank formations, assisted the 1st Guards Army in the liberation of the regional center of the Carpathian region - the city of Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk), and then entered the foothills of the Carpathians. Thus, in two weeks of offensive, the 1st Ukrainian Front inflicted a heavy defeat on Army Group Northern Ukraine and advanced westward more than 200 km in a 400 km wide zone. Army Group “Northern Ukraine” was cut into two parts. The 4th German Tank Army (General of Tank Forces V. Nehring) rolled back beyond the Vistula, and the 1st Tank Army (General of Tank Forces E. Raus) and 1st Hungarian (General B. Miklos) armies retreated to the Carpathians.
The fascist German command took urgent measures to prevent the further advance of Soviet troops in the Sandomierz direction. Troops withdrawn from other sectors of the Eastern Front, as well as those transferred from Europe, were gathered there. In order to prevent the enemy from restoring the front on the Vistula, the Supreme High Command Headquarters on July 27 ordered the 1st Ukrainian Front to continue pursuing the retreating enemy, cross the Vistula and seize bridgeheads on its left bank. At the same time, he had to liberate Transcarpathian Ukraine with his left wing. Since from the end of July the actions of the front troops developed in two divergent directions - to the north-west and south-west, this seriously complicated the command and control of the troops. In this regard, it was considered necessary to create a new front-line formation aimed at overcoming the Carpathians and liberating Transcarpathian Ukraine with the subsequent transfer of hostilities to the territory of Hungary.
On July 30, the Supreme Command Headquarters decided to form a new front, the 4th Ukrainian Front, from the troops of the left wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front. It included the 1st Guards, 18th Combined Arms and 8th Air (Lieutenant General of Aviation V.N. Zhdanov) armies. On August 5, the 4th Ukrainian Front was created. Colonel General I.E. Petrov was appointed its commander.
Carrying out new tasks, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were rapidly approaching the Vistula. Crossing this large water barrier on the move was a very difficult task: the width of the river in the Sandomierz area reached 250 m, and the depth exceeded 2 m. The 3rd Guards Army, interacting with General Sokolov’s KMG, on July 29 defeated the enemy group in the Annopol area (north of the city Sandomierz) and went to the river. The next day, its advanced units captured small bridgeheads on the left bank of the Vistula. However, it was not possible to expand them due to strong enemy resistance.
The troops of the 1st Guards Tank and 13th Armies operated more successfully. The 350th Rifle Division (Major General G.I. Vekhin) and the 162nd Rifle Division (Colonel A.O. Muratov) reached the Vistula on July 29 in the Baranów region (southwest of Sandomierz) and in cooperation with the advanced detachments of the tank army They immediately began to cross the river. By the end of July 30, the main forces of the 24th Rifle Corps (Lieutenant General N.I. Kiryukhin) of the 13th Army and the motorized infantry of the 1st Guards Tank Army had crossed over to the bridgehead they had captured. By August 1, ferry crossings were established in the 13th Army zone, through which tanks, artillery and infantry were quickly transferred to the bridgehead.
The 3rd Guards Tank Army also crossed over here. The battles to expand the bridgehead did not stop day or night. German aviation was highly active. On July 31, the enemy brought into battle the 17th Army (Infantry General F. Schultz), which had just arrived in the combat area. This army was re-formed to replace the one that died two and a half months ago in Crimea. From the first days of August, counterattacks by the enemy began, trying at all costs to liquidate the bridgehead of the Soviet troops. The fascist German command continued to build up its forces in the Sandomierz area. In the first half of August, five divisions from Army Group “Southern Ukraine” (including tank), five infantry divisions from Germany and three infantry divisions from Hungary arrived to reinforce the troops of the 4th Panzer and 17th Field German armies already operating here. Six brigades of assault guns and separate battalions of heavy tanks of the “Royal Tiger” type were also deployed here.
As the reserves approached, enemy activity increased. From the beginning of August, fierce battles broke out on both banks of the Vistula. Enemy counterattacks followed one after another. But Soviet soldiers steadfastly and courageously repelled them. On August 4, the commander of the front troops brought into battle the fresh 5th Guards Army (Colonel General A.S. Zhadov), which had previously been in the second echelon of the front. This made it possible to significantly strengthen the position of Soviet troops in the bridgehead. The 4th Tank Army, several rifle corps, artillery and engineering units and formations arrived here. Heavy and intense fighting in the Sandomierz area continued throughout August.
Reflecting enemy attacks, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front gradually expanded the bridgehead. By the end of the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, it was increased to 120 km along the front and to 50 km in depth. During the fighting on the Sandomierz bridgehead, the enemy used their new super-heavy tanks of the “Royal Tiger” type. This happened on August 13 in the area of the village of Stopnitsa (75 km southwest of Sandomierz). The crew of the tank, junior lieutenant A.P. Oskin, was the first to engage in battle with them and knock out two of them. For this feat he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The city of Sandomierz was taken by troops of the 13th and 3rd Guards Armies on August 18. In the battles for it, the 1180th Infantry Regiment of the 350th Infantry Division especially distinguished itself. The regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel V.F. Skopenko, who on September 23, 1944 was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. As a sign of gratitude for the military merits of the brave Soviet officer who died at the end of January 1945 near Breslau, the city authorities of Sandomierz named one of the city streets after Skopenko. His ashes are buried in Sandomierz, and a monument is erected at the hero’s grave. High combat skill, heroism, courage - this is what distinguished Soviet soldiers in the battles for the liberation of the western regions of Ukraine and the southeastern regions of Poland. Among the most distinguished in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, first of all, it should be noted the 15th Rifle Corps of General P.V. Tertyshny, the 10th Guards Tank Corps of General E.E. Belov, the 2nd Guards Bomber and 1st Guards Assault Aviation corps of generals I. S. Polbin and V. G. Ryazanov, 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division of Colonel A. I. Pokryshkin. During the operation, pilots of the 1st Ukrainian Front carried out 48 thousand sorties, shot down 550 enemy aircraft in air battles and destroyed 550 enemy aircraft at airfields.
At the end of August, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, having repelled all enemy counterattacks, successfully completed the offensive operation and, in accordance with the directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters, on August 29 went on the defensive at the achieved lines. While there was an intense struggle for the Sandomierz bridgehead, the troops of the left wing of the front (the 38th and 60th armies and the KMG of General Baranov) continued to advance to the west. However, it developed slowly. The enemy offered stubborn resistance. In addition, the troops had to operate in very rough terrain, replete with water obstacles. During August, they advanced to a depth of 100 km and reached the line of Shchucin, Dębica, east of Krosno. In the Carpathian direction, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front met stubborn resistance from the 1st Hungarian Army, which was reinforced in the first half of August with an additional seven infantry divisions.
Soviet troops had to advance in the rugged and wooded terrain of the Carpathian foothills, which the enemy used to create a strong defense. His main efforts were aimed at holding the Drohobych industrial region and the passes through the Carpathians. Therefore, the offensive of the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front developed slowly. The 1st Guards Army encountered particularly fierce enemy resistance in the area of the city of Stryi. However, he could not withstand the powerful attacks of the guards from the flanks. On August 5, Soviet soldiers liberated the city. The next day, army formations, having overcome a marshy area, captured the city of Drohobych. In mid-August, front troops reached the passes of the Carpathian ridge. However, attempts to capture them on the move were unsuccessful, and the fighting here became protracted. Taking into account the increasing resistance of the enemy, the great fatigue of the troops, as well as the difficulty of conducting combat operations in mountainous and forested areas, the Supreme High Command Headquarters ordered the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front to go on the defensive from August 15 in order to prepare an offensive operation within two weeks to overcome the Eastern Carpathians.
The liberation of Transcarpathian Ukraine by the Red Army was completed at the end of October 1944 during the East Carpathian offensive operation (September 8 - October 28, 1944).
As a result of the Lvov-Sandomierz offensive operation, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front won a new brilliant victory, inflicting a heavy defeat on one of the four strategic groupings of the Nazi Wehrmacht operating on the Soviet-German front - Army Group “Northern Ukraine”. Large losses forced the fascist German command to transfer 10 divisions (of which 3 tank) from other directions to the offensive zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front, including up to 8 divisions from Army Group “Southern Ukraine”, which made it easier for the troops of the 2nd and 3rd th Ukrainian fronts defeat the enemy in the area of Iasi and Chisinau. Of the 56 divisions of Army Group “Northern Ukraine” (including 10 tank and motorized) that took part in the battle, 8 divisions were destroyed and 32 were defeated. Only from July 14 to July 31, the enemy irretrievably lost about 200 thousand people, over 2.2 thousand guns and mortars, 500 tanks, 10 thousand vehicles.
The intense struggle required considerable sacrifices on the part of the Soviet troops. In the battles for the liberation of Western Ukraine and the south-eastern regions of Poland, they lost about 290 thousand people (65 thousand of them were irretrievable losses), over 1.8 thousand guns and mortars, about 1.3 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, about 300 aircraft.
As a result of the operations, troops of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts liberated the western regions of Ukraine, as well as the southeastern part of Poland, from the Nazi invaders, captured a large bridgehead on the western bank of the Vistula River, from which the offensive into the central regions of Poland was subsequently launched and further to the borders of Germany.
Moscow, on behalf of the Motherland, saluted the troops of the fronts 9 times in honor of their victories. 246 units and formations were awarded honorary titles for military distinction, 353 were awarded military orders. More than 123 thousand soldiers were awarded orders and medals, and 160 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among those who received this high rank were the commander of the front troops, Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev, and captain P. M. Koryshev, whose battalion was the first to cross the Vistula, captured the bridgehead and held it, repelling the fierce attacks of the enemy, and many ordinary soldiers fulfilled their military duty. Deputy commander of the 6th Guards Tank Corps Colonel I. I. Yakubovsky, commander of the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade Colonel V. S. Arkhipov and pilot Major A. V. Vorozheikin were awarded the second Gold Star medal, and the famous Soviet ace Colonel A.I. Pokryshkin received this highest award for the third time.
The defeat of the Nazi troops in the summer of 1944 in the main direction - in Western Ukraine and Belarus, where Army Group Center suffered a crushing defeat, was of enormous international significance. On August 31, Hitler said: “I am sure that the situation cannot be worse than the one that has developed this year in the East.” English newspapers wrote: “The victorious and stunning offensive of the Red Army units amazed Russia’s allies and definitely exceeded the most optimistic expectations” (News Chronicle); “Nothing can compare with the scale and speed of the Soviet offensive. The shadow of disaster hangs over Germany" (Sunday Express), etc. W. Churchill, speaking in the English Parliament on August 2, 1944, stated that “there was no such force in the world... that could break and crush the German army and inflict on it such colossal losses as the Russian Soviet armies did.” The attack on the main direction in the summer of 1944 was a new brilliant triumph for the Soviet Armed Forces.
LVIV OPERATION 1920 operation ch. forces of the South-West front July 25 Aug. 20 during the Soviet-Polish war of 1920 with the aim of defeating the Lvov Belopolsk group. troops and the capture of Lvov. South-West Directive front (commander A.I. Egorov, member of the RVS I.V. Stalin, R.I. Berzin) from July 23, direction ch. The attack front was changed from Brest-Lublin to Lvov. Under the conditions of the Western offensive. front to Warsaw, this was a miscalculation explained by an overestimation of Ch. command and control of the fronts of one's own forces and capabilities and underestimation of the enemy's forces. 1st Cavalry Army (four cavalry divisions) with three riflemen. divisions were supposed to capture the Lvov Rava-Russkaya district no later than July 29 with the subsequent capture of crossings across the river. San; The 14th Army advanced on Tarnopol Nikolaev; The 12th Army supported the operation by attacking Hill Lublin. On July 26, the 1st Cavalry occupied Brody; on July 28, it crossed the river. Styr and captured Busk, reaching the approaches to Lvov. The 12th Army crossed the river. Styr, and the 14th Army r. Zbruch. The offensive met resistance from large forces of the White Poles (3rd, 2nd and 6th armies). On July 29, following the order of Commander-in-Chief J. Pilsudski dated July 25, the 2nd and then the 6th Polish. The armies went on the offensive, striking from the north-west. and S.-W. to Brody with the aim of defeating the 1st Cavalry. Aug 3 The 1st Cavalry was forced to leave Radzivilov and Brody and go on the defensive. Capture of Western troops. front Aug 2 Brest did not give the White Poles the opportunity to develop their offensive. Aug 4 Ch. Polish The command began the withdrawal of the 2nd Army and part of the forces of the 6th Army to transfer them to the region of Lublin and Warsaw. This regrouping initially went unnoticed by the Soviets. command. Aug 4 the command of the 1st Cavalry brought two cavalry units into reserve. and one shooter. divisions. Aug 6 The Commander-in-Chief proposed the South-West. bring the 1st Con. to the front. army in reserve to prepare for its actions in the Lublin direction. Aug 11 Commander-in-Chief, worried about the poorly endowed lion. flank Western front, requested the command of the South-West. front about the possibility of temporarily abandoning the capture of Lvov and sending the 12th Army to Lublin, and the 1st Cavalry to the Zamosc region in order to assist the West. to the front. This met with objections from the Southwestern command. front, cut 12 Aug. gave the order to the 1st Cavalry to resume the attack on Lvov. Aug 13 The 1st Cavalry went on the offensive and, after stubborn fighting, on August 14. occupied Brody, and on August 15 Busk. But on the river Zap. Bug she met strong enemy resistance. Meanwhile, still 13 Aug. The Commander-in-Chief ordered, in order to concentrate forces for the decisive battle in the Warsaw region, to stop the attack on Lvov and transfer the 12th and 1st Cavalry Armies to the West. to the front. On the same day, the commander of the South-West. the front gave the corresponding order, but Stalin refused to sign it, and it was signed by Berzin. Aug 15 and 17 Aug. Western Command front ordered the 1st Cavalry to move to the Vladimir-Volynsky district to help the West. to the front. The command of the 1st Cavalry replied that it could not withdraw the army from the battle, and therefore would complete the assigned task after the occupation of Lvov. The 1st Cavalry continued to fight for Lviv. Only 20 Aug. according to the new order of Zap. front and the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, the 1st Cavalry began to withdraw its units from the battle to move to Zamosc. L. o. remained unfinished. The reasons for its failure: the 1st Cavalry was weakened by the battles for Brody; The terrain and the heavily fortified Lviv fortress district were not conducive to cavalry actions. At the same time, the delay of the 1st Cavalry near Lvov excluded the possibility of its timely assistance to the West. front, which negatively affected the outcome
LVIV-SANDOMIR OPERATION 1944 - strategic offensive operation of the troops of the 1st and 4th (from August 6) Ukrainian fronts in the Great Patriotic War, about carried out on July 13 - August 29 with the goal of defeating the German army groups “Northern Ukraine”, establishing the western regions of Ukraine us and the southeastern region of Poland.
After the completion of the Soviet troops' offensive in the Right-to-be-registered Ukraine in 1943-1944, the 1st army Ukrainian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Ko-nev) reached the border southwest of the city of Kovel, west of the city clans of Lutsk, Ter-no-pol, Ko-lo-myya, Ku-you and the preparations for the Lvov-Sandomierz operation. The front line to the beginning of the operation included: 1st and 3rd Guards, 13th, 18th, 38th and 60th general military High, 1st, 3rd, 5th Guards and 4th Tank Armies; 2 con-no-me-ha-ni-zed groups (KMG), 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, 2nd and 8th (from July 16) air force -mii - a total of 1.1 million people, 16.1 thousand guns and missiles, over 2 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, over 3.2 thousand aircraft. In front of the war front, the German army group “Northern Ukraine” (Colonel General J. Garpe) was formed in the composition of the German 1st and 4th tank armies and the Hungarian 1st army, supported by the aviation of the German 4th air fleet (all 900 thousand people, 6.3 thousand guns and missiles, over 900 tanks and assault guns, about 700 aircraft). On the right-hand side of the main strikes of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, they prevailed against the enemy in a living force at almost 5 times, artill-le-rii - 6-7 times, tanks and self-propelled guns - 3-4 times, sa-mo-le-tahs - 4.6 times.
For-we-sat, the Lvov-Sandomierz operation was aimed at encircling and destroying the Lvov-Brod group against the enemy. -ka, os-vo-bo-dit Lvov, diss-cut the group of armies “Northern Uk-rai-na”, throw one part of it into the Po-lesya region, the other - to Kar-pa-tam, and the main forces of the front go out to the edge of the Vistula River. Pre-du-smat-ri-va-elk at one time delivered two powerful blows: in the center - from the Ter-no-po-la region to on the right to Lviv; on the right wing - from the area south of Lutska to Ra-va-Russkaya. To ensure the Lviv strike group from the south, an auxiliary strike on the Stani-Slavsky on the right-hand side NI.
First stage
On the morning of July 13, the 3rd Guard (Colonel General V.N. Gor -dov) and the 13th General Military Army (Lieutenant General N.P. Pu-khov) of the Army, whose troops departed on July 15 moved to a depth of 25-30 km, along the front up to 60 km. On July 16-17, the Cavalry Mechanized Group (25th Tank and 1st Guards Cavalry Corps) was introduced into the breakthrough by Lieutenant General V.K. Ba-ra-no-va and the 1st Guards Tank Army (Colonel General of Tank Troops M.E. Ka-tu-kov), formations of some swarm on July 18th for-si-ro-va-li of the Western Bug River south of So-ka-la, and the Horse-Mechanized Group by this time for-hva-ti-la De-rev -lya-ny, from-re-zav pu-ti from-ho-yes to the west of the Brod-skaya group of pi-rov-ke of the enemy. On the 2nd half-day of July 14, the main forces of the 60th ( Colonel General P.A. Kurochkin) and the 38th (Colonel General K.S. Mos-ka-len-ko) general army. The units of the 38th Army of the medical-linen moved forward, overcoming the joint-against-against-nor -ka and repelling strong counter-attacks of his operational reserves (2 German tank divisions). Troops of the 60th Army together with re-to-you from the 3rd Guards Tank Army (Colonel General Tan -of the troops of P.S. Ry-bal-ko) to the end of July 15th through the ditch of the enemy's defense in the region of Kol-to-va, about- ra-zo-vav the so-called Kol-tovsky ko-ri-dor (shi-ri-noy 4-6 km, depth up to 18 km). Through no-no, the main forces of the 3rd Guard (July 16) and the 4th (July 17) were introduced into the breakthrough July 18th) tank armies. By the end of July 18, the joint unit of the 3rd Guards Tank Army for-si-ro-wa-li the Pel-tev River and went to the region Dzed-zi-lov, Krasnoye, De-rev-lya-ny, part of her forces united with the Cavalry Mechanized Group of Ba-ra-no-va, completing the encirclement there are up to 8 divisions of the Brod group of pi-rov-ki against-no-ka, and the main forces of the 4th tank-co-army (Colonel-General D. D. Le-lyu-shen-ko) went to the Ol-shan-tsy district and settled down to Lvov. The Brodskaya group of pi-rov-ka enemy on July 22 was raz-z-la-na, and the 1st Guards Tank-co-army in mutual-mo-action-st- vii with the Horse-Mechanized Group of Ba-ra-no-va, following from-the-way-against-no-ka, for-si-ro-va-la from the river San in the Yaro-sla-va region and for-hva-ti-la platz-darm on its western coast. The first units of the 4th Tank Army rushed to Lvov on July 22, and the 3rd Guards Tank Army went around he and his se-ve-ra, on the morning of July 24, went to the Yavo-rov region, Go-ro-dok, Mos-tis-ka, from-re-manufactured from-ho- Yes, the Lviv group pi-rov-ke the enemy to the west. As a result of the concentric attacks of the 3rd Guards Tank Army from the west, the 60th Army from the east and 4th th tank army from the south on July 27, Lvov was os-vo-bo-z-day. 1st Guards Army (Colonel-General A. A. Grech-ko), transferred to the station on July 16 at Sta-ni-Slavsky on the right -le-nii, for-si-ro-va-la river Gni-laya Li-pa, on July 24-la os-vo-bo-di-la the city of Ga-lich, and on July 27-la - the city of Sta-ni -slav (now not Iva-no-Frankovsk). On July 23, the 18th General Military Army (Lieutenant General E.P. Zhu-rav-lev) moved to the station, howl -ska-swarm, acting in the foothills of the Carpathians, on July 27 went to the region south of Ka-lu-sha.
Second phase
The 1st stage of the Lvov-Sandomierz operation was completed on July 27, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced to the main direction up to 220 km and split the group of armies "Northern Ukraine" for 2 parts: the os-tats of the German 4th tank army from-ho- di-li to Vis-le, and the troops of the German 1st tank and the Hungarian 1st army - to the southwest, to Kar-pa-tam. Co-man-do-va-nie ver-mah-ta hastily, but you-moved your reserves for this from the depths and from other parts of the front -government for the restoration of the defense front along the western bank of the Vistula. Headquarters of the Verkhov-no-go Glav-no-ko-man-do-va-niya (VGK) July 27, pri-ka-za-la: to the 1st Ukrainian front with-environment -then make efforts on your right wing, str-mi-tel-but go to the Vis-le, force it on the move and grab- there is a parade ground on the western bank; at the central station of the front-ta ov-la-det go-ro-da-mi Sa-nok, Dro-go-bych, Do-li-na, and si-la-mi 1st Guards and 18 The th-society-of-the-how-how-army to seize and firmly hold-to-live through the Kar-pa-you. Development of the station, 3rd Guards, 13th General Military, 1st and 3rd Guards Tank Armies and KMG (31st tank and 6th guards cavalry corps) Lieutenant General S.V. So-ko-lo-va 29 - 31 July for-si-ro-va-li Vis-lu and za-hva-ti-li on its western coast to the south and to the north San-do-mi-ra of several parade grounds. By the end of August 1, the southern parade ground had been expanded to 30 km along the front and 20 km inland. Teach-you-the-development of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front at the 2-distance-on-the-right-le-ni-yam (san- to the world-sko-mu and the Car-pat-sko-mu), the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command in the directive of July 30th when-la-ra-za-la-ra-za-vat to is-ho - on August 5, from the troops of his left wing (1st Guards, 18th General Army and 8th Air Army) 4th Ukrainian Front (general Colonel I.E. Petrov). In na-cha-le av-gu-sta pro-tiv-nik per-re-bro-force in the San-do-mi-ra region 16 divisions (including 3 tanks ), 6 brigade assault guns, several separate battalions of heavy tanks (Ko-ro-lion tiger type) ) and carried out a series of counter-strikes with the aim of establishing a San-do-Mir parade ground. To develop the most powerful counter-attack group against the enemy in the area of the city of Melets and beyond go ras-shi-re-niya parade ground-dar-ma on August 4 from the ru-be-zha Ba-ra-nuv, Pa-dev was introduced into the battle 5th Guards Ar- Miya (Lieutenant General A.S. Zhadov), who on August 8th, the main si-la-mi, went to the r-bezh (ex-key) Shid-luv, Stop -no-tsa, But-you-Kor-chin. On August 14, at the parade ground, the 4th Tank Army was re-bro-she-na. By the end of August, the front’s army, having repelled all the enemy’s counter-attacks, firmly established itself on the parade ground. On August 29, the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, having successfully completed the Lvov-Sandomierz operation on foot, at the order of the Supreme High Command Headquarters moved to the defense on the ru-be-zhe Yuze-fuv, La-guv, Dem-bi-tsa, more precisely Kros-no, Sa-nok, Ku-ty.
Losses
As a result of the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, Soviet troops advanced to a depth of 350 km, defeating the German army group “Northern Ukraine” paradise" (out of 56 divisions of raz-throm-le-ny 32 and uni-ch-zhe-ny 8; only from July 14 to July 31 against-tiv-nick on-te -relied without return about 200 thousand people, over 2.2 thousand guns and missiles, 500 tanks, 10 thousand car tires), os-in -bo-di-li the western regions of the Ukraine and the south-eastern regions of Poland, for-si-ro-va-li the Vis-la River, for-grabbing the croup - a parade ground in the San-do-mi-ra area and have created favorable conditions for the further-on-stu-p- leniya. According to the Soviet troops in the operation, there were: human - about 289.3 thousand people, including over 65 thousand people - non-returnable; guns and mi-no-metov - over 1.8 thousand; tanks and self-propelled guns - over 1.2 thousand; combat sa-mo-le-tov - 289.
Sources:
Great Fatherland: Headquarters of the Supreme High Command: Do-ku-men-you and ma-te-ria-ly, 1944-1945. M., 1999. T. 16. Book. 5/4;
Ko-nev I.S. For-pi-ki ko-man-du-th front. M., 2003;
Zhu-kov G.K. Re-thinking and thinking. 13th ed. M., 2010. T. 2.