The Šiauliai offensive () was an operation of the Soviet forces of the

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It ...

, commanded by General

Hovhannes Bagramyan Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan, born Hovhannes Baghramyan ( – 21 September 1982), was a Soviet military commander of Armenian origin who held the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. As commander of the 1st Baltic Front, he orchestrated the ...

, conducted from 5 July to 29 August 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was part of the third phase of the Belorussian strategic offensive operation (also known as

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

), and drove German troops from much of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, with the main tactical objective of the city of

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

(, {{langx, de, Schaulen).

Deployments

Wehrmacht

*Elements of

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre () 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 during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

(Field-Marshal

Walter Model Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare. H ...

) **Northern wing of

3rd Panzer Army The 3rd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group () was formed on 16 November 1940. It was a constituent part of Army Grou ...

(Colonel-General

Georg-Hans Reinhardt Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1 March 1887 – 23 November 1963) was a German general of the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. He commanded the 3rd Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1 ...

) *** XXVI Corps (General

Gerhard Matzky __NOTOC__ Gerhard Matzky (19 March 1894 – 9 June 1983) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Matzky joined the Bundeswehr in 1956 and s ...

) *Elements of

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

(Colonel-General

Johannes Frießner __NOTOC__ Johannes Frießner (22 March 1892 – 26 June 1971) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Biography Born in Chemnitz, Saxony, Friessner e ...

) **Southern wing of 16th Army (General

Paul Laux __NOTOC__ Paul Laux (11 November 1887 – 2 September 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 16th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Laux t ...

)

Red Army

(General

) **

2nd Guards Army The 2nd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, most notably at Stalingrad. History The 2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Command (Stavka) from O ...

(General-Lieutenant Porfiry Chanchibadze) **

6th Guards Army The 6th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought against Nazi Germany during World War II under the command of General Ivan Chistyakov. The Army's chief of staff was General Valentin Antonovich Penkovskii. The 6th Guards Army was ...

(General-Lieutenant Ivan Chistyakov) ** 39th Army (General-Lieutenant Ivan Lyudnikov) ** 43rd Army (General-Lieutenant

Afanasy Beloborodov Afanasy Pavlantyevich Beloborodov (; – 1 September 1990) was a general in the Red Army during the Second World War who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Between 1963 and 1968, he commanded the Moscow Military District. Ea ...

) ** 51st Army (General-Lieutenant

Yakov Kreizer Yakov Grigorevich Kreizer (; 4 November 1905, Voronezh – 29 November 1969, Moscow) was a Soviet field commander. Before the war Kreizer's Jewish parents were granted permission to live outside the Jewish pale of settlement because his gr ...

)

The offensive

Initial phase

In July 1944, The Soviet

had been achieving great success.

was in tatters, and the northern edge of the Soviet assault threatened to trap

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Front forces (the 6th Guards and 43rd Armies), participating in the Belorussian strategic offensive operation, advanced to the line of the

Druya river Druja (; ; ) is an agrotown in Braslaw District, Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is located on the left bank of the Western Dvina, at the mouth of the Druyka River, opposite the Latvian parish of Piedruja. It is situated about northeast of Brasla ...

, west of Voropaevo and Naroch Lake from 4 July, having the mission of beginning an advance in the direction of

Švenčionys Švenčionys (; ; known also by several Švenčionys#Etymology, alternative names) is a city in eastern Lithuania, and capital of the Švenčionys district municipality, located north of Vilnius. , it had a population of 4,065 of which about 17% ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

and by part of the forces towards

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

and

. Also included in the composition of the Front for this operation was the 39th Army, which had to be concentrated on the left wing of the Front by 10 July. The Front was also reinforced by the 2nd Guards and 51st Armies from the ''Stavka'' Reserve, though these could only arrive in the front sector by the second half of July. The offensive began on 5 July with an assault by the forces of two rifle corps of the 6th Guards and three rifle corps of 43rd Armies, with support from a reduced 1st Tank Corps. Facing them were German troops of two corps, which were positioned on adjacent wings of Army Groups North and Centre. Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz's tanks had been sent to the Latvian capital,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and had halted the advance of

in late July 1944. Strachwitz's Panzerverband was broken up in late July. From the morning of 10 July the 39th Army was introduced into the battle, conducting an assault towards Kaunas. By 12 July the frontage of the offensive of three armies increased to 200 km, the opposing troops of

. By early August, the Soviet forces were in position to cut off Army Group North from Army Group Centre.

Transfer of main attack from Kaunas to Šiauliai

As a result of the offensive's development, ''Stavka'' shifted the direction of the main attack of the 1st Baltic Front from Kaunas to Šiauliai. 39th Army, together with the sector of its offensive was transferred to the

3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...

on 14 July (see the Kaunas offensive operation). In exchange, 1st Baltic Front received the

3rd Guards Mechanized Corps The 4th Mechanized Corps was a formation in the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War. Operation Barbarossa Initially formed in January 1941, it served with the 6th Army, Kiev Special Military District, under the command of General Major ...

. For the development of the offensive on the Šiauliai axis, the 2nd Guards and 51st Armies were introduced into the battle on 14 July By 22 July their troops had captured Panevežys - an important communications center of Army Group North. On 27 July the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps, in cooperation with the combined arms units of 51st Army, captured

, which had been held by a scratch force led by

Hellmuth Mäder __NOTOC__ Hellmuth Mäder (5 July 1908 – 12 May 1984) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Early life Hellmuth Mäder was a native of ...

. The troops of the right wing of the Front in interaction with the forces of the

2nd Baltic Front The 2nd Baltic Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. History The 2nd Baltic Front was formed on October 20, 1943 as a result of the renaming of the Baltic Front, it ...

took

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

. Pressing home the attack, the forces of the Front on 30 July overran strong points and road junctions

Biržai Biržai (, also known by several alternative names) is a city in northern Lithuania. Famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Name The exact origin of th ...

and

Bauska Bauska () is a town in its Bauska Municipality, eponymous municipality, found in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia. Bauska is located from the Latvian capital Riga, 62 km (38.5 mi) from Jelgava and from the Lithuanian border on t ...

, and by 31 July had reached

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

. The Front's mobile detachments entered

Tukums Tukums (; ; ) is a town in Latvia and serves as the administrative center of Tukums Municipality. It is located in the eastern part of the historical region of Courland, and with more than 16,000 inhabitants Tukums is the 13th largest settlem ...

and reached the coast of the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia (, , ) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and t ...

, cutting the land communications of Army Group North.

German counter-attacks

At the end of July and beginning of August Bagramyan's forces repulsed German counter-attacks in the region of

(some 4 infantry divisions and up to 100 tanks and assault guns, according to Soviet estimates) and

Raseiniai Raseiniai (; Samogitian dialect, Samogitian: ''Raseinē'') is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some north from the A1 highway (Lithuania), Kaunas–Klaipėda highway. History Grand ...

(one infantry and one tank division). ''Panzerverband von Strachwitz'' was reformed, this time from elements of the 101st Panzer Brigade of Oberst

Meinrad von Lauchert __NOTOC__ Meinrad von Lauchert (29 August 1905 – 4 December 1987) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. On the eve of the Battle ...

and the newly formed SS Panzer Brigade Gross. Inside the pocket, the remaining panzers and StuGs of the ''Hermann von Salza'' and the last of Jähde's Tigers were formed into another Kampfgruppe to attack from the inside. On 19 August, the counter-attack, which had been dubbed

Operation Doppelkopf Operation Doppelkopf () and the following Operation Cäsar were German counter-offensives on the Eastern Front in the late summer of 1944 in the aftermath of the major Soviet advance in Operation Bagration with the aim of restoring a coherent ...

got underway. It was preceded by a bombardment by the cruiser ''Prinz Eugens 203 mm guns, which destroyed forty-eight T-34s assembling in the square at

. During these defensive actions, the ground forces were supported by the 3rd Air Army. By 20 August the German forces, by counterattacks in the regions west of

and Sloka and with support from the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'', were able to push the Soviet troops away from the coastline in the southern sector and to restore the sea communications of their formations around

. Strachwitz and the SS Division Nordland met on the 21st, and contact was restored between the army groups.

Aftermath

By that point, Army Group North was extremely vulnerable to being cut off. The 1st Baltic Front resumed its offensive that autumn, finally destroying much of Third Panzer Army and severing the connection between the German Army Groups Centre and North, in the Memel offensive operation.

References

*Hinze, R. ''Ostfrontdrama 1944'', Motorbuchverlag Stuttgart, 1998 *''Fight for the Soviet Baltic in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945'', Riga, 1967 Conflicts in 1944 Operation Bagration Military history of Lithuania during World War II Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II Military operations of World War II involving Germany July 1944 in Europe August 1944 in Europe