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The Silesian offensives were two separate offensives conducted in February and March 1945 by the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
against the '' Wehrmacht'' on the Eastern Front in World War II to protect the flanks of the Red Army during its push to Berlin to prevent a German counterattack. It delayed the final push toward Berlin by 2 months.


The offensives

The Lower Silesian offensive ran from 8–24 February 1945, and the
Upper Silesian offensive The Upper Silesian offensive was a strategically significant Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II in 1945. It was aimed at capturing the considerable industrial and natural resources located in Upper Silesia and involved forces ...
from 15 to 31 March. Designed to flank the Soviet main advance on Berlin, the two operations pushed the ''Wehrmacht'' out of
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spl ...
. According to Soviet information, the Germans lost 54,000 soldiers: 40,000 dead and 14,000 captured in the Upper Silesian offensive. The
1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...
under
Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf;  – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the E ...
’s command—having completed the Vistula–Oder offensive—was to advance westward toward Silesia with the primary objective of protecting the left flank of the
1st Belorussian 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 g ...
, which was pushing toward Berlin. Similarly, the East Pomeranian offensive of the
2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front ( Russian: Второй Белорусский фронт, alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front) was a military formation, of Army group size, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Soviet army g ...
in the north was tasked with protecting the 1st Belorussian Front's right flank.


Delay

The need to secure the flanks delayed till April the Soviets' final push toward Berlin, which had originally been planned for February. By mid-April, the East Pomeranian offensive—carried out by the 2nd, and elements of the 1st, Belorussian Fronts—had succeeded in its objectives, reaching the important German port city of
Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major se ...
(now Szczecin).


Motives

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
's decision to delay the push toward Berlin from February to April 1945 has been a subject of controversy among Soviet generals and military historians, with one side arguing that in February the Soviets had a chance of securing Berlin much faster and with far fewer losses, and the other arguing that the possibility of large German formations (remnants of the Czech fortification system) remaining on the flanks could have resulted in a successful German counterattack and further prolonged the war. Stalin's aim in delaying the advance on Berlin had likely been political, as it allowed him to occupy substantial parts of
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
in the
Vienna offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street f ...
.


See also

* Sandomierz–Silesian offensive


References

* Glantz, David M.
The Soviet‐German War 1941–45
Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay


Further reading

* Beevor, Antony. ''Berlin: The Downfall 1945'', Penguin Books, 2002, *Duffy, Christopher. ''Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945'', Routledge, 1991, *Dubiel, P. ''Wyzwolenie Śląska w 1945 r.'' iberation of Silesia in 1945 Katowice 1969 *Karl Friedrich Grau, ''Silesian Inferno: War Crimes of the Red Army on Its March Into Silesia in 1945: a Collection of Documents'', Landpost Press, 1992, *Rawski, T. ''Wyzwolenie Śląska'' iberation of Silesia Studia i Materiały z Dziejów Śląska, t. VI, 1964


External links

* Andrzej Wanderer
Piekło na Śląsku
Tygodnik Prudnicki nr 24, 2006-06-14 {{Silesia topics Conflicts in 1945 History of Silesia Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II Military operations of World War II involving Germany Invasions of Germany