The Belostok offensive () was part of the third and final phase of the Belorussian strategic offensive of the
Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as
Operation Bagration. The Belostok offensive was part of the third, or 'pursuit' phase of Operation Bagration, and was commenced after the completion of the encirclement and destruction of much of Army Group Centre in the
Minsk offensive. ''Belostok'' () is the Russian name of the Polish city of
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Biał ...
.
Planning
Operational goals
After completing its mission of liquidating the pocket east of Minsk, in which the
Fourth Army had been trapped, the bulk of the 2nd Belorussian Front was issued new objectives: initially, to capture
Volkovysk and advance towards
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Biał ...
.
[Glantz, p.167] The
49th Army, however, was further employed in reducing the encirclement until mid-July. The 4th Air Army continued its mission of providing support for the Front's ground forces.
German intelligence
After the fall of
Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
the ''
Oberkommando des Heeres'' could call on few reserves to stop the Soviet advance. On the Białystok axis, the remaining forces were organised into a 'blocking group' () under the command of General
Helmuth Weidling. This included several new formations in addition to the very few troops that had escaped from east of Minsk. To the south, the defence was conducted by the northern wing of
Second Army, which had been reinforced, notably with the
28th Jäger Division, in the hope of mounting an attack to break through to the units of Army Group Centre still trapped east of Minsk.
The Germans' defence efforts were aided by the presence of old fortifications and defence works from
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and earlier.
Deployments
''Wehrmacht''
*Remnants of
Fourth Army (General
Kurt von Tippelskirch to 18 July, then General
Friedrich Hoßbach)
**''Sperrgruppe''
Weidling (later renamed
VI Corps)
***
50th Infantry Division
***''
Kampfgruppe'' Florke
***''Kampfgruppe'' von Gottberg
***
5th Panzer Division
***Part of
3rd SS Division Totenkopf
*Northern wing of
Second Army (Colonel-General
Walter Weiß)
**
LV Corps (General
Friedrich Herrlein)
The above units were under the overall command of
Army Group Centre (Field-Marshal
Walter Model).
Red Army
*
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group.
I ...
(Colonel-General
Georgy Zakharov)
**
49th Army (Lieutenant-General
Ivan Grishin)
**
50th Army (Lieutenant-General
Ivan Boldin)
**
4th Air Army
The offensive
Grodno falls
By 11 July the
50th Army had forced crossings of the
Neman south of
Dokudovo and moved forward against Weidling's forces. It crossed the
Kotra River by 13 July, and reached
Grodno
Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
by 15 July. Its
69th and
81st Rifle Corps stormed Grodno on the morning of the next day. The Soviet
3rd Army, on the northern flank of the neighbouring
1st Belorussian Front, took Volkovysk in fighting against Herrlein's LV Corps.
The German counter-attack
On 23 July, the Fourth Army commander, Hoßbach, in agreement with Model, committed the newly arrived
19th Panzer Division into a counter-attack with the intention of cutting off the Soviet spearheads in the
Augustow Forest. One regiment surprised the Soviet forces in Grodno (and claimed to have destroyed some 180 tanks, though this seems excessive) before being forced back southwards towards Białystok.
[See Hinze, ''Ostfrontdrama 1944''. Many of the destroyed tanks had been leaguered in the square at Grodno, where they were caught by the unexpected counter-attack.] A second regiment recaptured
Lipsk
Lipsk (also ) is a town in Augustów County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, with 2,520 inhabitants (2004).
History
Lipsk was granted town rights in 1580 by King Stephen Báthory by virtue of a privilege (law), privilege issued ...
, but then was forced to withdraw to assist the first regiment's disengagement. Due to a lack of resources, the German counter-offensive failed, but revealed the exhaustion of both the Soviet and German troops in comparison to fresh units.
The 2nd Belorussian Front had successfully forced the entire length of the
Neman and
Svisloch by 24 July; the 50th Army, with support from the
3rd Guards Cavalry Corps, took or retook the eastern part of the Augustow Forest and part of the outlying fortifications of
Grodno
Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
which the Germans had retained after their counter-offensive.
[Glantz, p.183] There was intense fighting as the German
50th Infantry Division attempted to defend the highway between Grodno and Białystok.
In the meantime, the 3rd Army had reached the outskirts of Białystok itself, despite strong resistance from the LV Corps. It stormed the city and took it by 27 July, after several days of street fighting.
Outcome
The Belostok offensive had proved largely successful in terms of its immediate tactical objectives: by the end of July the Soviets were in possession of the communications centres of Grodno and Białystok. However, their supply lines were becoming dangerously extended and their troops exhausted; progress slowed as the Army Group Centre commander, Model, was able to organise an effective defence through judicious management of the few units available.
The 2nd Belorussian Front's final objective in Operation Bagration was to advance to the
Narew River in the
Osovets offensive.
Notes
References
*
*
{{coord missing, Podlaskie Voivodeship
Battles involving the Soviet Union
Operation Bagration
Conflicts in 1944
Białystok in World War II