Prague Offensive

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Prague Offensive
Part of World War II

The Eastern Front at the time of the Prague Offensive.
Date 05 May - 11 May 1945
Location South-Eastern Germany, Czech Republic
Result Soviet victory
Combatants
Germany Soviet Union
Commanders
Ferdinand Schörner Ivan Konev
Strength
900,000 2,000,000
Casualties
Unknown 11,997 killed or missing,
40,501 wounded or sick
Eastern Front
Barbarossa – Finland – Leningrad and Baltics – Crimea and Caucasus – Moscow – 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – 2nd Kharkov – Stalingrad – Velikiye Luki – 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – Kursk – 2nd Smolensk – Dnieper – 2nd Kiev – Korsun – Hube's Pocket – Belorussia – Lvov-Sandomierz – Balkans – Hungary – Vistula-Oder – Königsberg – Berlin – Prague

The Prague Offensive May 6—May 11, 1945 (Russian:Пражская наступательная операция, Prazhskaya nastupatelnaya operacia, Prague offensive operation) was the last major battle of World War II on the Eastern Front. During the battle, Prague was liberated, and the troops of Army Group Center that did not surrender after the capitulation of Germany were captured (~850,000).

Contents

[edit] The Battle

The assault was carried out by 1st (Ivan Konev), 2nd (Rodion Malinovsky), 4th Ukrainian Fronts (Andrei Yeremenko), as well as the Polish Second Army, the 1st and 4th Romanian Armies and the 1st Czechoslovakian Army Corps, totalling more than 2,000,000 personnel. It was opposed by about 900,000 troops of the 1st, 4th and 17th Panzer Armies of the Army Group Center (Ferdinand Schörner) and some corps under Lothar Rendulic.

The assault crushed the last sizeable pocket of German military resistance which did not comply with the unconditional surrender of German forces on May 8, 1945 and it relieved the Czech partisans fighting in the Prague Uprising started on May 5, 1945 who were aided briefly by the Russian Liberation Army (commanded by captured former Soviet General Andrey Vlasov). Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front did a forced march from south of Berlin, after taking part in the just completed Battle of Berlin.

The left flank of the 2nd Ukrainian Front met with troops of the US Third Army (George Patton) in the regions of České Budějovice and Písek, thus completing the encirclement. Later, 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts met with Americans in the regions of Karlovy Vary and Klatovy. Soviet troops entered Prague on May 9, 1945. Some remnants of Army Group Center continued resistance until May 11, (some sources say May 12).

[edit] Aftermath

To honor the participants of the operation, the Soviet Union instituted the Medal for the Liberation of Prague.

[edit] Formations Involved

[edit] Soviet

[edit] German

  • Army Group Centre of the German Army

[edit] Losses

[edit] Soviet

  • Personnel
    • 11,997 irrecoverable
    • 40,501 Wounded & Sick
    • Total 52,498
  • Materiél
    • 373 Tanks and self-propelled guns
    • 1,006 Artillery
    • 80 Aircraft

[edit] German

Army Group Centre surrendered, all either killed in action, wounded in action, or captured (~850,000).

[edit] References

  • Советская военная энциклопедия (Soviet Military Encyclopedia), vol. 6 (In Russian).
  • Ziemke, E.F. Stalingrad to Berlin
  • Glantz, D. & House, J. When Titan's Clashed
  • Konev, I. Year of Victory

[edit] See also

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