The Battle of Radzymin was one of a series of engagements between the

1st Byelorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...

of the Red Army and the

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army f ...

of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwa ...

. The battle was part of the Lublin-Brest Offensive between 1 and 4 August 1944 at the conclusion of Operation Bagration the Belorussian strategic offensive operation near the town of Radzymin in the vicinity of Warsaw, part of which entailed a large tank battle at

Wołomin Wołomin is the main town of Wołomin County situated in the Masovian Voivodship. Wołomin is situated approximately east of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, near the railway to Białystok. It has approximately 36,000 inhabitants and covers an a ...

. It was the largest tank battle on the territories of Poland during the war. The approach of the Red Army towards Warsaw served to initiate the Warsaw Uprising by the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) es ...

with expectation of help from the Red Army. The battle ended in a Soviet defeat and the encirclement and destruction of the Soviet 3rd Tank Corps; it is unclear to what extent this defeat contributed to the Soviet decision not to aid the Warsaw Uprising.

Before the battle

After crossing into Poland, the Red Army's 1st Byelorussian Front of

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian language, Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet Union, Sov ...

continued its advance towards Warsaw. The 65th Army (12 divisions) together with the attached

1st Guards Tank Corps First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, was to advance towards the town of

Serock Serock is a town at the north bank of the Zegrze lake in the Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, around north of Warsaw. It has 4,109 inhabitants (2013). History The stronghold was founded in the 10th century, shortly after the ...

and then outflank Warsaw from the north. The 28th Army (9 divisions) together with 1st Mechanized and

9th Tank Corps 09 may refer to: * 2009, the year, or any year ending with 09, which may be written as '09 * September, the ninth month * 9 (number) * Ariège (department) (postal code), a French department * Auckland, New Zealand, which has the telephone area co ...

was advancing directly towards Warsaw and was separated from the

47th Army The 47th Army (russian: 47-я армия) of the Soviet Union's Red Army was an army-level command active from 1941 to 1946. History The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's ...

by the

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

- Mińsk Mazowiecki line, and from the 65th Army by the

Sokołów Podlaski Sokołów Podlaski is a town in Poland, in Masovian Voivodeship, about east of Warsaw. The town lies on the Cetynia river, in the historical region of Podlachia and is the capital of Sokołów County. The first settlement was in the 6th century ...

Węgrów Węgrów is a town in eastern Poland with 12,561 inhabitants (31 December 2003). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the capital of Węgrów County. History First mentioned in historical records in 1414, Węgrów receive ...

-Radzymin line. Both armies, additionally supported by the 2nd and 4th Guards Cavalry Corps, were destined to take part in repelling a German tactical counter-assault at Radzymin and Wołomin near Warsaw. At the same time, the 47th Army (10 divisions) was to seize the southern approaches to

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...

, seize right-bank Warsaw and cross the river through the bridges in Warsaw or through a temporary bridge in Góra Kalwaria. The 70th Army (4 divisions) was to follow the 47th and serve as a tactical reserve. At the same time the remaining forces of the front were to support the assault on Warsaw by crossing the Vistula south of it, near

Magnuszew Magnuszew is a village in Kozienice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Magnuszew. It lies approximately north-west of Kozienice and south-east of Warsaw. ...

and outflanking the city from the South and West. The

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a success ...

(9 divisions) together with the 1st Polish Army (3 divisions) and

69th Army The 69th Army (russian: 69-я армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. History Formation, Operation Star, and Third Battle of Kharkov The army was formed in February 1943 with the V ...

(9 divisions aided by the

11th Tank Corps 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

) were to cross the river at Magnuszew.

Battle

After the Soviet reconnaissance units reached Warsaw in late July, on 1 August 1944 the Warsaw Uprising started. Starting from an area south of Mińsk Mazowiecki, Major General Nikolai Vedeneev's 3rd Tank Corps (part of the Soviet 2nd Tank Army) thrust northwest through

Okuniew Okuniew is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Halinów, within Mińsk County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Halinów, north-west of Mińsk Mazowiecki, and east of Warsaw ...

and Wołomin to Radzymin, reaching an area only three miles (five kilometers) from the strategic bridge over the

Narew River The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...

at Zegrze. In response to Vedeneev's thrust, the Germans started a tactical counter-attack near Radzymin on 31 July. The offensive, carried out by 4 understrength Panzer divisions, was to secure the eastern approaches to Warsaw and Vistula crossings, and aimed to destroy the three tank corps of the Second Tank Army in detail. Under the leadership of German Field Marshal

Model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

, the

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

19th 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

, Hermann Göring, and 5th SS Panzer Divisions were concentrated from different areas with their arrival in the area of Wołomin occurring between 31 July and 1 August 1944. Although the 3rd Tank Corps gamely defended the initial assaults of the ''Hermann Göring'' and 19th Panzer Divisions, the arrival of the 4th Panzer and 5th SS Panzer Divisions spelled doom for the isolated and outnumbered unit. Already on 1 August, the leading elements of the 19th and 5th SS Panzer Divisions, closing from the west and east respectively, met at Okuniew, cutting the 3rd Tank Corps off from the other units of the Second Tank Army. Pressed into the area of Wołomin, the 3rd Tank Corps was pocketed and destroyed on 3 August 1944. Attempts to reach the doomed tank corps by the 8th Guards Tank Corps and the 16th Tank Corps failed, with the 8th Guards Tank Corps taking serious losses in the attempt. Although Model had planned to attack the 8th Guards Tank Corps next, the withdrawal of the 19th and ''Hermann Göring'' Panzer Divisions to shore up the German defenses around the Magnuszew bridgehead forced the remaining German forces around Okuniew to go on the defensive. For unknown reasons, on 2 August 1944 all armies that were to assault Warsaw had their orders changed. The 28th, 47th and 65th Armies were ordered to turn northwards and seize the undefended town of

Wyszków Wyszków (; yi, ווישקאָוו ''Vishkov'') is a town in eastern Poland with 26,500 inhabitants (2018). It is the capital of Wyszków County in Masovian Voivodeship. History The village of Wyszków was first documented in 1203. It was gr ...

and the Liwiec river line. The 2nd Tank Army was left in place and had to fight the Germans alone, without support of the infantry. Also, 69th Army was ordered to stop while the 8th Guards Army under

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Arm ...

was ordered to halt the assault and await a German attack from the direction of

Garwolin Garwolin is a town on the Wilga river in eastern Poland, capital of Garwolin County, situated in the southeast part of the Garwolin plateau in Masovian Voivodeship, 62 km southeast of Warsaw, 100 km northwest of Lublin. As of December ...

. Further combat lasted until 10 August, when the Germans finally withdrew. Soviet losses were heavy, but not heavy enough to affect the overall course of their thrust to the vicinity of Warsaw. The 3rd Tank Corps was destroyed, the 8th Guards Tank Corps took heavy losses, and the 16th Tank Corps took significant losses as well. Overall, the Second Tank Army's losses were significant enough that it was withdrawn from the front lines by 5 August 1944.

Aftermath

Altogether, between 1 and 10 August, the 2nd Tank Army lost 409 killed in action, 1,271 wounded and 589 missing. In addition, it lost 284 tanks and self-propelled guns (40% of these losses were non-recoverable, amounting to 113 armored vehicles lost permanently) out of 679 available to the army on 30 July. After World War II, communist propaganda used the example of the Battle of Radzymin of 1944 as a proof that the German counter-attack prevented the Red Army from helping the Warsaw Uprising. However, it remains unknown why the Soviet assault was halted as some Russian archives are still closed to historians. Some Polish and Western historians argue that the Soviet assault was halted because Stalin wanted the Warsaw insurgents, loyal to the

Polish government in exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

(known for its anti-Soviet stance), destroyed. The Soviet command apparently did not blame Lieutenant-General N. D. Vedeneev for the encirclement and destruction of the 3rd Tank Corps. Vedeneev survived the battle and remained in command. The 3rd Tank Corps was honored by being designated the 9th Guards Tank Corps in November 1944.

Order of Battle, 1st Belorussian Front on 1 August 1944

*8th Guards Army **4th Guards Rifle Corps **28th Guards Rifle Corps **29th Guards Rifle Corps **11th Guards Heavy Tank Brigade *28th Army **3rd Guards Rifle Corps **20th Rifle Corps **128th Rifle Corps **22nd Artillery Division *47th Army **77th Rifle Corps **125th Rifle Corps **129th Rifle Corps **60th Rifle Division *48th Army **29th Rifle Corps **42nd Rifle Corps **53rd Rifle Corps **194th Rifle Division *65th Army **18th Rifle Corps **46th Rifle Corps **80th Rifle Corps **105th Rifle Corps **115th Rifle Brigade **26th Artillery Division *69th Army **25th Rifle Corps **61st Rifle Corps **91st Rifle Corps **68th Tank Brigade *70th Army **96th Rifle Corps **114th Rifle Corps *2nd Tank Army **8th Guards Tank Corps **3rd Tank Corps **16th Tank Corps *Polish 1st Army **1st Army Corps **2nd Army Corps **1st Tank Corps *2nd Guards Cavalry Corps *4th Guards Cavalry Corps *7th Guards Cavalry Corps *4th Breakthrough Artillery Corps *1st Guards Tank Corps *1st Mechanized Corps *9th Tank Corps *11th Tank Corps

German units present at the Battle of Wołomin

* 73rd Infantry Division (facing Soviet 16th Tank Corps) * 19th Panzer Division (facing Soviet 3rd Tank and 8th Guards Tank Corps) * ''Hermann Göring'' Panzer Division (facing Soviet 3rd Tank Corps) * 4th Panzer Division (facing Soviet 3rd Tank Corps) * 5th SS Panzer Division (facing Soviet 3rd Tank and 125th Rifle Corps)

Notes

#In 1941, a massive tank battle took place in the vicinity of

Brody Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...

; this area was nominally a part of Poland until border agreements with USSR were signed in 1945. However, the official Polish historiography during the communist period was that the river Bug formed Poland's eastern border and the Polish territories east of it were called "Western Ukraine and Belarus". Nevertheless, the battle of Radzymin remains the largest tank battle on the territory of present-day Poland. # The 19th PzD had 70 armored fighting vehicles (AFV), meaning tanks, assault guns, and tank destroyers, the ''Hermann Göring'' had 63 AFVs, the 5th SS PzD had 66 AFVs, and the 4th PzD had 78 AFVs. Source for this data is Germany and the Second World War, p. 581. # When Titans Clash, p. 213. # Germany and the Second World War, pp. 582–583. # Танковый удар: танковая армия в наступательной операции фронта по опыту Великой Отечественной войны by Радзиевский Алексей Иванович, Map of 2nd Tank Army operation
map
# Танковый удар: танковая армия в наступательной операции фронта по опыту Великой Отечественной войны by Радзиевский Алексей Иванови�

# Germany and the Second World War, p. 584, notes that Second Tank Army's strength in tanks and assault guns was 810 on 22 July 1944, and that this had dwindled to 263 armored fighting vehicles by 4 August 1944.

References

* * *

External links

* Jan Sidorowicz,
Co działo się na wschód od Wisły w czasie Powstania Warszawskiego?
', Sep 8, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Radzymin 1944 Battle of Radzymin (1944) Warsaw Uprising Operation Bagration Military operations of World War II involving Germany Tank battles involving Germany Tank battles involving the Soviet Union Battle of Radzymin (1944) Tank battles of World War II Encirclements in World War II