Sandomierz bridgehead, also known as Sandomierz-Baranów bridgehead (, ) was a pocket of resistance created by

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

in late July 1944 on the left bank of the

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-occupied Poland. Located around the towns of

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

and Baranów, it covered roughly 40 by 70 kilometres. The creation of the bridgehead was one of the final acts of the

Lvov–Sandomierz offensive The Lvov–Sandomierz offensive or Lvov–Sandomierz strategic offensive operation () was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland. Launched in mid-July 1944, the operation was successfully completed ...

of the Red Army. In the evening of 29 July 1944 elements of the

350th Rifle Division The 350th Rifle Division formed in late August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Atkarsk. It went to the front in November, and served south of Moscow throughout the winter and as late as August, 1942, after which it made a bewilderi ...

under Major General Grigori Vekhin reached the Vistula River and crossed it near Baranów. The following day a large part of the

13th Army Thirteenth Army or 13th Army may refer to: * Thirteenth Army (Japan) * Japanese Thirteenth Area Army * 13th Army (Russian Empire), unit in World War I *13th Army (RSFSR), a unit in the Russian Civil War *13th Army (Soviet Union) The 13th Army (, ...

followed into the gap, along with

1st Guards Tank Army The 1st Guards Tank Red Banner Army () is a tank army of the Russian Ground Forces (Military Unit Number 73621). The army traces its heritage back to the 1st Tank Army, formed twice in July 1942 and in January 1943 and converted into the 1st ...

. By the end of the day the bridgehead was expanded to a strip of land 12 by 8 kilometres. Simultaneously, elements of the

3rd Guards Army The 3rd Guards Army () was a field army of the Soviet Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The army fought in the Battle of Berlin, during which it mopped up German resistance around Cottbus. 1942 to 1945 It was formed o ...

created a new bridgehead across the Vistula near

Annopol Annopol is a town in south-eastern Poland, located in Kraśnik County in Lublin Voivodeship, in the historic region of Lesser Poland. Annopol has an area of , and as of June 2022 it has 2,335 inhabitants. History Annopol received town rights in ...

, some downstream. The

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

started a massive counter-attack on 1 August 1944 by a pincer movement from

Mielec Mielec () is the largest city and County seat, seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 was 59,509. ...

and

Tarnobrzeg Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Polish: ''Województwo podkarpackie'') since ...

. After several days of heavy fighting, the Soviet 33rd Rifle Corps and 9th Mechanized Corps pushed the German forces back and threw them out of Tarnobrzeg by 6 August. On 11 August the Germans started yet another counter-attack, this time from

Szydłów Szydłów is a fortified town in Staszów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Szydłów. It lies approximately west of Staszów and south-east of th ...

intending to cut the Soviet units from the river. However, the German offensive came to a standstill after three days, and on 14 August the Soviets started a push from the direction of Klimontów and a small bridgehead near

Zawichost Zawichost is a small town (ca. 1,800 inhabitants ) in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. It is located by the Vistula River in Lesser Poland, near Sandomierz. It is first mentioned in historical documents from around 1148. In ...

towards the north. The Soviet attack reached Sandomierz, but was stopped soon afterwards. By the end of the month both sides dug, unable to mount further offensive movements, and went on defence. The front stabilised until 7 January 1945, when the Vistula–Oder offensive started.

Remembrance

Opatów Opatów (; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the population was 6,658. Opatów is located ...

, soldiers from the 6th Army of the

are buried, about 6,000 of whom died in the fighting in the Opatów area. They are buried in 32 mass graves. In Sandomierz, 11,451 soldiers of the Red Army are buried, who died in the fighting to capture the city in July 1944, and in various other towns in the vicinity of Sandomierz. Soldiers from the 1st, 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies and the 6th, 13th and 59th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front are buried there. The cemetery also contains the grave of Colonel

Vasyl Skopenko Vasyl Fedorovych Skopenko (, 14 January 1912 – 27 January 1945) was a Ukrainian secondary school teacher and Head teacher, principal, lieutenant colonel, participant in the Winter War, Soviet-Finnish war and the World War II. Was awarded a Hero ...

and Bulgarian citizen Karlo Szabanski. The cemetery in Stopnica is home to 1,892 Soviet soldiers who died in the fighting for Stopnica and those who died in the vicinity of Łubnice. The bodies of those killed in the fights for Stopnica were transferred from Łubnice to the cemetery in Stopnica in 1946.

References

{{coord missing, Germany Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II Military operations of World War II involving Germany Military history of Poland during World War II Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War History of Sandomierz